The Magic of Hecate

"Sssh sssh, don't wake Daddy up," I whispered in my child's ear and she immediately hushed before looking up at me with her huge, crystal blue eyes.

"Good girl," I replied kissing her gently stroking the curls of blond hair on her head before placing her carefully back into the crib beside her twin sister. "I'll miss you, my babies," I added resting my hand on Francesca and then Marie's cheek.

"Mommy?" a little voice said from the open doorway of the twin's nursery.

"Cato, what are you doing awake?" I asked my little toddler as I lifted him into my arms. "It's so late."

"I wanna play a game," he protested hugging me tightly.

"I know a good game," I replied taking one last look at my sleeping twins before carrying Cato down the hall and back to his room.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Sssh. You have to whisper. Daddy is sleeping remember?" I said quietly.

He nodded before we got to his room and I closed the door.

"What's the game, Mommy?" he questioned in the best whisper he could muster.

"It's called...sleeping lions," I said with a smile. He let out a giggle before slamming his tiny hand over his mouth.

"How do we win?"

"You have to stay totally silent and you definitely can't move. If you do, I win. If I do, you win. Okay?"

He nodded again before lying down on his bed as I took a seat on the armchair beside it. I waited for ten minutes before I was sure he was asleep. I kissed my first born softly on the forehead before leaving the room for the second time that night.

I had said my farewells to all six of my children. All that was left was my mate. I crept silently down to his office and found a piece of paper and a black ink pen. I sat in his chair and began to write.

To my dearest Leonardo, By the time you are reading this I will be far away. And that is how it should be. I am sure you will try to chase after me and there is nothing I can do to stop you but please understand that this is for the best. There is something that has to be done.

As for your worries? There is no need. Trust me when I say I can defend myself from danger now.

I know this will come as a shock and I am sorry that my only way of saying goodbye is through a letter but it was the only way. We both know that you would never have allowed this.

Please let our beautiful children: Cato, Mathias, Silas, Francesca, Marie and Lili know that their mother loves them. It pains me to think that I won't be there for a portion of their childhood but this isn't a final goodbye. When what needs to be done is done, I will return. I don't know how far in the future that will be, but I have all intentions of seeing you again Leo.

Until we meet again, Ella A tear ran down my cheek and onto the letter causing some of the ink to run. Since it was still readable and I was concerned about any of the seven sleepers upstairs waking, I wiped my eyes and left the letter before grabbing my small but loaded satchel and slipping out of the window in the bathroom that, despite the fact that three years had passed, still had a broken lock.

I took one last look at my home before disappearing into the woods without a sound.

Goodbye for now Leonardo.

Two weeks and a long, tiresome journey later, I arrived at my destination. I could have done it in less than a day if I'd travelled by plane but I couldn't afford to allow Leo to track me that easily. Instead, I had to take the boat option- of the slow, unregistered kind too.

Fortunately, Naples harbour was busy and chaotic meaning, after thanking the kind sailor for his generosity, I could easily slip off the boat and disappear into the city without being seen. The air was warm and arid and the streets aromatic with herbs, olives and tomatoes. It was exactly how I imagined Italy but even more fantastic. I was proud to say my ancestors were from this wonderful country.

I eventually reached the outskirts of the city and farmland and vineyards became far larger in number. With the help of a few locals, I managed to track down the address I had scrawled on the back of a crumpled grocery store receipt. It was a singular detached house, kind of solitary and not particularly boastful in size. Two stories, no car, quiet, peaceful and simple. Not what I had imagined at all.

I made my way up the steps to the front door and knocked. A voice called for me to enter but nobody came to let me in. Deciding that the occupant was expecting me to let myself in, I turned the nob of the unlocked door and cautiously opened it to reveal a room, which I assumed to be the kitchen and living room and a balcony at the opposite end of the door. On the balcony stood a man facing away from me and looking out at the countryside.

Dark hair, tall, mid-twenties.

He was exactly what I was looking for.

"Long time no see, lil cuz," the man said slowly turning around to reveal his face.

He was Max, that's for sure, but he looked older, more mature, some may even go as far as amiable.

"You've changed," I said placing my satchel down on the wooden table and heading through the sheer, white curtain onto the balcony.

"It's been three years," Max said leaning on the balcony railings and gazing out over the wine and olive yards.

"This is where you chose to spend your exile?" I asked standing next to him at a slight distance to satisfy my caution of him.

"I tried New York and Rio and Bangkok and Paris and London and even Bangalore but they weren't right and I couldn't make them my home. So I came back to our roots. Where it all began," he explained.

"Right," I said. "It's nice, I guess."

We stood for a few moments in silence. I felt the gentle breeze through my hair and breathed in a deep lungful of the fresh air.

"Still no mate?'" I asked.

"I haven't been looking," he replied. "There's no rush, no title that needs an heir anymore is there?"

I could tell in the tone and spite of his voice that he was still blaming me for that fact.

"Guess not," I said with a shrug.

What did I care?

"So what have you been doing for three years. Giving birth to and bringing up the Alpha's kids?" Max asked.

"Amongst other stuff," I said after a short scoff.

"Such as?"

"Since when did you care?" I snapped.

"Since you appeared in my house, completely alone, thousands of miles from home," he said turning to face me again.

"I learnt how to fight," I replied eventually.

"The Alpha would never have allowed that," Max stated shaking his head as he walked into the house.

He lifted a jug of fresh water off the table and poured me a glass.

"Did I ever say he did?" I asked. "Maria, Elena and I began a secret she-wolf training camp because it felt wrong that the ones in the most danger weren't giving the opportunity to learn how to defend themselves from it. We got fed up with relying on men for protection so we started to teach ourselves."

"Show me what you've got then," Max said raising an eyebrow with an amused smile.

I returned a smile before taking a sip of my water and putting the glass back down. I began to stand up, but before I had the chance to finish Max was straddling me on the floor pinning my arms down.

"That's what I thought-"

Halfway through his sentence, I snapped into self-defence mode. Twisting my wrists and driving my hands down, I freed my hands from his grip before using my legs to throw him off balance and get myself out from underneath him and put myself on top. Max retaliated by using is sheer strength and weight to roll us back over.

"Why did I fool for that? It's been so long since I last had to restrain someone that I forgot the oldest trick in the book," Max said when he was back in the dominant position.

Time for plan B.

I used my legs to hook around his so that he lost his balance and fell onto me giving me the opportunity to shove him off before he could think to stop me. I then twisted his arms which were still tightly gripped to mine around his own body so that I was in a kneeling position and above him again.

"I'm impressed Ella, if only if you could do this three years ago," he said before untwisting his arms and getting to his feet pulling me with him and driving us into the wall. "You've got tactics and you're strong but not as strong as an ex Megestanis."

"Do not underestimate me," I hissed with a scowl before raising my knee to his manhood.

He blocked it the first time, but he wasn't expecting the second with the opposite leg. As he bent over in pain I reached down to my holster taking the Praesidium Deae Astra. When he looked back up, his face still in a grimace, I took the opportunity to knock him off his feet so that I was straddling him once again. Before he could retaliate I took his wrist and carved a tiny slit into his skin. In seconds his entire body had gone all floppy and unresponsive except for his eyes.

"I guess you could see that as payback for everything you did to me in the space of a couple of weeks. Now that I've let my anger out from you almost ruining my life, we can be friends," I said getting off him. "Well...in twelve hours when you are able to move again. Revenge stings like a bitch, doesn't it?"