The Witchling Apprentice

  The meeting was to start right after they were settled, and they had made it in time to not be detected. Below them on the closed stage stood Uncle John, Nate’s father—Mikel, Harry Mala—Owen’s father, and Charles Timber—Mikel’s friend, and right-hand man.

  “You know how I feel about that,” Mikel scolded John.

  “I don’t care how you feel. Cassie is my responsibility. You can’t just go and force her to mate with your son. Do you know what the coven will do with her?” John was upset, his hands shaking.

  “Enough. I’ve told them that I approve of the mating. That’s all there is to it.” Mikel glared at John.

  John paced around the stage and ground his hands together. Cassie knew that stance was to keep him from hitting the alpha of the clan.

  “Can’t you cut him some slack?” Harry spoke up. “You know what the clan did to Gabby and how they reacted to Maria. You can’t blame him for keeping Cassie from them. You’d do the same if they had tortured your sisters.”

  Nate reached forward and covered Cassie’s mouth as she gasped.

  “They won’t harm a hair on her head. I promise you that,” Mikel replied. “My son genuinely cares about her. If they want us to continue supporting them, they will leave her alone.” Mikel’s eyes flashed the same blue color as his son.

  “We need to get Maria home.” John was finally able to control his anger. “She can stabilize both of them until they are ready to bond.”

  “Or change the bond if Cassie wants,” Harry added. Mikel glared at him with his glowing blue eyes.

  “Change, delay, I don’t give a crap,” John said, stepping between Mikel and Harry. “All I know is that if we leave the coven to perform the bond, you know they will strip her of her powers for the good of all. Who says it’s for the good? Their good, or ours. I know that Gabby was never the same again. I’d rather die fighting them all than allow that to happen. We need to stop this.”

  John looked more than desperate.

  “We can’t stop them,” Charles said so quietly that Cassie almost missed it.

  “Becky is no match for Holly,” Mikel added. Becky was Mikel’s wife and Nate’s mother. Cassie felt him tense as his father spoke of her. Holly was the head witch of the coven. “If Maria had just bonded to her mate, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. You would have been at full power and able to stand up to them. As a half skinwalker, there’s nothing you can do to stop them.”

  “That’s why I came to you,” John added. He stared at Mikel, silent words being passed between them.

  “I can’t stop it,” Mikel replied. “It is what it is.”

  Cassie felt Nate’s grip tighten at his father’s words. It wasn’t the first time she had heard him say that, but it had been a long time. Many times throughout their childhood he had told Nate those words, and it was never the outcome Nate wanted. With one swift and silent movement, Nate picked Cassie up and made it across the walkway over the stage. The curtain was being opened, but they didn’t stay around—Nate was already taking them away. Cassie could almost feel the pain inside him as he raced out of the building.

  “You have to run away from here,” he said as he set her down outside.

  Cassie was shocked by his words.

  “If the coven is really going to strip your powers, I can’t let you stay here,” Nate told her, taking her hand and walking her back to her house.

  “What if I said that cousin of mine offered to help me so that I don’t have to bind to anyone on Friday?”

  Nate paused. His beating heart, which was breaking in two at the thought of Cassie leaving, slowed.

  “Then tell me how I can help you.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Cassie nervously sat, waiting for Nate to finish his call with his father. He insisted that he be able to take Cassie to the library to study for school. It didn’t sound like he was winning the argument, but when he returned with a smile, she was sure they would be able to leave the house without being tracked.

  “You have one hour. I sure hope your cousin shows up by then,” Nate told Cassie as he tucked his phone away.

  “You hope? I hope, too. I’m the one they plan to drain and use as electricity to power the clan,” Cassie replied.

  She knew only a little about the coven binding powers, and she was more than scared of it. Only the head priestess could do it, and Cassie had a feeling Holly Carson would be more than willing and eager to do so since Nate had dumped her daughter Jess to be with Cassie. The draining of a witch was a serious crime, and one that was only allowed by the coven elders because they could do it without killing the witch. That didn’t mean it was a pleasant experience. The only people she had heard of it happening to were people that broke sacred laws. And they were never good people to begin with, so no one cared too much when they were punished.

  Cassie shuddered at the thought. If she didn’t find her cousin, then she would have to run and never come back. She wasn’t about to let the coven take away her magic. That was the only connection she had left to her parents. She might not have known either her mother or father, but in every spell she cast, her parents were watching over her.

  “They’re on their way here right now,” Nate told Cassie, squatting in front of her so that they were eye-to-eye. “I won’t let them do that to you. I promise you.”

  Cassie nodded. In reality, it wasn’t like he could do much. He turned into an animal on the full moon and a monster on other nights. He wasn’t part of the coven. Cassie was unsure that he could even help.

  Nate stood and paced the room. He was anxious to get out of the house, but she was even more so. She had packed her school bag with books, but he had packed his with her stuff in case she needed to run, which was becoming more and more likely. Cassie watched him moved back and forth. He was human, yet she could still see the animal in him. He might have been on two legs, but she could easily picture him on four. His elegant pace made her a bit jealous.

  It had been so long since she had seen the old Nate—years, in fact—but he was back, and it felt like nothing changed. All they needed was Owen, and the gang would be complete. Cassie missed those days. It felt close to being real again, but now it was anything but happy days.

  “They won’t let Whitney come with you because they’re afraid she was the reason that they got you the first time. A female skinwalker can be hard to trust for most. Heck, anything outside of the status quo is hard for them,” Nate explained.

  Cassie nodded. Words were getting harder to say as her nerves grew while they waited.

  She hadn’t talked to Whitney since she had spent the night as a tiger with her. She wasn’t there when Cassie woke and opened the window, but Cassie didn’t blame her friend. If Whitney had somehow broken the wards of the room, it wasn’t on purpose. She would never do that, no matter what everyone else thought.

  Nate waited at the doorway as someone drove up to the house. A second car followed not too far behind.

  Holly Carson stepped out of the second car with Mikel. Cassie tried not to look at Nate as the high priestess and the alpha walked to the house. If she had set the spell around the house, then maybe Nate was more than correct. Cassie had broken the head priestess’ spell. So what did that mean about Cassie’s powers?

  Nate stood at the door and waited as Mrs. Carson removed the magical barrier. Nate stepped back as his father entered with the lady that Cassie was beginning to see might have encouraged her daughter to put the spell on Cassie the week before. It was against coven law to do spells on others in the coven, but since the witchlings weren’t full members, it was a gray area, and not many were punished. It was also hard to punish for a spell that Cassie counteracted by diminishing the spell signature.

  “We expect you back here in one hour,” Mikal told Nate. He nodded to his father.

  “You are responsible for her. If she’s taken or turned, you will have to deal with her,” Mrs. Carson scolded Nate. He nodded to her, but he was finished respecting her just like Cass
ie was.

  Nate held out his hand for Cassie. She took it as Nate pulled her to the door. He kept his arm on her like he was afraid they would tear her from him. Cassie figured that was what it would come down to unless she found a different solution.

  “Oh, I have one question,” Cassie said as she paused. Nate’s eyes grew big. That wasn’t part of the plan, but Cassie had to ask. She might not get the chance again.

  “What were the seer’s exact words when she read my mother’s future?”

  Nate relaxed since the question was one that didn’t give away anything they were about to do.

  If Holly was surprised that Cassie knew, she hid her shock. Instead, she placed a well-manicured fingernail on her chin, tapping it as if she had to think.

  “She will be the end of the witches and skinwalkers as we know it,” Holly replied. “We are hoping the old seer was wrong. They tend to diminish in reading the future with age. But it has yet to be proven otherwise.”

  Holly raised an eyebrow in challenge. No, she wasn’t a fan of Cassie, but she didn’t care. The lady had decided she was going to bind Cassie to Nate without her permission, and take away her only link to the community through her magic. Cassie didn’t need her as a friend.

  Nate nodded to his father, pulling Cassie through the door and to the second car before she could say anything else.

  “That was lucky,” Cassie said as they both slid into the backseat.

  “Lucky?” the driver asked, turning around. It was Owen.

  Cassie jumped forward and gave him a hug from around the seat.

  “You freaking scared the life out of me the other night,” Owen scolded Cassie, flipping his hair out of his face as he began to back the car up. “You don’t have permission to go getting yourself kidnapped or bleed half to death. What in the world were you doing? Do I need to lock you in a tower to keep you safe?”

  “Oh. I forgot to ask your permission,” Cassie replied, going along with him. She needed this; it felt much more normal with Owen teasing her. Like nothing had changed.

  “Yes you do, young lady,” Owen used his best parental voice.

  “So did you volunteer, or were you told to chauffeur us to the library?” Nate asked, something hinted in his voice that Cassie should listen to their conversation.

  “I’d have to volunteer to keep that one out of trouble, but I didn’t know you were going until your father called,” Owen replied, driving them on their way.

  “With orders to keep an eye on us, I’m sure.” Nate sounded like he was joking, but his hand squeezing Cassie said otherwise.

  “Yeah, your father can be crazy protective of you sometimes,” Owen replied, not having the slightest clue what was going on.

  Cassie turned to Nate as Owen continued to drive and tried to read his expression. He was watching Owen and the road at the same time, and had yet to let go of her hand. His nervous energy was enough to drive Cassie mad on a normal day, but now she wondered what it was all about. Owen was her best friend. If they told him the truth, she was sure he would be right beside them. In fact, she was more than sure he would be all for keeping the bond from happening.

  “Where’s Whitney?” Cassie finally asked.

  Owen looked into the rearview mirror to Nate before replying.

  “She couldn’t make it. She said to tell you hi,” Owen lied. Cassie stared in disbelief at her friend. She was used to him telling jokes, having fun, and occasionally lying to Whitney, always about the clothing she was wearing, but Cassie had never been lied to.

  Owen looked back to the road, refusing to make eye contact with Cassie. She was hurt. He was her best friend; how could he just lie to her? It almost seemed like he was throwing their friendship away. All the stuff with Nate had him upset, but they were friends. Cassie expected him to have her back, but again, Nate was correct. She needed to keep her mouth shut.

  Cassie glanced at Nate, who was still looking ahead. He squeezed her hand again to tell her he knew she was there, but he didn’t move an inch otherwise where Owen could see it. It was like he was waiting for something. Owen pulled up to the library and his mask of not caring wavered. He was grinding his teeth in anger. Nate didn’t wait for Owen to turn off the car as he pushed his door open and pulled Cassie out. Owen hurried to shut off his vehicle and follow.

  “We seem to have a babysitter,” Nate said quietly to just Cassie. “The great coven leader suspects you might flee and that I might help you; she made Owen take an oath to watch over us. I’ll have to keep Owen away for you to talk to your cousin. I don’t know why your uncle and cousin aren’t part of the coven, but if he can help, we need it.”

  “Yeah, and why my uncle had to give up his mate when my aunt didn’t join. It makes me wonder about all of it,” Cassie replied. Nate nodded. It was all a bit suspect at the moment.

  “Where to today?” Owen asked as he finally caught up with them inside the library.

  “I just have some studying to do and wanted to be here in case I need a reference book. You know how slow my uncle’s internet can be, well it’s close to non-existent with a magical barrier around the house,” Cassie lied to Owen. He nodded in agreement.

  She looked away like she was searching for a table to keep from staring at Owen too closely. He would easily be able to tell if she lied too much, so she had the excuse already ready for him, but if he asked more or looked closely, he would see something was up.

  Nate pointed to the tables over by the window where Cassie first met her cousin, and she nodded to him like his choice was perfect. Cassie sat down and took out a book while Nate sat beside her and looked around. Owen stood at the window and watched them as they sat.

  They sat in the library for about ten minutes with Cassie doing homework, until she knew her cousin had arrived. Cassie felt the magic in the air around her. She was sure her cousin was around somewhere. She grabbed a paper from her backpack and wrote down a random call number for a book several stacks away from where they were sitting.

  “Can you get this for me?” Cassie asked Nate.

  He nodded at his cue.

  “Sure. Owen, can you come walk over this way with me? I have a few questions for you about the last meeting with my father,” Nate told him. Owen looked taken aback by the request.

  “I’ll be right here,” Cassie told him. “Not going anywhere.”

  Owen nodded and followed Nate to the row of books to find the one Cassie wrote down. Owen didn’t walk down the aisle with Nate but stood and watched Cassie as she pretended to write more notes. Nate returned with the book and stepped in front of Owen as he spoke to him, breaking his view of Cassie.

  “If you want to talk to me, now’s your only chance,” Cassie whispered to no one in particular, but she hoped that a certain someone would hear her.

  “We can’t stay here,” Jack said as he grabbed her arm. His warm touch zinged with pent-up magic. Cassie looked up into his eyes, but he glanced away. “Your mate can only keep the other one away for so long. Your choice, come with me and learn how to stop all this nonsense, or stay here and be forced to mate against your wishes.”

  Cassie glanced at Nate’s back. They knew it could come down to that. It wasn’t like they hadn’t talked about it. But now as the moment presented itself, Cassie was having second thoughts. Nate said he would protect her. She looked at his back and could tell Owen was about to move around him. She took Nate’s backpack and stood up with her cousin. Nate had told her that if the moment came to leave, she was to leave. He didn’t trust anyone in his clan or the coven now that he knew what they wanted to do with Cassie, not even Owen.

  “Good choice,” Jack replied, and in a blink they were outside the library.

  “How did you …” Cassie asked.

  Jack shrugged. “I’m a witch. It’s what we do.”

  Cassie laughed as Jack led her away, and the guys were left to search inside where they would never find her. Of course her male cousin was a witch. It wasn’t like anyone in her family
was normal after all. Yep, Jack was certainly part of the family.

  Jack didn’t use his transportation trick again since his car was only parked feet from where they ended up outside. He opened the doors to his black Ford truck and let Cassie inside. Soon enough they were on the road on their way out of town. Cassie was nervous to just run away, but it wasn’t like she didn’t plan to come back soon. All she needed was the key to getting out of the binding.

  “You’re a witch?” Cassie asked in disbelief even though she already had a demonstration of his powers.

  It sounded so weird to say it out loud. She had never met a male witch before. She had heard about them, but that was just in books. In person, it was rare to come across one.

  “Yes, just an apprentice, but I have a few spells perfected, like that one,” Jack said proudly. “I take it you found the picture?”

  “Yeah. Your father is my uncle,” Cassie replied as Jack drove out of town. She shivered as they passed the diner where she thought she was going to die. It was way too soon to see that place and relive those memories. “So what do I need to do to get out of the mating?”

  Jack laughed. “Straight to the point. Don’t you want to ask more questions? Like how is it your male cousin is a witch?”

  Cassie shrugged. “My best friend is a skinwalker.”

  “Yes, we all know Owen,” Jack replied with a hint of malice.