Chapter 12-Wicked Forest

That was it. Drake was finished. Crystal was a live wire that never ran out of energy. He had watched her many times in the forest. He had gone unnoticed, hiding in the shadows, and taking in her natural beauty and innocence. It was his own fault he had been gradually getting closer until he was caught. She had hit him numerous times with the rocks and laughed like it was a game.
He loved her laugh it was a musical sound, one that got under his skin and caused a rush of desire. His heart fluttered when he recalled the way she had smiled and danced within the shade of the trees. It was a smile made from true happiness he wanted to be the one that had placed the smile upon her plump lips. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he wanted her. It didn’t matter how he would get her, but he would, one way or another Crystal would be his.
“Wow,” Levi said when he saw Drake’s face.
“I had a fight with some rocks.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Looks like they won too. You better get cleaned up before father see’s you,”
“You two,” they both turned in union as Seth called them.
“I am not even going to ask,” he said looking at Drake.
“Both of you go to the north of the forest and look for the rune. It has been years since I last went there and need to know we have the correct location ready for the day,” they nodded and bowed, both heading out of the door and into the woods, like soldiers on a mission. It took them hours to find the tree that held the magical rune. Drake ran his fingers over the gold twirling drawing. It did nothing.
“You try.” He nudged Levi. Just to humour him he ran his finger over the gold engraved symbol. Nothing just like he predicted.
Drake did nothing but talk about Crystal the entire way home. All Levi could do was roll his eyes and grin and bear it. He knew how much Drake hated him for getting the girl he wanted and thought it best to keep quiet and let him have his moment. It wasn’t like he wanted this Hudson girl. To him she sounded like a brat. Just another teenage girl, who thought the world owed her.
Levi couldn’t be bothered babysitting such a naive and immature girl. If he had to marry, then he wanted a woman and not a child.
Drake could have her for him. He knew that would never happen. It didn’t hurt to hope.
***
“Where have you been?” Crystal hadn’t got through the front door before her mother started her rant, hands on hips, her green eyes ablaze, with anger.
“Nowhere,” Crystal shrugged, walking past her. These days she felt like she couldn’t breathe without explaining herself and was sick of it.
Jeannette grabbed her daughter’s arm and spun her around. “This has to stop! You are disobedient, naïve and downright rude.”
“I guess I learned from the best,” Crystal spats back. “You don’t care about me. All you care about is your stupid coven,” there Crystal had finally voiced how she felt. Her mother’s eyes went wide.
“That is not true.”
“Yeah, then why force me to marry?” When Jeannette sighed without answering, Crystal carried on. “For the coven. When was the last time you did anything for me that did not involve the coven?”
Again, her answer was silence.
“See, just what I said,”
Shaking her head and holding back her tears that threatened to spill, Crystal walked back out the front door. She had no destination in mind. She just walked. Before long she heard music blaring and laughter. When she looked up, she found herself outside of the Craven.
Not wanting to be alone any longer she walked inside. Drake and his friend’s occupied the same table as before. Crystal saw two guys from her coven sitting at the counter sipping on cokes. When they saw her, she gave them a smile and a wave. She didn’t care that their mouths were hanging open. Nor that they would grass her up within the next few seconds.
“Hey,” Drake said clearly surprised to see her.
“Hey, guys.”
Crystal sat beside Dane and listened to their chatter about the upcoming game. Absentmindedly, she tapped her fingers on the table.
“Cool that,” Dane pointed at her coven mark.
“Thanks.”
“Did it hurt? I am goanna get a butterfly,” Maria chimed in.
“No,” Crystal lied. Everyone in the coven received their coven mark at sixteen. Beforehand they had to pass a test. The marks are infused with magic and burned like hell. It was also a tracking device. One that ensured no matter where she ran the coven would find her.
“Must be popular, I’ve seen a few have the same tat, in the same place,” Stacey shrugged.
Crystal glanced down at her tattoo.
It was a large star in the inside of her wrist that had different sized stars interlacing one another. It kind of looked like a shooting star leaving behind a path of smaller stars.
It was late by the time she arrived home. Her mother glared at her. Crystal went to the sink, got herself a glass of water then used magic to place the glass in the sink. It was something her mother hated and discouraged all her coven to do. Use magic for simple mundane things.
“You are out of control,” Jeannette muttered.
Crystal shrugged her shoulders and headed to her room. She had gone past caring what her mother thought of her.