The Familiar || ONC 2022

Chapter 7

Morlana woke in a dimly-lit, circular hut made of thick canvas and a sturdy wooden floor. The unfamiliar weight of blankets and a lack of outdoor clothing set her on edge as a headache pounded in the back of her skull.

She sat up in a panic as it all came back to her in a flash: the vampire attack, waking up in a cave filled with men draped in animal fur, and finding her familiar.

Her familiar. It was almost too good to be true.

Morlana frowned and flopped back onto the pillows. It was too good to be true. Witches' familiars were always animals and she clearly recalled a scruffy, unshaven man. He might have looked partially animal with his huge stature and rippling muscles, wearing moose skin like a mantle he was born into, but he was definitely human.

Her thoughts drifted to the whimpering grey wolf laying in red snow. That was what she imagined a true familiar bond felt like: the instantaneous kinship, protectiveness, and trust that radiated between her and the wild beast the moment they locked eyes.

Anger flared in her chest as she remembered the triumphant smiles of the three vampires. Those smiles had every right to haunt her nightmares after killing the one hope she had at returning to her family.

Tears pricked the witch's eyes. She clutched her mother's pendant to her chest. She had no idea exactly what kind of spell her mother cast into the necklace, but powerful magic had a tendency to echo into other living creatures if disturbed.

Live wild woodsman or dead wild beast, there was no going back home. Her family, alive or dead, had sacrificed their futures to give her this chance and she blew it. Morlana knew this failure was unforgivable.

The clearing of a throat interrupted her wallowing. Morlana gasped and sat up again, only to find the topic of her thoughts sitting across the room with arms crossed over his chest.

Though she could feel the low hum of a bond, she was sure the glare the man shot her way meant they were not on friendly terms.

His untrimmed beard was thick, hair looking as if it had been hacked into shape by a dull knife. He appeared to be in his thirties, though the hardness behind his eyes and the stress in his stance made it hard to tell exactly how old he was. He was tall and lanky. Despite his proportions, strength oozed from his pores and she could feel a wildness trying to break out from under his skin.

His grey eyes met hers once before glancing away, running his hands through wavy black hair before scratching the base of his neck. The uncomfortable gesture seemed out of place against his combative stature.

Had he been watching her sleep?

For some reason, the thought was comforting instead of frightening. Morlana's squeezed the pendant in irritation, frustrated that her imbalanced power interfered with even her one of mother's more powerful spells.

"I don't appreciate waking up in a strange place every time I pass out." Morlana snapped. Her irritation fell flat as her voice trembled with withheld tears and embarrassment.

She needed to put as much distance between her and this man as possible, before the Familiar bond grew in strength. There was no way her unreliable magic was capable of protecting a human when she couldn't even defend herself from the vampires.

She cleared her throat and continued when he didn't flinch at her tone. "First a cave, now a strange cabin. I demand you take me to the nearest town as soon as possible. I need to be on my way." She looked down at the black nylon of her thermal wear. "Who the hell changed my clothes? Did you manhandle me again like in the cave?" Her voice rose to a very unintimidating pitch.