Chapter 16 - Kaleb
I stared into the treeline as Bradon went over the plan once more.
“Alright. We’re going out to scan a five-mile radius.
Everyone stick to your partners at all times, even if anything happens.
People die when you think you can handle things on your own.
Eyes are to remain peeled and pay attention. Anything can happen out there.”
“I feel like you give the same speech every time we go out,” Asher said as he popped up from a crouch. He offered Brandon a smartass smirk, and Westley snorted. Asher then looked at me and waved his hand in my face. “Earth to Kaleb.”
I blinked, suddenly realizing I wasn’t paying attention.
My sister, who decided to accompany us, was standing next to me, giving me a look. “Are you listening? Jesus, Brandon! Send him home. He’s going to get me killed.”
Brandon looked at Jade. “Don’t joke like that.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s the same speech. It isn’t the first time I heard it, and it won’t be the last either.”
Brandon’s eyes darted to me. “Glad my Beta, second in command, was taking my warning seriously.”
I threw my hands up. “Eyes peeled, and pay attention. I heard you. Does anyone else have anything to add before we go in?”
My sister raised an eyebrow at me, seeming to instantly see through it.
“Are we ready to get going?” I asked, waving toward the trees. “We don’t exactly have all day to fuck around.”
“Someone seems to have their underwear in a bunch,” Westley said, wiggling his eyes. “Is a certain someone wanting to get back faster?”
Asher nodded in agreement with him. “Yeah? How is that going by the way?”
“No comment,” I said, grabbing my gear. “Now let’s go.”
“Ohhhhh, someone doesn’t want to talk about it,” Westley sang while walking beside me. I ignored him; what I couldn’t ignore was my sister’s gaze that was burning in the back of my head. I knew she was watching me closely.
We walked into the woods, and everyone spread out. Westley paused next to me while the rest started ahead. “You good?”
I didn’t bother looking at him. “I’m fine, Westley. Let’s go.”
It was quiet as we walked, nothing but our footsteps filled the space. Nora’s face kept popping into my head from last week at the shelter. She was clearly upset about what happened.
We had seen little of each other. I was out of the house in the morning, and she wasn’t back until late into the night. I didn’t know how we could fix the discomfort.
“Jade, do you feel anything?”
Jade shook her head, standing next to Brandon. She scanned the space, her eyes sharp as she looked around. “No, but I feel a pull that way.” She pointed west.
We continued to walk. I felt uneasy, my mind clearly not in the game. I knew how bad that was. When going out here, you needed to be on your A game, and I wasn’t.
Someone smacked me from behind, and I turned around. Jade stood looking pissed off at me. “What is your problem?”
“What the hell was that for?” I snapped, rubbing at my head.
“Because you’re not fucking paying attention. What the hell is bothering you?”
“That doesn’t mean you hit me.” I looked around, realizing that Westley was nowhere to be seen. My body stiffened. “And where is Westley? He’s my partner.”
She glared at me, crossing her arms. “My exact point. He agreed to switch with me so I could talk with you. Which, if you were paying attention, you would have known that.”
I scowled. “You can’t just switch partners, Jade. We’re out here searching for a hybrid. This isn’t the time for a chat.”
She walked closer to me, shoving her finger at my chest. “And from what I’ve noticed, you haven’t been much help in the searching department, so what the hell is your problem?”
I ran a hand over my face and sighed. “Nothing is wrong. Jesus, can’t a guy have a bad day without everyone questioning him?”
“You have sighed over forty times since we left. And I know this because we were all keeping count. You clearly have something on your mind, and you need to spill it because you aren’t doing your job because of it.”
I swiped her hand away, glaring back at her. Jade stood confident as she waited for me to cave.
“What has Nora told you?”
Jade gave me a smug look now. “She’s my best friend. She tells me everything.”
I doubted she told her that we slept together. That we’ve had several make-out sessions. That I was the first person she’d ever been with. I turned and sat down on a large rock. I rubbed at my face.
“I think Nora likes me. And I know you know it’s fake, so don’t even try acting surprised.”
Jade frowned. “What’s wrong with her liking you? What’s wrong with you liking her? You guys are making this so complicated.”
I laughed. “Look at me, Jade. I’m not cut out to be in a serious relationship.”
She paused, looking at me, confused. “Why would you think that?”
I leaned onto my knees, tilting my head. “You’re telling me you didn’t have reservations about being with Brandon? You didn’t tell him about having a kid for over three years, so obviously, you were scared. You’re telling me dad had nothing to do with that?”
Her face fell, and she swallowed. “This is not the same as that.”
“Right, because being the perfect child isn’t hard,” I snapped. I pulled myself back up, running a hand over my face, knowing that this anger was misdirected. It wasn’t her fault that everything was like this. I had no one to blame but myself.
I sighed. “I spent my entire childhood wanting to be better. All I wanted was to protect you and be better than our father.”
But we were cutting from him. I saw him in both of us. I knew Jade spent her life trying to prove herself worthy, and I spent mine trying to never be like him. I knew if I never married and never had kids, I couldn’t.
“You’re scared, you’re going to be like him.” She looked at me, surprised. “How have I never seen that?”
“Aren’t you?” I asked. “Every time you look at Ilsa, aren’t you scared you’re going to mold into him? Say something you shouldn’t. Do something that would tear her apart? It starts small and just grows.”
Jade walked closer. “You are not our father. You’re nothing like him.”
“No, I’m not. But I never want to be either. Which is why Nora can’t get feelings.”
Jade frowned. “You knew that there was a possibility of that happening. Maybe you should have thought about that before you roped her into this huge lie you’ve made.”
I knew that. I was well aware of that, but I also couldn’t stop myself from being near her. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting her.
Jade’s eyes softened. “Promise me you won’t hurt her. I know you guys can’t exactly walk away from whatever this is unscathed, but tell me you’re going to try. She hasn’t exactly had a perfect childhood growing up.”
I hadn’t heard much about Nora’s childhood. She never talked about it. Even when brought up in conversation, it always seemed to be turned toward something else. I knew her parents died young, and that was it.
“What do you mean?”
Jade started walking, and I followed her.
Jade had a distant look in her eyes. “Neither of her parents was really around growing up. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother worked two jobs before she died when Nora was eight, which left her with her father, who was never home because he was always at the bar. They got her mother’s life insurance money, but her father pissed it away.
They could have turned their life around with that money, but it didn’t happen. ”
I felt my stomach twist up at her words. How had I not known that or heard anything about it until now?
“They lived in a shitty little house. They lost heat one winter, and Jade would wear extra clothes trying to stay warm. Her father drank himself into an early grave when she was seventeen. Just a few weeks before her eighteenth birthday. She was planning a funeral and trying to figure out what to do rather than celebrating.”
“I didn’t know.”
“She doesn’t talk about it,” Jade added. “She has spent her life putting it in the past. Just as you should do about things from our past.”
I glared. “I’m sorry, have you forgiven our father for everything he’s done?”
She snorted. “Of course not, but I’m not letting him control my life decisions.”
“He’s not.”
“He is,” she countered. “You don’t want to settle down because you’re scared you’ll be like him.” She reached a hand over and patted my shoulder. “But you can’t run from your fears all your life, Kaleb. They only grow stronger with time.”
The hunt continued, but we found nothing—no tracks, no sign of a wolf hunter. Brandon called it as the sun started to set.
We emerged from the treeline an hour later and headed back to the training ground to regroup.
I heard laughter and noticed that Nora was standing with some people near the parking lot.
I noticed that it was two other witches that I’d spotted my sister with on several occasions. I knew that she was training with them.
“Looks like Nora is finishing up some training with Chelsey and Marie.”
I watched as Nora laughed, leaning over slightly while she did. I imagine she was probably snorting because she did when she laughed hard like that. Something deep in my chest ached at the sight of her like that.
I could see her eyes sparkling as she talked. Her hands moved quickly, telling me she was excited about what they were talking about. She looked in her element, and I loved it.
“You are doing so well with the training. We know you’re new, but you’re already exceeding our expectations. You could pass Jade.”
“Oh, really?” Jade spoke up, catching all of their attention. They all turned, and I watched as Nora’s eyes dropped to me. I could see the different emotions flicker over her face before she gave a soft smile that didn’t meet her eyes. I could tell it was forced, and it twisted my heart up.
“She’s getting pretty good,” Chelsey said, giving a wicked grin. “Might give you a run for your money.”
Jade started to laugh. “I’m all for a little challenge.”
Nora smiled at Jade, and I could see the fire in her eyes. It was new, and I knew it was because she was feeling different. Since finding out about her magic, she has been practicing with the others.
“Well, we are done for the hunt today. Do you want to do some practice with me?”
“Right now?” Nora asked. “You sure you don’t need to go home and take care of Ilsa?”
Jade shook her head. “I can have Brandon do it. I want to see what you’re capable of.”
“Me too,” I added, giving her a smile.
Nora gave another smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You know you don’t have to stay and watch. I’m sure you’re tired.”
I shook my head. “Nope, I’ll stay for this.”
Chelsey beamed. “Aww, that’s cute.”
“You guys make sure a cute couple,” Marie added. “I’m jealous.”
Jade pulled at Nora’s arm, tugging her a few feet away from us. “This will be fun,” Chelsey beamed. “You are going to be impressed.”
I looked at Chelsey and Marie for a moment before looking over at Jade and Nora. I watched Jade roll her shoulders, taking on a relaxed stance that she’d done many times before. You could see how calm she was.
Nora was a little stiffer, almost unsure of herself. She nodded toward Jade, who pulled her hands up, and I watched fire flicker in her palms. I’d seen my sister use her magic before, but to protect. Watching her use it like this was different.
She threw fire toward Nora, and I felt my heart stop, expecting Nora to move. But she didn’t. She pulled her hand up, catching the fire like a ball. She rotated the fire in her hands before shifting and letting it fall to the ground. A scorch mark remained.
My mouth dropped.
Jade then raised her hands, and I watched blue flicker across them. This blue was like streams of electricity, the color not quite blue but not entirely green either.
“Jade has the ability to use fire, and Nora is like ice,” Chelsey explained.
“We’ve been having her work on pulling it out and aiming.
She’s actually done amazingly with the short time we’ve had.
They are opposite, but you can tell how their magic twirls around each other.
Only witches who have a strong connection are able to do that.
The fact that they can, goes to show their friendship. ”
I watched Nora throw her magic forward, and Jade moved out of her way, the blue light flashing past her.
It streamed past them, slamming into the tree line, and disappeared.
I watched as Jade smiled at Nora, tossing another flame at her.
Jade moved quickly, her feet leaving the air as she jumped back out of the way this time.
“They work so well together. It’s amazing.”Marie added. “It normally takes months before people get comfortable like this.”
Nora ran at Jade and I watched Jade block her punches in perfect form. Nora then grabbed Jade’s arm and they both went tumbling to the ground. As rough as they were being, you could tell they were also being careful. They were aware of each other’s weakness and using it but not causing pain.
From the way they looked at each other, I could see they had their own way of communicating, shaped by years of friendship. I could see the look in their eyes as they moved around each other. The way their fingers moved, or their heads shifted. All tells to each other.
“They don’t need to talk to read each other,” I said, knowing. Brandon, Asher, Westley, and I were all the same. We didn’t need to talk to know how the others were feeling or what they were thinking.
I was mesmerized as I watched them go back and forth. Nora and Jade were both moving like they had done this a million times before. I even watched Nora’s shoulders relax after a while.
It was a side of her I hadn’t seen. She was confident and sure of herself. She looked beautiful.