Song: lofi for witches and sorcerers by Lunar Hour Studio

"I'm not so sure about this," I said. Putting the battered car in park, I eyed the seedy motel with distaste. It looked like a place where you could get murdered at and people would tell you to stop screaming. That's how rundown it was.

"It's perfect," Pride huffed. "People don't ask questions here and we need a place where no one will question this."

Pride motioned to our haggard appearance. The cuts and scrapes that still lingered on my skin. The fact that his clothes were in black tatters with him having to hold up his shorts to make sure they didn't fall.

We looked like hell.

"Wait in here and keep an eye out." Keeping a tight grip on his shorts, he pulled out some of the cash Dion gave us for the journey. Try not to leave a trail. Use the paper, was what he'd told us. Between Pride and I, we had a couple thousand dollars to keep us comfortable.

I locked the doors as soon as he left. Tossing my journal and the paper I took from the dead wolf into my bag, I moved our things to the front. My eyes scanned every person that passed but not one of them looked back at me.

Pride was right. This was a place where no one cared about what anyone was doing.

I almost felt invisible here.

My nose crinkled at the sight of a scantily dressed Siren leaning against a cracked green door. Her low humming pulled at my heartstrings and I had a faint urge to offer my services to her. The magenta haired woman smirked. Even though her eyes never met mine, I knew she knew what her hypnotic voice was doing to me.

The door opened a crack to reveal bright red eyes and nothing more. I stiffened at the sight. It was a Vampire. And judging by his piercing orbs, he was starving.

The Siren slipped into his room after sharing brief words and I glanced away.

If Mother only knew where I was now...

Pride waved at me from outside the front desk. Shouldering our bags, I met him outside and nodded at the white bag he held. "What's in there?"

"Some things I needed," he replied cryptically. Motioning for me to follow, I trailed behind him until we got to our room.

Unfortunately, room 126 was next to the Vampire and Siren's room. I groaned at the sound of his moaning and rolled my eyes at her constant squealing. Pride smirked at my uneasy expression and I resisted the urge to pants him right here for everyone to-

Shit.

No one would probably bat an eye if he walked up and down the street naked. This was quite the sordid place indeed.

My nose crinkled at the smells that hit me as soon as the door opened. By the Moon Goddess I didn't think anything had been thoroughly cleaned in here since the early 2000's. Pride kicked the door shut with an equally disgusted face.

"Tell me again why we're here?"

"We need to sort ourselves out before we meet up with the others," Pride grunted. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he single handedly dumped the mystery contents of his bag out. A box of matches, cigars, and travel sized toiletries tumbled out. "Go take a shower. Put all of your clothes in here before you shower. Don't touch them when you come out."

Tightening his grip on his falling shorts, he whipped off his tattered blue shirt. As he tossed it into the white bag, mischief shined over his dull eyes as he raised a brow at me. "Panties and bra too."

Snatching the bag from him, I shoved him to the side and raised the cheap cigar. "Why?"

"We smell like their Pack." Pride plucked the brown roll from me and tossed it back onto the bed. "And we smell like the remedies those Witches used to cook up that perfectly timed explosion."

So this was to throw them off our trail.

Grabbing a few of the mini bottles, I took the white bag with me and closed the bathroom door. I quickly stripped and deposited my clothes.

What about my shoes?

That too.

I tossed my combat boots into the bag with a sigh. Those were my favorite boots.

Scrubbing my body clean of the horrors didn't help me much. No amount of water could take away the scent of death that would never leave my skin. Even in the scalding heat I still trembled with grief. The grisly sight of mauled pups and mutilated women was an image that would never leave me.

I drowned myself in artificial coconut and sulfate shampoo. My skin was raw by the time I stepped out of the dingy tub. Cringing at the stale smell, I wrapped myself in the dark blue towel. It's rough texture hurt my sensitive skin and I didn't even want to think of where it'd been.

Using another towel to dry my hair, I left the bathroom in search of fresh clothes. When I emerged Pride was sitting on the bed with my journal in hand. He was puffing on the cigar, clouds of smoke curling into little dancers. My black pen moved in a flurry as he scribbled whatever it was he was writing.

Mindful of the late afternoon heat, I threw on a loose pair of shorts and a plain white tank top. The scent of Mother's citrus detergent wafted over me, banishing the grey eyes of the dead she-wolf.

"Come here." Pride set the journal down beside him. Taking one last draw from the death stick, he stood over me and blew the disgusting smoke into my hair. I coughed on the burned tobacco, turning my head to the side as Pride continued to circle me. His puffs of smoking dancers twirled around me before clinging to my cleansed skin. "Good. Hold this for me. I'll be out in five."

Placing the thick cigar between my fingers, Pride disappeared into the bathroom. The shower sputtered to life and I put as much distance between myself and the cigar as I could. My sensitive nose twitched at the rancid smell seeping into my pores. Needing something to distract myself from the foul aroma, I read over the page Pride was writing on.

Not wanting to recall the brutality of Jack's death, I glanced away from the bold red letter word. Reading through Pride's list, I hummed in appreciation for his attention to detail. My fingers skimmed his tiny handwriting and I held it up for an easier read.

"Glamour?" The term sounded familiar but I couldn't recall its meaning. "Silent foot spell..."

Pride definitely knew a lot more about magick than I thought he did. A small part of me wondered how he must feel in this situation. Sure, he was a member of our Pack and a valued wolf. But he wasn't a full Werewolf like the rest of us. He was still half Witch.

Or was it Warlock? I always forgot the difference.

Surely fighting against the other race that made you up couldn't have been good for one's soul...?

I dropped the journal as the door opened. Steam and heat rolled off of Pride's sculpted chest. I shifted my wide eyes away from his slipping towel. Shaking my head, I chastised myself for ogling the definition of his chiseled abs.

I'd seen many men naked without so much as batting an eye. Now should be no different.

Are you ok?

Yeah.

Peeking at him from the corner of my eye, I watched his tense back as he threw a black shirt on. I looked away again as the towel started to fall. Flicking the ash onto the dirty carpet, I focused on the unpleasant smell and it's skinny dancers.

Women of smoke illusions could be so lovely if you really looked at them.

Are you lying?

I felt Pride pull away from our Pack bond. I'd made him uncomfortable with my invasive questions. Even so, a small part of me didn't care.

We were away from home and we only had each other. Even when we joined the other four it was still going to be us two against all odds. He was my Pack and I was going to take care of him as best as I could.

In between my mental breakdowns, of course.

Yeah.

Handing Pride the cigar, he inhaled the toxic fumes before casting the smoke over himself. He shook his wet hair like a dog and I frowned at the water that spattered me. Pride tossed the bag of our tied up clothes onto the ground. They fell in a crumpled heap.

"What's a glamour?" I asked.

Pride's mouth set in a firm line as he snatched my journal up. Plopping beside me, the bed sprang with our combined weight. "It's like a mask. Magick that can keep things hidden."

"And that's why we couldn't smell them until it was too late?" Pride nodded, the grinding of his teeth was more than audible in our shared space. He was furious with himself. I could feel it.

He felt like a failure.

I knew the feeling.

"Usually glamour is used as a physical mask," Pride explained. "It'll hide who you really are. Make you look like someone else."

"But sometimes it can mask scents?" Pride's face scrunched up as he muttered something about not seeing the signs. His internal conflict was seeping into my own heart whether he realized it or not. I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way to comfort him but came up empty handed. "And the spell? That's why we didn't hear them coming until the explosion, right?"

"Right." Pride snapped the journal shut and handed it back. "Put it away. We're leaving after I get rid of our clothes."

Pride opened the bag of our clothes and dropped a satchel of herbs inside. Tying the bag carefully, we put on our shoes and left the room. The Vampire and Siren were still having the time of their lives next door.

Must be nice to not have to worry about prophecies and stars. Must be nice to only care about getting dicked down and drinking blood. Must be nice.

I followed him to the side of the sleazy motel, watching him toss the bag into the green dumpster. Hoisting himself onto the ledge, Pride leaned over and set the trash ablaze with blue fire.

Glamour.

Soft foot spell.

Blue fire.

Lightning in his heart.

This was the most magick I'd seen Pride perform and speak of for as long as I'd known him. It added a certain air of wisdom to his usual cocky demeanor and I finally saw why girls found him so attractive. If he wasn't such a hoe, even I could see the appeal.

"We have to fix the car's window-"

"I traded the car," Pride interrupted me. Taking his duffel bag from me, he slung it over his shoulder and walked away. Appalled, I followed after his lumbering form in shock.

"What do you mean you traded the car?" I hissed. "The fuck did you trade our only car for?"

"Silence," Pride grinned. Nodding at me, we jogged across the road and raced towards the bus. Pushing past the snooty Elves and their upturned noses, we passed our money to the driver. Pride pulled me towards the back where it was less crowded. "I burned our clothes so they can't track us from here on. The smoke from the cigar will mask our Pack's scent. And when they ultimately track down the car, the owner's gonna lie and say he stole it."

That was actually pretty smart.

I seriously needed to stop underestimating Pride.

"We'll get there in five hours." Not knowing what else to do, I thanked him for his quick thinking and praised his magickal knowledge. A flush crept up his face as he accepted my kindness wordlessly.

Sinking into the stiff seats, I watched the scenery fly by with the scent of smoke hiding us from our enemies.

I heard it the second I stepped off the bus.

My back was aching and there was a horrible crick in my neck. My shoulder was still damp with Pride's disgusting drool. And I reeked of cigar smell like I was a chain-smoker myself.

All of these things I knew and wasn't surprised by.

What I wasn't expecting was that song only my ears could pick out. What I wasn't expecting was that sweet melody calling to the beating of my own heart. What I wasn't expecting was that alluring call enticing me to let my primal urges out and give chase.

I didn't expect any of this because I was only twenty.

I wasn't supposed to find him yet.

This was so, so wrong.

But I couldn't deny what was happening.

Because as the call of my Mate's heartbeat grew louder, I couldn't contain the low whine that escaped my pouting lips. A hot flush enveloped my heated skin and the wolf within me howled at the sweet sound bonding us together. His heartbeat was much faster than mine. My soul ached with the knowledge that soon, they would beat together.

As one.

Ignoring Pride's curious gaze, I dropped my bag and ran towards my destiny while our hearts sang out to each other.

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