Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
With a shaky breath, I placed my pointer finger at the center of the crescent moon and closed my eyes.
The moment darkness encompassed my vision, I could feel the electrifying presence of magic building in my gut. I hadn’t expected it to be so easy to picture its force. Instantly an image formed in my mind, leaving me both startled and nervous. Rather than the crackling golden light I’d imagined my magic looked like, I was surrounded by a dark and impenetrable smog.
The inky smoke circled my feet, pouring from my finger in waves. A powerful warmth hid beneath my skin, and I knew without scouring the depths of my soul that this was the energy I had to work with.
With each pulse of magic I fed into the sigil, the warmth would slowly fade.
“Daisy, I’m going to ask that you open your eyes…” Cordelia’s voice was soft and distant, as though she’d taken several steps backwards.
I did as she asked and tried not to recoil when I saw it-the tendrils of my magic, almost identical to the shadows that hid deep within the forest.
As my concentration was shattered, the wisps of darkness faded and scattered, and were replaced by the sound of a deafening pop!
Cordelia gasped and slapped a hand to her heart as the porch light above her head exploded in a shower of sparks. At the same time, the lights glowing from within the house burst, blackening each window and plunging us all into darkness.
“Congratulations on completing your first spell.”
Cordelia’s smile was small, hiding something I couldn’t quite place. “How does it feel to call on your magic and have it respond?”
It was moonlight alone that allowed me to see her delicate features from where she sat on the patio chairs. The leather chords around her neck were dark, but the silver charms that dangled from them glittered merrily.
A frown ghosted across my face and disappointment filled my bones. “I-I didn’t do that correctly, did I?”
“Not at all, but you tried, and your magic did respond.” She replied, patting the seat beside her when my sour expression deepened. “Come sit with me before we go inside and sort this out.”
“Everything alright out here?” Rowena’s flowery voice trickled through the small opening in the sliding glass door.
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“We’re fine, just a bit of sigil magic gone awry.” Cordelia shouted back, but kept her eyes locked on my face. A slight twisting sensation in the pits of my stomach told me something was going on with the two witches. Rather than ask, I sank into the seat I once occupied and waited for her to speak. “Now, tell me. What did you do wrong?”
I skimmed the spell again and again until heat flooded my face and neck, followed by the embarrassment of missing something so blatantly obvious.
“I was supposed to paint the sigil on myself, not the porch.” I mumbled, closing the spell book, and peering down at it’s leather cover.
Cordelia’s hand on my shoulder was meant to reassure, but before she could speak the words
Rowena’s voice floated outside a second time.
“Cordelia, could I have a word with you?” This time a head of auburn hair appeared from the darkness of the living room, barely visible beneath the moonlight.
Rowena wasn’t able to see her agitated expression, but I could. The gnashed eyebrows and pursed lips were off putting on a face as kind as Cordelia’s, and for the second time tonight my stomach twisted with the feeling that something was amiss.
When the backdoor slid shut behind her and the sound of their muffled voices faded, I turned my attention to the box of supplies she’d handed me. Within the mix of half-burnt candles, herbs, and oils was an old mirror. Other than being chipped at the corner, it was in decent enough condition.
“That’s why the mirror was in there.” I snorted incredulously, pinching the bridge of my nose when a chilling sensation danced up my spine.
Deep within the forest, I could feel them watching. The shadows were still keeping their distance, hiding from me after giving Breyona back her wolf. It didn’t matter how many times I asked why, there wasn’t a single whisper tossed in my direction. Rather than succumb to the anger that sprouted when they refused to answer my questions, I began flitting through the stack of spell books Cordelia left outside.
There was one in particular that caught my attention, mostly because of it’s cover. It was made from a pitch-black leather with an odd texture I’d never felt before. Each individual page was lined in silver so that they caught the light each time I turned to a new one.
Just as I found the first spell in the book, and realized what type of magic this one depicted, Cordelia was taking it from my hands and snapping it shut.
“Oh, no you don’t.” She shook her head much like Grandma did when she caught me gearing up to steal one of her sweets before dinner. “I can see the look on your face clear as day. You’re not ready for something a s complex as protection magic.”
Even Maya’s attention was raised by the stirring of magic in our veins, coursing through our body and leaving little pinpricks in its wake. It rushed through us, flooding my head with chemicals even stronger than adrenaline. As it grew to a crescendo, I knew it wasn’t coincidence I was drawn to that particular spell book.
For some unknown reason, I needed it.
Cordelia’s eyes never left my face, even when my hands twitched with the urge to snatch the book from her. I bit back the intrusive thought, swallowing it along with my h****r and surprise. There was a part of me ready and willing to tear it from her hands, no matter the cost. I wanted to stay far away from that side of myself, no matter how much I knew those spells could help.
The older and much more experienced witch could tell I was fighting an internal battle and captured my attention by clearing her throat.
“If you’d like to come inside, I believe Rowena is ready for you.” She said, her voice firm but not unkind.
Rowena was, in fact, not ready for me though I wasn’t going to openly question Cordelia on that.
Instead, I turned my attention to the dozens of pillared candles scattered around the living room. On the living room table was the great leather-bound book I started reading my first day of training. I’d learned what Sigil magic was, along with Natural and a hint of Divination. Before I could swipe it off the table and get to reading Rowena appeared around the corner, heading from the kitchen where Grandma’s humming could be heard. There was a tension within her delicate notes that gave me pause.
“Is everything alright?” I questioned, craning my head to catch a glimpse of Grandma.
Rowena’s auburn hair and flushed cheeks got in the way. “Of course everything’s alright. There’s an electrician on the way. I’m quite sure you blew the fuse box.”
“I was referring to Grandma and…” I frowned, trailing off when I saw no sign of my dad’s bulky frame.
“Where’s my dad at?”
“Out here!” I heard him shout and spun around to see the front door wide open with my dad standing just outside. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he nodded his head in Grandma’s direction and grunted, “…don’t look at me, look at the witch in the kitchen. She’s the one that kicked me out.”
For a second I thought he were referring to Rowena, but then Grandma’s voice snapped back.
“I wanted you out of my d**n hair. You were hovering so close I could barely think.”
Dad snorted and narrowed his eyes, sending his bushy eyebrows colliding into one another. “Yeah, well you got what you wished for, didn’t you?”
“No.” She tossed over her shoulder, “I can still hear you.”
A gust of wind tore through the house, promptly slamming the front door in Dad’s face.
“Well, wasn’t that convenient?” Rowena said cheerfully, a glimmer of pride in her eyes as she glanced at Grandma. I had no choice but to follow as she shooed me back into the living room. “Now, now.
Don’t worry about your father, he’s perfectly fine. Your grandmother’s barred him from entering the house, it seems.”
“It’ll wear off in time.” Cordelia added, gathering the small stack of spell books in her arms before pausing at the stairs. There was a glimmer of light in her eyes that felt familiar yet foreign at the same time. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Daisy.” Without so much as a nod in Rowena’s direction, she went upstairs and slipped into her bedroom.
Rowena gave no notice, or at least she pretended not to. She didn’t need to glance in the direction of the stairs to tell me she too felt the tense air between them. Left with more questions than answers, I had no choice but to turn my focus to the large textbook propped on the table.
The next magical types in Rowena’s book were Divination and Elemental.
As I dove into the first paragraph, I found myself instantly missing my best-friend. Breyona had said if given the choice, she’d pick Divination as a magical skill. The further I read, the more I respected the subtle yet incredibly powerful magic form.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?