ONYX(unedited;1st draft)

That's Not Very Hard To Believe

71. That's Not Very Hard To Believe

  "His mother," I started, looking over at Theo who sat quietly on a couch, "Believe it or not was engaged once." I explained to Roman.

  Everyone had taken their individual seats around Ace's office, getting comfortable.

  He's the only one here that doesn't know this story, but that's just because he was very young when this happened the first time.

  "That's not very hard to believe," Roman replies but I ignored him.

  "Karen was the most powerful witch in her coven by the age of seventeen," I reached for a pen on the desk before perching on the edge, "Because of that she was sheltered by her family. She... supposedly harbored a dark magic that she couldn't control at the time. Or so they say."

  "Can you just get to the point?" Theo snapped.

  I looked over at him, "You know you can leave right? I'm not keeping you here to be tortured by this story again."

  His jaw clenched and he sat back, running a hand through his straight dark hair.

  I turned back to Roman, "She met him when she was eighteen. Said that she was..." I paused, thinking to make sure I got the right information, "Practicing in the woods. Her family did and said everything to stop her from using her magic, so she had to isolate herself whenever she wanted to practice. She taught herself everything she knows today.

  When she met him, she almost killed him. He'd snuck up on her when she'd been practicing a very dark spell. And she had to figure out a way to save him before he died. She never went back to her family for help, knowing they'd punish her for doing magic in the first place. So she tried to figure it out on her own.

  And also there was one other small detail. He was a vampire."

  "What?" Roman gaped, turning to look at Theo who went stone still and glared at him, "Witches aren't-"

  "Exactly. And that's why she never went back to her family. Not only would they punish her, but they'd leave him to die." I told him.

  "Karen never understood the... vendetta between the witches and the vampires, or maybe she never liked it. But she wasn't going to leave him to die. So she went back and forth between her home and him everyday, searching for a spell that would work. Along the way... they fell in love.

  That pushed her to work harder and eventually she found a spell and she healed him."

  "She didn't leave him... did she?"

  I shook my head with a smile, leaning away from the table, "She couldn't."

  The door swung opened swiftly and I looked up, taking a step forward. I expected Ace to be standing in the doorway but he wasn't. It was a nurse.

  "Yes?"

  She looked frantic and I knew why, "She's going into shock. We need-"

  "I'll be there," I cut her off, walking quickly toward the door.

  I didn't expect her to wake up until the next couple of hours.

  "Wait, you-"

  I held up a hand toward Roman as I was walking by him, "Later."

  I couldn't stop the way my heart was pounding in my chest at the thought of her and I hated it. I despised that feeling. It wasn't fair how I'm forced to feel this way. I remember longing for a mate, being anxious and excited for the day I would meet her, and then it came. 

  And it was possibly the worse day of my life.

  It was her. It just had to be her. I didn't hate her. I just thought that she was a disgusting, heartless creature. Who condones, locking a person up under a house? Without food and water for days...

  I shook my head, hurrying down the hall. She was in the room next to mine, which was on the next floor and I found myself taking the stairs two at a time because the elivator was too slow.

  When I went into the room she was arched off of the bed, tears streaming down her face, her wails echoing throughout the room. And on either side of her, nurses were trying to get her to calm down.

  When I saw a needle, materialize of nowhere, I felt myself go stiff.

  "If you put that needle in her," I snarled and they all stopped, "I will make sure every single one of you bleed out on this floor."

  They stepped away as I started making my way closer. I moved my glare away from them amd onto the girl writhing and crying on the bed.

  And when I was standing next to her, I struggled with myself. I wanted to comfort her but at the same time, I didn't. I didn't want to touch her. I didn't even want to see her, but I couldn't help myself.

  Letting out a breath, I slipped my hand on top of hers, watching as her body sagged and pushed deeper into the mattress with every second. Her breathing slowed, her eyes drooped and her hands, that were fisting the sheets, relaxed.

  I pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed, staring at her blankly as warmth surged through me from her contact.

  Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and when she turned her head toward me, she stared at me through her low lids.

  Then she spoke softly, "Hi," or maybe that's just how high her voice could get.

  Something in my stomach flipped at the sound and I forced myself to smile, "Hey."
 
  I wanted to ask her what happened. I wanted to know why she looked the way she did. What she was talking about when I found her a couple hours ago. I needed to know what had happened, who was taken and why.

  I needed to know all of this before Ace came back. Because if he sees her, there's no doubt that he's gonna lose it. He'll kill her. But not if there was information she could tell us.

  And that thought relieved me. So I watched her eyes flutter until they closed. She was fighting against sleep. She wanted to talk but she was too weak to.

  "Get some sleep," I told her softly, reaching up to pull her hair away from her face. She shifted, mumbling something under her breath and tried to sit up, "No, no, it's fine. You need rest." I pushed her back down.

  She mumbled something else.

  "Shhh," I brushed her cheek and she tilted her head toward my hand, "You're gonna be fine."

  Hopefully.