Appleberry(Completed)

Part Two-Ch. 1: Roaming

It had been two months since leaving the All Hollow's Eve party at the Appleberry's. Leaving everyone behind. Maybe it had been too much. Maybe I couldn't take it. Or maybe it was bullshit that they didn't tell me everything.
I was bitter. I just wanted the truth. I had the truth, at least some of it, I think. Frankie was the only person I was taking calls from, but it was only every once a week. I told her I was fine then I would hang up.
I didn't give her time to ask other questions. I didn't give anyone time to grab the phone and talk either. I didn't want to talk.
Most of my time was spent roaming around in wolf form in the woods. I had gone to Montana to a small town named Cedar. The people were nice but didn't ask many questions. There was a fleet here. I tried to lay low from them. Though I felt like they could sniff me out as soon as I stepped into a room.
I was sitting at the bar when I got my weekly call from Franks. The phone was sitting in front of me. It rang three times.
"Hello." If it wasn't Frankie, then I would hang up.
"It's me. I'm the only one around." Frankie whispered.
I took a drank of whiskey. "I'm fine Franks."
"I know you are physically but how about emotionally?" I could hear Frankie's voice crack.
I hung my head low. "Franks, I am fine as one can be. I just need time."
"Time? Sloane, you have been gone for two months. Everyone is biting at the bit. Phoenix is torturing himself because he is blaming himself. The twins are lost. Bodhi, Ozzi, and Jett are going out of their minds. Everyone is going out of their minds. Zeke is even worried. Not to mention dad. He along with the rest of us have done locator spells along with the twins and I sniffing you out. Nothing." Frankie was on her rant again.
I got a rant every other week. "Franks, slow down. You'll end up falling out from lack of air to your brain."
"It's not funny. Where are you Sloane?" Frankie was begging.
"I can't tell you that Franks." I looked over feeling a gaze on me.
Some guy was looking at me. "Franks, I have to go."
I hung up the phone and made my way out the back door to the alley. I leaned up against the wall waiting for the guy who was staring at me. He opened the heavy door and almost stumbled onto the pavement.
He got himself together and looked around. When he saw me, he didn't move. "Are you following me?"
He shook his head. "N...no."
"Really? Because you wouldn't stop staring at me and now you have followed me out here. So, I think you're lying." I folded my arms across my chest.
"Look, you've got it all wrong. I don't want anything from you. I was just making sure you stayed protected." He looked nervous.
I walked over to him. "Who is making you watch over me? You part of the fleet or the guardians?"
"Neither." He took a big gulp.
"Then who?" I stepped closer making him back up to the wall.
He put his hands up in front of him. "It was Grace. Grace Devlin."
"Why?" I was ready to punch him or the wall beside of his face.
"She just emailed me a picture of you and said you would need protection while here. Now, can you please back off." He clenched his jaw.
I chuckled. "How did she know where I was? How do you know her?"
He fixed his leather jacket. "She done an advanced locator spell. She got ahold of me and told me to watch out for you and make sure you didn't do anything stupid. She is also my aunt."
"No one else has been able to find me. What advanced locator spell did she do? I made sure no one could find me." I was pacing back and forth.
"You have to do this thing with water, soil, and fire. You become a map of the world. You search over the earth's grounds until you find what you are looking for. It's pretty cool." He started walking towards the main road.
I stopped then started following him. "Where are you going?"
"I am going to my loft. You can come. I'll give you a place to stay instead of that car you've been cramped up in." He kept walking.
"She hasn't told anyone where I'm at, has she?" I caught up to him.
He shook his head. "No. She knows you don't want that. She just wants me to help you and make sure you stay okay."
I let out the breath I was holding. I didn't want anyone to know where I was. I was so in my head, I bumped into Grace's nephew.
"Watch where you're going will you." He looked back at me.
"Sorry." I stepped back.
He unlocked the door and went up the stairs. When we got to his door, he waved his hand. The door flew open. He went straight in.
"So, you can put your stuff in the guest room. Come and go as you please. Just clean up after yourself." He went and sat down on the couch.
I stood there, looking around. His loft was awesome. He had all this witch and gothic stuff hanging around. Its tones were warm and inviting. I loved it.
I stopped and looked at him. "What's your name? You never told me."
"Slade Wolfhart. You are Sloane Ashby. Nice to meet you and nice to meet me. There, we know each other." He threw down the magazine he was reading and went to the kitchen.
"Slade Wolfhart. Does anyone ever ask if that is your real name?" I leaned up against the pole between the kitchen and the living area.
Slade laughed. "Yeah, sometimes. So, Sloane Ashby, why did you run away?"
"I didn't run away. I left because people weren't telling the whole truth." Slade was string his coffee.
"Okay. But you should have given them the chance to be upfront instead of just leaving." He took a sip of his coffee.
I huffed. "We broke the curse. All because I am half wolf and half witch, people want me dead. Or at the very least not with Phoenix."
"Yes, because if you produced an offspring, it'd be just like you. Just like your family. I get it." Slade put down his coffee and opened the refrigerator.
I sat at the island. "How do you get it? Someone trying to kill you too?"
Slade put his hands down on the counter and looked at me. "You aren't the only wolch. Given there are only two families that are. Your family and my family."
"Why is it such a big deal? We are wolves and we are witches. That shouldn't be a big deal." I shrugged.
"You don't get it, or they never told you the rest of the history." Slade was leaned against the counter, arms folded across his chest.
"More bullshit on top of other bullshit. I wish my dad would have moved somewhere else. Maybe he was right to keep us away from all of this." I put my head in my hands.
"Look it's nothing to beat yourself up about. Things happen. People fall for who they fall for. It's about love and connection. You were just born in to it." I looked up at him.
"We were born into families that are different. We must accept that. We also must accept that there are people out there that don't want us to live. That they don't want us to procreate." Slade shrugged.
"So, if I got married to Phoenix, they'd try and kill me or my children if I had any? That's not fair." I glared at him.
Slade sighed. "No, it's not fair. We just must find a way to protect what we love. Now, do you want to know why they want us dead?"
I nodded. "They want us dead because back in the day it was against the law to have a wolf and a witch together much less have children. If it were found out, you were killed. The reason my family and yours never died, was because we had a strong fleet and people to protect us. In your case, your dad moved away from Appleberry to a big city. It's harder for them to keep track of the city life."
"Them who?" This was all a bunch of bullshit. We hadn't harmed anyone. It shouldn't matter.
"The elders on both sides. The coven elders and the fleet elders. They are really old." Slade started cooking.
"How old?" I asked.
Slade turned back around to me. "Try over a hundred years old."
"We can live for that long?" I was shocked. I just thought we died like anyone else.
"We can live for a long time. We aren't human. Not even witches. They age gracefully and get older and live a long time. We could live longer since we are both. Though things can kill us sooner." Slade turned back around to focus on the food.
"I have to go back, don't I?" I sighed.
Slade slid a plate of eggs mixed with peppers and sausage in front of me. "You can do whatever you want. Stay, go, or move to a different country. You have the freewill to do whatever."
"Thanks. You are a huge help." I dug into the eggs.
"This is really good." I shoveled in another bite.
Slade laughed. "Thank you. I am a good cook, learned it all from Grace."
"Your mom not teach you how to cook?" I was confused.
"My mom lost her mind when my dad got killed for protecting another family from the fleet elders. They had been caught by a human transforming. Killed the one who transformed, my dad for protecting him, and made sure that the human never talked. When my dad died, mom lost it. She's in a mental institution. I was sent to live with Grace when I was seventeen. I left two years ago after I graduated to be closer to my mom." He rubbed his eyes, trying not to cry.
"I'm sorry Slade." I put down my fork and stopped eating.
He let out a shaky breath. "It's okay. Things happen. So, stay, go, or do whatever. I am here, or I will go wherever you go. I have to, I promised my aunt."
"All right. I am staying. At least until I figure out what I want to do." I looked at Slade.
Slade put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Okay, then we will stay until you figure it out."