Calla’s ears alerted to rustling behind them from the tree line where her children had just been moments before. She didn’t know what, she didn’t know who, but something was watching them. Her mind ran through the options as her senses flew back into overdrive. Toni could handle a small army of anything if it had been just her. The problem was it wasn’t just Toni, it was a very pregnant very powerless Calla and their two babies.
And even if Calla was desperate and had no other options she couldn’t shift into a wolf if she wanted to. At the beginning of this pregnancy, when she had known she was pregnant again, she’d asked Toni to put up a block in her mind that stopped her from accessing it. After losing two pregnancies it had become obvious to Calla that shifting into the dark shadowy wolf took too much from her unborn children. The powers she’d gained from pulling Rose’s soul back all those years ago were making their price known now. Mateo was a miracle, but Calla blamed herself for how small he was. She hadn’t known, how could she have known, but she still blamed herself none the less. Anytime he came down with even a small cold, she felt responsible.
Toni helped her work through the guilt, never blamed her for anything, and assured her he was thriving. The depression, the guilt, of losing two babies had sent Calla into a dark hole and Toni had had to pull her gently from it. With soft reassurance and affirmation, followed by firm and direct dismissal of blame and guilt. Like a gardener cultivating the flowers and banishing the weeds. It had taken a lot of time and a lot of love. She brought Calla back to herself bit by bit.
Which was why they were being extra careful this time around. Which was why the spell had been done to keep Calla disconnected from the wolf part of her. And now they might be in trouble and so many options to fight and escape were gone. Calla looked at Toni who picked up on the worry that had flashed back onto Calla’s face. “We have company. It could be nothing, but whatever or whoever it is is trying to go unnoticed.”
Calla motioned with her head to the tree line and Toni placed herself between her family and the unknown threat. Calla forced her face neutral and then into a smile for Mateo and Briar. “Ok, I need you both to listen to me. Stay behind Mama and I. If I tell you to close your eyes and cover your ears you do it ok? It’s going to be ok but you have to listen. Can you do that?” Both Mateo and Briar nodded and moved to hide behind Calla.
“It could be nothing.” Calla hoped, begged for it to be nothing. But if it was nothing then whoever it was would’ve already made themself known. Toni pressed her lips together and raised her hands. “Better to be prepared.”
Preemptively Calla shot off an SOS text to Rose with their location. Just in case it was more than they could handle. Her sister would drop everything to help, so long as the text went through. “Mommy, what’s going on?” Mateo tugged at her pants, sounding tiny and scared. “It’s ok baby, shh. It’s going to be ok.” Briar reached for her hand and Calla took it, trying to give her reassurance with a small squeeze.
Calla was listening for more movement, trying to pinpoint an exact location for the would be intruder. She heard bones and sinew snapping along with a very human grunt at the end. “Whoever it is is a wolf.” Calla relayed to Toni who was was scanning the tree line and before Calla could see who stepped out from the shadows she saw Toni’s whole body tense.
“Hello daughter.” Hearing that voice sent ice water through Calla‘s veins. The ground around her and the children erupted, engulfing the three of them in tree roots. Mateo and Briar clung tighter to Calla. It looked like Toni wasn’t taking any chances with her family now that she knew it was Calla and Rose’s mother, Maura, that had dropped in on them.
“Not a step closer.” Toni warned, her eyes flashing. The trees around them came alive and branches and vines snapped towards Maura, who had put her hands up to appear non threatening. “I didn’t come to talk to you, witch,” she said witch like a slur and that was enough to snap Calla out of her momentary shock. Calla felt a growl at the back of her throat.
“I came to warn my daughter and my grandchildren.” The vines wrapped around her wrists and ankles and held her tight. Calla’s mother seemed amused by the vines and chuckled. “I came to help you and this is how you’re repaying me?”
“Consider us warned about whatever it is you think can touch us.” Toni’s hand flexed and the vines wrapped themselves tighter around the woman. “And we don’t want or need your help.” Calla was relieved Toni was doing the talking. Her relationship with her mother was complicated at best and had been abusive at its very worst. Calla hadn’t spoken with her in years, probably decades. Her sudden appearance now was alarming. How long had she been watching them? And a warning? Maura was just as likely to harm them as anything else she could be warning them about. Whatever this was, Calla outright didn’t trust it.
“You should want my help,” Maura looked down at the vines and tugged at them, as if testing their strength. “especially after what you’ve done to my daughter. All that power and you’ve blocked her from it.” she tsked, as if disappointed. “You need everyone you can get. They’re coming for your children.” Calla instinctively held Briar and Mateo closer to her and she heard the roots around the three of them creak, as if Toni was trying to strengthen the spell around them.
The vines holding Maura back tightened more as Toni’s anger grew. “We don’t want or need your help.” Toni repeated, her tone staying even despite the anger Calla knew was simmering underneath. “Send them a warning from me.” the vines ensnaring Maura erupted into flames, causing her to shriek and bat at her limbs to keep the fire from spreading over the dress she had changed into after shifting. It would’ve amused Calla more to see her mother panicking if it weren’t for the position they were in.
Calla turned when she heard rustling from behind them, momentarily panicked thinking her mother had brought back up but she saw the white fur and relief flooded her system. “Rose, thank god.” her sister had gotten the SOS and she had brought backup, Hendrix was following up behind her but almost ran into her when Rose skidded to a halt upon seeing their mother. Calla didn’t need the telepathic bond to hear the “what the fuck?” loud and clear. Rose’s lips peeled back into a growl.
Maura had finished patting out the flames and hit them all with a scowl. “Oh good, my other ungrateful daughter is here. You’re going to regret this. You’re going to regret not taking my help. I could’ve torn you all apart but instead I came to you in a weakened form and you set me on fire. I should fucking kill you.” Maura shifted so fast the rest of them took a step back.
The cracking bone and sinew barely lasted 10 seconds all told. Maura shook out her fur and crouched. She ran her tongue across her teeth and growled at Toni. Rose and Hendrix twitched, ready to jump in but Toni dropped the root spell protecting Calla and the children and instead directed it around Maura as she readied herself to jump. Maura snapped at the roots with her teeth, gnawing at the roots trapping her. Toni sent one last spell towards the cage and Maura’s eyes clouded over with a white film. She snarled and growled, clearly frustrated because she could no longer see the roots in front of her.
“Let’s go. It won’t last forever.” Toni pressed and motioned for Rose and Hendrix. She helped Briar and Mateo climb onto their backs and then helped Calla up before climbing up herself. The six of them escaped back into the woods. Rose and Hendrix taking more time than they normally would, careful not to injure their passengers. Calla had looked back more than once to make sure their mother wasn’t following them. With the imminent danger fading, she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was coming for them and why on earth Maura had shown up to warn them in the first place. What her mother said nagged at the back of her mind “I could’ve torn you apart but instead I came to you in a weakened form.” Because she could have. So what was her angle?