Volume 1.9: Marked

Type: Series

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: M

Characters: Cadence, Rachel, Rudolf, Stella, Sonja
Word Count: 3098

Glossary: mark-when a mating pair mingles their blood and through that form a bond between them so that they can feel each other's emotions and sense when the other is in danger.

Warning: nudity (and no Rose, not the kind you think)

There's something inside me

That pulls beneath the surface

Consuming, confuding

This lack of self control I fear is never ending...

Crawling-Linkin Park

"Mom, I don't blame you, I understand why you all did it. And I'm not angry with you, I just wish you'd told me right from the beginning and not because you felt cornered by Luca," Cadence told her mom over breakfast. 

They never got a chance to talk last night; Sonja had gone straight to her room, claiming she had a headache. And this morning Cadence was relieved when she walked into the kitchen and found chocolate pancakes, her favorite, laid out on the table for her. Obviously Sonja was as eager as she was to put their fight behind them and making her breakfast was her way of saying she was sorry.

"You do?" Sonja asked as she took a small sip from her cup; it was Chamomile tea. Like the smell of soil just after it rains, the smell of her mom's herbal tea was one of her favorite scents in the world, it reminded Cadence of her mom, and it made her think of her childhood with such fondness and yearning.

"Yes I do," Cadence told her, and to show her she meant it, she left her seat and walked over to Sonja. She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed the top of her head.

"Really, I do. I think if I was faced with the same choices, I would have done the same thing," she added softly.

"Thank you, Cade that means a lot to me," Sonja patted her hand gently and she ushered her back to her seat, insisting Cadence should finish her pancakes.

They spent the rest of their breakfast talking about the coven, they still hadn't found Carmella's piece of the Star of Chaos but since Sonja was attacked by the hunters demanding her piece, the coven had come to the conclusion that it was them who had taken it, and they were in the process of setting up a meeting with Samuel and his people to come up with a plan to bring down Luca and his clan.

Cadence immediately closed up the moment Luca's name was mentioned and it didn't escape her mom's notice, she asked her about it.

"Is something wrong? Did something happen with Luca?"

Cadence stalled for the briefest of seconds, debating whether or not to tell the truth. She decided against the lies, it was pointless, Sonja would find out anyway about her near accident with Luca; it took place on a busy road and a lot of people had witnessed it. Cadence was actually surprised her mom hadn't asked her about it, she'd expected it to be a hot topic right now because nothing stayed quiet for long in Twinbrook.

"Yes, he almost ran me over!" Cadence wished she could take back her words when she saw the look of hate and fury in her mother's eyes.

"That bloodsucking son of a bitch!" Sonja hissed as she jumped from her chair.

"Mom, he didn't mean to, I wasn't looking where I was going," Cadence tried to explain but Sonja wasn't listening. She abruptly left the kitchen and rushed her closet where she took out the revolver she’d had since Cadence was a little girl.

"He’s messed with the wrong Witch. Nobody threatens my child. Nobody! Bloody vampire coming back here like he owns the place," Sonja mumbled under her breath as she headed for the door.

Cadence stayed hot on her heels and grabbed her arm just as she was about to slip out.

"Mom, can you stop please? Rushing to Luca won't help. Besides he didn't hurt me. In fact he brought me home, I passed out before he could run me over, and I don't think he would have in any case. It was my fault, seriously mom." Something in her voice got through to Sonja and Cadence felt her relax.

"You'd tell me if he comes after you, right?" Sonja asked, and Cadence was put on the spot again, her eyes bulged out like a deer’s caught in headlights when she thought of the origami swan and her staring contest with Luca last night.

"Cade?" Sonja asked shrilly.

"Of course mom, I’d tell you,” she lied and she hated herself for it.

"Good!" Sonja kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly to her.

"I love you Cade, you are my treasure." Sonja’s words filled her with guilt and she wanted to take back her white lie, but she didn't. She knew there’d be no stopping her mom if she knew Luca was in her room, leaving her beautiful origami swans with cryptic messages.

As she walked to her dance class later that morning, Cadence kept telling herself she didn't lie to her mom since she couldn't say with absolute certainty that it was Luca who had left the origami for her.

Outside the campus, Cadence changed her mind about attending dance class. She backtracked in the direction of the creek, to Rachel’s house. She knew her friend would be home, Rachel didn't have classes on Mondays. 

She, Rachel and Rudolf were juniors at Twinbrook College. Like her, Rachel was a witch. She was Stella's daughter and they had known each other since they could crawl, Cadence was older than Rachel by a mere few weeks.

Her friend majored in art history, and Rudolf, her boyfriend, and son of the leader of the local wolf pack, majored in Philosophy.

Cadence loved her best friends to bits, but sometimes she didn't get Rudolf with his eccentric ways. He always talked about deep things, like the psyche and inner peace and whatnots. And she always felt out of place when he and Rachel talked about art and philosophy and all the deep things their young minds were eager to explore.

All Cadence wanted to do was to dance. She didn't have big dreams of making it big, she was content with Twinbrook and her magic. She didn't even think she was good at dance, her love and passion for it had carried her through her classes over the years, but Emme, her dance instructor, begged to disagree.

She'd pushed Cadence over and over to apply for entry into Bridgeport’s National School of Arts, she'd even handed her the application forms, but Cadence never did anything about it, partly because she was afraid she wouldn't measure up and she knew herself, she didn't handle rejection well.

Another reason though was Sonja; she could never leave her alone and move to the big city. Sonja had given up her life to raise her, given up her own dreams to be both parents to her.

A loud howl directly in front of her pierced the peaceful morning air; it promptly brought Cadence out of her daze.  It was easy to see why Luca had almost run her over. She was absent minded and her mom often joked she had her head in the clouds, living on daydreams. 

She blinked when she realized she was already at her friend's place, the sharp barks coming from inside the house alerted her of Rudolf’s presence.

Cadence didn't have to knock, she let herself in. Doors in Twinbrook were rarely locked.

The breakfast dishes were still at the table in the kitchen and Stella was busy with her grimoire.

"Hey Cade, skipping school?" The older witch asked, her eyes briefly left the aged pages of her book to look at her and Cadence smiled guiltily as she dropped her bag on the floor and  joined her at the table. 

"Don’t worry, your secret's safe with me," Stella laughed and returned to the book.

“What are you reading?” Cadence asked curiosly, Stella seemed absolutely riveted with whatever was on the pages.

Stella explained she was reading up on an ancient Scrying technique her great grandmother had created, she was hoping it would help locate Carmella's piece of the Chaos Star in case they were wrong about the hunters being in possession of it.

"Good luck," Cadence told her sincerely as she left the room; she knew what was at stake.

She found her best friends goofing around on the living room floor.

She delightedly watched the snow-white cat and the dark brown wolf wrestle each other for the shiny ball of foil.

The cat’s excited meows made Cadence smile, and not for the first time since Rachel and Rudolf started seeing each other, she wished she could find someone like Rudolf. Someone who'd want to play with her and dance with her, someone who'd sing to her and make her feel like she was the only kitten in the world.

Rudolf stopped and turned away from Rachel suddenly and let out an enraged howl as he sniffed the air.

Everything after that happened so quickly Cadence hardly had time to take any of it in. Rudolf leapt at her at the exact same moment Rachel shed off her spectral cat form.

For a nanosecond there was stunned silence in the room.

Cadence didn't know which was more shocking, being attacked by her best friend or seeing her other best friend completely naked.

Stella rushed into the room then and threw a towel at Rachel before she tried to wrestle Rudi off of Cadence, but her attempts were futile, Rudi was generally stronger than the three of them combined in human form, in wolf form he was five times stronger.

He barked and gnashed his canines at Cadence, drool and froth dripping from the sides of his mouth.

Cadence tried to block her face with her hands to ward off his attacks, but he was too quick for her, he ripped into the thin flesh on her wrists and she yelped out in pain as she watched the blood gush out.

While all the craziness went on, Stella had run to the kitchen to get a broom and she was now trying to pry Rudolf off Cadence with the wooden handle. And that enraged Rachel.

"Mother, stop it!" She screamed at Stella, who at that moment, seemed to be caught up in her own haze, getting off on the chaos in the room.

Rachel did the only thing she could think of, she cast a time freezing spell. Everything, including all magical creatures, except Witches and Warlocks, remained frozen until the spell was broken.

Stella came back to her senses as soon as the chaos was temporarily put on hold.

And Rudolf stayed frozen in place.

Cadence managed to pull herself up from the floor; she ran up to Rachel's room at her friend's insistence, locking the door behind her.

The sound of the microwave in the kitchen downstairs and Rachel’s computer whirring to life in the corner of the room told Cadence time had restarted again, Rachel had broken the spell. She fell on her friend's bed and wept, her loud sobs were blocked out by the white fluffy pillows.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop shaking. She'd never seen Rudi that way and she wondered what had set him off.

She didn't have to wonder long, Rachel knocked on the door and Cadence dragged herself from the bed to let her in.

Her friend gave her a hug as soon as she opened the door.

"Are you okay?" She asked, and Cadence nodded. Her small sigh though gave her away; she was a little shaken up.

Rachel led her back to the bed and explained to her why Rudi had gone apeshit on her, it was the scent he'd picked up on her. 

"I told him it's impossible. Vampires are not real, but he seemed pretty much adamant that whoever he is has left a mark on you. His scent is all over you, it's like his essence is flowing in you," Rachel laughed scornfully at the idea of the undead.

"They are real. I ran into one. But I don't understand the rest of what Rudi said..." Cadence wanted to say more, but Rachel stopped her.

“Whoa, slow down! You ran into a Vampire? Where? When?" Her friend asked shrilly.

Cadence told her everything she'd learned since meeting Luca two days ago, from the fateful court night twenty years ago to the origami on her desk last night.

At first she was reluctant, but then she remembered Rachel had seen a lot of weird things in her life too, heck, both their lives were weird. And with her friend's encouraging nods, she found it easier and easier to just loosen up and talk.

"WOW. This is so romantic. You are the only one who can save his brother," Rachel sighed dreamily as she fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Cadence shook her head. There was nothing romantic about her situation. Luca just wanted her blood, end of story.

"I have to stay away from him. He's bad," Cadence sighed, more to herself as she got up from the bed, but her friend had obviously heard her; she sat up and glared at her.

"I don't think you can. If Rudi's right about him; you and Luca have a connection, it’s unavoidable.

"Don’t be absurd, I just met the guy. When would we have had a chance to mark me or whatever it is Rudy thinks he’s done?" Before the question was out of her lips, she already knew the answer. Yesterday, at his house, that's when.

For the first time since their near accident, she wondered exactly what had happened between the time she passed and when she woke up in Luca's living room. Her memory was hazy, but she didn't question it then because she'd figured it was normal when people faint and it would come back to her eventually.

"Tell me more about this origami," Rachel squealed as she perched herself on her nightstand. Cadence shrugged. There really wasn't anymore to tell.

"Spoil sport," Rachel pouted and Cadence smiled a little. She always found it funny when her friend did that. It was an old habit from their childhood, whenever Rachel didn't have her way she'd frown and pout till Cadence gave in to her demands.

"Okay then, what's he like?"

For a moment Cadence didn't say anything as she weighed her question. Luca was hard to describe.

But if she were to try she’d say he looked unreal, roguishly sexy really with his pale coloring and shaggy black hair.

His blue, almost translucent eyes, beneath dark eyebrows and long lashes shone bright like silver coins in the sunlight when he was amused, but when he was angry and tense they hardened to steel slits, instilling fear and panic in her.

He had a wide generous mouth, and his lips didn’t look as cold as she assumed they felt. They looked enticing, and if she was honest, she’d admit the thought of kissing him had crossed her mind a few times.

His teeth were normal, she guessed he kept his fangs retracted, in fact if Sonja hadn't told her he’s a vampire she would never have known, that's how normal he was.

But his hands were as cold as ice, and Cadence supposed that was the telltale sign she’d missed completely, no normal living being could be that cold.

He was tall, and to be honest, she found his towering, sinewy frame a little threatening and overpowering, but she liked the bunched up muscles on his shoulders, and his biceps whenever he crossed or flexed his arms, she always itched to touch him.

She'd seen his wicked sense of humor briefly and she'd liked it. But he was mostly serious, she thought, remembering the numerous times she'd caught him in heated exchanges with his clan. He looked very scary whenever he was in his serious moods, and she hoped she'd never be on the receiving end of his wrath.

But the biggest thing that had jumped at her about Luca was his capacity for love and devotion to his brother. She knew he was devoted to Julian, most people would have given up hope of rescuing him, but Luca hadn't and he seemed convinced he'd be able to break him out.

He was fiercely loyal, that too was obvious, but he was also gentle and kind and honorable, the fact that he didn't take her blood when he had his chance yesterday was very telling.

Cadence knew, don't ask her how, but she sensed he was deeply passionate and emotional despite his cool exterior. She guessed he could make love to you as easily as he could kill you, and that thought scared her.

She was instantly drawn to him when she'd spied on him. And if things were different he was someone she would have loved to know.

"Wow, that's a mouthful for someone you've just met. I don't think I could describe Rudi in such great deal. And we've been dating for two years," Rachel cried dreamily.

Cadence blushed at her comment. She hadn’t realized she'd voiced out her thoughts about Luca.

"I could be wrong about him," she smiled shyly at her friend, effectively dismissing everything she'd said about the Vampire.

She quickly changed the topic to Rudi and Rachel; she could tell her friend was worried about her boyfriend.

After Cadence left the room, Rachel had switched back to her spectral cat form to communicate with Rudi because he couldn't phase back to his human form since there was a full moon, he could only phase back in three days.

On days that Rudi was in his wolf form, Rachel often stayed in her spectral form to keep him company.

She worried about him  a lot whenever he was in wolf form, he got into these fits of rage and he'd hardly remember what he did when he phased back, that's why she had had to switch forms again so quickly, to get to the bottom of his attack on Cadence.

"Cade, he's really sorry about that,” Rachel apologized on his behalf. And Cadence nodded. She understood.

“Go find him. I should be heading out anyway,” Cadence told her friend.

They hugged at Rachel’s bedroom door and just as Cadence was about to run down the stairs, her friend cried after her.

“You never told you me what you wanted.”

Cadence turned back and smiled at her. “I did, I wanted to talk about Luca. Thanks.”

Rachel gave her thumbs up sign when she mentioned Luca and they both burst into laughter. Once again Cadence wished things were different. If Luca wasn’t the person that he was, with all his ghosts from the past and the axe to grind, he would have been perfect.

They could have made magic…

______

Credits: Rachel, Rudi, the rest of the wolf pack and their animal forms, as well as Emme, the elf and Cadence's dance instructor were all made my Karima. Thank you Aussie for your awesome sauce.

The next update is done. I think I'll post it before I leave for the coast on Thursday. When I come back next Monday  it's back to work, so updates may be scaled down to bi-weekly. 

Thank you all for your support, feedback and crazy comments, it's because of you that TF is still breathing.