Yara
"Run, Yara."
The whisper brushed against my ear so softly I almost thought I imagined it. Then the car's door was wrenched open.
Rough and uncaring hands grabbed me, and before I could even process what was happening, I was thrown out.
The world flipped as air rushed past my face. My stomach dropped. The ground came at me too fast but I didn't hit it.
Strong hands clamped onto my shoulders mid-fall and yanked me upright so violently my teeth snapped together.
A gasp tore out of me as I stumbled forward, barely catching my balance. And then I saw him, the vampire.
The same one from the pack grounds. The leader.
Up close, he looked worse.
His eyes were red. Not just red—but deep, pure, unnatural red. The kind that marked him as something old. Something powerful. A pure blooded vampire.
His fangs were out, sharp and gleaming, his lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Those eyes… they were locked on me like I was prey.
"We meet again, lovie." His voice was smooth, it crawled under my skin and settled there, cold and wrong.
My heart slammed against my ribs, but anger pushed through the fear.
"You framed me!"
He blinked once, then let out a short, amused breath.
"Me? I didn't do any—"
He froze mid-sentenceHis head tilted slightly, his nose lifting as he sniffed the air. Then his entire body went rigid.
Hope sparked in my chest so suddenly it hurt. He smelled something.
Wolves.
It had to be wolves. Of course. Understanding came rushing in, fast and sharp.
Darius rejected me to protect the pack. To protect them from war. Anything that happened outside his territory wouldn't be tied to him. The bond had been severed in front of everyone. The vampires would believe it.
He was going to send men to get me back. It was no wonder one of his men whispered for me to run right before I was thrown out of the car.
My chest tightened as relief spread through me. I smiled softly.
I could forgive him for this. He had always been smart, always thinking ahead.
"Witches." The word came out like a hiss.
My smile died instantly.
The vampire's grip tightened on my arm, his red eyes scanning the trees with open hatred.
"The witches are here already."
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach so fast I thought I'd be sick.
No.
No, that didn't make sense. Why would witches be here?
"Why would witches be here?" I asked, even as my pulse picked up again, faster than before.
He turned to me slowly. His eyes burned.
"It's because of you, bitch."
Before I could react, my feet left the ground. He swept me up like I weighed nothing, his arm locking around me as he turned—
A force slammed into us to hard and violently, it hit us from the side and sent both of us flying. The world spun for a moment before heavy impact.
My back hit something solid. Rough bark dug into my skin as the air was knocked out of my lungs completely. Pain exploded through me and for a second, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think, couldn't move.
A low, furious snarl came from the vampire before I slipped from his grip as he staggered, his body slamming into the tree beside me before he pushed off it with a hiss, his eyes blazing.
"She should have stayed hidden," he growled.
A woman stepped into view. Her movement was slow and unhurried like she wasn't facing a pure-blood vampire.
Like she wasn't afraid.
She stood a few feet away, her dark hair falling loosely around her shoulders, her expression too calm for what was happening.
Then she lifted her hand and the air shifted and she began to chant a spell that made everything feel alive. Like she was communicating with the trees, the dead leave, the stone and even the dust.
The vampire moved first, fast enough that I almost didn't see it but she was faster. Her hand flicked and something invisible struck him again.
He was thrown back like he weighed nothing, his body hitting the ground with a force that made the earth tremble beneath me.
But he recovered quickly, pushing to his feet with a snarl, but there was something different now. He looked cautious.
He circled her slowly, his eyes studying her.
She didn't move or even flinch. Her eyes stayed on him, steady and unreadable. Then she moved. A sharp motion of her wrist and the ground beneath him shifted.
Roots tore through the earth, snapping upward and wrapping around his legs before he could react.
He cursed, struggling, his strength evident as the roots cracked under pressure—
But she didn't give him time. She flicked her hands again and something slammed into his chest. He flew back again, harder this time, crashing into another tree with a sickening crack.
I watched, frozen yet mesmerized. I should run. I knew I should run but I couldn't move.
My body felt rooted to the spot, my eyes locked on the scene unfolding in front of me.
This was a witch. A real one. Not stories or whispers.
Not accusations thrown in anger. This was a real life witch. She was powerful and terrifying all at once.
The vampire staggered to his feet again, but this time, he didn't attack. He stared at her, then at me. Then back at her.
Something like calculation flickered in his eyes for a second. I thought he would try to run at me, grab me and disappear. Instead, he turned and ran.
Just like that. Gone. Vanished into the trees like he had never been there.
Silence fell. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until it left me in a shaky exhale. My body finally unlocked.
I pushed myself back slowly, dragging myself across the ground until my back hit a tree.
The ropes around my wrists burned against my skin as I twisted them, trying to loosen them, but my attention kept drifting back to her. To the witch.
She stood still for a moment longer, watching the direction the vampire had disappeared into. Then she turned and looked at me.
My breath caught, my heart stuttering in my chest as I stared at her in dumbfounded silence.
She looked like my mother. Not exactly like a carbon copy but enough to pass as my mother's sister. Enough that it made something inside me twist painfully.
The woman smiled and my chest tightened. It was the same smile my mother usually gave to me. Soft and warm.
"Yara," she said gently, stepping closer. "I've been looking for you for five years."
Five years.
"I heard what happened to your mother," she continued, her voice softening. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."
My throat felt tight. My mind struggled to catch up, to make sense of this.
"Who are you?" I asked.
It was the only thing I could say. The only thing that mattered.
She came to a stop in front of me. Close enough now that I could see her clearly.
"I'm Onyx," she said. "I'm your mother's sister."
My head snapped up. "What?"
My voice came out sharper than I intended.
"My mother has a sister?" I demanded, my eyes widening as I stared at her. "A sister who is a witch?"
The word felt strange on my tongue. Unreal. My chest tightened.
"So… does that mean my mother was a witch too?"
"Yes."
Her answer came easily and with a smile that looked too much like my mother's.
My eyes burned and tears filled them before I could stop them. I didn't know which question she was answering. Maybe all of them, maybe none.
Everything felt too big and too much.
"Come," she said gently, bending slightly as she reached for me. "We need to leave before others arrive. Vampires. Witches. This place won't stay quiet for long."
Her hand hovered near me. I didn't take it immediately.
"Did my mother really do what they said?" I asked, my voice quieter now, but heavier.
I needed to know. If this was true, if she really was a witch who killed innocent vampires. Then everything I thought I knew…
"No," Onyx said firmly. "She was framed. Just like you were."
My breath hitched.
"Who framed me?" I asked quickly, the questions spilling out before I could stop them. "Do you know who did it? Was it a werewolf? A witch? A vampire? Why me? Why us?"
My voice shook slightly.
"I'm nobody. I'm just—"
"Yara." She cut me off gently. "Not now."
Her hand lowered slightly, then lifted again, firmer this time.
"We need to move." Her eyes dropped briefly to my stomach and her expression shifted and became not only soft but strange. "For the little one."
I frowned. What was she talking about?
"What little one?"
She tilted her head slightly, confusion flickering across her face.
"Your son," she said simply. "You're pregnant."