Sharing Delilah

I almost had it- the smoke was rising the embers flicking, flashes of light!

And it all goes out with a sputter.

I growled throwing the bowl across the room- then sighed sadly shaking my head and moving to clean up the mess. No matter how many attempts this was the outcome every time; it would start to work and fizzle out. Either my true love; my soulmate didn't exist on this plane- or he was some eternal creature refusing to be found.

It happened sometimes- but sometimes your mate wasn't someone you wanted to find either. My cousin Tatiana found her true love; a blood sucking vampire who wanted nothing to do with her after a million failed attempts- or so I assumed from what little information Iona (the high priestess of the eastern covens) had passed on to us (the western covens). From what we were told she didn't even realize he was the one until the ceremony to be wed.

I wasn't sure how much stock I put into what they said though. It was concerning enough I hadn't heard from her in almost a month. The last email I had received from her seemed full of... optimism so unlike the previous ones were she pretty much just talked about her plants.

She didn't really have a choice in the end as far as who she was fated to be with. The moment she laid eyes on him; the cosmic force that pulls you together is to great to ignore. The problem though is that now she was a beloved- the price was giving up her powers as a witch to feed the poor sap. I guess they get eternity together though. It was something.

You can't exactly guarantee who your with, as a witch who you're fated to be with is a mystery until the moment you lay eyes on one another. Even then it's not always clear. We as a species lived pretty long lives- but not to the extent of a vampire. Immortality was something no witch had ever achieved while still having their powers with the acceptation of my cousin. That immortality had come with a price- I wondered if meeting her fated one meant that the price had been paid.

I didn't particularly enjoyed the thought of loving a vampire. Wolves would be worse. Fleas and hair. I enjoyed the outside to be sure but hearing bones crack and morph? Who's to say I'd even make that kind of transition? Though on the flip side you don't lose your powers as a witch from what I've heard. Unlike vampires. Not that I actually knew any witches that married wolves personally.

No- in all likelihood my fated one was Fey or stuck in limbo or a different timeline. Might not even be born yet. Who knew.

Who cared. My mind whispered.

I cared... I didn't want to admit it but seeing such happiness in her parents left me aching for someone. Someone that I may never meet.

I sighed looking at the ash stained carpet. Hopefully it didn't come off my card as damages- I could snap my fingers and fix it but it was a waste of magic. In the days to come had to reserve my strength to find them their Lunas- and two spells? That was much harder then one; they also requested it be done at the same time to make it fair. I had to save all my energy plus my reserves given to me by the coven to pull it off. Just doing the one spell I had done was unwise.

"Goddess guide me." I murmured looking up at the moon. Tomorrow was a new day- their beta was supposed to pick me up in the morning. Then I had two days to get familiar with the Alphas and find a sacred space on their land to perform the spell.

Then I was free to go home to New Mexico.

The thought was hallow- my heart ached with a need I couldn't describe other than loneliness. Perhaps I would travel after this job. Maybe I could find purpose outside of duty that plagued me- a slave to my coven and it's every need.