Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
The portals really were a blessing. The five High Priestesses had made them a long time ago in all of the more important places around the world. As time had gone by more and more had been added. The one by the Library was among the first and after the witch hunting had calmed down, one had been made in Salem as well. They were a nice and fast way to travel that didn't drain you on energy. I knew I could have used a spell to take me directly from the Library to Hartford, but to simply walk through a mirror and exit it in Salem and then teleport myself to Hartford, saved me a lot of energy.
I went straight to the public library in Hartford since I still didn't have an address for the witch hunter. It looked as though they were about to build to expand it, which I couldn't help but snort at. They were probably going to add on some ugly modern design that didn't fit with the old. Mortals really didn't have any respect for history.
I quickly located a phone book and found Harry Jackson's address. It all honestly went much smoother than I had thought. I mean, he was a witch hunter, for crying out loud. Wouldn't he try to hide himself a little bit better?
He lived at the very edge of the city, kind of close to the university. The house was huge, likely built around the turn of the century, and closed off by a tall fence. I knew I would have loved to live there. Not because of the house, but because it was surrounded by trees on all sides. I would have taken the fence away, though, and let the trees grow as close to the house as possible.
I quickly checked around the place, making sure that I kept my awe on my face so I could have been taken for just an astounded mortal.
Even though there had been no attempts to hide the address, the measures to keep people out were very much there.
I easily spotted five cameras from where I stood. I guessed that not one inch of the garden wasn't monitored. The top of the fence had high spikes, making it close to impossible to climb over without getting hurt. But the worst of it was the protection amulets hanging at even intervals around the fence. I wasn't close enough to get a proper look, but I assumed they would keep me out. They could also work so that they would let me enter, but make me unable to use any magic. It seemed less likely, but it didn't really matter. I wouldn't be able to get to him at his home by the looks of it.
Just when I decided it was time to leave to come up with a plan, a voice had me turning instead of my decision to leave.
"Is there a costume party in town?" a deep voice asked with suppressed laughter.
I turned with the intention to say something rude. I hated it when people commented on my clothing because if I could I definitely would wear something else. I really hated the dress and I probably hadn't taken my clothes off in at least ten years. I kept both my clothes and myself clean through spells. Obviously, I could shower and wash my clothes in the normal way. But fear always took over me when I got undressed, so I had stopped, accepting that I was stuck in that stifling green dress.
So when I turned, I wanted to say something hurtful or sarcastic or something. But instead I locked eyes with the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen and I was lost.
My father never talked about my mother at all, except for when he told me how it had been the first time he had looked into her eyes. The immediate feeling of love, protectiveness, safety. The knowledge that he would be happy just looking into her eyes for the rest of his life. The truth of that he belonged with her and would do anything to be beside her. The fact that he had just found his love, his other half, his mate.
I felt all of that when I looked into those eyes that were as green as the grass I loved. I had always thought I would be prepared for how it would feel when I saw those eyes, the eyes that bond me to the person they belong to, the eyes of my mate. But nothing could have prepared me. The emotions that welled up inside of me were so powerful that I almost fell to the ground. They knocked everything out of me so that the only thing I knew was those eyes.
I loved him already, even though I didn't know anything about him. Not even his name. I would protect him with my life if need be, and just staying by his side would be enough to make me happy.
"Hey, are you alright?"
His voice snapped me out of my trance. I realized I had taken hold of the fence to keep myself upright and that both my breathing and heart were abnormally hard. I also realized that he was not a magical being, but a mortal, because otherwise he would have known what was going on.
Though different magical beings had different ways of recognizing their mate, the two most common were by looking into their eyes or smelling their scent. Both of which he would have done. There were some that recognized the bond by touch, and of course those that didn't have that type of innate instant bond when they meet their mate. But no magical being would have mistaken my reaction to him as anything other than what it had been, or at least have had a hunch.
"I'm fine," I said. My voice was breathless, and another crashing realization hit me.
All I wanted to do was walk over to him. Hug him and have him hugging me. I wanted to run my hands through his brown hair. Feel with my fingers if he really had the muscles that seemed to be hiding under his clothes. I wanted to press my lips against his.
I wouldn't even get close to doing all of that before he would have fallen dead to the ground.
"You don't look fine," he commented, and my heart broke even more by the hint of concern in his voice.
"I was just admiring this house and thinking how sad it is that I will never live in a place like this," I rambled out the first lie I could come up with to explain the heartbreak that was surely written across my face.
"Eh. It's not that great of a place to live." He shrugged his shoulders as my already broken heart knew it was about to break even more.
"How do you know?" I found myself asking.
"Because I live there."
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