Chapter Text
‘Run!’ That’s all I can do at this point. Pushing through the unknown wooded area, I try to put as much space between us. My heart pounds rapidly in my chest as I willed my legs to go faster. I feel the sting of fresh cuts as I maneuver through the unmarked paths before me. The sound of barking dogs causes a chill to run through my body. ‘They’re getting close.. Faster, I have to go faster.’ My legs ache from the nonstop running. My wet clothes and hair cling to parts of my body in the pouring rain. “You can’t hide from me Brian! I’ll always find you!” I hear my “father” shout.
“Someone.. Anyone, please.. Help me..” I feel my legs try and give out before my foot catches on a fallen tree branch. I close my eyes tightly and brace for impact. But, it never comes. Slowly, I begin to open my eyes and I am immediately met with the most beautiful strikingly blue eyes I have ever seen. Right then, something in me stirred. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. I am so lost in trying to understand this new feeling, I almost miss him speaking to me. “Are you alright?” I finally register him asking. I open my mouth to respond, when the taunting voice of my father cuts through the air. “Tired already? You were the one who wanted to play this little game of tag. Or have you come to realize that running away is futile?” I stare in the direction I hear his voice coming from and begin to shake in fear. The man holding me must noticed and tightened his grip. “Please..,” I say softly. I feel any strength I have left begin to fade.
“Help me… You can-can’t let him find me. Plea-please, don’t let him take me..” I feel the unshed tears begin to form in my eyes. I stare into his eyes once again, praying he heard my pleas, before the exhaustion takes over and I fall into the awaiting darkness.
I stare at the unconscious male in my arms before turning to face the rustling bushes behind me. “Adam, what have I told you about- who the hell is that?” I hear my sister ask as she emerges from the darkness. “I’ll answer that back at the house, right now I need you to take him.” I gently pass the male into my sister’s arms and vanish from her sight before she could ask anymore questions.
“Dammit! His tracker isn’t working. Where the hell is that boy?” I hear a man curse to himself. Waiting a few more moments, I finally decide to make my presence known. “Who’s there? Show yourself.” He demands. Slowly, I move closer to him until I am in his line of sight. “Who are you?” He asks. “I feel like I should be asking you that question. This is my family’s property after all. We don’t take kindly to strangers intruding on it. So, mind telling me who you are and what business you have here?” I question as I carefully watch his movements. “My name is Damian Mayfield. My son, Brian, ran away from home. I thought I saw him come this way. Is there any chance you might have seen him?” He says trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. ‘Lair. I saw the fear in his eyes just off the sound of your voice.’ Narrowing my eyes slightly, I hum before responding.
“I’m afraid you’re the only person I’ve seen out here. This isn’t exactly the safest area to “roam around” in. Besides, no one dares to come out here in weather like this. No one sane at least.” He grunts in response. We stand in silence for awhile, as if trying to get a read off the other person. “I guess I’ll be off then. Sorry to have bothered you.” He mutters, turning to go back the way he came. “Do be sure to stay off our property in the future.” I call out before he gets too far away. He pauses for a moment, moving his head just a enough to see me. “Was that suppose to be a threat?”
“Just a warning. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, would we?” I barely make out the slight nod of his head, before he fades from my sight. I wait a little longer just to make sure he’s gone, then return back to the house. Upon my return, I’m promptly dragged into the kitchen. Once there, I am released and met with my sister’s furious gray eyes. “Did you know that when you get angry, your eyes look like a raging storm?” I inquire. She narrows her eyes further. “You said you would tell me everything when you got home. So spill. Who is that guy and where did you disappear to?”
“I went to deal with something. When I feel the need to fill you in on that matter, I will.” I respond moving around her to grab a drink from the fridge. “Who’s the guy, Adam..” I place my hand on the counter in front of me and sigh. “I don’t know. I saw him in the woods, tripping over a fallen branch. He passed out before I could even ask him anything along those lines.” She falls silent for a moment. I watch as she sighs and runs a hand through her long brown hair. Taking a seat on one of the stools at the island, I hear her say, “He's a witch. It’s faint, but I can sense the magic that lies dormant.”
“I’m aware.” I state. We fall into another silence. “You know you have to tell the coven if you plan for him to stay here.” I sigh heavily as I close my eyes. “ I know.” I breathe. I feel my sister’s eyes continue to bore into my side. “What?” I ask opening my eyes just enough to see her clearly. “Nothing, it’s just.. never mind.” Deciding not to push her on the secrecy, I allow my eyes to fall shut once again. “You know, I can sense that you are worried about him. He's in the vacant guestroom across the hall from mine, in case you wanted to check on him.” I let out a soft ‘hmm’ to let her know that I heard her. More silence follows, before I hear the sound of shuffling. “Sage,” I call out just loud enough for her to hear. Opening my eyes to look into her gray ones, I say ‘thank you’. She gives me a small smile and a faint ‘you’re welcome’ before heading off to her room for the night.
Shifting my attention from the now empty threshold, I stare at my wrist. The once barely noticeable sign of a star, has now darkened enough to resemble a tattoo.
“Mama? How will I know when I find my soulmate?” I ask my mother as she tucks me in for the night. She laughs and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. “What brought this on?” She asks. I shrug. “I’m just wondering.” My mother gives me a soft smile. “Well,” she starts. “That little mark on your arm will start to tingle if they are close by. The closer you get to each other, the more it’ll start to hurt. But once you finally make eye contact with them, the pain will stop and the barely visible mark will darken. That’s when you know you have met your soulmate.”
I trace the outline of the symbol on my arm, as I recall the night of that conversation from years ago. “Of all the ways to meet your destined partner, this has got to be the worse.” I mumble to myself, leaving the kitchen. I begin to make the journey to my room when I hear my name being called. Looking up at the top of the stairs, I see my mother standing there. “Come, take a walk with me in the garden.” The tone in her voice leaves little to no room for disagreement. I patiently wait for her to descend the stairway, then follow behind her silently. The rain has ceased and the moonlight was beginning to peak out from behind the clouds. “Don’t you just love the smell of nature just after it rains?” My mother asks, slowly moving down the wet pathway. “What did you really call me out here for? Surely it wasn’t to discuss the smell of the rain.” I state, following her with my eyes. She laughs a bit and tilts her head to look at the sky. It falls into a peaceful silence for a moment. “The boy that you had Sage bring here.. Where did you find him?”
Scoffing and folding my arms over my chest, I ask her ‘why’. “I’m merely curious as to the identity of the child and how he ended up in our care. He had a few minor injuries and bruising when he arrived.” I refuse to answer. How can I, when even I don’t know how he ended up in that condition. “Adam, if this boy is from another cov-”
“He's not.” I say cutting her off. “No coven in their right mind would leave him alone with the little amount of magic he posses. In fact, I doubt he even knows what he is.” Looking away from the sky, she turns her full attention on me. “Even more of a reason you should have brought him home or to a hospital, instead of here. His family is probably worried about him.” My mother tries to reason. I let out a fake laugh and roll my eyes. A scowl begins to form on my face as I think back to that man. “Worried about him, that’s rich.” I hiss, roughly shoving my fingers through my dirty blonde hair.
“Why don’t I fill you in on why he's here and not somewhere his family can find him. It’s because of them that I even found him. He was so scared when I came across him, that he begged me to save him. To not let him be taken by the man coming after him. Unless he says otherwise, he's staying right here. Where I can keep him safe. I refuse to put him back in that situation and I don’t care what the coven has to say.”
My mother stares at me, her blue eyes piercing my soul, before turning her gaze to my wrist. She gives a small smile before speaking again. “Now I understand. He's your soulmate.” Sighing, she looks me in the eyes again. “Go get some sleep son. We’ll continue this in the morning when everyone is awake.”