Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.
Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground.
A/N: I've literally just finished up this story so I'm going to wrap things up pretty soon, if not today then tomorrow for sure. I'm so happy I've come back to this and have finished. I know I lost a lot of followers and readers along the way because it had taken so damn long for me to finish and for that I am sorry. But I'm glad I took a break, first of all because this story wasn't rushed at the end (like I know I've had a habit of doing in the past) I didn't end up churning out complete crap that I wasn't absolutely happy with and secondly I found that coming back to it a couple of years later completely rekindled my love for writing again and gave me a renewed appreciation for it. It has been so long since I've been able to not only have the time to sit and write but actually get my creative juices flowing. Anyway enough of my rabble, you want to read the story now. So here is the penultimate chapter of Cat and Mouse. Enjoy x
As the members of Cirrus turned up everyone began to huddle in small groups chatting amongst themselves in the sunroom. Morgan led me around and introduced me to them.
I felt a little disappointed that she didn't introduce me as her boyfriend and I had to reign in my testosterone fuelled instincts from staking my claim on her in front of each new guy I met and reminded myself of the following -
1, I wasn't a caveman.
2, It hadn't been that long since Cal died.
3, We only had our first date just yesterday.
4, We hadn't even defined each other as boyfriend and girlfriend yet.
I made a mental note to ask her how she felt about us making it official later.
When Morgan assured me that everyone was here I cleared my throat for their attention.
"Hi, everyone. Can we get started?" I gestured to the centre of the room and everyone shuffled into a circle. I was stood between Sky and Killian with Morgan directly opposite me. Admittedly I was slightly envious of her friends Bree and Robbie as they would get to hold her hands through this circle and not I.
I could sense the curiosity in the room about why we were doing this, who we were and how Morgan knew us.
I tried to block out them all out, I wasn't the best public speaker as it was, this is exactly why Killian was going to be so much better at this than I. I stepped forward and introduced myself, "Hello everyone, for those who didn't get chance to meet us earlier I am Hunter Niall, this is my cousin Sky Eventide and my good friend Killian MacEwan," I gestured to each of them. Sky nodded and Killian flashed another one of his charming smiles.
"The three of us are all initiated blood witches and are happy to lead you in tonight's circle. Morgan has spoken to me about the fate of this coven after Cal's passing and has agreed to let us in to help reform and heal this coven especially after recent events. Morgan told me she explained the situation to you all," only a few people nodded but everyone seemed to understand what I was talking about. Morgan told me that she'd explained everything about Cal's true nature to them and told them that he had died but hadn't given them the full story, all except for Bree and Robbie who were her best friends, she had told them everything.
"I understand that not everyone might not be comfortable to continue practising the craft after learning about what happened so before we begin I'd like to make sure if everyone here still happy to continue on their journey in Wicca?" I asked them. I got various replies in the form of nods and yeses but no one wanted to back out which was good.
"Fantastic," I smiled, "Okay then, before we begin I have a suggestion to make and the choice is completely yours but I think as we form under new leadership it would benefit this coven to go by a new name." I told them, "Cal formed Cirrus under misleading pretences with dark ulterior motives and I'd like you all to be able to move away from that and into a new era. It's a way to cut the ties from the tainted beginning you had and move on out into the light. What do you think?" I asked
A few began speaking at once, a mixture of different opinions. Then one boy, I think his name was Matt, spoke out above the others, "I actually think it's a really good idea, it already feels like we're not Cirrus anymore anyway,"
"I can agree with that," said the black haired girl who was dressed mostly in leather with really heavy make-up. I really needed to remember their names.
Soon the rest of the group followed suit and nodded in agreement, "I read a book on Tarot Readings recently and it was written partly in Gaelic," Bree said, "I saw this word in there that I thought sounded cool and it stuck with me. As soon as you mentioned a new name it immediately came to me,"
"Then it must be a sign," I smiled, "The intuition of this group is already impressing me. What was the word, Bree?"
My words seemed to give her a confidence boost which struck me as odd because she was a girl that seemed to exude confidence, "Kithic," she answered
Sky chuckled, "Do you know what that word translates to?" she asked
Bree shook her head, "There was no translation in the book," she admitted, "It just sounded nice,"
"It means left-handed," Sky informed her, a few people chuckled and I could see Bree's face fall a little, a little embarrassed.
"I really like it," Morgan said and she wasn't just sparing her friends feelings, it was clear she was being genuine. "It seems fitting," she added and smiled at her friend. Bree smiled back.
"I guess it's kind-a cool," the black haired girl then shrugged in a non-committal way
"I love it," Robbie said, it was obvious that he harboured strong feelings for Bree. But just like Morgan, he too was being genuine.
Everyone then begun to agree on the name, "Kithic it is then," I said, "Let's begin a circle of rebirth for this coven and then Sky, Killian and I will discuss with you the future of the Kithic coven,"
Sky drew a circle in chalk around us and closed it behind her. "Let's join hands" she said
"Even though it is not yet Imbolc, here we have a chance for rebirth and new beginnings. A new beginning for the coven and a new beginning for ourselves," Killian begun leading us around the circle deasil, "I'd like each of you to think about what you would like a fresh start in,"
My answer was already there, I wanted a fresh start in life itself. My body had been hi-jacked for years and took me down a dark path and I wanted to turn that around and work in the light. I let my magick build up inside me, relishing the feeling of an un-reigned circle and as the circle reached its crescendo I released my answer to the world and hoped the Goddess received it and would look favourably upon me even after all I had done.
"All right, let's bring it down," I heard Killian say beside me
Once the circle had finished Morgan threw herself to the floor to ground herself. I took my cue from her and sat down where I stood and motioned for everyone else to do the same.
"That was amazing," Robbie grinned, "That was the first time I felt truly connected to magick. Circle's always felt good before but this was different like we're on a whole new level." The rest of the coven seemed to echo Robbie's feelings. It made me wonder if Cal was dampening or controlling their energy flow, perhaps even sapping it somehow, but I guess now we'll never know. I was just glad they all felt connected to it.
Morgan finally lifted her head and was smiling, she looked beautiful. Glowing from the magick she just made and I suddenly lost my track of thought. I realised quickly people were waiting for me to speak so I cleared my throat.
"Before we go help ourselves to snacks I'd like to speak to you all about going forward from here. As my cousin Sky works for the International Council of Witches she will be returning to London next week so she will be unable to continue as a member of Kithic,"
"I feel privileged to have been a part of such an important circle with you and because of that this coven already feels special to me," Sky added, "I wish Kithic the very best going forward and will join you again in the future whenever I'm nearby," she promised
"Killian has agreed to take on the role as your teacher and coven leader and will meet with all of you each week for circles," Morgan's eyes flicked to mine, those deep pools of hazel brown were full of questions, I knew I should have explained this to her first.
"Will you not be joining us anymore either?" Bree sought clarification for her friend
"I will be and I'll be here as often as I can. I just can't guarantee that I'll be able to make it every week. This is why I'm not fit to be your leader, you require someone who will be here and reliable each week and although Killian may often make you question him as a reliable person I believe that he will be good for you guys and the Kithic coven. But I would like assure you all, I am a part of Kithic it is the one and only coven I belong to, my heart is here." I was mostly speaking to Morgan at the end there, "Now go fuel up on sugar."
The circle dispersed and everyone headed for the kitchen leaving Morgan and I alone in the room together. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," I said, "I feel awful, I didn't know how to tell you,"
"Tell me what, Hunter?" she asked
"This job I've been offered with Finnegan," I begun to explain, "It means I'm not going to be around as much as I'd like to be,"
"How much is not much?" Morgan asked
She looked hurt so I closed the gap between us and took her hands in mine, "I will have to do a lot of travelling, it might be for weeks at a time,"
"How long for?"
"Until we get the New Charter up and running so I can't say for sure, but right now indefinitely,"
Morgan broke into a little sob, I pulled her close, her head resting on my chest. "This is important to you," she said after a few moments, I nodded. "Then it's important to me," she sniffed, "If this is something you have to do, then you have to go and do it," Most girls would have asked me not to go, to stay with them but Morgan knows it's something I must do. I kissed the top of her head as she cried, my own eyes were also filling with tears.
"Listen to me, Morgan." I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, "I love you and I want to be with you no matter what, I want to make this work no matter the distance between us and I promise to come back to you at every opportunity that I get because you're it for me. You're my soul mate. My Mùirn beatha dàn. But I will understand if this is too hard for you if this isn't what you want, we don't have to be together, I will let you go and you can live freely. With whomever you choose," my own words were like an Athame to the heart
"I choose you, Hunter." she said, "You're it for me too, I'll wait for you. However long it takes."
I was so relieved to hear her say that, I told her so and then I kissed her. "I promise you it'll will be worth the wait," I added
"When do you go?" she asked
"I'm going back to England with Sky next week," I told her, "I'm going to see my family, my little sister, I need to see them and reconnect with them, I'd ask you to come with me but -"
"School, Parents, running off to a foreign land with a boyfriend they don't know yet," Morgan finished
"Boyfriend," I smiled, "I like the sound of that," I guess we didn't have to have that talk after all