Chapter 247 - His Mate or His Girlfriend

Melanie knew Aria would be here. She could feel it in her bones, almost like a sixth sense. The young hybrid witch walked through a grassy area surrounded by hills. She was in Texas. She’d seen this place enough in her dream about Ricky and once when her spirit had travelled here. The dark magic around this area was palpable, making her practically sick to her stomach as the evil intent of this place bore down on her. Poor Aria had been trapped here going through only the goddess knew what.

“I’m coming Aria,” Melanie gritted out determinedly. She touched the small pendant around her neck. The pendant linked her to all her coven members, so despite any cloaking spell, she could still find them.

She didn’t get far. A witch hung from a tree, her intestines hanging out. Dark magic was suffocating everything around Melanie, including herself. A number carved into the tree glared back at her: 9. So Sybl had just performed the last sacrifice required to summon Asmodeus. This was not good. Then why had she taken Aria? What did she need Aria for? A chill ran up Melanie’s spine.

Why would Sybl kidnap Aria right before a summoning ceremony? Carefully, Melanie walked forward. Dark magic became more stifling. It was making Melanie dizzy. Melanie paused and sucked in deep breaths of air. She needed her wits about her if she planned to save Aria.

“Join me child…” a voice resonated around her.

Melanie jerked back instinctively. There went her element of surprise. Sybl knew her daughter was here.

“Join me and I’ll let her go,” Sybl’s voice spoke again, echoing eerily around her.

Melanie silently kept walking.

“Melanie!” a voice called from behind.

A.N.: Some of my wonderful readers can't see my author's notes so just letting you know that the next update is Friday and it will be a double update. I hope today's extra long chapter made up for my one day late update :)

“No!” Melanie exclaimed, turning around aghast.

Ricky and Sarea were making their way towards her.

“What are you two doing here?” Melanie demanded angrily.

“We came here to help you!” Ricky responded. “You can’t do stuff like this! It’s dangerous! Coming out here alone and risking your life like this is not a good decision!”

“It’s more dangerous for you than it is for me,” Melanie pointed out angrily. “You shouldn’t be here.” Her gaze went to Sarea. “Neither should you.”

“I go wherever my mistress goes,” Sarea responded determinedly in hushed whispers. “I’ve seen the final sacrifice,” Sarea added softly. “I feel the growing aura of dark magic around me. Sybl is about to perform the ceremony. We need to inform our allies. We need people here to fight. If Asmodeus is summoned, he will be weak from the summoning. The longer we wait, the more power he will amass.”

“Did Cora make any progress?” Melanie asked quietly, hoping Sybl could not hear her.

Sarea merely nodded discreetly. Melanie’s eyes lit up in understanding.

“Inform everyone to be ready if we need them,” Melanie hissed in a hushed undertone.

Sarea bent down and began to write something down on a piece of paper. It was time to fight. There was no putting it off anymore.

A shrill scream that echoed around them hauntingly.

“Aria,” mumbled Melanie, turning on her heel and doing her best to follow the screams. But she didn’t need too. She could sense the direction she needed to go after activating her pendant.

A few minutes later, she realized that Ricky was following her in his wolf form. He was looking at her, almost as if expecting her to turn. Melanie’s stomach sank as she realized she wouldn’t be able to turn and she’d have to tell him eventually.

“I-“ Melanie began, but suddenly, she heard a small explosion behind her.

Looking back, Melanie saw that a ball of fire had just dropped behind them. Both began to run. Not for the first time, she was thankful she’d done some training with Lana and Brad. She was able to keep up with Ricky as balls of fire rained down on them, just barely missing them each time.

“Joiiinnn meeeee!” Sybl’s hypnotic voice spoke around them again.

And then Aria’s loud screams rent Melanie’s ears. She stopped in front of a small opening at the foot of a hill. It was from that opening that Aria’s screams could be heard. Ricky seemed eager to follow Aria's voice. He looked at Melanie expectantly, waiting for her to turn so they could go together.

“I…I can’t turn,” Melanie finally confessed in a whisper, looking at Ricky.

His eyes widened in surprise, curiosity evident on his wolf’s face. Melanie’s hand posesively went to her stomach, her bump hidden beneath voluminous clothes purposefully meant to hide the reason for her inability to turn. Ricky’s wolf scampered back a few steps in surprise, almost as if he couldn’t believe it.

“But you can’t go in there,” Melanie said swiftly, reaching out a hand towards her brother. “Something bad will happen to you…I-I saw it,” Melanie spoke through the lump in her throat. “Please…stay here with me. We’ll figure out ano-“

“Melanie it’s a trap! Ruuunnn!” Aria’s voice screamed from the small opening. “Get out of-“

Her voice was suddenly muffled and then replaced by intense screams of pain. Melanie took a few steps towards the mouth of the small cave. Ricky was suddenly in front of her, stopping her from going forward. He looked at her sternly, plainly telling her to retreat.

“I can’t leave her,” Melanie whispered helplessly. "I have to try...."

Ricky looked up at her, determination in his eyes.

“Wait!” Melanie exclaimed as she realized what he was about to do. “No! Ricky don’t-“

But she stopped short as she watched him disappear into the small opening, ignoring her protests. Melanie shook her head furiously. No…no..no. She'd seen this happen and he'd died! She had to stop him! In frustration, Melanie put her head in her hands and screamed angrily.

She’d walked right into Sybl’s trap. Now Ricky was going to die because of her. She couldn’t just stand out here and wait for something bad to happen to Ricky. She’d seen it happen. She had to stop it. So summoning her magic, she bent low to the ground, touching the earth and channeled all her energy into the ground. The ground began to shake violently, causing an earthquake.

“If I want, I can make this entire hill crumble,” Melanie gritted out threateningly, hoping she’d said it loud enough for Sybl to hear.

The shaking increased, Melanie concentrated on the small opening, forcing the rocks around it to give way.She wanted more than anything to make Sybl pay. But she didn’t want to risk innocent lives. A full blown earthquake could potentially cause casualties to innocent lives living adjacent to where the tectonic plates merged that she was using to cause this earthquake. And Aria and Ricky were inside. She couldn't risk their lives.

But she had to do something! She wouldn’t stand by idly like she had in her dream. Suddenly, she heard shouting behind her. She knew who it was, but she didn’t have time. Ricky's life was in danger. The opening had become big enough for her to just barely squeeze through if she got on her stomach and Melanie did exactly that, disappearing as her father yelled her name a second time. Sarea had done a marvelous job in getting all their allies together. It was going down and it was going down today. Melanie shimmied into the opening, vowing she'd defeat Sybl even if it was the last thing she did.

Melanie crawled on her hands stomach, following the scent of Ricky. He was close, she could smell him out. And the farther she crawled, the bigger the small tunnel got. Finally, she was able to crawl on her hands and knees, giving relief to the pressure in her stomach. But what she saw when she got to a turn in the passage made her blood run cold. Ricky’s wolf lay unconscious and next to him lay a hooded figure. If Melanie had to guess, they’d both gotten knocked out during a fight when she’d caused the small earthquake. Luckily, Ricky was breathing but his beautiful fur had been charred. Fire. His adversary had been fighting him using fire. Cautiously, Melanie went forward, expecting to pull down the hood and find Sybl underneath. But what she found instead was a blonde-haired, plump middle-aged lady she knew all too well.

“Jenny?” Melanie breathed out in confusion.

She’d been a worker in the children’s home when Melanie was a baby. She’d been promoted to work in the coven headquarters. Jenny had been her grandmother’s most trusted assistant. She….

Melanie’s eyes widened. These days, Jenny was in charge of overseeing the comings and goings of everyone within the headquarters. She was Sybl’s eyes and ears….

But since when? How could this be?

“No…” Melanie murmured, shaking her head. This couldn’t be. There had to be a mistake!

Aria’s screams punctured the ineffable silence. Melanie made quick work of binding Jenny so the witch couldn’t break free and use her magic if she woke up. Melanie then checked Ricky, murmuring healing spells and applying healing potions to where she believed him to be burned.

Finally, Melanie squared her shoulders, stood up now that there was enough space for her to stand and rushed towards the direction of Aria’s cries of pain. She had to get to Aria. Ricky was safe…for now. She’d sent off a quick message to Sarea and her father, directing them to Ricky’s location.

Her heart pounding in her throat, Melanie furiously made her way forward. Aria’s screams had died down and she hoped against hope Aria was all right. Praying all the while for Aria's safety, Melanie finally made it through the winding passages and into a cave that literally reeked of dark magic. It was oppressive and Melanie found herself feeling lightheaded. But it was here that she found Aria, her eyes were closed and her blue lips contrasted sharply with her pale face. Her hands were tied behind her back and her frame was tied against a metal pole that was tainted with dark magic.

Melanie silently made her way forward, examining the pole and the flow of energy around the room. It seemed as if the pole was draining Aria of her magic, making her weaker. If Melanie touched it, it would do the same to her.

Wisely, Melanie kept her distance, examining the cuffs that were around Aria’s bruised and scabbed wrists. How long had the witch struggled, the spiked cuffs cutting into her wrists painfully until she’d finally given up? Carefully, Melanie got out a knife made to cut through magic suppressing metals and, in one swift move, sliced through the rope and horrendous cuffs. Her stomach turned as she noted they were drenched in dried up blood. Melanie reacted quickly, catching Aria in her arms as the witch fell forward.

“Melanie?” Aria asked weakly, her eyes fluttering open and looking up at her.

“Shhh, I’m here,” Melanie soothed, looking down at her mentor. “I’ve got you, you’ll be fine.”

“You…sh-shouldn’t be-be h-here,” Aria struggled to speak, as if it was an immense effort. Her eyes moved around the room, as if looking for someone. “G-get oo-o-“ Aria ended up coughing profusely. To her horror, Melanie realized Aria was coughing up blood.

“Save your strength,” Melanie admonished.

She quickly opened up a portal. She had to get Aria out of here. But this entire place was bogged down with so much dark magic, she couldn’t form a portal that would take them farther than out of this hellhole. The darkness weakened Melanie's magic. The best she could do was get them out of this hill. Then she’d have to make another portal to take them to the coven’s hospital.

“Leave me!” Aria demanded with a gasp.

“Shhh,” Melanie admonished again, dragging her through the portal and out to the other side of the hill. She prayed to the moon goddess her father had made it to Ricky.

“Melanie!” a voice called out.

Melanie looked up to see Brad running towards her with….Stephanie. It had been so long since Melanie had seen the she-wolf. But not was not the time for formalities, especially when Melanie noted that Stephanie was in warrior attire.

“Hey Mel, long time no see!” Stephanie said brightly, then her face sombered as she spotted Aria leaning against Melanie.

“You mobilized the entire pack?” Melanie asked incredulously.

“It’s time,” Brad responded grimly. “We need to make a move now. Sarea told us that Sybl’s summoning the demon and you wanted to make a move. Everyone agreed. According to Raine, the demon would be weakest when first summoned. We’ve got wolves battling Sybl’s rogues around the entire area. It’s time to get on the offensive. They had a meeting without you and Xavier said Sybl’s probably setting a trap for you, but we could use this opportunity to set a trap for Sybl. Cora's mission was successful so we have a trump card Sybl doesn't expect.”

Melanie took in this new information as she handed Aria over to Stephanie.

“Take her to the Coven’s infirmary,” Melanie instructed, opening a portal for them.

“What are you doing?” Aria asked softly.

“Getting you out of here,” Melanie responded firmly.

Aria shook her head furiously, reaching for Melanie, clearly wanting Melanie to go with her.

Evil, malicious laughter suddenly resounded around them.

“Get her out now!” Melanie commanded sharply.

Stephanie complied, disappearing into the portal despite Aria’s faint pleas for Melanie to come with her.

A ball of smoke formed infront of Melanie, slowly taking the shape of a laughing woman until she materialized infront of Melanie. Melanie stared back at deep green eyes, the exact shade of her own.

"Hello child," said the sickly sweet voice of Sybl as Melanie laid eyes on her biological mother for the first time ever.