The Gift: An Awakened Novella Read online

  “You won’t lose me. I promise I won’t do that again. I love you too, bro. Even if you are a man-whore.” She pats my shoulder.

  I laugh.

  “Now that we’ve had this whole heart-to-heart moment, can you please move? I’d like to not look like I just walked out of a horror film,” she jokes, lightening the mood.

  I move out of her way. I know the cuts and bruises she has will be almost healed by the morning. It’s weird, but after our parents died, we became faster and stronger. I mean, I was already strong because of sports, but now I’m stronger than normal. We also heal more quickly than average humans. Of course, I questioned it at first, but then I figured it didn’t matter why. As long it helps us fight vampires, who cares where these new abilities came from?

  I walk over to the little table in the room and open my laptop. Earlier, I was looking up the usual animal attack news articles, but ended up getting off-track and found that New Orleans hasn’t seen any suspicious deaths lately. Like, not a single one.

  The door to the bathroom opens and Aria walks out and over to me. As soon as she gets behind me, she slaps a hand over her eyes.

  “Oh, God! You aren’t watching porn, are you? I think I’ve seen enough for one lifetime!” She laughs as she pulls her hand away from her face.

  “Ha-ha. You’re so funny,” I reply sarcastically.

  “I’m hilarious. So, got anything new?” she asks.

  “I’m not sure. I haven’t had anything new come across as far as vampire attacks are concerned. But check this out. I was looking for the usual and the unusual came up,” I tell her.

  She gives me a confused look, and I sigh.

  “I’ve been researching the norm. You know, trying to find articles about animal attacks. But I found this article about New Orleans. They haven’t had an animal attack in over a decade. Which sounds weird to me. I’m not sure, but I really feel like maybe we should check this out.” I rub my fingers against my chin as I stare at the computer screen.

  “Okay, we should check it out. Your instincts have always been on point. It wouldn’t hurt to stop by,” Aria comments as she walks over to her night table and grabs her hairbrush.

  “It’ll take us at least eight hours to get there, though,” I reply, getting lost in thought. If we leave here around seven, we should get there around nightfall, and we’ll have time so scope the place out.

  “We can leave first thing in the morning. We can take turns driving too, so we can get there quicker,” Aria suggests, yawning and crawling into her bed.

  “Yeah, okay, sounds good.” I shut my laptop and walk over to my bed, trying to form a plan for the drive and stay.

  Aria is sound asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow, but as I lie awake, I start to get the feeling that our lives are about to change forever.

  Be a teacher, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

  Ha! It's a great day to be me right now. Lucas pulled Callie’s hair and she used her power of air to push him. Then Tucker thought it would be funny to stick a Lego up his nose, where it proceeded to get stuck.

  “Hold still, Tucker.” I tell him.

  He starts to get fussy as I hold his head back. I tilt his head back even further, and with tweezers, I carefully pull the Lego out.

  “There, all better. Now go and play.”

  “Fanks, Ms. Campbell!” Tucker squeals, wiping his nose.

  The poor little guy still struggles with his pronunciation of T’s. We’re working on it.

  “And don’t stick any more Legos up your nose!” I shout at him as he runs away.

  “Boys are gross.” Maggie, the princess, comes over and sits down. “They have cooties!”

  I smile at her. “Aww, Mags, that’s not very nice. Boys don’t have cooties.”

  “Yes-huuuuh,” she drawls, rolling her big brown eyes. “Tucker stuck a Lego up his nose! And I saw Thomas eat a booger!”

  I scrunch my nose. That is really gross.

  “Well, that’s still not a very nice thing to say.” I look down at her and quirk a brow. “Did you clean up your nap area yet?”

  “Yes,” she says, but I can tell from the look on her face that she just lied to me.

  “Maggie.” I cross my arms over my chest.

  “O-tay. I’m going now.” Maggie sags her shoulders and sulks over to her mat.

  It’s moments like this I wouldn’t ever trade. I love my kids, and I love teaching them. Every single one of them has a unique personality, some stronger than others. Maggie is my fearless ringleader, but she is also gentle and kind like her best friend Callie. Tucker is one of my youngest, along with Callie’s little sister, Peyton. The littlest ones are my biggest troublemakers.

  I love being a teacher. It’s the best feeling knowing that I'm making a difference in their lives.

  I only teach the young ones, ages three to eight. Then they move on to someone else. When a witch is born, they don’t come into their powers until about the age of three. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but that’s what I’m here for. I teach them to control their powers, how to calm themselves and not let their emotions influence their magic. But I also teach academic skills as well, since putting them in a public school is a disaster waiting to happen. Not that it doesn’t happen, but witches tend to homeschool their children until they gain control of their powers.

  I have different lesson plans for each age. For half the day, we focus on the magic, then nap time because using magic can take a toll on their little bodies. After that, we start working on the academic stuff.

  Witches can work out in the real world with humans, and I love giving these kids the opportunity to go to college so they can live a normal life if they want to. My parents gave that to me, but they don’t like being witches.

  They have to live very carefully out in the world, because our blood is like a drug to vampires. Well, that’s how my grandma put it, before we moved here from Texas.

  “Ms. Campbell! Ms. Campbell!” Maggie calls.

  I quickly look over and see her pointing at Tucker who has a mischievous grin on his face and another Lego in his hand. The other boys are surrounding him, giggling and egging him on.

  “Tucker!” I shout.

  He jumps, dropping the Lego on the ground.

  “Legos are not meant to be stuck anywhere but to each other,” I scold.

  He and the other boys scatter and start to play with the toy cars.

  “I swallowed a Lego once,” Joey says nonchalantly, taking a sip of juice out of his juice box.

  I look down at him, expecting him to elaborate.

  He doesn’t.

  “Alright everybody, grab your backpacks, it’s time to take you guys home!” I yell out.

  They all run over to their little cubbies and grab their things. I don’t have a huge class. There are only about seven kids here under the age of ten. They line up, and I make them all hold hands as we exit the schoolhouse. I pick them up in the morning and take them home in the afternoon. We live rent-free, and we even have a cafeteria to help feed us. The wolf shifters use the cafeteria the most, because of their patrolling shifts. The city of New Orleans hasn’t had a vampire attack in a long time and that’s all because of the wolf pack.

  I drop Joey off first.

  His mother, Katey, waves at me. “Thank you!”

  I wave back at her just before she closes the door. Callie and Peyton get dropped off next, and one by one I drop the kids off. I finally get to Maggie’s house and I knock on the door a few times, but it seems as though no one is home. Her parents own a shop in the Quarter, like some of the people here do. I see her little shoulders fall and she frowns. Her parents adore her, and they try to get home in time for her, but sometimes they don’t. The storm really took a toll on everyone here, especially those that have stores or work jobs in the city.

  “Want to go for a snack?” I ask her, and her face lights up.

  “Can I have ice cream?” she asks, sticking out her bottom lip.

/>   “I’m not sure your parents will like that. How about we share some veggies and dip?” I offer.

  She makes a face. I try to get my students to eat healthy snacks during the day. But I'm a hypocrite, because during their nap time I sneak and eat some chips and chocolate.

  “French fries?”

  “Can we dip them in chocolate ice cream?” Maggie asks excitedly as I open the door to the barn.

  I laugh. That does actually sound amazing. “Okay, fine.”

  “Yes!” she shouts, and all eyes look at us.

  The training room door opens, and the shifters and witches all walk out. The Alpha, Alexander, requires all witches and shifters to train starting at the ripe age of thirteen. I moved here when I was younger and had to go through the course. The witches have the option to opt out when they finish the required courses.

  Hunter, the Alpha’s son, spots me and walks over.

  “Hey, Ciera.” He glances down at Maggie, then kneels so he’s eye level with her. “Why hello, Miss Maggie May. How are you today?”

  She looks up at him. “I’m great! Ms. Campbell is getting us some French fries and some chocolate ice cream to dip them in!”

  He lifts a brow at me.

  “What? It’s my weakness,” I say.

  Hunter chuckles as his best friend, Bennett, walks over.

  “‘Sup, guys?” He glances down at Maggie, who had just grabbed a plate, and squints his eyes at her. “Maggie.”

  She looks up and squints her eyes back. “Bennett.”

  “I told you, the next time I see you, it’s on.” Bennett watches as Maggie carefully sets her plate down and goes over to him.

  She holds her palm out with one hand and puts her tiny little fist above it. Bennett stands a little taller and mimics her position. Hunter and I share amused looks and take a step back.

  “On three.” Bennett says.

  Maggie nods.

  “One,” he starts.

  “Two.” Maggie narrows her eyes.

  “Three,” they say together.

  They smack their fists in their hands three times. On the fourth, Bennett holds his fist out, and Maggie’s hand goes flat.

  “Paper beats rock! I win!” Maggie squeals and giggles.

  Bennett’s eyes grow wide and he takes a step back. “Evil. She's evil.”

  “Benny, maybe if you picked something other than rock, you might actually win.” Hunter pinches the bridge of his nose.

  Bennett scoffs. “I don’t always use rock. I switch it up with some scissors.” Then he looks at Maggie. He takes two fingers and points them at his eyes, then at her.

  Maggie giggles and picks her plate back up.

  “I’m going to go try and get a quick nap in before we go out tonight. Laters,” he announces.

  I glance over at Hunter. “Patrolling tonight?”

  “Yeah. He’s got the right idea, though. You ladies enjoy your French fries and chocolate ice cream.” Hunter gives me a hug, then turns to leave.

  When I first arrived here, Hunter and Bennett took me under their wings. I was always following them asking them questions about being a wolf. Bennett always called me the “curious little witch.” He doesn’t anymore, thank goodness.

  I help Maggie put fries on the plate and I get us a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and we make our way over to one of the tables to enjoy our afternoon treat.

  “This is the best day ever.” Maggie shuts her eyes as she savors everything. “Thank you, Ms. Campbell.”

  “Maggie?” I say, wondering something.

  “Hmm?”

  “Did you know that Bennett was going to choose rock?” I ask.

  Her eyes flick up to mine and she smiles really big. “Yes. He always chooses rock. But he likes to switch to scissors on time number three. Every time. He never chooses paper.” She dips another fry in the ice cream.

  I balk at her. “Child, you are too smart for your own good. Where is this effort in class?”

  Maggie shrugs. “Because playing rock, paper, scissors is fun. School is not. I do like magic, though. That is fun.”

  She’s too engrossed in her food to look up at me. I’m slightly offended because I've always loved school. I guess I always thought the other kids felt the same way. Turns out, I was wrong.

  We finish up, and I walk Maggie back to her cabin. Her parents are home and I tell them what we just ate. They don’t mind, and they thank me profusely for watching after her a little while longer. I smile, wave goodbye to them, and walk back to my cabin.

  “Hello, my darling girl. How was your day?” my grandma, Kora, asks as I shut the door and walk in the kitchen.

  I sniff the air, and she’s making chicken and dumplings. She’s got on her long pink robe and matching slippers. Her long gray-blonde hair is pulled neatly back into a bun.

  “Interesting, to say the least.” I kiss her cheek and go to lift the ladle to have a taste of one of my favorite meals, but she slaps my hand away.

  “I didn’t raise a heathen. Now, get out of my way while I finish this up,” she scolds, but I know she doesn’t mean it.

  “How was your day, Grandma?” I ask, sitting down at the table.

  “Oh, it was a lovely day. I went into town for some more supplies with Luna and her wonderful daughter Abby. I did have to tend to a witch who got a little too into it in that training class.”

  I cross my legs under me in the chair as I listen to her tell me all about her day. After a few minutes she turns.

  “Oh, I'm sorry, my dear. Listen to me ramble on, please tell me how the children were today.”

  I smile. “They were great. Although Tucker did stick a Lego up his nose. Callie used the air element to push Lucas back for pulling her hair. As impressive as it was, I still had to put her in time-out. The kids are getting better at controlling their power, but sometimes their emotions overwhelm them.”

  “Yes, that will happen. I believe a certain young witch would sneak into the kitchen and use her power to bring the cookie jar to her when she was told no. Could never keep you away from the sweets. Your mama fussed at me for keeping the jar on the counter, but it didn’t matter where I put it. You’d always find it.” My grandma narrows her eyes at me, then gives me a warm smile, leaning in close. “Me and your daddy would always hide it in easy places.” Then she winks.

  I return her smile and lean back into my chair. I do love sweets. I remember when we were really little, Hunter would always get three cookies. One for me, one for him, and we would split the third. He is the best honorary big brother. The same can be said for Bennett. He would always cover me up on the couch and let me snuggle close as we watched a movie together. His commentary would always make me giggle.

  When dinner is ready, we eat together and then I clean up while she goes to watch Young and the Restless, her favorite soap opera. Sometimes I'll watch it with her, but I usually go up to my room and work on lesson plans for the next day. After I put the leftovers in the fridge, I grab my messenger bag and go up to my room. I sit down at my desk, pulling out my lesson planner, and pop my headphones in. I go to the marked page and begin to work on tomorrow’s lesson plan.

  I check my watch when I hear a loud knock on the front door. It’s late, and that usually means something happened on a patrol. I close my lesson planner and go downstairs.

  “Hey, Kora. Hunter asked me to get you. We ran into these humans tonight and one of them got beat up pretty bad. Can you come to the barn?” Bennett asks, running a hand through his hair.

  Grandma turns to me. “I’ll be back soon.”

  She leaves with Bennett. I glance down and realize that she forgot her medical bag. I run up to my room, grab a hoodie because it can get cold in the medical room, and put my Converse on. I don’t usually wear them. Typically I stick to flip-flops or flats. I grab Grandma’s bag, open the door, and jump back as soon as I run into a hard body.

  “For goodness’ sake, Bennett! You scared the crap out of me!” My heart is still racing in
my chest.

  “Sorry. Kora wanted me to grab you too. In my defense, I was about to knock,” Bennett says as I step out onto the porch, shutting the door behind me.

  I shoot him a dirty look, and he laughs.

  “Yeah, she forgot her medical bag, so I was going to bring it to her,” I reply as we make our way over to the barn. “What happened?”

  “We met these twins at St. Louis Cemetery, Aria and Declan. Declan got knocked out by a vampire and hit his head pretty bad. Blondie is a badass and helped us kill the bloodsucker. They know about us too, and witches,” Bennett explains.

  “Blondie?” I ask. Bennett and his nicknames.

  “Oh, that would be Aria,” Bennett replies just as we reach the barn door.

  He opens it for me, and we make our way over to the medical room. There is a platinum blonde girl standing next to a cot with an identical-looking man laying down. This must be Aria and Declan. He’s got a nasty looking head wound and he looks like he went a few rounds with Blaine, the Compound’s resident shifter jerk.

  “Here, Grandma,” I say, handing my grandma her medical kit.

  She takes it from me and starts to rummage through it.

  “What do you need me to do?” I look at the twins briefly before turning my attention back to my grandmother.

  “Here, Ciera. Take this,” Grandma commands.

  I take the gauze and the paste concoction we use to help slow the bleeding. Grandma makes most of them and we only know one by name, everything else is by color. This one is yellow, and kind of reminds of me mustard.

  “Put this on his wound. It’ll help stop the bleeding. I’m going to make Gumba Paste to help speed up the healing process then mix a potion to help with the concussion,” she finishes.

  I nod and walk over to the man lying on the cot, and I place the gauze on his head. When he turns to look at me, his gaze softens. I look down at him, studying his sharp jawline and high cheekbones. When our eyes meet, I take note of the pale green color. I’m surrounded by gorgeous guys, shifters and witches alike, but this guy…he’s different.

  “You’re an angel,” he says, smiling. “I must be in heaven.”