It would only be days before the magical twins would arrive. The two of them an anomaly in the witches world.
No time for him or his brother to prepare their souls for what felt like the ultimate betrayal of their true love, the other halves of their tortured souls.
To hiim it seemed like just yesterday that he held her, skin burned black beyond recognition as she gasped her last breath, while the light and love faded from her eyes. I'm sure his brother felt the same about his beloved Syn.
In reality, for him, it had been 300 years since that fateful day on the cliffs. The day he'd envied a vampires ability to walk into the sun and end it all. End it to join his beloved Maggie in the afterlife.
Now, he needed to betray her love, to get the answers he needed. To save her. To save the world. He needed to pleasure another. To touch her and join with her in the ultimate act of ecstasy...and blood. An act he never got the chance to have with his beloved before she was taken from him.
God, how could he do this? How could he make Bran do this? Would his brother ever be able to forgive him for desecrating the love he still had for Syn.
"Shaw don't look so tortured." his brother said as he walked into the room.
"Bran, how can I not." Shaw replied. "What I am asking you to do, I feel repulsed. Will you ever be able to forgive me brother?"
"What are you going on about Shaw?"
"This magic!" Shaw shot out of the chair and paced the room. "The sex with these twin witches! I am asking you to betray your love for Syn!!"
"Shaw is that how you see it?" Bran asked quietly.
"Of course it is! How could I not?"
"Shaw," Bran sighed. "Syn is gone, she isn't going to be reincarnated like your beloved is. I fear this is much harder on you than me. Do you suppose that I have lived as a monk since Syn was taken from me? Do you think that if it was reversed that Syn would have lived her life without the touch of another?"
Shaw stopped in the centre of the room, shoulders slumped. He slowly turned to face his brother and looked up, eyes full of pain.
"It still feels like yesterday brother, I know in my head it wasn't, but I don't know how I am going to do this. For the magic to work I need to be all in, be present, I just don't know if I can do it when I know that my Maggie is here in this world, right now she just doesn't remember, much like I don't remember what I need to."
"I don't know what to tell you that will make this better, Shaw." Bran stepped forward and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You already know that this has to happen, the only thing I can say is, do you think that your Maggie, would think this was a betrayal? Maybe you should try and contact her, do whatever it is you do when she comes to you and ask her."
"I have never been able to make it happen on my own before, but you're right I need to do something and talking to her seems to be the only plan I've got."
Shaw clasped his brothers arm in a warrior's grip.
"Thank you brother."
Shaw had no idea if he could make it happen or not, but suddenly he desperately wanted to be able to. Just to see her one more time, just to speak to her, see her beautiful emerald eyes look at him with all the joy and love they once did.
He headed down the hall to his room. Needing and wanting the privacy to try and make his visions or whatever they were happen.
It wasn't a large room, but it was all he required. He wished that he could skip the public display that would have to happen with the twins in just days, but he knew that he couldn't. He needed to remember the magic that he'd learned so long ago.
Shaw crossed the room to his bed and laid down closing his eyes. Clasping the medallion in his hands he pictured his beautiful Maggie's face. Her long raven black hair, her perfect perky breasts, her narrow waist, her shapely bottom. He pictured her rising out of the water, the day they stole her from her clan, naked as the day she was born. The water glistening like diamonds on her bare skin, she had looked like a water goddess that day. He had thought she had enchanted him with her magic he had wanted her that bad, not just him, but his wolf as well.
***
March 11, 1715
He watched from the trees. He was mesmerized by her ethereal beauty as she stepped gracefully into the water. Long ebony hair flowed in gentle waves down a slender back to shapely hips designed for a man's hands to grasp. In the early light of dawn, her alabaster skin seemed to glow. His body hummed with desire. His wolf snarled to be released to claim what was his.
"You've made it then my love?"
It wasn't the early light making her glow, his Maggie was glowing. He'd made it and strangely enough he realized he was back with her.
"Not quite back with me, things won't exactly progress the way they did that day, you need to speak with me, so we are in a sort of stasis at the moment."
He walked slowly towards her, not believing she was here and gloriously naked for his eyes to peruse at leisure.
"Not leisure my love, we don't have forever, and I sense you have important things to ask me, if you can get your tongue back in your mouth." She laughed and it was musical. "Even here your eyes turn the glowing gold of your wolf."
"Aye love, full of the passion I have for you?" He sighed. "I do have questions for you, and I must tell you I would not do any of this if it was not absolutely necessary to save you and the world in the future."
"Speak your truth my love, they'll be no judgement here."
"We, Bran, and I, must perform a sex ritual in the future to remember all that your father taught me. The time I spent with him after your death is gone. In the future, you are gone, you remember nothing of who you are so I cannot go to you for help either. Cailean is back and he's evil and powerful." He rushed it out stumbling over the words in his haste to get it out.
"Oh, Shaw my love, be easy. This is but magic, I understand that you do not do this to hurt me or betray me, but to save me, us, and the world. I love you always, even the future me loves you though she can't remember."
She stepped forward and placed her hand on his chest and the medallion heated beneath her palm.
"Do this ritual Shaw. Find your answers. Be free and enjoy yourself, find your pleasure and pleasure the other. For soon we will be together, and all others will be forgotten."
She was gone and he was again lying on his bed, though a bit more uncomfortable than he'd been before his little trip to the past. Standing and adjusting himself he left his room. In better spirits now than he had been, confident that his beloved understood, and he wasn't betraying her, but helping them all.