Dedicated to xcinnamonrolls for commenting and being involved and letting yourself be know that you're enjoying this book 😊👏. And honeybookgeek for all the votes and sharing the love 💕

***

BECKER
Becker was tired. He wanted to shut his eyes and wake up when his life was better. He scoffed, the sound echoing through the dark room.

"My life? Be better?" He thought out loud.

But his friends were happy, and that's what mattered to him. Arlis finally had a mate, and Constance was... well she seemed happier than normal even if she wouldn't admit it. Constance had the same thought process he did, "As long as my friends and family were okay, I was okay."

Becker closed his eyes and leaned against the brick wall, sighing loudly. His body hummed with power, his chest thumping loudly. He had grown used to his power, his radiance. But most others hadn't. He would catch when people stiffened when he entered the room. The only people who never faltered were Arlis, he had his own power, and Konrad. Supernaturals had a weird kind of automatic Alpha-Omega thought process, whether you were werewolf or not.

Your ambience, your aura, bowed and surrendered itself when a higher power entered in. Most Supernaturals didn't even really feel it, they thought it was a respect thing. But Werewolves felt it, they felt their inner wolf recoil in an Alpha's presence.

Becker was in some sort of old dungeon cell type thing, despite his power. Three mossy brick walls covered the sides and the small window let in little to no light, covering the stones in shadows. The concrete floors were slick with water that leaked from the ceiling. In the cell there was nothing, no bed, no toilet, just emptiness. And then there were the bars. The bars that made Becker feel like an animal at a show. He tried to move the bars, but it was useless. Anything doused in Lotus was was a weakness to anyone but Arlis. When Arlis's ancestor killed the first Salem Of The Old Witch, an evil one that was not Konrad, his blood became tainted, cursed with a blessing. The very weapon that was used to kill the Salem Of The Old Witch would never hurt a Barron. But the rest of them... well... they were weakened by Lotus.

Down the hall Becker heard people talking, people who he hated so much, he wanted to destroy them until hell seemed like heaven to them.

A man with slick back red hair walked to the cell and unlocked the cage, his tall body filling the doorway. A man who he once called dad. A man who once held him on his shoulder and laughed as they ran through the yard holding hands. Someone who splashed him with water as they played in the sprinklers back home.

Becker remember the simpler times. Times when people didn't fear him. The good times when he was small and innocent. Not this... monster...

Becker took a deep breath. "Why are you doing this?" He asked defeatedly. "You know Arlis, the Dawns, shoot even the Golds, are going to rip you to shreds."

Konrad smiled, his teeth shining and white. Konrad always was perfect, not just physically but mentally. Becker's mom fell in love with Konrad's mind. "With you by my side? They wouldn't make it two steps." Becker hated the cocky attitude, the feeling of complete control that Konrad had. How right Konrad was.

Becker was happy, however, that he was here first of all his friends. He couldn't imagine Arlis being alone in this hell hole. Arlis was his best friend, a werewolf who had saved his ass more than Becker liked to admit. And he couldn't imagine Constance sleeping on a wet and moldy floor without fighting a fight she would lose. He felt in a way, as if he was taking their spot here. And if they did somehow get taken like he did, at least he knew he'd be here for them.

Becker shot his head up in realization. "I won't fight by your side."

He knew the man in front of him was just an image. A vision, not even the real man.

Becker didn't understand how he even broke the chains that bound him to hell. He didn't understand how he could be here, how he started coming back. But... he did have some theories that sounded too insane to even introduce to sane people. "In fact... tell me... who's the other Salem Of The Old Witch that you have?" He went with his first theory, that another Salem Of The Old Witch was out there, somewhere in the world.

Konrad widened his eyes in fear. "How do you know about that!?" He spat.

Becker smirked, but he knew it didn't look threatening. He tried everything he could to look non-threatening. "I didn't until now." While many knew Becker had some seriously powerful magic, Becker knew that his greatest strength was in fact the point that he wasn't a complete idiot.

He had had a hunch that there was another Salem Of The Old Witch. He could feel his own powers being pulled to someone, tested. Plus nobody other than a Salem Of The Old Witch could possibly break the chains that Becker placed on Konrad so he'd stay in hell.

But the problem was... was that Becker thought he was the last one.

"Well... maybe now when I say you can either take me up on my offer or I can force you to work for me through pain and—"

"What's your offer?" Becker asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. Becker thought that maybe he could work this into his favor, get closer to Konrad and spill his blood from the inside out. He'd be his own Trojan Horse.

Konrad shrugged. "I'll let Arlis and Constance stay free if you come work for me willingly." He offered.

"You're not even back yet!" Becker spat on the ground. "Why would I make that deal? You can't even capture them until you have risen?"

Konrad raised an eyebrow. "I got you here, didn't I?" He chuckled darkly, the sound so low it sounded like an earthquake. "Raise me, Becker. I'll let them stay free and we'll share power!" He made it sounds like a business proposal. "My chains are broken, now I just need my form back, my power. All of it."

Becker snarled at him, shaking his head. "I'm already powerful. More powerful than you'll ever be!" Becker yelled. He stood up and sucked in a deep breath. "You're scared of me, admit it Konrad."

Konrad tilted his head and cleared his throat, taking a step back. "I... I most certainly am not. I don't fear mutts."

Becker whistled between his teeth. "Rather be a mutt than a bitch like you." Becker laughed at his own joke, mentally high-fiving himself. That was a good one.

At least... it was for a moment.

Becker was thrown against the wall, his head hitting brick. His throat was being squeezed like it was nothing, a piece of styrofoam compared to obsidian.

"You want to act like a child? I'll treat you like a child." Konrad walked to Becker and backhanded him, sending Becker to the floor.

Becker tried to stand up, do something. But the fact of the matter was that Becker hadn't participated in hand to hand combat in a very long time and the knowledge he did have all those years ago was faint. Becker couldn't really hit him anyways, he wasn't fully risen from Hell. Just the chains were broken, his body wasn't here.

Konrad kicked Becker's face, and Becker hit the ground, his jaw smacking against wet concrete.

He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream but he couldn't. He tried to move, tried to breath, tried to blink but nothing was working! He couldn't move his eyes, speak, or even wiggle his nose.

"I'll let your friends stay free if you just raise me!" Konrad screamed.

All the trillions of pressure evaporated at once. And Becker sucked in a big breath, gripping his throat.

He looked at Konrad, a man who once held doors open for children and women, who once braided his mom's hair.

"Both of them would agree. No torture you have would compare to the destruction of the world." Becker whimpered out. "Go get them. Bring them here. Slaughter us like pigs. You staying in hell would be worth it."

Becker got up on two knees and looked him dead in the eyes as tears strode down his face in a race.

"I am Becker Reinheart. I know that I could save my friends by working for you. But quite frankly, my friends don't amount for the whole world. So you're going to have to kill me." He whispered and stood straight, closing his eyes. This was him. If he convinced himself of who he was then he was someone. He was important. He did this in the mirror, he did this in his head, he gained his confidence by owning who he was.

Konrad pushed Becker down with his foot. "Fucking pathetic." He scoffed loudly and walked around the cell. "Becker Reinheart everybody! The great and terrible Becker! Is crying on the floor. What a little coward. I have met—" Konrad started laughing, standing over Becker. "Children who are braver than you! I'll tell you what Becker, I should let you go just because you're an actual baby. You think Arlis would be crying? Or Constance? Oh this is humorous."

Becker knew that his friends wouldn't be crying. Arlis would be fighting until his very last breath even though any attack on Konrad in this form wouldn't do a single thing to him. Constance would yell out more cuss words than a sailor in a storm. But Becker wasn't them. Becker was brave in his own way.

Like... a child. He looked up to Konrad. "I'll raise you." He said.

Konrad stopped laughing, finally glad that he was getting what he wanted. "And it isn't even my birthday. I'll see to it that your friends—"

"No. My deal isn't for them." Becker said, wiping his tears and clearing his throat.

Konrad narrowed his eyes. "Is it a woman?" He looked shocked at that idea that Becker had a girlfriend.

Becker shook his head. "Release all the kids." He offered.

Konrad's smirk dropped quicker than a sandbag. "Becker you strike a hard bargain. Maybe you're not as childish as I thought."

He needed to be strong. He needed to save those kids. He popped his neck and focused on the dying body of Konrad.

Very few people have touched the ethereal versions of living things. Less of them lived to tell about.

He ran at Konrad and wrapped his hand around his throat, pushing him against the wall. Konrad looked like he was about ten seconds away from a heart attack.

"No, I'm not. You're forgetting that while I may cry on bathroom floors (stress is hard to deal with) I also know how to make an entire mountain move. Let the kids go and I'll raise you." He pushed harder.

Becker felt like sleeping, he was tired again. But he was used to it by now. Yet, doing powerful things like this was hard enough without being sleep deprived. He'd sleep for a long time when he was done.

Konrad put his hand on Becker's arm. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Becker shrugged. "You want to try a different way?" Becker pushed forward, crushing Konrad's throat.

Becker thought of all the evil things Konrad had done. Killing not only his mom, but also Constance's. He murdered children. He whipped his best friend with a silver belt. He was everything Demon's feared.

Becker pushed harder, and something snapped.

Konrad was gone.

Becker pounded the wall. "Gosh dangit!" He yelled.

"I put a Kill-Code on them. I say the word and they die the moment you don't do what I ask." Konrad's voice came from behind him.

Becker turned. A Kill-Code. A spell only Witches older than 600 years old and Salem Of The Old Witches could do. When a word is said, the word triggers that person to die.

It's not used often, and you have to have the opposing person's permission to do it and/or have created them.

Like the Hunters. They all have the same Kill-Code. It wasn't much, just the word "Completed" in Latin followed by the Hunters name. Only Becker could use that one though, considering his mom helped create the Hunters.

Salem Of The Old Witches, the Witches and their bloodlines who came together to create the Hunters. Along with this, they were the original witches, the natural ones born from the Moon.

Becker gulped. "I'll do it. Just... let the kids go."

Konrad was scared, trembling. "Fine. Christmas Day."

Becker closed his eyes and nodded. "Deal." He held his hand out, wanting a deal to be made by bondage.

Konrad held his hand out and clasped his to Becker. "Deal."

EVERLY
"Heyyy, hows the Wife, Chris?" I asked, laughing as he walked around the room, nervously chewing his nail.

Dr. Whatever-his-last-name was, I always just called him Chris, was a small town Witch Doctor.

Chris sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm glad your alive and that that worked." He wiped his brow and looked an old lady sitting in the chair. I recognized her as my grandma Molly, a woman who died long before I was born. "I know you're dead and you probably want to sleep again, but do you want to talk to her?" He gestured to me.

Grandma Molly shook her head. "I want to go back to death, that's what I want to do."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Yeah wish I had that option. But if I died my husband would bring me back to life just to kill me again." He tried to joke around, but little did he know that Grandma Molly was a jerk. She was born in like 14 something and was used to the olden ways.

Grandma Molly glared at the room. "I saved my traitorous granddaughter and helped a gay man. I wouldn't be surprised if I went back to hell all of a sudden."

"And goodbye Grandma Molly." Chris said sarcastically as he clapped his hands. Grandma Molly disappeared along with all her crude remarks.

I widened my eyes. "Husband!? What happened to Judith?" I asked, sad for a woman I had never met. She looked pretty pretty in any photos though.

"Judith got ate by my zombie. We don't talk abut her. It was an eloped marriage anyways." Chris cleared his throat and popped his fingers. "You should be fine, Everly."

I looked around the room for Colin, my eyes shutting slowly. "Where's my husband?" I asked and then realized my mistake. "BOYFRIEND!" I shouted. "Your name is DOCTOR MONTGOMERY I DO KNOW YOU!"

Having a dead person's blood in you took some getting used to. Eventually my blood would circulate back but until then... everything was funny. Including this branch of Witchery, Doctor. Doctor witch. Witch doctor. Hehe.

"Haha. I said husband." I smacked my head and then pulled my arm back and cringed. "Owe. My head hurts."

Chris looked like I was a toddler trying to ride a big-kids roller-coaster. "Sweet Mary and Joseph, Everly stop slapping your head. You have scalp damage."

"This... this head?" I slapped my head again as Chris panicked and grabbed my hand. "This one right here?" I slapped my head again, fighting Chris for control over my own arm. "Oh this scalp."

"Everly no! Stop! You have a concussion." Chris tried to pull my hand away once again but I ripped it out of his grasp.

"Everly YES!" I laughed because my name was Everly. "Everly yes." I said again and smacked my head once again, I could feel that. Like... my hand was... hitting my own head. That kind of feeling.

"Stacy, go get the boy." Chris ordered.

Stacy, a short and skinny woman with black hair nodded and left out of the room.

"Did you get a face lift? Or are you face yoga-ing." I asked and chuckled. Face yoga. I wonder if that was a real thing. Like yoga... but for the face. I'd do face yoga. I'd do yoga on Colin's— COLIN! Wonder where he was?

Colin walked in and sighed in relief when he saw me. "Oh thank God you're okay." He nearly ran to my bedside.

"I'd do your face... yoga." I winked at him and sat up, my entire body was numb and everything had doubles.

"What is... what's wrong with her!?" Colin asked, pointing dramatically at me.

"Fight me home dog. FIGHT ME! I. Am. BEAUTIFUL!" I yelled and tried to stand up, only to find that my legs didn't work. I collapsed onto Colin, who was holding me up well enough. "I love you much." I hung myself on him. "But... but but... I'm scared that you'll leave me. And I— ha. Ha ha. Are you a volcano because I lava you." I sang and tried to poke his nose, but I ended up just smooshing his cheek.

Colin looked to Chris. "Chris what the hell did you do to her?"

Chris made a disgruntled, "eh" noise. "Well... She has ghost blood in her for one so she's technically half dead right now and slowly coming back to life. It's like half of her is ethereal and half is... here? It's a complicated witch doctor thing that even I don't understand. Grandma Molly injected her blood into Everly. And for two, she has a concussion and is still low on blood."

I cackled. "Can I... can I have a bite?" I nipped at Colin's neck and he set me down lightly on the bed.

"How long?" He asked.

Chris huffed out. "An hour?"

"An hour?" Colin repeated.

"Holy Kasparov Dawn with a Bible! Like a whole four minutes?" I asked and then shook my head. "Like a whole 59 plus one minutes!? That's like... an hour!"

Both boys stared at me before taking a calming breath and looking back to each other.

"I'm sorry, Colin. This is as much as I can do." Chris shrugged, beat up with all the hard work he put into saving me.

"Well as Kasparov says, "What you do is never enough, you useless fetus." I paused and held my breath. "Or is that that chef guy." They were practically the same person anyways, so did it really matter?

Colin licked his lips. "Are you sure? She's... she's impossibly insane right now."

I gasped. "I would never be insane! Unless it involved Chris Hemsworth because YES! Daddy drives me insane." Chris Hemsworth was like... on the same level as Jesus.

"And that's enough of Everly." Chris held up a doll that looked too much like me and covered its mouth with his hand. "Have fun talking!"

"Is that... a voodoo doll!?" Colin screeched.

Chris nodded. "Yes. Comes in handy when you're a doctor. As I said, nothing I can do. She'll live, which is a lot more than most people who get stabbed with Lotus can say. How did she even get stabbed?"

Colin gulped. "We were attacked. By some people."

Chris looked Colin dead in the eyes and said, "I'll keep your little secret but if she dies I'm telling Kasparov everything. As a Witch Doctor I'm to be secretive and helpful to all, but as a Supernatural, as a loyal and proud Necromancer, I'm too report this."

Colin looked at me as I tried to laugh at him, tried to talk. But it was like my mouth was actually zipped, I couldn't even open it.

"I won't let her go." Colin said.

I flipped him off. That's the only sign language I know.

Chris Montgomery patted Colin's shoulder and smiled kindly at him. "Yeah good luck with that. Here's that doll." He handed Colin the voodoo doll. "If you want it destroyed just light it on fire."

I opened my mouth and closed it like a fish. "Babe look I'm a fish!" I opened and closed my mouth.

"Oh no, I'm just gunna let her talk and I'm going to video the entire thing." Colin pulled out his phone happily. He was like a mom who's child just got their wisdom tooth out, "Hey Everly, how much do you love me?" He asked, handing the doll back to Chris.

I looked to Chris. "I think you're so sexy."

Colin's face grew red. "I thought I already knew that. I mean being sexy isn't the same as love, but I'll take it."

I glared at him. "Hell. No. I meant this sexy beast RIGHT HERE! Chris, give yourself a round of applause."

Chris, was in fact a tall and older gentleman with too many gray hairs and wrinkles. He had a mole on his right cheek and a scar on his neck from god knows what.

"Sedate her. Do something." Colin put up his phone and began begging Chris once again to keep me silent.

But neverrrr. "I am not the silent one! I will kill anyone who—"

Something stabbed into my arm. I looked over and saw Stacy the nurse injecting something into my arm. "Oh you little shi—"

Everything was very very dark. And I felt very very asleep.

***

When I woke up from whatever sleep I was in, I jumped out of bed and breathed deeply, like sucking in a deep breath after holding it for too long. My head was a train-wreck, a ringing that had no sound but had the same pounding effect.

"Colin." I muttered out into the darkness, searching for the one who could ease some of my pain.

"Hey I'm right here." He said, and I felt him grab my hand, kissing it lightly. "I'm not leaving."

I wiped my eyes and blinked tightly, leaning forward. "Your mom? Is she—"

"Probably still Atrax. I called my dad and he said that he's busy right now and for me to just... hang low. All the Hunters stationed in America are gone right now so it's not like anyone's hunting her anytime soon." He took a deep breath and I watched his dark form stand up and move through the blankness in front of me to the door. He opened it slightly, just enough for a little light to pour through. "How's your head?"

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "You could smash a brick against it and I wouldn't even notice. That's the level of the headache I have." I said and gently laid back down.

Colin leaned over and crawled into bed with me, kissing my cheek softly. "I'm so sorry Everly. I don't even know what happened. I'm sorry my mom—"

I turned carefully onto my side so I could look at him, outline his jawline in the dark. "Hey. It's not your fault." I rubbed his cheek as he started to cry silently.

"Everyone is leaving or is taken, Everly." He caught his tears and held my hand in his, taking deep breathes to ease some of the ice in his chest. "I don't even have a family anymore."

I chose my next words as carefully as I could. "I'm not much but I'm yours." I offered, knowing that I could never replace his mom or his sister. But knowing that I wasn't leaving might offer some sense of relief.

"Please don't leave. I was so worried, Everly. You don't even understand. I was clawing my heart out, scared to death that you might be gone." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. "And it's all because I froze up because I couldn't fight my mom."

I shook my head and pulled back lightly away from him. "Hey don't ever be mad that you couldn't save me. I'm not a princess."

He brushed his fingers through my hair. "But to me you're worth so much more. More than any princess, more than any jewel or gem."

I saw his eyes reflect the hallway light, his own stars. I wish I could lay down in this bed for eternity, with him, wrapped up in his arms. If I could etch his name into my heart I would.

What do you even say to something like that? Thanks? Me too? Everything seemed so impersonal. A simple, I love you even seemed too small.

"I'm just... scared to lose you." He whispered.

I fluttered my eyes, my heart squeezing. Words were caught in my throat. "Good thing you never have to face that fear. Because I'm not leaving. If I die, I'll scare the devil himself into letting me back."

Despite the moment, Colin laughed and nodded. "Fine by me."

I wanted to turn the conversation to Konrad, to figure out what plans he had hidden up his sleeve, but no transitional sentence seemed right at the moment.

"Colin... what do we do?" I asked. "How do we stop this? We can't deny that we're a part of it. We have to be." I went for the blunt transition.

He shrugged. "Everly I don't know. We aren't powerful like the rest of them. We're 20 and are barely making it out when we're not doing anything against Konrad."

I snapped my fingers, regretting instantly the loud sound. I winced and he carefully ran a hand over my forehead.

"You're still not as dumb as you were an hour and a half ago." He chuckled.

I frowned, narrowing my eyes. "What happened an hour and a half ago?"

He giggled, a light sound that sounded too pure to be in this world. "Dear, you apparently think Chris is a sexy beast."

"Excuse me? He's an old man!" I exclaimed, mentally slapping myself from the pain I'm causing myself.

He laughed, but the mellifluous melody didn't hurt at all. "Oh and..." He took a deep breath and kissed the corner of my mouth. "I love you too, Everly Dawn."

My head raced. I really don't remember our first I love you?

I smiled anyways, a warm feeling spreading through me. "Despite the events of today, at least I got one thing out of it. I love you Colin, no matter how insane I am for saying it after a month or so."

Colin kissed the top of my head and hugged me tighter. "You should go to sleep." He said.

I nodded. "Stay here?" I asked.

"Always." He replied.