Chapter Seventeen

*Present Day*

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. All the horses were munching their food, neighing happily to each other. I leaned over the railing to the indoor arena, in complete bliss. The sounds of the horses being happy made me happy internally. I shook my head.

*"I've gotta quit thinking about the past. It's only going to depress me."* My subconscious racked the inside of my mind. I let out a deep sigh. I walked out of the barn, making sure that all the entrances and doors were locked up. I looked up at the bright blue sky above me, the sun just getting ready to start setting. A tinge of orange and red hinting in the sky. I looked down at my phone. 5 P.M. I shook my head again. *"It wouldn't take me so damn long if I could use my powers to get shit done."* I walked over to my car, feeling my pocket for my car keys.

"Damn it," I mumbled, "where the fuck did I put my keys at?" I tore out each pocket, dumping my light coat pockets too. "Fuck!" I grumbled loudly.

"Are you looking for these?" A unknown, but familiar, males voice came from behind me. I jumped before turning to face this stranger. When my eyes met his face, I realized it was Craig, a gentleman who lived in the house on the edge of the property. He was the Maintence Man for the Irvine estate. Mr. Irvine had asked for my help taking care of his horses, saying he would pay me, and I gratefully accepted his offer.

"Damn it Craig!" I grabbed my keys from him, before punching him in his arm lightly. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Don't scare you? Do you realize what you did?!" His eyes showing disappointment, shaking his head. His voice was low and serious. "You could have been killed. You don't realize what's out in those woods." He said pointing behind him towards the wooded area I had saved Classic from. "You are lucky you made it over the fence like that. You should have came and got me." He shook his head again.

"I'm sorry Craig. I didn't know you were home, otherwise I probably would have! Did you happen to hear what the she-wolf said?" His eyes shot up at me, darker than normal. I cringed.

"No. That was a she-wolf?" He rubbed his fairly stubble chin with his rough hand. He was pondering something. Maybe I said too much? "What did she say to you?"

"Nothing important I guess. Just riled up because I beat her at her own game, I guess." Shrugging, not willing to risk telling him what she had said about the *Council.*

"Oh. Okay then. Well, next time you come to me, or let the horse die. I'm sure Mr. Irvine wouldn't want you risking your safety over and animal. I-"

"Stop right there." I held a hand up to him, anger boiling in my blood. "Before you say another word about MY horse," I stepped closer to him, meeting his gaze with fire in my eyes, "remember who you're talking to. Classic and Punch are MY horses. They aren't Mr. Irvines! They were a gift and I raised them since they were foals. So shut your mouth. They are more than animals." I was losing my temper quickly. I knew if I didn't settle down, my hands would sprout fire. No one knew about Sabrina and I, except a select few. We weren't about to show our true colors to anyone that associated with the damn *Council.* Craig nodded his head, fear showing in his eyes.

"Okay, Morgan. You don't have to be a bitch about it." He turned on his heel and started walking away from me. "Remember, next time, come to me for help."

"Fuck off, Craig." I mumbled as I turned towards my car. I opened up my truck door and hopped in. It was an old truck, well, if you considered a 2012 old. I liked my dark blue Ford F-250. Once the engine started, I shifted into reverse, twisting around as I backed up to see I wasn't going to hit anything. I set my foot down on the clutch, shifting the old pick-up into first gear. The engine purred to life as I released my foot off the clutch and leaned on the gas pedal more. Learning stick shift wasn't hard, but it did take me quite a bit to get used to switching my foot from clutch to gas. I had driven my truck for so long, stick shift became second nature to me. I bustled down the drive of Mr. Irvines estate and came to the main road. I sighed heavily. Tomorrow was my last day for a few weeks of working on the barn. Mr. Irvine said that a lot of the horses were going to show, but the stupid *Council* denied me to leave with him. Classic and Punch were even going and I was pissed I couldn't see my horses do their first show. I turned on my blinker, looking around to make sure that no one was coming before making my left-hand turn out of the drive. Celestial's mansion wasn't but 15 minutes from Mr. Irvines estate. Even if I couldn't leave, I'd still be paid for three weeks of work, so I couldn't really complain.

I turned on the radio, *Maroon Five* started playing. I listened to the song for quite a bit, before switching the station to Classic Rock. *Queen* was the first song to hit, and I gladly turned the radio up. I rolled the windows down, feeling the light breeze pass through the truck, blowing my golden brown hair all around my face. It wasn't long after I had reached home. I pulled the truck up into the drive, put it in park, lifted the E-Brake, and turned the truck off. Everything was quiet. A little too quiet. I opened the truck door, getting a general sense of my surroundings. That feeling of being watched was still evident. I couldn't shake the feeling of someones eyes carressing my whole body. Goosebumps shivered up my arm; I looked around trying to see if I could see anything or anyone for that matter.

*'It's just your imagination.'* I shrugged to myself. *'There's no one there. Nothing is watching you.'* I tried to covince myself otherwise, but the feeling was still there. I shook it off, grabbed my bag and my keys and headed up the stairs to the main door. Mark and Sabrina's cars weren't in the driveway, I wonder if they were even home. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, still nothing. I opened my phone and shot a group message to Mark and Sabrina, asking when they would be home, then shoved the phone back into my pocket. It was just the beginning of Summer, but it was still rather chilly. Spring's grasp hadn't completely evaporated yet, allowing the warm Summer to sneak in with scolding temperatures. *'Gotta love the Midwest,'* I thought to myself. I chuckled as I took out my house keys, dropping them in the process. I bent down to pick them up. I stood straight up, looking for the correct house key.

*'God, why do I have so many damn keys?!'* I thought to myself. I scoffed. Finally finding the right key, I inserted it into the lock, and twisted the key to officially unlock the deadbolt. The house seemed rather eerie. No lights were on, there wasn't hardly any sound. I opened the door, turning on the lights as I walked in. Next thing I knew, I was hearing pops as everyone that I knew and loved jumped out from behind the furniture.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!"