Witch Blood

Prologue

Deva Fay held her daughter against her chest. The baby girl looked up at her mother, her pale eyes wide with wonder, her chubby fist reaching up to grab locks of her long hair.

Deva rocked her daughter in her arms, possibly for the last time, a tear slid down her pale cheek. She knew this was for the best. Her daughters would always be in danger with her around. Death and carnage seemed to follow Deva around no matter how far she ran.

She knew her daughters would be safe with her husband, Liam. She wasn't worried. He would protect them with everything he had inside of him. Her daughter's powers were bound, they wouldn't be able to track her girls. And she would be back in time to release their powers before the binding did any real damage.

No. She wasn't worried. She was scared.

She was scared for the little girl in her arms. Her first born, the first love of her life. Bellatrix Marie Asa Fay.

She was scared that she wouldn't make it back in time for her daughters first shift. She was afraid that her daughter would grow up to hate the wolf inside of her, not understanding it. She was afraid her daughter would feel alone.

"Trixie," Deva cooed down at the baby in her arms. Bellatrix wiggled her small body excitedly at the sound of her mother's voice. Deva laughed, salty tears slipping between her lips. "My beautiful baby girl. I love you so much. I don't know where I would be without you, my love."

"I'll be back, Trixie. But if I don't make it in time just remember how special you are. Never be afraid of who you are. Embrace it always. And when you are feeling lonely," Deva's voice cracked. She placed a hand over her daughter's heart, "I'll always be here. Your daddy and I are always with you no matter how far away from you we are. Don't ever forget that, Bellatrix."

Deva's head snapped away from her now sleeping daughter, the sounds of leaves crunching under boots snapping her to attention. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and placed her back in her crib. Deva peered out the window, a man in a dark hoodie ran around the side of the house.

They found her.

Deva knew them finding her was inevitable. She knew settling down in one place for too long was a risk. But lugging around four children under the age of two and a human husband was an even bigger risk.

She'd prepared for this moment, she was ready for it.

She flung open the closet door in her daughter's nursery and pulled out a box of diapers. She ripped the tape off and pulled out the backpack hiding inside of the box. She slung it over her shoulder, everything she needed to get away quickly stuffed inside. At the bottom of the box was a dagger with a hand carved wooden handle resting in its sheath. The first dagger she'd ever held. A dagger the first man she ever gave her heart to made for her. 

She strapped the sheath to her waist before quietly closing the closet door. There was no time for goodbyes. She looked over at her second born, Orianna Rose, her thumb tucked securely between her lips. Her twins, Iris and Ivy, snuggled closely, their tiny chests rising and falling. Deva wiped the tears from her face and ran down the stairs before she lost her nerve.

She grabbed her car keys from the bowl by the door before pulling it open. She closed it quietly behind her, not wanting to wake Liam. The sound of the car starting caused the man in the black hoodie to come running from around the back of the house with unnatural speed. Their eyes met as she pulled out of the driveway. Deva gave him a small smile, come and get me, bitch.

The man jumped into a small black car, following closely behind Deva. They raced down the empty streets, the rest of the town sleeping safely in their beds. Deva couldn't help but feel envious for a moment, wishing for nothing more than a life where she wasn't always looking over her shoulder. A life where her only worry was the day she had four teenage girls all under one roof, fighting over boys and clothes.

She didn't stop driving until she reached the long stretch of road leading to the reservation. She pulled the car over, leaving the keys in the ignition as she jumped out of the car. Her light brown hair whipped behind her as she took to the woods. Her feet were light on the damp muddy earth.

The man wasn't as quiet. He stomped through the woods, leaves and twigs crunching beneath his heavy body, his breath came out in loud pants. Deva ducked behind a tree, flattening her body against the rough bark. She slipped the dagger out of its sheath, smiling at the feel of it in her hand. It felt like home.

The man ran straight past Deva, she jumped from behind the tree landing a kick to the back of his leg. He went down with a loud grunt. This was easier than she'd expected. Before he could get back up Deva straddled his waist, her dagger pressed tightly against his pale throat. If he even thought about trying anything he would be bleeding out within seconds.

"Are you alone?" Deva growled, pressing the dagger tighter against his throat. Blood beaded around the blade. The man let out a throaty laugh, his muddy brown eyes watery from the pressure on his throat. Deva lifted her hand high above her, her hand curling into a fist. She brought her fist down into the man's meaty face, his lip spewed blood against her knuckles. "Are. You. Alone?"

"It doesn't matter," he smiled. Dark blood covered his teeth. "One of us will get you eventually, Deva Fay. And if not us then one your own. You don't think they've forgotten about you, about what you did, do you?"

"Shut up," Deva spat. She didn't need him to remind her. She knew all too well they would never stop looking for her. Not until she was buried six feet under the cold hard earth. "I'll take that as you are alone. Hoping to take all the glory for finally capturing Deva Fay, eh? How foolish of you."

"You better hope I don't get out of this alive, bitch." He said, his eyes going hard. "After I take my time cutting you open and bleeding you dry I'll go back for those sweet little girls of yours. I'll find new and inventive ways to kill them, maybe I'll even-"

Deva didn't let him finish his thought, she dragged her dagger across his throat. Warm blood spurted up hitting her in the face. She pushed off of him, standing over his body. His eyes stared up into the night sky, his fingers clutching his throat as blood pooled into his lungs. When the wet gurgling noises coming from the man finally went silent Deva sheathed her dagger and headed back to her car.

"Damn Hunters," Deva said with a shake of her head. "Never know when to shut up."

She closed the door to her car. She ran the sleeve of her sweater over her face hoping to rid herself of some of the Hunters blood, then she turned up the heater and made a u-turn, heading away from the reservation. One of the pack members would find the body. They would know what to do with it. They would know who killed the Hunter and they would protect her if anyone came sniffing around. 

Deva Fay didn't know where she was going and what her plan was. All she knew was she had to get out of town. She had to get as far away from her family as possible. If that amateur Hunter could find her than anyone could. She shivered at the thought.

She had to get away. She had to find a way to keep her family safe once and for all. A way to let her be with her daughters without putting them in danger. And if that meant going back to The Darklands, the place she was born and raised, and slaughtering everyone who ever uttered a threat against her than that's what she would do.

Deva Fay would never let anyone harm her daughters. She would never let anyone keep her away from them. She would be back.