Honesty Falls

tWentyfiVe

            Cato appeared with the first rays of sunlight. He was breathing hard, his slim body glistened with sweat as he sat upon the dewy grass where Vallen was laying.

            He'd just changed, and his canines weren't even retracted yet.

            "Where are we?"

            Vallen pointed behind them. "See that line of trees? That is the official town line."

            "Did you try to cross it?"

            "No. I just wanted as far outside of town as I could get."

            "I'm worried about you. The last few days__."

            "I know. You should be worried about me." He admitted as he looked off into the distance.

            "Tell me what is going on."

            "I found my mate."

            "What?"

            "Not long after we arrived in town."

            "Vallen, that's__."

            "She's a witch."

            "Oh."

            Vallen smirked at his friend's look. "She put a spell on me so I would forget her. So we, would forget her."

            He could feel Cato's anger at this. Which was saying a lot, since Cato rarely lost his temper.

            "When are we going to kill her?"

            "Those were my thoughts too when I first remembered her."

            "And then?"

            "And then I decided I shouldn't act so hasty." Vallen looked at his friend. "This spell she's put on me might be a benefit to me."

            "Why if you can remember her now?" Cato pointed out.

            "Yes, but I can't feel her. Before, she was taking over all of my thoughts. Invading every part of my life whether or not I wanted her to. It was like I had no choice over the matter."

            "I remember the feeling. There is no choice to make. She's your other half. Once you lay eyes on your mate, there is no other way, and losing them hurts more than anything else could ever hurt."

            "Except it didn't for me. Thanks to a little witchcraft, I don't feel anything."

            "But you remember her. She's your mate, Vallen. Even if she is a witch."

            "You know what I remember of her? She's not much to look at. Completely drab. Innocent." He couldn't help the sneer in his voice. "Exactly not the kind of girl I'd ever want, even if she wasn't a witch. She wears big glasses, and her eyes are the dullest brown I've ever seen. She's the type of girl who wouldn't know passion if it literally bit her on the ass. The clothes she wears are abstruse, and I swear more times than not she's barefooted. Her fingers are always jerking to some unheard song in her head, and she's always whispering things under her breath. I wouldn't be surprised if her entire family line has some mental issues."

            "She's your other half. There must be something you like about her."

            "Her name is as ugly as she is. She has dark brown freckles everywhere. Well, not everywhere. They cover her face and arms, but right about here." He pointed to his neck. "They disappear. I remember being saddened by that."

            "What else do you remember about her?"

            Vallen laced his powerful arms behind his head and stared up at the sky. "She enjoys being outside. Loves animals. My wolf misses her. You liked her. Maybe more than you should have. At least until you found out she was mine. Her curves aren't so bad except that she hides them beneath outdated clothes that are much too big for her. Her blood sings to me and once I'm close to her, it is hard not to make her mine. Nearly impossible. And I think it's the same for her. The sight of her eyes darken with desire weakens me. She's a vegetarian, for God's sakes. She hates to hurt anything."

            "Not an ideal mate for sure."

            "For weeks I've been... uneasy about my kill of Pike. In the back of my mind, I kept questioning why I did it."

            "Because he questioned your authority. It was your right."

            "I know, but wouldn't it have been easy enough to keep him in line?"

            "You did it because of her? Because you knew he could never accept your mate being a witch? You were going to accept her?"

            "Like I said, I had no choice then. That day must have been when she did the spell. She cried for him. Tried to save him."

            "She has a good heart?"       

            "I could never do anything but destroy someone like her. So, you see. Her being out of my head is a good thing."

            "Maybe it isn't."

            Vallen didn't even look at him or acknowledge that comment.

            "After I killed him. She looked at me like I was a monster. She looked at me the way I imagine my mother looked at my father."

            "You are not your father."

            He shrugged. "I can be in a second if I need to be."

            "If she doesn't believe you're good enough for her, then you should kill her."

            "Perhaps."

            "What are you going to do?"

            "Use our connections. Use our wealth. Find me a witch of my own. I want to keep my witch out of my head, but I will not be at the whims of a silly child with too much power. I'll take control, then I'll decide what to do with my unwanted mate."