The Witching Hour

Chapter 15 - Cuddle

The morning sun slipped through the blinds of Ivy's bedroom. Even with her eyes closed, she knew night had slipped past her rather quickly. She could have sworn she had just fallen asleep. Eyes still shut, she rolled toward the center of the mattress and bolted up when there wasn't another body there to stop her. Her head shot around looking for the rest of the Pentacle. In their place, a note rested on the edge of the bedside table. Ivy scrambled over and picked it up.

Headed out. You barely stirred as we slipped off the bed. Figured you'd need time to sleep and some time with Hunter. – Ella, Aura, Marina

With a sigh of relief, Ivy collapsed back down into her sheets. As she snuggled into her covers, the bedroom door cracked open to reveal a yawning and exhausted looking Hunter. One head stretched above his head while the other rubbed at his eyes. He still wore yesterday's work clothes, a result of Marina putting him to sleep when she busted in after the fight.

"Why am I so exhausted?" Hunter pulled at his slacks and threw them across the room. "To top it off, I woke up with the worst migraine."

"That would be Marina's doing." Ivy watched as his expression went from calm to shocked in seconds. "She didn't do it to be mean."

"Elaborate please." Her boyfriend pulled his shirt over his head, and Ivy went slack for a second. Sometimes she couldn't help at marvel at what a stud her boyfriend was. Hunter noticed the ogling and smirked. He wiggled his hips exaggeratedly as he slithered next to her.

"It's hard when you're distracting me," Ivy pouted as she burrowed into his arms.

"You can focus. I once tried distracting you with a cupcake in a bare towel on your birthday while you were studying and you stayed strong." Hunter gave her a triumphant smile. His hand played in the ringlets of her hair. She shuddered at how good it felt.

"She put you to sleep so you wouldn't freak out when she and Aura brought in an the unconscious Ella and me," Ivy sped through.

Hunter's eyebrow practically shot off his face. "Wait, you were passed out yesterday and they put me to sleep rather than let me help?" The shock rang loud and clear in his voice.

"Hun, it was witch stuff." Ivy put a hand on his chest to prop herself up halfway. Hunter didn't bother to reply with words but rather an annoyed look. "Hunter, they were worried. Ella wasn't in good shape. I had passed out with her. It was a mess."

"What happened?" His tone went flat, signaling the seriousness. "Why had you passed out? What happened to girls' night?"

"It was girls' night...just 'let's go snooping in the woods for information' girls' night..." Ivy hid her eyes but could feel his burn holes into the side of her face.  "It has to deal with all the disappearances that have been happening."

"You're getting wrapped up in that?" He looked down his nose at her, and his tone of his voice darkened. "Ivy."

Ivy moved from laying on him to sitting completely upright in bed with her legs crossed before her. Her hands played with the edge of the sheet as she thought of what to say. She didn't want to bring him into the Pentacles problems. He didn't need to be entrenched in the supernatural community. He already has a witch for a girlfriend. That was enough as it was.

"Yeah, Ella found some—"

"Of course Ella would be at the center of this."

"Hunter, that's not fair." Ivy crossed her arms over her chest. "She is an investigator with more resources than any of us. She put it together."

"So why didn't she do this with her badge?" Hunter's face went devoid of emotion.

"Not enough for a warrant?" Ivy squeaked out. Her hands went up in surrender. "She came to us, and we all said yes. No one held out."

Hunter shook his head but didn't complain. If he had, Ivy would have ripped into him. You don't leave your fellow witches, especially your Pentacle, out in the cold like that. They had to do this together. They were a team.

"When did things go sideways?" Hunter already knew trouble followed these witches wherever they went without Ivy needing to say anything.

"These weird, unseen things attacked each of us," Ivy explained. "We all got away relatively unharmed except Ella. She had been stabbed and was bleeding profusely."

"No hospital?"

Ivy's voice caught in the back of her throat. This was the part of the story she wasn't sure she should tell. Healing someone from a fatal injury with nothing but your hands made for a freakin' bombshell of information. Not everyone would take it the right way, especially a human like Hunter.

"That's where I come in." Ivy went back to playing with the edge of the sheet, her eyes trained on it. It began to fray under her fingers as she picked at the fabric with her nails. "Somehow I healed her. That's why I passed out. It took all my energy."

Ivy did it. She told Hunter against her better judgment. When she finally looked at him, his eyes radiated love, and she was sure she made the right decision. Ivy closed the void between them and snuggled into him. Her hands drummed on his chest as he traced circles along her spine. They sat in silence at the bomb she had dropped. His mouth parted and closed a series of times; he would think of a question then think of a better one. In the end, he planted a simple kiss on the crown of her head and held her tight.

"I guess maybe it was a good thing Marina put me to sleep." Hunter shifted so they lay face to face. "That doesn't explain the migraine though."

"I've found when she forces an emotion onto you super strongly, the comedown can be really difficult."

Her eyes slid over his shoulder, the memories playing behind her eyes. The last time Marina had done something like that to her, she ended up on the floor crying until there was no water left in her system. It was not a memory she needed to relive.

"At least you were asleep for yours." Ivy's tone clipped at the end to put a pin in that conversation. She did not need him probing her with more questions.

Hunter nodded and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. She spun around and backed into him so they could fall asleep and cuddle. Being a Sunday, neither of them had work or responsibilities calling them. They could sleep all day in blissful happiness.

Just as sleep was about to descend upon them, Ivy's phone vibrated on her bedside table, next to the note left by the witches. Aura's face graced her screen.  Ivy furrowed her brow. Why would Aura be calling her if she had just left?

"Aura, what's up?" Ivy asked groggily.

Aura cut straight to the point. "Word's gotten out. The Council wants to convene."

A/N

Another Sunday means another chapter! Woo! How was Easter almost two weeks ago? Time just gets sucked into a black void.

I've been trying to use this time to get writing done but without putting too much pressure on me. How are you passing the time?

Hope you're all hanging in there. We'll get through this!