Fallen Love
Chapter 21

Chris.

Sitting at the table, I stare at the chair in front of me, concentrating on the discussion going on outside. I don’t know where Melinda’s place is, Seattle’s a big place, and how long exactly is she planning to be gone? When Esra came downstairs, her legs and hands were shaking, her limbs had no strength. After four days, I can understand why her muscles were numb and she was slowing down. There was no trace of cuts or burns, but she was very pale. I try to repeat my mother’s words to myself, “that’s normal for someone who hasn’t eaten or moved for so long”. A nudge brings me back into the kitchen and I see Casey staring at me. Oh shit, what does she want from me now?

– I’ve been talking to you,” she says.

– And?

– Don’t you care what I say to you?

– Honestly, yes, I don’t give a damn.

She stays silent and sulks, so I stand up, encouraging her to do the same. My mother’s smile can be seen a thousand miles away, she must be proud right now because she hates Casey as much as Lisa, that’s for you to know. I walk into the doorway and see the three of them lying on the grass. Esra is stroking the twigs and I can’t help thinking about the roots digging into her skin. Shivers of fear run down my back and arms as I think about it. How did she put up with all that? They don’t talk, they just listen to nature. Nick raises his head as I walk through the garden gate.

– Nick, I need to talk to you,” I say loudly.

He gets up after looking at Lisa and then joins me, we go into my office where I’ve also called Emmett. I return to my seat and let them sit down opposite me.

– Have you been listening? asks Nick.

– Yes, why does she want to leave? Isn’t she happy here?

– Wait, you still feel the connection? wonders Emmett.

– No. She did the spell.

It’s true that I felt the difference as soon as I saw her. There was no longer any link, I realised that when Tracker started whimpering. But he didn’t collapse because there was something else. It’s a lot weaker but it’s there, can she feel it too? I’ve no idea, but it’s weird, I don’t know how to describe it. But I don’t see that link between us any more, her smell isn’t the first thing I smell and the sound of her voice doesn’t seem as sexy. Although lately I’ve rarely heard her and she was half whispering when she came downstairs, I don’t know if that’s normal.

But I still think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and her scent still lingers in my mind, as does the taste of her lips, having touched and kissed them before. Nick rested his elbows on his knees and closed his eyes. Oh, this doesn’t look good. She can’t be feeling well now, given what happened that night, and Casey’s presence doesn’t help. I can only imagine, I don’t want her to go.

– She’s afraid of her powers,” he murmurs.

– Who? Esra? asks Emmett.

– Do you think what she’s been through has worn off without a trace? She wants to get away from it all. To recharge her batteries, as she puts it.

We don’t say anything, thinking about what she says. Esra, afraid of her powers? No, but this is the world upside down, it’s as if I were afraid of transforming, it’s the same thing. This is all because of me, damn it, I should never have asked her to do this shit. I should have listened to my parents, Lisa and Nick when I had the chance to back out. Now it’s too late and I have to take responsibility for my mistakes, even if it’s Esra who has to pay the price.

– Where’s Melinda’s? I’ll find out.

– Uh, in a parallel world in the forest of Seattle. Something like that, I didn’t quite understand.

– So only Esra can go there, Emmett guesses.

– Bingo.

Lisa has already explained to me that it’s a place hidden from witches, that you can only go there if you know where it is, and above all how to get there, otherwise it’s like not seeing something that’s right in front of you. There’s a knock at the door and Lisa enters after authorising it. She locks the door behind her, then walks over, looking at us one by one.

– We’re ready, Em’s going to teleport us.

– What do you mean we? Emmett said as he straightened up.

Lisa gave him a sidelong glance, then raised an eyebrow as if he wasn’t interesting. Yeah, her link with the witch is working like a charm. I’m surprised Esra said he’d have a hard time making it up to her. On the one hand, it makes him think about what he put the she-wolf through, and on the other, it makes him pay for it. It lasted three years, until Lisa wanted to kill herself, three years in which I never saw anything. The worst thing was that after that, she didn’t change as often, didn’t go for walks with us and preferred to stay on her own.

She didn’t want us to find out about the bracelet, she preferred to stay away from Emmett and us at the same time. Since we were distracted most of the time by our conquests, we didn’t pay enough attention to the she-wolf who was suffering alone in her corner. Luckily Esra was there, I have to admit that we were more strangers than the witch, that she didn’t need us because Esra took care of her all by herself. I’m also starting to get used to Esra’s presence, which is really nice. She must be just as unsettled by her presence here as I am, but I like having her in my home, even if the conditions aren’t ideal.

I intend to make amends for my mistakes, and if she accepts them, so much the better, that’ll get us back on the right foot, but if she doesn’t, she’ll leave and it’ll all be my fault, Esra won’t be to blame for my mistakes. Only with Casey around, I’m not likely to make her stay. Even if Esra changed her mind, it would make her very angry, but the she-wolf can’t do anything to stop me. It would please my parents so much if I kicked her out. I didn’t think Esra would leave so quickly. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to her, and neither have my parents.

– I’m going with Esra,” she says. I’m not going to leave her on her own, out of the question.

– You’re going to let her go? Emmett asks me.

– She’s the best person to look after Esra. They’re both doing really well.

She nods her thanks. Emmett starts to move, not too happy about his soul mate leaving, I have to admit I’m not too happy about it either. Nick gets up to join his sister, who smiles at us, arms folded across her chest.

– I told you, Chris.

We all look at her to see what she’s talking about, nothing good for me.

– That you’ll be biting your fingers off when you find out the truth.

– Stop it Lisa, it’s hard enough as it is,” Nick whispers to her.

– Stop? She points at Nick. You’ve always liked her because she saved my life, but other than that you wouldn’t have given her a chance because she’s a witch, just like them, she’s pointing at us. She had to prove to you that she was a good witch, a good person, she put herself in danger several times to protect us, to help us. What she did for Alice and Emmett was incredible. What she did for you, Chris, destroying your bond, using dark magic on you, even though she swore she’d never do it.

Lisa wiped away a tear that had rolled down her cheek, as her brother and Emmett looked on sadly.

– I thought she had no right,” I say, frowning.

– She did it because YOU asked her to.

She broke one of her rules for me, for my purposes and not hers. She agreed to punish herself, to deprive herself of a bond that she wanted, and that I didn’t? That doesn’t help me at all to consolidate my faults. All she wants is to be accepted as she is, to make friends and maybe a family. We’ve used her for our own ends. Em is right, we risk killing her if this continues.

We’ve already killed her, she died for a few minutes but she came back, no thanks to us, it’s true. When I rewind everything from the beginning, I call myself names, the lonely young woman I met, who had no family, no friends, she was all alone because she was a witch, it was her choice. She was protecting herself from any potential threats. Being with us probably made her feel better because we weren’t human either, but we weren’t able to see beyond her powers.

Well, Lisa could, but we couldn’t. We were total arseholes to her when she wanted a bit of company, her powers were the cause of her loneliness and we locked her in rather than helping her. She risked her witch purity for a werewolf who never accepted her. She tolerated me in spite of everything I did against her, to show her that I was against her.

Lisa was right, I’m biting my fingers off now.

She’s the girl my parents have been looking for for over seven years, her parents were the leaders of the magical world and managed it brilliantly, everything about them was goodness and kindness. I rejected their daughter because all she wanted was help. But when they came, they didn’t reproach me for killing their only child. Em should have beaten me up by now for everything I’d done. Which would be richly deserved. Yes, I’d deserve a good thrashing, of course, but I’d allow one blow, just one, and then I’d beat the shit out of the person or animal.

– How does she feel about the spell? Emmett asked.

– Confused, she doesn’t regret it because it worked, but it was a horrible moment. I told her not to do it for me, but she did it for herself… well, for you, Chris.

– You really wanted to destroy him,” said his white-haired soul mate.

– Yes, and the consequences were the same, so I refused to put her in danger. We all know the rest.

Lisa scratches her forehead with a sigh, then raises her head, turns to leave the office, which we also do. My dad helps Esra to sit on the sofa next to my mum, Esra backs away slightly which unsettles my parents. She doesn’t trust them, and rightly so as they’re my parents. Poor thing, she must be totally lost in her head. When we enter the living room, Esra sees us and closes her eyes for thirty seconds to relax.

– Did you want to tell me something? Esra asked when a blank moment had passed.

– Yes,” replied my mother. It’s not easy to say.

– Do our faces mean anything to you? Perhaps you’ve seen us before?

Esra looks at my parents, trying to work out in her head whether she’s seen them before, but I can tell from the way her eyebrows are still furrowed that she doesn’t remember.

– I’m sorry, if we’ve met before, I don’t remember.

– That’s all right, but we know you.

– Do we?

– Yes, we know you’re Esra Co’Wayne,” said my mother.

Esra’s eyes widened and she tried to stand up, but she was still unsteady and lost her balance, so I rushed to catch her and held her until she came to her senses.

– My name’s Travis, not Co’Wayne,” Esra replies firmly.

– My child, your parents were our friends, we wanted to take you with us but you’d disappeared. We kept searching, but you were nowhere to be found.

– It’s normal, she was locked up somewhere by the sorcerers who killed her parents,” reveals Lisa.

My parents turn to Esra, who doesn’t say a word. My parents try to take a step towards us to comfort her but Em appears by surprise, making us all step back, except me, as I’m still holding Esra.

– What’s going on here?

An unfamiliar voice entered my head and judging by the reaction of the others, they must have heard it too. I suspect it’s the snake and I really wasn’t expecting it. It’s a female voice, but it’s not too soft.

– What do you care who Esra is? Is it to exploit her powers again? Can’t you just leave her alone for a bit?

My mother tried to come over to talk but the snake cut her off.

– This will be the last time you see her, it’s over, you’ll never hurt her again. I’ve kept quiet enough, so now we’re leaving, I’ve removed the protective barrier.

– Em, no,” scolds Esra.

– You’re far too nice, they’ll never accept you for who you are and I’m sorry for you.

Esra doesn’t reply, just bows her head in resignation.

– You’re being unfair, Em,” says Lisa.

– You know better than anyone what Lisa’s been through and you dare to tell me I’m being unfair, I want to protect my relative, what’s wrong with that? Don’t you like the way I do things? That’s your problem. It disgusts me to see her in the same room as all of you, in the state you’ve put her in.

Em approached Esra to hang herself around her neck, which made me recoil, Lisa approached them and took Esra’s hand, who smiled sadly at her.

– When are you coming back?

The girls looked at each other, then at the snake around Esra’s neck, before answering.

– When Em decides,” replied Lisa. We’ll be in touch anyway.

She showed us her mobile and then waved. All of a sudden, Lisa’s things by the sofa and the girls disappeared in the blink of an eye. I think I’ll remember that sight for a long time. After several minutes of silence, Emmett swore through his teeth and went up the stairs without a word. I hear his bedroom door slam and see Nick sniggering, arms folded.

– That’s it, the withdrawal begins,” he laughs.

– Don’t make fun of him, they’re already on the outs, don’t make it worse,” I whisper to him.

– They’re at loggerheads because of him, so he can suffer for what he did to my sister.

I say nothing as he leaves the house, turns into a brown wolf and runs off into the forest. Me? I find myself alone like an idiot with my parents glaring at me. Frankly, my spirits are low right now, so I go into my study and slam the door, then fall back in my armchair and stare out of the window.

I don’t even know where they are or when they’ll be back.

*

Several hours after the girls had left, the voice of my security lieutenant, Ethan, echoed in my head. Those few hours gave me a chance to do some paperwork and think things over.

– Alpha, Martin Sanchez from the Stoker pack is here.

– Show him in.

Since Em’s taken down the barriers, everyone’s at their posts keeping an eye out. I didn’t expect her to punish us like that though and I don’t really appreciate it, even though it’s justified. It puts us in danger and that’s what I wanted to avoid, given that Esra has left and is coming back, I don’t know when, if ever. There’s a knock at my door and my mother appears, followed by Martin and his Beta Maxence. My father enters after them, then leaves the door open, allowing Emmett and Nick to enter too. I shake hands with the two werewolves and seat them in the chairs in front of my desk.

– Would you like something to drink? suggested my mother.

– No thanks,” refused Martin with a smile.

My parents sat down on the sofa while my Betas went behind me. Our two guests glanced at each other, and I could tell they were talking through their pack bond.

– To what do I owe this visit?

Martin raised his head and ran his hand over it before answering.

– Well, a couple of hours ago, Esra and Lisa came looking for Noah.

Looking for Noah? Why would they do that? I don’t understand why they’d want to bother with an eight-year-old if Esra wants to get some rest.

– Do you have any idea why? Asks Emmett.

– Lisa told us that there was an incident and that Esra didn’t want to take any risks as Noah didn’t have his collar anymore.

– He didn’t have his collar either?

– Yes, it’s weird because it suddenly disappeared and Noah wasn’t very well afterwards. Do you have any idea why? asked the Alpha.

My parents and Betas and I were looking at each other to see if we should tell them the truth.

– Esra died a few minutes five days ago. That’s why Noah’s necklace disappeared, and Lisa doesn’t have her bracelet any more either.

– She’s dead? Martin panicked. What do you mean, dead? Please explain.

– She did a dangerous spell, she died before she was resurrected,” explained Emmett.

– And you let her do that, Chris? You let your soul mate do a spell that could kill her?

I put my hands up in front of me as if to protect myself, which is downright ridiculous. Martin stands up, annoyed.

– I didn’t know, otherwise I would have prevented it.

– Poor child, she’s been through a lot, I don’t know what, but crying over a simple meal must be something.

My mother stood up, alerted by Martin’s words, and came to his side to get his attention.

– What do you mean she was crying?

– I didn’t understand it all, but Miranda told me that when Esra came to eat at the house the other day, she saw a moment from her past.

– Which moment? asked Dad.

– She hadn’t eaten any of the food her mother used to prepare for her since they died. And when I arrived at the table, her tears were flowing as she ate, I swear I nearly cried too, it was so sadly moving.

My fist slammed into my desk, breaking it in two. I shook my hand, feeling a little pain, then stood up. F*****g hell, she’s in a bad way and I’ve put her down even more than when we met. I’m an a*****e. For f**k’s sake. What did she go through after her parents died? I’m starting to obsess about that part of her life. Well, let’s face it, she did give us some information about her past.

– OK, so her parents died when she was thirteen,” I began.

– Her adoptive mother died when she went to college, which was… four years ago… so she was twenty,” Emmett continued.

– At the moment we’re seven years behind,” Maxence intervened. What do you think happened?

We all started to think, one at a time. Out of the corner of my eye I see Nick quietly biting his nails, as if he was waiting, or something, I don’t know, but it’s strange. I thought he’d be looking too, since he gets on well with Esra. Unless.

– A helping hand Nick, please, I ask sternly.

– Why are you so interested in finding out about his past? You don’t give a shit either way.

– So you know what happened? Martin asked.

Nick simply nodded and huffed before pulling himself away from the wall he was leaning against.

– Esra was kidnapped after her parents died, Lisa told us. For over three years. So when she was about sixteen, she ran away. Em took her to Melinda Travis, who restored her to human society despite her advanced age. She taught her magic again, and she died before Esra started university, that’s all I know.

– How do you know all this? Wish I knew, Martin.

– Esra used to come into my dreams a few times and we’d talk, I’d tell her my fears about Lisa, and she’d just confide in me without anyone judging her.

Now it’s too much, a growl escapes my lips and I move towards Nick to tackle him to the wall. I know my eyes must be red but right now I don’t give a shit. NICK was closing in on Esra behind my back and never said a word to me. I had to know what she was going through. It might have put a stop to my behaviour, made me accept that despite being a witch, she was broken, alone and needed a social life, a man to protect her, needed me.