Ch. 321..325: The Werewolf's Vampire Mate Chapter 321-325
Chapter 321: Let me help
Gyles.
He has this look on his face. The one that tells me there is something going on in his head. I don’t know what it is but I am curious to find out. Blue beats me to it and reaches for him on the bed.
"What are you talking about?’’ he asks. His eyes are filled with worry and I know exactly how he feels. A lot has happened in this past week—especially to Rex. He has been through so much shit and I am sure that is why Blue just wants him away from all this mess. I know he is doing this all for his own good but at the end of it all. We can’t leave him.
"Levine. She is in my head right now,’’ he mutters as he slowly closes his eyes. I take a deep breath because this could be a good thing. Getting into his head means that there is a chance that he could find her and once he finds her, he could be free from all this. We could be free from all this.
"What do you feel?’’ I butt in by asking him. He turns to me with his eyes open. His hands are shaking. I reach for him in an attempt to take some of the pain from him and even though I know I can’t. I still want to be there for him. I want him to know that he can lean on me—anytime.
"I feel her fear. She is terrified right now,’’ he breathes out shakenly.
I don’t care about her and the fact that she is afraid. I think she deserves death and more. I might not know what is even going on in this coven but the fact that she involved Rex in her drama, makes her an enemy to me.
"Can you see her?’’ I ask wanting a lead, anything that will get us to find her. he closes his eyes again and this time, I watch him as if my life depends on this moment. Finding Levine breaks the bond between them—okay, maybe not necessarily but at the end of it all, we will be closer to breaking it.
I watch him as his chest rises and then falls heavily. He is trying to concentrate right now and it is the cutest thing I have ever seen but I can’t even focus on that right now because we might be closer to solving this. we might be closer to breaking him free and that is all I want to. That is all I wish for.
"I see her,’’ he exclaims with a smile but his eyes remain closed. I watch him, not wanting to disrupt the flow he is in right now. the fact that he is seeing her means that we can find her too. If I just touch him, I will be able to see what he is seeing but I don’t think this is the best time to do that. the last two times I tried to get into his head ended up catastrophic and I want to let him do this on his own this time. I want him to win on his own. maybe then he will start believing in himself more.
"she is in a dark room. There is someone with her. I can’t see his face,’’ he breathes softly and then continues "She is blocking me from seeing him. he sounds angry," his breathing spikes. I can see his eyeballs roll even though there are closed right now. whatever he is seeing must be taking a toll on him.
"Can you find something, anything that can show us where she is?’’ Blue asks him. his voice is calm and soft. I can tell he doesn’t want to interrupt this but he also needs to push it further.
Rex shakes his head "The room is very dark. It looks like a basement. It looks like the one I was kept in with the cage."
He is talking about the dungeon in the coven, which means he is saying that they are somewhere in the estate. That is a good thing because that means they are closer than we even thought.
"They are fighting, he is very angry?’’ Rex mutters calmly. I take a deep breath as I watch him. he is seeing it all but from the picture, he is painting. Levine and someone else is in an argument. Blue said that Major is so sure that Levine is not the bad guy, which must mean that whoever she is with is the mastermind of it all. He is the one responsible for everything and he is the one we need to fight.
"She is crying now; I feel her pain." He clutches onto his shirt and I want to reach out to him. he must be feeling the same things she is feeling because the next thing I see is tears trying to come out of his closed eyes.
"Try and see who it is Rex. we need a face. who is the man?’’ Blue is pushing really hard right now. I understand him completely but if he continues like this, he is going to deter him from whatever access he has right now.
"She is trying to leave, he is not letting her,’’ he grabs his arm this time. I look at Blue, in that instant, his eyes shift to me
Let me get into his head, I can see it all better.
I send blue a mind link. I wish this time; he will let me do this. I am so sure I can see things clearer and Rex is right now.
He sighs loudly and then I see the defeat in his eyes before he gives me permission.
Don’t fuck this up.
He warns me with a glare and for the first time in my life, I want to make him proud. I want to do this and make him happy with me. I crawl over to the side of the bed that Rex is in and reach for him. he is so far gone in the memory that he doesn’t feel me. the second my hands are on his temple; I get transported to their location.
The first person I see is the man.
Chapter 322: Badger
Gyles
Rex was right when he said the room looked like the basement. The one that they kept him in. in fact, this place is so similar, it feels like it is the exact same place but I don’t want to assume yet until I see more. I can see Levine, her face is tear-stained and it seems like she is still crying. I am supposed to be seeing things through her eyes but right now, it seems like I am out of her and in the space. I don’t know how that is possible.
"I am sorry,’’ she goes on her knees and clutches unto his legs with so much desperation in her voice. I don’t know why she is apologizing so I continue to watch. The man pushes her, at this point, I am still in shock because I recognize him. It seems like everyone in this coven cannot be trusted. To me, he seemed like one of the people closest to Blue here. He seemed like someone he could trust. So why the fuck is he doing this?
Levine falls to the ground. I don’t see what she could have done for him to treat her like this. They are supposed to be together. He is treating her like an outcast.
"How dare you try to trick me,’’ he walks over to her and she covers her face immediately, almost like she knows he is about to hurt her and he does her exact thoughts and hit her on the face. The hit is hard, so hard that she flies to the other side of the room and hits the wall. I hear the pain in her voice but she tries to cover it up by standing up and walking over to him. She looks at him in his eyes, she is trying to get him to calm down.
"Badger, please don’t be upset. I didn’t mean to.’’ she breathes out, sniffing out loudly. At this point, her eyes are red and the fear pouring out of them, terrify me. It is almost like she has regrets.
Badger smiles "You didn’t mean to try to communicate with Blue? You didn’t mean to try to betray me?’’ He asks her calmly. There is this look in his eyes. Almost murderous. I don’t like it one bit.
"I can’t do this anymore, this was not how it was supposed to be,’’ she cries. That is the regret in her eyes. Her actions these past weeks have finally caught up to her. She regrets it all and that is what I expected. Now it might be too late for her because Badger doesn’t seem to have any regrets—maybe except trusting her.
"It is almost over and now you are giving up.’’
She shakes her head and then lets go of him to wipe out the tears. From everything I am seeing right now, Badger is the bad guy. The one who is responsible for everything. Levine is just a puppet that he has been controlling all this while. He hasn’t really been in the picture. He has been quiet and not all over everything. Somehow, he should have been the first suspect.
I didn’t even think of him and I don’t even know him, I only met him once. At the party. He didn’t look like such a good person. He probably intentionally caused a scene.
"My sister is dead. We were not supposed to kill her,’’ she shouts.
"That was always the plan. That was the only way to eliminate her. That was the only way to get her to step down."
Wow.
They had a plan to eliminate Blue’s mother. I don’t know what her reason was but to me. She made all the wrong moves and she has no right to be forgiven.
"We never said we were going to kill her. You promised me that no one was going to get hurt.’’
He laughs even though she hasn’t said anything funny "You gave in to the power. Do you know the kind of power we harness right now? I didn’t beg you, you came to me. You wanted this as much as I did. I didn’t force you to do anything,’’ he says it so casually.
"I didn’t want her dead, you tricked me."
Badger raises a brow "Are you saying you want out?’’ he asks her calmly. To me, it doesn’t seem like she has the option of leaving. This seems like a—you can’t get out of it, situation. So I don’t know why he is even asking her in the first place.
He is playing mind games with her.
I can already tell that this is going to go south. Things are going to take a turn for the worst now. I already feel it before she even answers.
"I want things to go back to the way they were."
He smiles "You mean, you want to go back to that kid?’’ he asks her with that evil smile.
She opens her eyes wide. She knows what he is talking about. "W...w...what?’’ she stutters.
His smile widens "You think I didn’t know about your affair with that child? I never trusted you either. I always knew you would fail.’’ He walks closer to her and she walks backwards, in an attempt to get away from him. They continue this tug of war until she hits her back on the wall with no way to go. He raises his hand up until it is over her head on pressed on the wall.
"He is not a child,’’ she retorts. I see the passion in her eyes. I see the love and warmth. I don’t even know who she is talking about but he must mean a lot to her.
"You think I didn’t know. I know everything,’’ he seethes out in anger. I almost thought there were in a relationship. Why would you trust someone that you didn’t even love?
"How would you feel, if Major ends up like your sister,’’ he threatens. She opens her eyes wide in shock from his words.
"You promised not to hurt anyone, you said this was for the greater good."
He nods "This IS for the greater good but the minute you betray me. I show you that I can also be bad,’’ he smiles, he is threatening her.
My heart thuds in my chest because I see that she has no choice in this anymore.
Levine is not the person we should be looking for.
Badger is.
Chapter 323: The sociopath
Levine.
The past.
The door to the room opens and Analise walks in. she is dressed in a pair of high waist jeans and a white crop top. Her hair is up in a messy bun. I look at the clock on my bedside table. It is seven in the morning. I am still dressed in my pajamas. It is a Saturday morning. We are allowed to sleep in.
She jumps on my bed and slides all the way up to the pillows "Why are you still in bed?’’ she asks me as she tries to get the covers off me. I groan out in frustration because I don’t even understand why she is so energetic this morning.
"It is Saturday. I am allowed to sleep in,’’ I remind her of the rule. We turned sixteen two months ago. So we started our training. This is something that she has been looking forward to—unlike me. The pressure that comes with taking the oath and becoming a witch of the coven is ridiculous. I have been dreading my sixteenth birthday for so long.
"You promised to help me with my transformation spell,’’ her eyes shine brightly from the excitement of practicing magic. Analise has always been eager for growth. She keeps talking about magic and the power that comes with it. Mother is so excited about our growth. I know they can tell that I am not interested in all this. They see me as someone that doesn’t even want to do any of this. I am the opposite of Analise.
"You will be fine on your own,’ I roll my eyes and try to get the covers back. She jumps off the bed and drags the duvet with her. There is a smile on her face. She knows she has always been able to get me to do anything. She knows that I will listen to her right now, even though it might take some convincing.
"I need you. You are so much better at it than me,’’ she climbs back on the bed and grabs both of my hands in hers, squeezing gently "I have to prove to mother that I can do this and you know how hard it is for me.’’
She is trying to manipulate me into agreeing to this. The magic comes naturally. I don’t even have to try. It is so easy for me. Not like that is what I want. I was just fortunate enough—or should I say unfortunate enough. Now Analise wants me to train her even though we are already getting training from Blat. All of us in the same age group are going through the training process. Analise seems to be the most excited about this.
"Fine, give me an hour to get ready,’’ I agree because the longer I keep her here, the more she will pester me and I will just end up agreeing with her.
"Badger is going to be there," she says just as she walks to the door.
I roll my eyes because I don’t want Badger there but if I say anything, she will just quote me and he will think we have a problem. She walks out of the room and I walk into the bathroom for a quick shower. I can’t wait for the training to end. I want to focus on other things. I don’t want to be all engrossed in the magic and who is going to take over after mother. It has been the only thing she has been able to talk about. She doesn’t want this to be passed on to someone outside our family line that is why she has been so focused on it.
She wants us to be perfect. She wants everyone to see that we are perfect. Analise is beating herself up because of that. She is not the best person for that title. She is not a leader and she will never be one but mother can’t see that—I don’t even want it. I don’t want to be a leader either, so I will never be caught dead trying to prove myself. I will like to stay in the shadows. I will like to watch everything unfold and not push for anything. if this is what Analise wants, I will help her get it.
I just hope this doesn’t get into her head. I just hope the power doesn’t make her more of a sociopath than she already is.
************************
"So, you are so much of a pro that you have to tutor your sister in private?’’ Badger walks up to us. We are in the potion room. We have been practicing for half an hour and he just showed up. there is a smile on his face as he stops in front of me. I know he is teasing. That is just part of who he is.
He is a teaser.
"I am not a pro,’’ I roll my eyes and face Analise. I don’t even want to bother with him. badger is Analise’s friend. I and Analise are a package deal, so I guess he is my friend by association. He is only here because of her. the most popular warlock in our age group. Everyone loves badger and mother secretly wants him to marry Analise when they are of age. It is kind of a silent Betrothal. I am just glad that I am the one. I am so glad that the focus is not on me.
He walks over to Analise and I see him, try to teach her the same spell I have been able to for half an hour. He doesn’t succeed and I see the frustration in his eyes. I walk over to them and force a smile at the scene in front of me. badger runs his hands through his hair "I need to get a drink. Lissy’s head is not in this,’’ he sighs loudly and walks away from us.
I am the only one that is patient with her. the only one that can handle how bad she is at this. If she would just concentrate. She would be able to do this.
"Fuck, I can’t get this,’’ she whines like I knew she would. I see the frustration in her eyes and she knows that I will not give up until she does get the hang of this.
"Just breathe, you can do this,’’ I give her words of encouragement.
She looks at the plate again and then I wait for her to change it back to a bird. She did the transformation but she can’t undo it. that is the problem. She smiles at me and then focuses on the plate in front of her. her eyes do this thing that they always do when she is trying to concentrate. She takes a deep breath and breathes out the words. this time, I feel it happen. I smile as she turns the plate back to the bird it was. After she is done, she runs into my arms and hugs me excitedly. I welcome her because this means we can stop this.
"Thank you so much, Levi,’’ she squeezes me tighter.
After our embrace, she turns back to the bird and a smile forms on her face. "I learned something last night. You wanna see?’’ she asks. Even if I say no, she will still show me. so I nod my head and watch her as she outstretches her hand to the bird.
"So, we basically gave this bird its life back but watch how easy it is to take it." she turns to me one last time, and my heart thuds in my chest. I don’t know what she is about to do but I am scared. I know the darkness in Analise. I try to keep her in check but every once in a while, it comes out and I see just how scary she is. I close my eyes because I need to handle this before she does something.
"We don’t need to do that. Our magic is for starting life, not ending lives. So let’s just go get breakfast,’’ I tell her wanting to deter her from her mission. She shakes her head "No way, you need to see this. I worked so hard on this spell,’’ she glares at me and then back to the bird. She doesn’t give me a chance to stop her as I start to hear her murmurs and in an instant, I watch as the bird starts to shake and in an instant, its head is off its body. blood splatters into the cage. I close my eyes because of the sight but not before I see the evil smile on her face. the joy that she just derived from killing that innocent creature. My heart thuds as I open my eyes slowly. She is watching me.
I don’t know what to say. I am scared of her at this moment. I get these scares when she shows this side of herself and right now, we are at that place.
My sister is a sociopath.
Chapter 324: Empty threats?
Levine
It has been a couple of months since Analise killed that bird. A couple of months since she decided that she liked death. She hasn’t said it to anyone but me. I am her twin sister; we don’t look alike but we have that bond. We have always had that bond. She has always known that she could trust me and maybe I am tired of her trusting me with her dark thoughts. It is fucking scary and I don’t want to be afraid of her.
Her magic has gotten better. So much better that she doesn’t even need me anymore. I am glad I don’t have to tutor her again. tutoring her means more conversations about how she would prefer the dark magic. How stronger it would make her. We are just sixteen. It is too soon to be this hungry. I don’t understand why she wants all the power she is asking for. I don’t know who she is up against. It is already set in stone. She is going to take over the chieftaincy. She is going to be the next leader and she already knows that she doesn’t have any competition. I am not interested in it. I will never be interested in that.
My room door opens and she walks in "Dinner is ready,’’ she jumps on my bed. dinner with mom and dad is something that I dread. Half the time, they complain about my disinterest in the family. They tell me about my potential and how I don’t want to use it. I know if I showed interest, I would be a contender for the throne. I don’t want it and besides, it is Lissy’s thing. I want to focus on school. I want to be a doctor. I want to help people. It has always been my thing. Witches and warlocks are not in my books.
I have a plan. When I turn eighteen, I will get out of here and never look back. Lissy doesn’t even know. No one knows except me and I plan to keep it that way so that no one stops me. I have to do that for my own sanity.
I don’t know how Analise will survive with me. She will eventually show her true colors and I wish I could stay for her but I can’t. I need to take care of myself. I need to protect myself first.
"Is there a topic of discussion in this dinner?’’ I ask her as I get up from the bed and put on a pair of clean jeans.
She shakes her head and hops off "Probably want to talk about our progress in the training."
Training is supposed to go one for a year. We are halfway there and I intentionally haven’t shown them my progress. The only person that knows how capable I am is Analise and Badger. Badger because of his relationship with my sister.
"Yeah, more like talk about your progress.’’ I roll my eyes.
She walks over to me and grabs my hands in hers "I know you are shielding your true self from them because of me,’’ she smiles widely. Almost like a silent thank you. I don’t argue with her. tell her that this doesn’t have anything to do with her. if I was interested in the title, I would have shown it. I know it is not a good idea for Analise to have that much power but I don’t plan on being the one to stop her.
"You’re welcome,’’ I tell her, trying to end this conversation.
"I would do anything to be chief. You know that." her eyes bore into mine "Anything Levi,’’ she adds staring at me.
I know what she means by anything and it should terrify me but I don’t even want to be involved in her and her silent threats.
"Relax, you still have years until that happens. Mom is still alive,’’ I point out.
As long as mom is still alive. She can’t do anything. she has to wait and even though they are preparing her for that. she will still have a long time to wait.
"you think?’’ she raises a brow with a smile and drops my hands immediately. I watch her as she walks out of my room and shuts the door loudly. I don’t know what she means by that but I get the chills. The door to my room opens immediately and she pokes her head in "we are going out tonight after dinner.’’
Another thing I can’t say no to.
She just gives me orders and I have to listen to her. I know that Lissy will do anything to get that title and I have this fear that it might involve hurting our parents. I shake that thought out of my head because it is stupid. She has a closer relationship with my mother. They have this bond that I have never tried to get in on.
I walk out of the room after convincing myself that it will never happen. I get to the dining room and everyone is already seated. Mom looks up from her plate and glares at me.
"You are always late,’’ she accuses me even though Analise just came to. As usual, I am the one that is not doing things right. I am always the one but I don’t even care. I don’t have to get her approval on anything. I am so fine without it.
"Hello mother,’’ I greet her as I sit down directly next to father. I have a better relationship with my father. He understands me a lot more than she does. His stamp of approval is the only one I want. He is all that matters to me.
"hi dad,’’ I stand up and plant a soft kiss on his forehead. He pats my shoulder gently just as I sit down.
"How’s my favorite girl,’’ he asks.
He calls both of us his favorite girls and it still feels special whenever he says it. I know that I have a good relationship with him and he doesn’t put so much pressure on me.
"If your favorite girl would take her training seriously," she makes a snarky comment. Her personal jab at me.
I roll my eyes and focus on the plate in front of me. I am usually very quiet in these dinners. It is for the best.
The silence helps me calm down.
I don’t want to think about how much of a disappointment I am to her. I don’t want to think about how I am not living up to my potential.
I don’t even want to be here.
Chapter 325: The switcheroo
Levine
We get to the bar and Analise skips into the building. I stop in front of the entrance because I don’t want to be here but she always needs me by her side. I am the designated driver. The one that ends up bringing her home.
"Come on,’’ she comes back out and ushers for me with a wave of her hands. I sigh loudly and walk in with her. The bar is full of people. Older people. We are so underage and we shouldn’t be here but I can never even talk to her. Analise would do what she wants. She does this thing where she likes to control every situation. She likes to order me around and I let her because being on her bad side is not a place, I would want to be in. I like peace and doing what she wants gives me peace.
"I’ll get the drinks since I look way older than you do." I know she is going to use her fake ID’s. We have had fake ID’s since we were fifteen. She has used hers more than I have used mine. I watch her as she walks up to the bar and smiles at the bartender. He doesn’t even ask her for her ID. He just makes her drinks and she jogs back to the table I had secured for us.
"I have my eye on that guy over there,’’ she nudges in the direction of the bar. I see a man seated on the barstool. He looks to be about in his mid-twenties, his hair is jet black and long. There is no way in a million years that she has a shot with a guy like that. He will see right through her façade.
"He looks really old,’’ I point out just as she sits down and downs the first tiny glass of vodka. It looks like she wants to get drunk tonight. I don’t even want to be here at all.
"You think, he is exactly my type,’’ she scrunches up her face as the shot hits her. I shake my head because she will do the opposite of what I tell her and I want to tell her that she shouldn’t go that far. There is no way Lissy will tell the man her real age which would just make him think that she is older than she actually is.
I don’t want her to deceive him.
"I am going to make my move,’’ she attempts to stand up from the chair but I drag her arm immediately.
"You can’t leave me alone here,’’ I plead with the most desperate look on my face. This is me trying to trick her into thinking I don’t want to be alone so that I can get her to leave the guy alone. I don’t want her involved with anyone. Analise is not stable, she should just focus on her magic and do what mother wants—which is marrying Badger when she is eighteen.
"I am not leaving you alone, Badger is almost here—wait, I see him right now,’’ her eyes dart to the direction of the door and sure enough, Badger walks in, dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a plain white shirt. He has on a black leather jacket. The kind that screams bad boy. He ray ban glasses are on top of his head and that wicked smile is plastered on his face.
I roll my eyes because this just makes it worse. She is going ahead to flirt with some other guy, when we both know that Badger has a thing for her. She has always stuck to the notion that they are just friends but he doesn’t look at her like she is a friend. He wants more and the moment she decides to give him that, I know he will accept it in a heartbeat.
"Why did you bring Badger?’’ I ask her in confusion.
She chuckles "I see the way you look at him Levi, I am doing you a favour," she winks, my cheeks redden because I hate being so transparent. I hate that she caught up on that. it is not like I am in love with him or anything. It is just a crush. One that I will get over when I leave this place. Besides, it is not like I have a chance in hell. Badger likes Analise and Analise is everything that I am not.
Badger gets to us before I even have a chance to respond. He smiles widely "Hey guys,’’ he sits down on the chair next to me.
"You see that guy over there,’’ she slings her arm over Badger. He furrows his brow, but turns to the direction of the man "I want to fuck him,’’ her smile widens. I just can’t believe she was so direct about it.
"Oh really?’’ Badger mutters. I look to him, wanting to see his reaction to her blunt honesty. He must know that I can’t tell that he likes her. Is he going to show jealousy or play it cool?
"Yeah, Levi seems to think that he is too old. What do you think?’’ she asks him calmly. To her, this is just a casual conversation, to me, it is awkward as fuck.
"I think, the older the better. You should go for it.’’
He grins and for a second my heart melts. Badger is very handsome and he must know of his effect that he has on girls. Right now, I am staring at him and all I see are his perfect teeth. The dimpled smile and his luscious hazelnut hair. His eyes are like a magnet that just keeps on attracting me, no matter how much I try to repel from them.
"You don’t like older guys...I see,’’ he rubs his chin playfully.
"I am going to give it a shot,’’ Analise jumps up and we both watch her as she walks over to the guy. I look away from her because I don’t agree with this. My eyes shift back to Badger.
"Why are you okay with this?’’ I ask him. I want to know where his head is at. I want to know why he is so calm about this when I know that it must be eating him up.
"I don’t actually care who she fucks, but the questions is, why do you?’’
I look back at her and slowly watch her as she slides her hand over his arm seductively. The guy is taking the bait. As usual, Analise gets what she wants.
"Do you want to have some fun too?’’ Badger speaks up and I take my eyes away from my sister.
"Huh?’’
His smile widens "Me and you, let’s have some fun."
I know what he means and I am not up for that. This is not how I wanted it to be. I have always imagined a life where he would see me that way. I have always wondered how he would tell me that he likes me. It was always something that I had prayed for but now, it seems so weird.
"What?’’ I can’t really comprehend what he is saying.
He shifts his stool until he is so close to me that I can feel his breath on me. It is hot and thrilling. I don’t know if I like this but when will I ever get the chance to be this close to Badger Willis? "
"My place is empty. The rents aren’t around for the weekend. We could have our fun in private,’’ his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me even closer to him. I take a whiff of his scent. He smells like strawberries and musk.
"What about Lissy?’’
"I am sure she will be fine on her own,’’ he looks at her and my eyes find their way to her too. She is kissing the man. He has his arms around her. They are in such a public part of the bar and she doesn’t seem to care. Typical Lissy. "Come on," he leans even closer and this time, his lips are an inch away from mine. I close my eyes because I have never been this close to him. It is electric and taunting at the same time.
This is a chance to have what I want for the first time in my life. If I turn him down, I will be alone tonight. I will have to watch Analise have fun.
For once in my life, would it be such a bad thing to choose myself?
Would it be such a bad thing to be selfish?
I rest my forehead on his and he closes his eyes "I know you think I have always wanted Lissy. I see it in your eyes every time I am around you guys,’’ he breathes out with his eyes still closed. I watch him as he continues. I don’t have words. I don’t even understand what is happening.
"I have always wanted you. You are the one that intrigues me, you are the one that makes me toss and turn at night.’’
My heart thuds against my chest.
This is insane but for the first time in my life, I am excited.
I want this.