The Calling

Chapter 9 ~ Ethan Woods

I'm at Koen's shop with Travis and Daren. We're talking about some new bikes and SUV's that the pack wants to purchase. Koen is human. He has no idea about our world or any of the other underworld species. But what's great about him is that he gets what we ask for and doesn't ask questions, probably because we pay him well.

Suddenly, I can sense and smell Shannon. My inner wolf starts getting excited. When she walks into the shop doors, I have to resist the urge to go to her. All I want to do is claim her as mine. But I must be patient and honor the time that she needs to figure out who and what she is. At least she doesn't appear to be afraid of me today.

When Bree walks in I notice that Travis gets anxious, he likes her, even though she is human. She is definitely releasing hormones that says the same for him. I wonder how long these two are going to play this game before the other one says something, or does something to get the other's attention. I have been watching this dance between the two of them for about a year. I only hope that I don't have to wait that long for Shannon's Wolf to awaken.

Bree and Shannon are going to the docks for a swim. What Koen doesn't know is that the reason why nothing lives in that water which can kill you is that it belongs to vicious water fairies. I know what you're thinking... Fairies, aren't they supposed to be giddy and child friendly? Not all fairies are nice, in fact most of them will skin you alive if given the opportunity. Fairies are very territorial; they really only attack when they feel threatened. They do not follow the Underworld Accords as they're irrational and untamable. They usually ignore humans, but they often feel threatened by other supernatural beings. Now I am feeling worried for Shannon's safety. I need to make sure that she is safe. I'm still pretty sure that Shannon has no idea that she is a Wolf.

I quickly finish up at the shop, I can't help myself, I need to see Shannon. I worry that the water fairies will pull her under the water to drown her or to do something worse. I tell Koen about Shannon's allergic reaction yesterday and mention that I would like to check on her to see how she is feeling today. He isn't stupid. He just gives me a look and says that he is coming with me. I bet he just wants to make sure that I'm not interested in his little sister.

We get down to the water and see that the girls are sitting at the end of the dock. I can see that they have already been swimming as Shannon's hair is dripping wet. Interesting... she has curly hair and tries to hide it. I quickly scan the area looking around for the water fairies, but thankfully, it looks like they're not here at the moment. I can breathe a little easier now. I'm watching her as we get closer. Koen announces our arrival so that if the girls want to cover up, they can. Shannon lifts up her hair to ring out the water. That's when I see she has the markings of a Witch. Not just any Witch. Witches only possess one anchor, but she has so many... I stop dead in my tracks, completely derailed by what I see. Does she know that she is a Witch? But how in the hell can that happen? She is definitely Wolf too... Underworld species are not able to cross breed. Of course, that doesn't stop us from having relations, but to my knowledge there has never been a hybrid.

On my way down here, my plan was to firstly make sure that Shannon was safe, and secondly, I was planning on speaking with her, to get close to her, but now I have even more questions. I can only hope that Gavin has dug up some kind of research. Thankfully, Gavin is trustworthy and I know that his word is solid when he says that only he and I will have the information that he finds.

Maybe she knows that she is a Witch, maybe that's why she was snubbing me at the bar yesterday, but then why are her eyes green? They should be yellow if she is a White Witch, or even dark purple if she is a Dark Witch. This makes no sense. Shannon sees me looking at her back and quickly pushes herself off the dock and into the water.

Bree turns around and gives me a dirty look. Like I did something wrong. She then addresses her brother,

"Hey Koen. All done in the shop?"

"Just taking a quick break to check on you two. Ethan here tells me that Shannon had a bad allergic reaction yesterday. He just wanted to see how she's feeling today."

Shannon turns to face me in the water and reply's,

"I'm just feeling a little tired today. But otherwise, I feel a heck of a lot better than yesterday thanks to you, Ethan."

I hear myself talking, I know it's me but I'm not myself. I'm still lost in thought about her being a Witch,

"Awesome, that's great news. I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better."

I want to ask her out, to get to know her, and to maybe shed some light on my millions of questions that I have. But I feel like I need to talk to Gavin first. I don't want to attract too much unwanted attention to her by bringing her around the pack, and putting her into potential harm's way.

I can't think of an excuse to stay, but I don't want to leave her unprotected from the water fairies. Although, with all of that power that she likely possesses because of number of anchors that she has on her back, a Wolf like myself is not needed for protection. In fact, I might even need protection from her. Still, despite everything, I can't leave...

"If you ladies don't mind, I think I'll just put my feet into the water before I leave, cool them off, it's so hot out".