Fallen Love
Chapter 19

Chris.

– Just call her Lisa,” I asked irritated.

I’m having a really bad day, first my parents bugging me to dump Casey and give Esra a chance and then Casey busting my balls so I destroy the bond. I’m sick of being told what to do. Not to mention Tracker lamenting the fact that he can’t see Esra any more because he misses the smell of her. I’m sticking to my basic idea: I can’t be with a witch, white or otherwise. As it’s been two weeks since the girls finished their exams, I asked Lisa to call Esra. Annoyed, the she-wolf concentrated, then my soul-sister appeared in front of us, arms folded. As soon as she saw Casey, her shield activated, sending us retreating to a safe distance. Well, that’s not going to make it any easier.

– Why did you call me?

– Hey witch,” says Casey. I want you to break the link between you and Chris, he’s mine,” she growled.

Unimpressed, Esra raised an eyebrow as she approached the she-wolf. It’s the first time I’ve seen her react to a wolf. At least, she’s defending herself.

– I don’t take orders from you, I do what I want, understand, fleabag? replies the witch curtly.

– Don’t talk back to her, Esra, she’s not worth it,” says Lisa annoyed.

Esra sighs, then glances at me.

– Is that what you want?

– Yes, you know as well as I do that this link won’t get us anywhere.

Just as I thought she was going to confirm, she shrugs and looks away, grimacing.

– It’s too dangerous,” says Lisa.

– Nobody asked you, Lisa,” raged Casey beside me.

The two wolves get closer and come to blows, a common occurrence between them at the moment. Worse than boys, I swear, they can’t stand each other, but that’s going to have to change now that Casey’s going to have to take up residence here. I glance at my parents, who are staring at Esra who’s just sat down on the sofa, and she flinches when Lisa jumps on Casey, sending her waltzing across the table. F**k no, it was brand new. I’m sick of buying furniture. Frankly, it’s not all I’ve got time for, even if I’ve got money.

That reminds me of Esra’s TV, shit I’ve got that to do too. Mind you, she never told us about it, it was Em who told us. Lisa can’t tell us if she’s bought one, as Esra doesn’t want the she-wolf in her house any more. She’s put up this fence and now they don’t see each other outside school. She’s changed her behaviour and it’s perfectly legitimate, I’m just sorry things are going this way, unfortunately I’m going to have to add another layer. Maybe she won’t want to. Lisa and Casey are still fighting, Nick and Emmett are trying to keep them apart.

– I’ll do it,” whispered a voice.

We all turn towards the person who’s been talking and see Esra staring at the floor, still on the sofa. Lisa goes to kneel in front of her and takes her hands.

– No, don’t do that.

– What’s the point of having an unrequited bond, Lisa. I’m not selfish.

An unrequited bond? Did she really think the two of us would work? No and no. Lisa moves closer to Esra so she can talk to her.

– You know the effect this could have.

– It wouldn’t be much of a loss, don’t worry Lisa.

Esra got up, determined, under Lisa’s pleading eyes, then left the room, coming back towards me with a knife in her hand, the blade different from that of her little penknife, this is a real kitchen knife. Casey stands in front of me, glowering. Esra stops and simply holds out the knife.

– I need your b***d to remove the bond,” she says flatly without looking at me. It’s part of the ritual.

I say nothing as I take the knife and slice my hand, once the b***d is on the knife I give it back to Esra while my hand heals. She takes it back and leaves the house without a word, quickly followed by Lisa and the rest of the people in the house. It’s only my mother who grabs my arm before I can leave the house.

– Don’t let her do this, Chris,” she begs me.

– She’s a witch, Mum, there can never be anything between us.

– She’s not what you think she is, son,” says my father sadly. She’s proved that to you enough.

I didn’t listen and went out, catching up with the others. I join them in the clearing, lit by candles that float above the ground in a circle. Esra enters and then goes to the middle, sitting on her knees, the knife in her hands, she cuts her hand in turn. Once her b***d was on top of mine, she stuck the knife into the earth. A bright light came out at that moment, making the flames of the candles grow and encouraging us to step back.

– Esra, please stop,” Lisa implored.

– If they don’t want the link, why leave it?

– Because it might kill her,” Lisa shouted angrily.

I tensed up when I heard that. No, that’s not true, otherwise she wouldn’t do it. She’s bluffing, I’m sure of it, and the moment I take a step in the direction of the circle I hear Esra’s incantation.

La dea del la luna.

(Goddess of the Moon)

Ti imploro di rispondere alla mia chiamata.

(I implore you to answer my call)

Liberaci dal legame che ci lega.

(Free us from the bond that binds us)

Lo e uno di voi.

(I and one of your children)

A gust of wind came over us and surrounded Esra, her hair flying in all directions. Lisa tried to enter the circle but was thrown further to the ground, Nick ran to pick her up and when they came back towards us, Lisa had tears in her eyes. A scream reached us and we saw Esra being slashed from all sides by the wind, which was more like a tornado but remained within the magic circle. The wind came down on the witch without mercy and this lasted for several long minutes, during which we heard Esra suffer. Then the wind stopped, everything became calm again but the flames were still high, preventing us from getting any closer, Esra’s jerky breathing reached me, she was on her knees on the grass, her hands on the ground, then without understanding anything, roots came out of the earth, climbed onto her hands, onto her arms and got into her skin, Esra screamed in pain, her eyes wide. What the f**k is going on? What the hell is going on?

– Oh my God,” Lisa blushed.

At the same time she was imprisoned in a torrent of water, the branches coming out of her skin after a few minutes when the air began to run out, which gave Esra back the use of her limbs. She placed her hands in front of her, fire erupted from them and the torrent of water collapsed to the ground, as did the sorceress, who coughed as she caught her breath, shivering, totally soaked. However, the fire didn’t disappear from her hands and went on top of her, covering her completely, and the poor girl writhed on the grass, crying and holding back her screams.

– It’s too much Chris, stop it,” Nick told me. She doesn’t deserve to suffer like this.

No sooner had he finished his sentence than the fire went out and a breeze blew around us, taking away our cold sweat but not extinguishing the candle flames, which meant it wasn’t over. Nick and Lisa are ready to run as soon as the candles allow them to, Esra has her back to us and her breathing is coming hard to my ears, which frightens me. I hear a familiar creak, turn my head to see who’s going to transform but don’t see anyone in the middle of a mutation, yet the creaks are there, my eyes go to Esra who’s tearing off her t-shirt ruined by the fire and sees the bones in her back breaking one by one. This can’t be happening, what’s going on now?

– Wait a minute, what’s all this about,” said Casey. Is she a wolf now?

Lisa turns round and shoves her fist in her face, knocking her over. She looks really pissed off, I’ve never seen her so full of rage and full of sadness at the same time.

– She’s breaking the bond is what it is. Chris is a wolf, the Moon Goddess has punished him.

– But why did she do it? I’m at fault too,” I say at last.

Lisa looks at me with such disgust that a dull fear creeps over me. Tracker is getting very small with his tail between his legs.

Alpha male my a*s, yes.

– She’s the one who casts the spell, stops, then turns to Esra, who’s screaming and crying, before continuing, her eyes shining. The knife with your b***d on it is her only way of stopping everything.

– What do you mean? Nick said.

– If she wants to stop everything, she has to kill herself,” she says, turning to her best friend.

I collapsed to the ground, totally powerless in the face of my soulmate’s pain, my head in my hands. Lisa let out a sarcastic laugh. I shudder to hear her laugh, she’s f*****g scary when she does it.

– You thought it would just be a formula and basta, when you defy nature, you have to pay the price.

– I couldn’t have known it would go this far,” I say with a lump in my throat.

– But, baby, come on,” gasps a shocked Casey.

I don’t look at her and just wait for it to be over until Lisa screams Esra’s name at the top of her lungs. When I look up I see her crawling through the pain towards the knife and pulling it out of the ground. Panicked, I stand up.

– Esra, no, don’t do it,” Lisa cried. EM, EM, I BEG YOU, HELP HER.

Lisa fell helplessly to the ground and Esra froze. For five minutes she didn’t move, the knife in her hand, I can still hear the cracks in her body which made her close her eyes, but she didn’t seem to react any differently. Suddenly everything stopped, the candles went out and Esra collapsed to the floor. Without thinking Lisa and Nick rushed towards her but Em appeared and I guess she was biting her bond.

– Oh my God, you f*****g snake,” screamed Casey, clinging to me.

But I don’t move a millimetre, too preoccupied to listen to Esra’s faint heartbeat, while Lisa and Nick try to talk to her. Then, as I feared, her heart stopped beating. I pushed Casey, who landed on the floor, and jumped in, Nick already giving her CPR when I got close to them. The state of her body jumps out at me, burns, bruises, open wounds, the b***d flowing profusely around her makes me shiver.

Her bra covered her breasts, but I took off my jumper and laid it over her as a blanket. Lisa took one of her hands and closed her eyes. Em put her head against Esra’s cheek, pushing her a little to make her react, but nothing happened. A tear came from the python’s eyes. I watched Nick give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but nothing happened either. Lisa opened her eyes and started to cry.

– Please, Esra, don’t leave me.

No sooner had she finished her sentence than her bracelet evaporated, leaving us all stunned. Lisa, her eyes wide, pushed her brother to take his place in hysterics. Tracker screams his sadness in my head, just like Lisa. He paces back and forth in my mind, not knowing how to react.

– NO NO NO ESRA.

Lisa collapsed next to Em, who still hadn’t moved. Suddenly, Emmett appeared behind Lisa, wrapping his arms around her. She turned to let him embrace her. Em tried to bite Esra’s arms several times, but it made no difference. Nick also grabbed the witch’s arm and bit her back.

– What are you doing? I asked him.

– I don’t know, I’m trying.

– Chris, do something,” says Emmett.

– What do I do?

– I don’t know, but don’t let her die,” Nick snapped.

– She can’t die Chris, we’ve just found her,” my wolf implored.

They’re right, I’ve got to try, I don’t know what, but I’ve got to try. Facing Esra, I swallow and touch her hand, which is starting to get cold. Em shifted, giving me room. Which is a good thing, because I have to admit I hardly dared move, given our proximity. I leaned over, letting Tracker guide me in what to do. My lips rested on his, not for very long, but long enough for the coldness of his lips to send shivers down my spine. The sensation, the taste, it all came back to me, it had only happened once but I hadn’t forgotten the effect of our lips welded together. I stand back, waiting to see if it has any effect. Em returns to her bond, making me stand back for good. Nick holds Esra’s hand and recites a prayer to the Goddess, but I doubt he’ll be heard.

– It’s over,” says Emmett, breaking the silence a few minutes later.

– No, no, we can do CPR again,” refuses Lisa.

– It’s too late Lisa, she’s dead.

When he says these words, Lisa and Em tense up. Tracker collapses and my eyes close as I hear my heart contracting. It f*****g hurts. As a tear rolled down my cheek and fell onto Esra’s hand, a strong wind came up and I thought to myself that the punishment would continue. But no, all I hear are the cries of the people around us, I recognise my mother and Alice in particular.

– Oh my God, Tina,” exclaimed my mother.

Intrigued, I looked ahead and saw two people surrounded by white – ghosts – watching my parents approach.

– Tom,” whispered my father.

– Hello Christopher,” replied a smiling Tom.

The woman – Tina – knelt down beside Esra and stroked her cheek.

– My darling, you’re beautiful.

She looked at the man who sat beside her, smiling, and then took Esra’s hand. They both look at the witch, their hands resting on her, and then my soulmate’s body lights up. Wait, what’s going on here?

– Is that what I think it is? says my mother.

Tom and Tina look up at her and instead of answering, they just smile. What exactly is my mother talking about? And who are these people? They appear out of thin air and let’s face it, they’re ghosts, the white aura surrounding them is unmistakable, Alice’s parents had the same thing before they became real. Tracker’s as lost as I am and from the look on Emmett and Nick’s faces we’re all in the same boat.

– We’re Esra’s parents,” said the lady, Tina.

This news hit us like a bombshell, especially Em, who sat up straight, Esra’s parents looking at her expectantly.

– We’d never have thought that our daughter could have such an exceptional connection as you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Em bows her head and the ghosts disappear. I heard a sound. Faint at first, then more regular.

– Esra,” Nick shouted. She shook my hand.

We all sat up, bent over her. Her colour had returned and I could hear her breathing. Her eyes began to flutter but she couldn’t open them.

– I’ll take her back,” says Nick.

We push each other when he moves and take Esra in his arms. Em climbed on top of Nick and lay down on her belly, then the three of them were in a protective bubble that only Lisa penetrated. We followed them and as we walked up the clearing, I saw my parents with tears in their eyes. I didn’t want to dwell on them and went in, following Nick up the stairs, taking him to his own room.

After Lisa comes in, the door slams in our faces. Emmett turns the knob but is knocked out by a wave of force. We look at each other and sit down in the corridor, trying not to get too close as we don’t want to get electrocuted. We don’t say anything until Emmett opens his mouth

– I can’t believe it.

– I can’t believe it either.

– Why does everything have to be so complicated?

I sigh, really, nothing could be this shitty right now. Between Casey, Esra and her parents appearing to save her. No, it’s crazy. My k**s was useless, but I’m not going to complain. There are footsteps on the stairs and all I can see is my father’s head waving us down to the living room. I look at Nick’s door but don’t see any movement, so we get up and go into the living room where my mum, dad and Casey are. My mum’s on the phone and the only thing that catches my eye is the sentence she utters.

– You can go home, we’ve found him.

My mum hangs up and turns to us as she puts the phone away. She tells us to sit down, which I do immediately, intrigued. I think they’re going to tell us something.

– How is she?

– We don’t know, the room’s protected,” Emmett replies to my father.

– Did it work?” asks Casey.

Everyone looks at me, waiting for my answer. But right now I don’t know, I’ve got to see her to find out if the link has gone.

– I don’t know, I’ll have to see her,” I answer.

– I hope it worked, because you kissed him anyway,” she says, arms folded.

– Okay, Casey, go somewhere else, this discussion isn’t about you.

– What isn’t? No, it’s not.

– Now!” roared Mum.

I don’t see my mother angry very often, so I’m enjoying the view. It’s quite something to see the old Luna of the pack getting angry. Casey looks at me for help but I don’t lift a finger, so she has to climb the stairs. Poor thing, she hates being left out and finds herself relegated to the back row. Once we’re sure she’s gone, we go to my office to be left alone. I tell Nick and Lisa about the impromptu meeting, just in case one of them turns up.

– So what do we do? I ask.

– We need to talk to Esra because we’ve got a lot to tell her,” replies my mother.

– And what’s that?

– She’s the witch we’re looking for, we were friends with her parents.

Let me get this straight. Esra is the child my parents have been looking for for seven bloody years. So that means that her parents are good wizards, that they made protective barriers for us, that they were killed because they didn’t want to be on the side of darkness.

I’m stunned, it’s my soul mate on top of everything else. Oh no, what a mess I’ve got myself into. Everything about her exudes purity and kindness and I’ve treated her like shit. A knock goes off and we turn to Nick, who rushes in and closes the door behind him. Emmett tells him who Esra really is and Nick shrugs, as if he’s not surprised.

– I’m not surprised, her surname is Travis, but knowing that’s her adoptive mother’s name, she had to have another one.

– Adoptive? She was adopted?

– It’s complicated, she was taken in by a woman. But she died four years ago,” explains Emmett.

– But if you really want to know something about her, the only one who can give you the right details is Lisa, for the moment. Esra at best when she’s up to it,” replies Nick.

Given the state Lisa’s in, we’re going to leave her alone for the time being and wait for Esra to wake up too. I don’t know how long that’ll take, she’s in a really bad way, but I hope she recovers quickly because I’m afraid Em’s going to kill us all after what’s happened. If we don’t die after that, it’ll be a miracle, unless we’ve got four-leaf clovers in our hands, considering how lucky we’ve been so far.

– I think the best thing right now is to go to bed and we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” said Dad.

We all agreed and went to bed. Knowing that Casey was in my room, I lay down on the sofa in my study and slapped my forehead, thinking of the worst thing I’d ever done in my life, breaking the link.