9 comments/ 12462 views/ 19 favorites A Witch's Beloved By: Reddestiny921 (You will see this story is a bit more fun as you read on.)(I almost immediately started working on this one when I wrote the last word of my naga ending. Though the chapter left a severely bad taste in my mouth I love to write and I will not dwell on that bad ending I refuse to give up on my writing dagnabbit. If you need a mental picture for this story's location, imagine the country side of Texas, the run down half of any state that lacks development and has mostly grass surrounding small shops, New York and a bit of Florida all thrown together in a blender. !!!!!!I just want to note this is not a family taboo story, I simply have many of the main characters refer to each other as brother and sister. Like siblings of war who have fought together just wanted to make that clear.!!!!!! This story is not like my other stories where I tried my best to add in twists as I saw fit to make each story unique in some way. So if you are one of the readers I have lured to the dark side I think you'll be pleased with the little differences thrown in here and there. One last thing, I have twisted the creatures you're about to read about so if they aren't what you're use to and you do not like them being changed around you shouldn't read this story.) (Feel free to skip to the bottom of the last page to see the reference list for this chapter.) .......... "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Melody screamed. The large man turned to face her, he held a steel pipe and was about to go after a poor dog. It was very late and the three stood in the alley way of Celarion City. Unlike most cities there were not any windows leading to the alley ways the fire escapes were placed near the front. It made it more difficult for people to break into apartments because they couldn't just slip into the alley blocked from view thanks to other pedestrians. The man looked more startled than pissed off, he raised the pipe intending to kill the witness. The dog sunk his teeth into the man's ankle, he came down hard and when the dog came out of the shadows she could see it completely. He was an abnormally large dog to a person who didn't know any better the top of his head came to her breasts. Of course she knew it wasn't an average dog, but a werewolf, there were lots of them in the country side but it was odd to see one alone in the city. Despite his large size it was clear his wounds were the reason he had become such an easy target. His fur was white and mostly stained with dirt and blood, she kicked his attacker repeatedly between the legs and motioned for the wolf to follow her. Seeing that his options included either an embarrassing death or alone time with a beautiful woman he followed her. He knew he would regret pushing himself but did so anyways, that bastard would only be stunned for so long. .......... As they reached her apartment building Melody was silently hoping that Luis was the security guard on duty. He usually fell asleep about now, and she wasn't exactly sure her friend was in the mood to play a thousand and one questions with Gretchen. She spotted Luis and relaxed, though she had no way of knowing this would happen she was glad she had picked the building with the double wide elevator. ..... Drake collapsed on her dark brown carpet trying to catch his breath, he watched her move to the kitchen when she returned with a bowl of water with a towel in it he shook his head. When she got close she saw the light reflecting off of something on his neck, pushing the fur out of the way she saw how he had been weakened. It was a shock collar specially made for werewolves. It stopped them from using their powers in any way and they couldn't take their human form with it on. Seeing that his eyes were dilated she knew he'd been shocked multiple times already and she would probably kill him if she put too much water on him. She set the bowl down and darted into her bedroom, when she returned she came out with a little spell book. He made a face, it would look like a grimace to some, but she knew he was relieved. The werewolves had always allied with witches and vampires, some say the first witch befriended the first vampire while they nursed a werewolf back to health. Other's say that they banded together against various demons and evil spirits for the right to large chunks of land. By now no one is really sure which version is true or if there is an entirely different version but they are all old races and friendship that can last several millenniums and then some just has to be worth keeping. What they fought against was a secret to humans, but it was important for them to know their history as best they could. She flipped through the pages, when she found the proper spell and cast it over the collar, it fizzed and snapped. He coughed as it's removal sent shivers up his spine, as powerful as the collars were, the effects ended fairly quickly. Though because he was injured his powers would be limited for a couple of days. He wasn't very fond of the idea but would get over it. 'Thank you......sister.....' She smiled as he sent his thoughts to her and nodded, she closed the book and went to grab a second a bowl of water for him to drink while she worked on his wounds. Melody was a fair skinned beauty, with a few freckles dusting her cheeks, her long curly red hair fell to her back and partially covered a set of sea blue eyes. She was a curvy and petite, just the type of woman Drake preferred. "What is your name brother?" 'Drake....and yours?' "It's Melody." 'Beautiful...' She blushed at the whispered compliment as she continued working on his wounds, truthfully she could just heal him with a spell or two. However she was a young witch and when she tried that the wounds weren't always fully healed. however it wasn't like he needed her too, with the collar gone his powers would come back and he could heal himself a lot faster. ..... "Who put that vessen on you?" 'I don't know, there was a strong scent of lemon in the air just before it was put on me.' Something about the smell of lemons was over powering for wolves, kind of like how chopping onions makes one's eyes water. Older wolves who have gotten use to the scent can handle it in small doses. She cocked her head as he moved to shift, she got up and grabbed a blanket she tossed it over him knowing he would be naked when his change was done. She walked into her guest bedroom, taking a second to admire the green and black color scheme before she took out a pair of pants and a sweater that belonged to her brother. Whenever he visited he left something over. It could be by accident or he could be slowly trying to move in so he can guard his baby sister. Julian was lovable but too over protective for his own good. She peeked out the room at him and her eyes widened a little. Drake was a poster boy for sex on legs, his lightly tanned body was toned, he had various tattoos, his silky platinum blond hair fell down his back and pooled behind him on the floor. When he turned she could see the small goatee and neatly trimmed mustache, coupled with a perfect nose and those beautiful green eyes of his. She blushed and walked over to hand the clothes to him, he thanked her again before getting dressed. She sat with him on the couch and raised an eyebrow when she noticed his neatly trimmed fangs. Most wolves had jaggedly cut fangs. "You're a hybrid?" He nodded, the air around him sizzled a little as his powers circulated through his body to work on the worst of the damage. "But you're a were....don't you need more blood than the average vampire?" He shrugged. "Depends on how long it's been since I last fed." She nodded. "Do you need some...?" He stared at her. "Do you mind?" She shook her head and pushed her hair off of her shoulders, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close before he bit her neck. She moaned, something about the fangs of any vampire, it was as if they had minds of their own and knew exactly what nerves to hit to drive you wild. Her eyes fluttered closed, Drake growled slightly feeling her hands in his hair. He pulled away as he smelled the sweet honey scent of arousal, he hardened but remembered his manners. You just didn't take a meal and a fuck from a woman on the same night, no matter how tempting it may be. Even with the venom of the average vampire decorating his fangs, Melody was not in danger of changing. While witches and warlocks were mostly human, the magic that ran through them altered their blood. This prevented them from changing due to a bite, and made it easy for the older vampires who needed more blood than food to survive. Their blood was also higher quality, regular human donors were sought out in emergency situations. He licked the wound and watched it slowly heal then licked his lips she fell into a daze before sleep took over. He rested her against the couch, her blood was sweet, very sweet. He resisted the urge to howl he didn't want her neighbors calling the cops, his body shivered as it worked to commit her taste to memory. In one attack when he thought he was truly done for he'd been saved by the one woman he never thought he'd find; his mate. ..... The next morning she came out of her little daze and found him leaning against the wall legs and arms crossed his head facing down. She stretched and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Drake, did you sleep OK?" When he didn't respond she got up and walked over, he was sound asleep. She lifted up his shirt to see the effect her blood had on him. Glancing over the bandages and saw that he was healing even faster than she hoped he would. She could see that he wasn't badly bruised so it was obvious his attacker, whoever he had been, had not gotten to use the pipe before she grabbed his attention. "See something you like?" he mumbled. She held back a laugh. "Oh very funny...I was just checking your wounds." He slowly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Is that a fact?" "I'd say so, are you hungry?" He frowned. "Give me too much blood and you'll become anemic." She smiled. "Thanks for your concern but I was actually talking about solid food." "Oh in that case then I'm starved." She shook her head and walked into the kitchen, he moved to stretch, his muscles only protested a little before he followed her. The only reason he'd been in the city was because that bastard chased him there after he was made defenseless. Now that Drake was quickly getting a grip on his powers thanks to his mate's blood, he was looking forward to getting revenge. Melody glanced at him. "You seem deep in thought." He glanced at her. "Just thinking about someone I need to snap the neck of." She laughed at his bluntness. "Are you a lost alpha?" He shook his head, the lost alphas were the weres that after a series of unfortunate events ended up switched at birth. It was harder for them to take their place, they didn't normally know enough to take over. They were normally weaker too. "I'm my parent's youngest son, I'm working on completing my trial of maturity." "Trial of maturity?... how old are you?" He smiled. "I'm forty." Her eyes widened the weres, vampires and all magic users aged at the same rate as a human would but the weres and vampires stopped aging at the age of twenty-one. Witches stopped aging at eighteen, still, being forty he was practically a baby compared to some of the wolves she had read about who were pushing four hundred or more. "What is that exactly?" "It's a five year time span of solitude from the pack." "But isn't it hard for a.....um nevermind." He sighed. "Go ahead and say it, it's mostly true." She bit her lip. "...A pup to be alone for the full time?" "Yeah it is, but both my brother and I are natural born alphas, we would have ended up fighting for the position of pack leader when father stepped down. Wolf fights tend to bloody and messy." She nodded, her knowledge of were traditions happened to be limited because she had gone to regular human school before starting her magical studies; but she knew enough to get by. "So are you almost done?" she asked. "Yes, next Monday, I would have been so pissed to have gotten killed so close to the end." She smiled and turned her attention to the pancakes she was making, he helped cook the meat and eggs. He glanced over at her, he would have been even more pissed to have lost her. "Can you remind me of the full details? I'm a little fuzzy." He smiled and nodded. His wolf was sending clear messages that it wanted to be closer to her, fight for her affection if it had to he forced the inner animal back; it wouldn't do to scare her away now. The familiar pain of loneliness was getting to him. While wolves are pack animals it was normal in a family with two alpha males to send one of the sons away; while the eldest was given his own form of intense training for the role. In cases where there was only one son the eldest would have to take the challenge, if he failed the pack would fall to the sister closest to his age. If the specific wolf could keep themselves alive without the resources from the pack then the pack of the eldest would be split and each son would be granted their own. Of course if they ran from danger and returned home before the time was up they would be marked the omega of the pack; harsh to some but if you wanted to be alpha you had to earn it or be humiliated when you lost it. Which is why it's called the trial of maturity, either you'll become an adult or you won't and you'll suffer the consequences. She made a face as he explained it in full. "That's pretty rough, the worst you get with magic users is you're debut into the magical world." "Don't you have to go against your eldest sibling in a battle of spells?...." "Yes, without killing them due to inexperience." "Have you ever seen someone do that?" She filled the plates as she thought about it. "Just once, the battle goes on for an hour, a cousin of mine was almost done when he really really messed up." He eyed her. "What happened?" "He beheaded his sister....we had to erase his memory so he would recover mentally." He shook his head as they sat down to eat, humans whined about such silly things, he figured if you put little Susie what's-her-face and little Timmy who's-your-daddy against each other with one of the trials from their world; they would really have something to whine about. ....... After they finished eating, he motioned for her to take a shower while he did the dishes. "But you're a guest." "A guest with working limbs who knows how to clean up after himself, go on." She smiled at him again, he swallowed as he felt the urge to bend down and press his lips against hers. In the five year time span it was common to meet one's mate, so it was fine for him to be in her company however he needed to control himself. He was legally an adult, but in the eyes of his family he would always be a child especially if he let his sexual urges get the better of him. That might not matter to some but he refused to risk bringing a child into a world where he was an omega and couldn't properly protect the child or his or her mother. With wolves a child was a sure thing on the first or second night together, there were potions they could take if they wanted to have sex and not get pregnant. Lots of couples chose to take these potions when they wanted to focus on a small amount of children at once. Some couples were even happy with whatever they got the first time around and never had anymore unless the pack was lacking in numbers. He felt a shiver run up his spine, which was his wolf's way of whimpering and making it clear he didn't approve of the decision. Drake ignored the animal, they only had a week left, this would be a really dumb time to mess up. Not mention, none of that even mattered until he could gain both of her parent's approval, it was the way things were done when concerning proper courting and a human wasn't involved. .... After she was done she quickly cleaned the shower and left clean clothes in the bathroom for him to change into. She pulled out her cell phone and called her brother, she frowned as she heard loud noise in the background when he answered. She wasn't sure if it was even music, Julian made the effort to give everyone different ring tones but didn't make the effort to listen to any of them. He turned the music off. "Hello?" "What the hell was that?" "I'm not really sure, there is a fucking wood pecker out side and it's driving me up the wall." She laughed, he was an animal lover and couldn't hurt a single one, but that didn't mean he always enjoyed their company. "Don't laugh doll, they are beautiful....evil creatures." She laughed harder. "What's up?" he asked when she quieted down. She explained that she was borrowing his clothes. "I'm coming over right now." "Why?" "Because I need to meet this bastard." "Julian you don't know if he's a bastard." "Doll, every man that is not related to you is a bastard to me." he said simply. "Says the over protective one." "Excuse me?" "Oh sorry, the amazingly handsome over protective one." "Right and don't you forget it." She held back her giggles as they said good bye and she hung up, she glanced down the hall as Drake came out of the bedroom. He hadn't put his shirt on yet but was drying his hair. She could make out one of the tattoos that rested on his bicep, it was skull submerged in water with a goth mermaid swimming between the eye sockets. When he got close she absently touched it and traced the lines with her fingers. His wolf growled in pleasure at the soft touch to stop him from doing the same. "You like it?" he asked. "It's so....pretty why water and a mermaid?" "Lots of guys have flames and a snake, I wanted something different." She walked behind him and pushed his hair out of the way, on his back was a heavily detailed sword but the handle was a gold spider. She found vines and black roses on his other arm and several small skulls. On his shoulder, right where it could be covered by just about any shirt was a single sentence in cursive. Fight to live, live to fight, and be strong enough to do everything in-between. She stroked the letters and the dark blue flames that surrounded them, she shook her head, she trusted him because he wasn't human. She didn't understand being so drawn to him, she frowned, she would have to do more effective studying, oh well no time like the present. "Melody?" She glanced up at him then frowned more. "....You have a lot of nerve being a guest in my house...and being so much taller than me." He burst out laughing, she looked so serious when she said it, she fumed and her cheeks turned red. "It's not funny....I tried hard to be tall." He raised his hand and rested it on the top of her head. "You're not that short, you're hair easily adds an inch or two." "Why you...." She jumped as she heard the door bell, Drake pulled on the black shirt he held in his hand he didn't like the smell of another man coming in here. His jealousy melted as the scent mixed perfectly with Melody's that told him that it was a relative. The man was a bit taller than her, his skin was darker, his hair was black, but he shared her eyes. He kissed the top of her head and walked over to Drake. "So you're the asshole fucking my sister." Drake couldn't be threatened by Julian in the least he chuckled. ....... Julian gave Drake the cold shoulder even after Melody explained what happened, Julian wrapped his arms around Melody and tugged her away from Drake. "You look at her, look real good...if any of this is hurt because of you I'll rip you a new one and cut your throat." A Witch's Beloved Drake would have gone after the throat of anyone who threatened him but he could only have respect for a man who cared so much for a sibling. "If I managed to hurt her, I'd take any punishment you wanted brother.." Julian relaxed and sighed. "Mel." "Yes?" "I suppose you're free to fuck him if you want...you can't....oh you can't be my baby sister forever." he sobbed. Melody wasn't sure whether to be mortified or to laugh hysterically. "Stop being so dramatic....we just met, we aren't doing anything and what's with the crocodile tears? Where you hoping I'd be a lesbian?" He sniffed. "Well of course, you could be a lipstick and I could pick out a nice butch for you." She rolled her eyes. "And for the record he's a wolf, their very 'friendly' with the opposite sex, if I don't give my approval now it'll kill me if you make babies with him." Giving up on her brother's hysterics she simply patted his shoulder and glared at Drake who couldn't stop laughing. .......... Around noon Melody finally got Julian to stay silent for several hours, Julian asked where Drake lived and he told him it was irrelevant because his home was burnt to the ground to draw him out. All it took was a bit of lemon to mix with the smoke and he was easily screwed. Julian kindly donated his clothes to the "baby daddy" that would belong to his sister who threatened to go after him with a broom if he didn't shut it. "He's staying here isn't he, I mean you did save his life and all doesn't he owe you or something?" Julian asked. "Why are you asking me? You're the senior warlock here." Melody said. He rolled his eyes. "It was a test, someone hasn't been studying." "Yes I have." He rolled his eyes again. "Since he's an alpha and your interference left him alive he needs to do a favor that equals the value of his life for you." "I don't need a favor." Drake smirked. "I'll save it for later then." She huffed. "Not now not ever, I wasn't going to stand by and watch.....and I didn't do anything." "Oh so modest, I'd make him my sex slave if I was a woman and into men." Drake raised an eyebrow, Melody tapped her brother on the shoulder. "Julian." "Yes my sweet?" "You need to stop living through me and go get laid." He scoffed. "It's my duty to live through you until you get married, since you're still in training and all." She sighed then glanced at Drake. "You should stay while you finish your trial, safety in numbers and all that." He felt a warm feeling wash over him like melted chocolate, she was worried about him, if that didn't feel good he wasn't sure what would. "Whatever you say." "Also I suppose there is a little something I want." "Anything." "And remember not to take this the wrong way." He raised an eyebrow. "I want to ride you." ........... While he had no choice but to take it the wrong way he didn't mind what she actually meant, she was sitting on his back while he ran in a large open space near the country side in his wolf form. While he appeared to be still scratched he was in mostly perfect condition, it was a stab to his ego that he'd been so easily taken down with superficial wounds but he would take his excuse and live with it. As long as Melody didn't think less of him he knew it wasn't important. She admitted that ever since she was a kid and first learned about wolves, who were large to begin with but could grow larger as they saw fit, she had wanted to ride one. This time he did howl feeling her clinging to his neck as he jumped over rocks and logs before starting all over again. He slid to a stop as the sun began to go down, she slid off of his back and he snickered a bit seeing her hair was a mess. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just so you know, brother dear, I like my hair this way so stop making fun of me." He cocked his head. "So why are you blushing and trying to fight with it?" "I'm not blushing, I'm simply out of breath and I'm a girl...we always fight with our hair, from the first day we learn what a brush is good for to the day we become women." He raised an eyebrow. .. Eventually she gave up as they walked back, he was in his human form, there were a few humans who knew there was more to the world than they could see but not everyone had the information. It was better not to cause concern by having a large wolf walking around without a name tag. "Thank you." He glanced at her. "For?" "Letting me use you like a horse." He smirked. "You're really good with those double entendres." "It's a skill." she said simply. .............. }{ "Mel......" Melody opened her eyes and saw that she was floating in a cliché but acceptable black room filled with fog. A cloaked figure shook his skeletal hands at her, far too over dramatically for her liking. She smiled softly. "Dad you didn't scare me the first time and you sure won't scare me any other time after." Her father took off the hood, he was bald with a simple mustache even in death he was still handsome. "You could humor me once in a while." She moved to sit up and he walked over to her. "How's work?" He shrugged. "Same old same old, had to take Mr. Johnson today." She frowned. "Oh no, he was such a sweet old man." "A sweet old man who has lived out his purpose sweetheart." Her father had "died" when the original grim reaper decided he needed an assistant, apparently Cameron fit the job perfectly. He could visit around three am in the realm of the dreams, but he was working most of the time, or punishing the not so good souls by replaying their mistakes over and over like a scratched record stuck on repeat. His wife Julia was proud to call him her husband and waited for his visit. "I suppose so." "So Julian tells me you...." "Stop right there, Drake and I are not sleeping together, we just met." "Are you going to?" "Dad I'm not discussing this with you." "I just want you to be happy hon....and if he can't perform the basic task of a male then you won't have time to be happy, you'll be too bored." She giggled and rolled her eyes, her dad kissed her cheek and faded into the shadows telling her to bring Drake next time.}{ Melody's eyes opened and the cold in the room that her father normally left behind slowly faded away. She stretched and rolled over to get a couple more hours of sleep, they had to go shopping for a few things later. It was nice to be out and about around ten, Julian had tagged along saying he needed to pick up something but Melody knew he was just planning on giving Drake, who he supposedly approved of, a hard time. ........ Beyond the woods that spread out between the vast country side and the city, there was a simple black shack that had been brown at one point. Something about the shack, no the entire hidden area screamed evil. The murky black stream sat completely still, not even curious bunny rabbits or young sparrows could be found in the area, the grass no longer grew, even the wind made it it's mission to avoid it. This was where the mysterious man was headed, he had been in a good mood until he got close. He knew he was about to get punished, he walked up the cracked pavement and toward the shattered steps and into the doorway. He looked around the dark room. "Uh....I'm here..." He grunted as a rock was thrown at his head, he backed up until he fell over a stack of old books. He backs into the wall and watched the darkness shift into a person, the eyes didn't even glow red, but if anyone else was in his place they would know the gaze was on them. "Allow me to tell you a little story." the raspy voice said. He swallowed nervously. "O....kay..." "Once upon a time there was an angry woman who had had enough, it was decided that she would have what she wanted by force if necessary. She came up with a plan to get her revenge, without having to get her hands dirty. She hired a man who swore he would help, that he was good enough to perform the simple task of killing a little puppy. He failed and returned to her, like the idiot he was and now....tell me, do you want to know how the story ends?" He fought to get up and rushed past the figure and out of the house, she raised her hand and clenched her fist quickly and he fell to the ground with a thud. She wiggled her fingers and he watched a large boulder fly over to him. "No...no...wait I can do it...give me another chance!" She tilted her head as if considering it, the rock floated in circles around his body randomly stopping. It could have fallen and taken an arm or a leg, could have crushed his head or even landed away from him completely. "You bitch that isn't funny!" She frowned and the boulder fell directly on him, making a fine red mess on her front lawn. "Silly boy, didn't your mother teach you any manners? Never disrespect a lady who can kill you." She groaned as she felt an electric charge running through her body, her little temper tantrum would cost her. She frowned and moved to fade into the shadows of the house. "I suppose if I have to work for it...the reward will be sweeter in the end." ............ The remainder of the week proved to be different than Drake assumed, it was even harder than he thought. He'd made it a habit to go around the city after Melody had gone to bed he was desperate to find the man who had tried to end his life. He might never find out that he is already dead. Late on Sunday night he walked back inside Melody's apartment and looked in her bedroom, he grabbed an extra blanket out of her closet and set it on top of her. His body heat ran higher than hers but even he felt the chill in her room. After he was sure that she was warm he left her room, he glanced at his cell phone he cursed seeing that it was off. He was suppose to receive a message at midnight asking about his whereabouts and health. He placed it on the charger and waited a bit before turning it back on, sure enough he had several missed calls. He called the last number on the missed call list back. "Alpha Drake?" He smiled slightly hearing the voice of his head butler if you needed a title to give him. Eric was caramel skinned green eyed bundle of nerves. If he was an actual puppy he would be the perfect blend between the skittish runt afraid of his own shadow, the most excited puppy, and the anti-social one who you had to prove yourself to. "Long time no see brother." "You damn....." He held the phone away from his ear as Eric went off on him, oh Drake was certain he had a split personality. If his moods weren't so unpredictable he would be second in command no matter how long they had been friends Drake new that too much power given to a person like Eric could only give disaster to everyone under him. After throwing every swear word in the book at him until he was blue in the face he panted while he calmed down. Drake held the phone to his ear. "Are you finished?" "Yes....we were worried about you, you didn't answer any of our calls." "I was out doing something and the battery died." "Bastard." he mumbled. "I'm fine, someone only tried to cut my life short once after all." He held the phone away from his ear as Eric went off again, when he was done he held back a laugh. "It's not funny." "Yes it is." "No it isn't." "Eric stop over reacting and tell my parents I'm alive, the trial is completed and soon they'll need to meet my mate." "Yes yes...wait what was that last part?" Eric said. "My mate, I met her last week." "Oh my....oh you're....what is..." Eric stammered. Easily excited plus skittish was a terrible mix. "Let's try to finish our sentences hmm?" Drake said. "Congratulations! What is she like?" Eric said, ignoring Drake as best he could/ "Well for starters she's a witch." "A witch you say? Why there hasn't been a witch in the family since your great-great-great-great grandmother passed away." "I know." "Just wait until I tell your parents, hang on let me go tell them you haven't died." Drake rolled his eyes he could hear the phone falling out of his hand as he rushed out of the room. .... It didn't take long before his mother, Madam Beta Annabelle came to the phone, the last time he saw her she was the a flawless blond beauty he looked most like. The training the first born alpha didn't last as long and the parents immediately stepped down upon it's completion. While they remained a high rank among the other weres for successfully breeding a proper alpha, their child was in charge after tree years worth of training. His father, High Beta Derik was almost her complete opposite from his deep brown eyes to his short black hair. His brother, Alpha Alec took after their father in looks but like Drake, kept his hair much longer. It was nice to hear their voices after so long, he was glad to hear that Alec had also met his mate, in a young women named Cecilia and her father had finally given Alec permission to court her. They could meet when Drake returned home to claim his reward. ............ Later in the morning Melody hopped in the shower, one of her strengths was empathy she could feel the excitement coming from Drake. She knew 'happy' didn't describe how he felt about his success. She peeked in her living room, he was in his wolf form sitting by the couch. "Hey Drake?" He looked up. "Are you going to rush back and see your family today?" "That depends are you coming with me?" "Well that depends on what time you want to go, my vacation time is up I have to go back to work today." "Where do you work?" She blushed. "Well, down at LaLunes." "The goth fifties-like diner." She put her hands on her hips. "Don't make fun of me I love that place." "And do you have a sexy leather uniform that brings in more tips?" he asked jokingly. She grinned. "Maybe." .................. A set of ripped leather pants, a royal blue blouse cut at the midsection, and a pair of knee high leather boots combined with a small black apron with the name printed on it in bloody cursive made up Melody's uniform. Drake swallowed the lump in his throat as she put her hair in a high ponytail and did her make up. She glanced at him noticing he'd gone a bit pale. "Are you OK?" "Yeah, the blood is...just a bit low." "Do you need me to stay in?" "Nope." "But you said..." "I said it's low and that's all you're getting out of me." She blushed. Though his wolf wasn't happy about it he offered to walk her to work then he would go check in with his family. He needed some time to cool his head and he was sure to jump her if he spent much more time around her in his current state while looking at her current outfit. .......... LaLunes was one of the smaller places to be, it played a large range of music, served American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food. The only thing really about it that belonged in the fifties was the gothified décor. The booths were no longer red, they were onyx black with bloody white roses stitched on. The first generation motorcycles that were on display were either solid black or had a mix of flames and skulls added to them. Many of the famous posters and pictures of celebrities had been altered. Elvis was a werewolf, Lucy and Ricardo were a pair of mummies, even the Beatles were included as a group of zombies. All of the other bright red and random yellows had been replaced with black, there was even a drive up half where you could be served by ghouls on rollerblades. Ironically, the diner was owned by a human, Mr. Headen. Drake left Melody at the door and made sure she was safe before he took off. Melody clocked in and cocked her head seeing her currently green haired and brown eyed friend Sandra was staring at her. "Hi Sandy.." "Don't you 'hi Sandy' me, you picked up a man while you had time off and didn't call me once to give me details." She laughed as her friend threw her arms around her. "Tell me who the hottie was!" She rolled her eyes. "His name is Drake, he's single, he's straight, has just about the nicest butt I've ever seen on a man, and he cooks." Sandra squealed. "Oh you have to let me meet this tall glass of chocolate man." "You know, connecting everything you like with chocolate milk will me make you dislike it." She made a face. "How dare you question the power of chocolate milk....who are you?" Melody burst in a fit of giggles before running to greet her boss. ................... Drake's pack lived in a large gated community several beautiful homes in a variety of colors rested behind a thick stone wall with iron gates. The gates were not kept oiled, should an intruder be dumb enough to try and break in they would have alerted everyone by the time they got in. Going down the center a visitor would soon see a large crystal fountain, the center piece is an arrow through the heart. Drake's father had it made for their mother when they first mated and like their relationship it was still in perfect condition. Beyond the fountain was an impressive mansion, it appeared to be freshly sculpted from a slab of marble. A large garden and orchard surrounded most of it. Instead of having prized horses they kept prized racing dogs. Inside the calm cream color scheme with splashes of blue could grab anyone's attention. When Drake walked inside he was greeted by his family with his brother right up front. Some thought that animosity could be bred with the splitting of a pack, but Alec couldn't be prouder of his younger brother. ............ Melody tapped on her chin as she zoned out on her lunch break, she looked up as Sandra sat next to her. "So why didn't you come visit me at all?" Melody asked. "Because I had business to attend to." "Oh was the 'business' tall, dark and handsome, or maybe it wasn't from around here...do tell." Sandra laughed. "OK OK, he is tall, dark, and heavily muscled, his name is Lucien Greene..." Melody's smile faded. "Lucien Greene?" "Yeah that's what I said, do you know him?" "Sort of." "Don't tell me he's gay......." Melody picked up her things to toss in the trash and walked out of the break room with Sandra hot on her tail. "Mel." "Sandy he's not gay.......according to my brother." "This is your brother's ex?" She asked showing the picture on her cell phone, Melody nodded and patted her friend's back as she cursed. "I knew it was too good to be true......we could still get manicures together I guess." Melody smiled. "That's my girl, every cloud has a silver lining." "Well at least one of us will get laid." Sandra mumbled. .......... After work Melody found Drake leaning against a shiny black sports car, she didn't know the brand it could have been specially made for all she knew. "Hey nice wheels, so you got the rest of your bank account back?" Aside from not having resources from the pack, the wolf also had to give up most of their funds. You need a bit of money to get around but not enough to play around with. "Yes, but this was a present from my brother." Melody walked over to examine the car, it was sort of like the baby of a Porsche and a Corvette, it was beauty. "Oh how cool....so you're officially an alpha then?" "Finally, all of the hybrids and white wolves answer to me, the black and red wolves are under my brother's control. For now I'm free, want to go for a ride in this?" "I'd love to." "Great, there are some things I need to talk to you about." As soon as the words left his mouth Drake wasn't so sure anything had ever made him more nervous than the thought that she could still reject him at any time. ..... (A tiny cliff hanger Hope you'll stick around to find out what happens next also, some of things mentioned may not get explained right away and that's because Melody has a lot to learn so information may be scattered a bit. A Witch's Beloved Randomly set up reference list: Melody - witch, future mate of Drake. Drake - alpha wolf/ hybrid, future mate of Melody Julian - male witch/ warlock, Melody's bisexual older brother, his mate has not been revealed yet. Cameron - ex warlock/ grim reaper's assistant Julian and Melody's father, still married to Julia. Julia - witch, haven't met her yet, Julian and Melody's mother. Annabelle - vampiress but holds the title of a beta wolf, Alec and Drake's mother, mated to Derik. Derik - beta wolf, Alec and Drake's father. Alec - alpha wolf, Drake's brother future mate to Cecilia. Cecilia - alpha wolfess, future mate to Alec you'll meet her later. Eric - bisexual wolf, head butler for Drake, may have a few secrets, no mate as of yet. LaLunes - fifties-like goth diner Melody and Sandra work at. ???? -??? crazy bitch with a nasty attitude, you'll see her more later. Sandra - human, good friend to Melody. Lucien Greene - has a few secrets, you'll meet him later. Vessen - magical collar to give one the upper hand against wolves, not many know who made them. Trial of Maturity - five year time span where the wolf is left on his or her own, they are considered a 'pup' until it's completion or until they fail. Second born son or even a daughter proves their worth so they can claim their spot as alpha. Lost Alpha - young wolves switched at birth and ultimately screwed over almost destined to be omegas. Debut into Magical Society - spell vs spell fight between each young witch or warlock and their older sibling. First born will go against one of the parents. OK I think that's everything you need to focus on, on the off chance I missed something I'll just add it on the next reference list.)