Chapter 9 - Practice Begins

Aaron and Titus knew the perfect area for the twins to practice their magic. It was a large open meadow that was surrounded by very tall trees. The meadow was filled with purple, yellow, white, and blue flowers this time of year. The girls stopped when they came through the trees and gasped.

"Titus, this place is beautiful? I've never seen so many wildflowers in one place like this." Brandie was in complete awe. She laughed and threw her arms around Titus, who was grinning at the pure joy he saw on her face. The simplest things could make his mate happy, more than the prettiest jewel in the world.

"I'm glad you like it, Brandie. No one ever comes out here. Now that I see how happy it makes you, I think I'll bring you out here a lot. We take the beauty of our lands for granted until we see it through another's eyes." Brandie kissed Titus on the cheek.

"You say the sweetest things, Titus. I love you." He leaned down and kissed her lips until they heard Jasmine groan.

"Okay, that's enough of the mushy stuff. We have work to do. I agree this place is impressive, but we can appreciate it later. Brandie, are you ready?" Jasmine looked at her sister, who was shaking her head with a smile.

"Yes, Jasmine, I'm ready. How do you want to begin?" Brandie squeezed Titus' hand as she and Jasmine started walking to the middle of the field. Titus and Aaron were going to stay with them today. They felt uncomfortable leaving them alone while they focused on their magic, knowing the others were out there.

"Let's start with you and me alone so we can get used to our magic. Once we're comfortable, we'll let Dakota and Sterling do their thing." Brandie nodded her agreement as they reached the center of the meadow.

Titus and Aaron stood on the edge of the field to watch. They had never seen their mates use magic and felt like they were going to witness something incredible. As they watched, the twins turned so they were facing each other and then raised their arms.

When they started chanting, Aaron and Titus looked around. Even though they were in a wide-open area, it felt like their voices were echoing all around them. The sound was eerie and beautiful at the same time as it flowed through the air.

Titus and Aaron turned back to the girls and were speechless. Their eyes were glowing bright green same as the stones hanging from their necks. That was not the most astonishing thing, though.

Jasmine's and Brandie's faces had changed, making them look like something out of this world. Their skin seemed to have a shimmery effect, while their faces looked fuller yet more beautiful than ever. While they continued to stare, the wind started blowing all around them. The twins no longer looked like they were standing on the ground but hovering over it.

Titus and Aaron both fell to their knees in disbelief. The power they could feel coming from them across the field was overwhelming. Whatever doubt they had about their magic quickly went away. As suddenly as everything started, it was all going away.

The wind stopped, the twins were standing on the ground, their features were returning to normal, and the glowing stopped. The men couldn't move at first until they heard their mates laughing. When they looked toward them, Jasmine and Brandie were coming their way.

Aaron and Titus stood up while continuing to stare with their mouths open. How could they speak after witnessing something so unbelievable?

"Are you guys okay?" Jasmine asked with amusement in her voice.

"How? What? I don't even know what to say?" Aaron said quietly. He felt he shouldn't speak too loud, or it would take away from the majestic thing they had just seen.

"I guess we forgot to mention what happens when we do our spells. Seeing the reactions of those who haven't witnessed it is always fun." Jasmine said while laughing.

"Brandie, how does that even happen? I don't even know how to describe what I saw." Titus looked at Brandie but didn't touch her. He didn't feel worthy of even being in her presence. Brandie smiled at him and put her arms around him while laying her head on his shoulder.

"Titus, stop looking at me like I'm different now. What you saw is the power of our magic. We draw it from our stones, and it draws from the Earth. That's why the witches of Emerald Stone always have someone coming after them." Brandie hid her smile at Titus' reaction. She should have warned him a little of the changes that take place.

"Brandie, I now have confidence that you and your sister will be able to defeat whatever comes our way. I love you, Brandie." Titus didn't care that Aaron and Jasmine were standing there. He leaned down and kissed Brandie passionately. He would have made love to her right there in the middle of the meadow among the flowers if they were alone.

Aaron was still staring at Jasmine, trying to see if she was real. He reached out and rubbed her cheek with his hand. She giggled and leaned up to give him a kiss to snap him out of it.

"Aaron, you're too funny right now. We'll talk more about this later. Now we need to practice with our wolves, so we need to shift. After that, let's go eat some lunch because all this energy we're using is making me hungry." Jasmine gave him another kiss before she and Brandie ran back out to the center of the field, shifting into their wolves on the way.

Jasmine and Brandie had put a spell on themselves and their mates so they could shift without changing their clothes. The men were still getting used to it, though. Aaron and Titus sat down this time, not wanting to fall when they witnessed whatever was coming.

The wolves faced each other as Jasmine and Brandie had. There was no sound, but their eyes glowed bright green. They still felt an eerieness in the air, but they were expecting that. Titus and Aaron looked at each other with smiles. They were incredibly proud of their mates.

In addition to the men watching the twins, the others were in the trees but so far away that they could barely see them. They didn't want to be detected by the wolves. The invisible one was with them, watching. He was closer but still hidden because he didn't want the wolves to detect him either.

They were all astounded when they saw the green light coming from the twins and then the changes they witnessed in their features. It had scared them almost as much as the being frightened them. Whatever magic they had was not normal, and they would never admit this to the being, but they thought the twins may be able to defeat him.

When the girls had gone back to their mates, they thought the practice was over, but they were wrong. They were confused when they saw them shift into their wolves. After a few minutes, the others and the invisible one were stunned once again. Both of the wolves' eyes were glowing green and emitting the same amount of power as the girls.

When Jasmine and Brandie shifted back to human form, the others and the invisible one left the area before they could be detected. They swiftly went to where the being was waiting between the worlds and reported their findings.

The being was angry when he heard about the power of the Emerald Stone witches. He knew he could beat them because no one was more powerful than him. The being decided he just needed to be careful so they didn't mess up his plans before he could remove their power from them. It would all work out. He was sure of it.