The Angelus Brothers Chronicles - The Red Witch

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Raphael stretched and sighed in contentment as he woke in his cabin. He'd been living with the wolf pack for about five years and despite the odd pang when the witch crossed his mind his life was actually the most peaceful it had ever been. He rolled off his bed and stretched again before grabbing his towel. A quick scrub in the bathhouse back at the village then he'd head over to the farms to see if he could help out or perhaps see if Duncan wanted to go hunting.

The hidden Isle was as close to paradise as Raphael had ever been, they lived so peacefully hunting deer, wild boar and rabbits, tending the land or handcrafting things to use or trade. His own wood carvings had not only made his cabin home more personal but had been swapped for curtains, bedding and utensils. His life really was almost perfect with the wolves in this comfortable laid-back, welcoming place. Raphael could happily spend his immortal life right here. Many of the clan did. Most only left to find their mate and then return to their home, usually all the more grateful for the idyllic peace of the place.

Leaving his cabin he opened Areion's stable

"Good Morning old man, no breaking my fence and eating my carrots today." He gave the horse an affectionate pat. The vampire had put in a small vegetable garden, as soon as anything grew the huge horse would be into it. He built a fence but persistent Areion was such a strong animal he always got through somehow. The irony was the vegetables were for the horse but when they were grown not still just green leaves. Coming out of the stable he headed off towards the village, leaving the horse to graze in their clearing.

It was a long walk to the village but the vampire enjoyed it, he was never in a hurry and that was his favourite part of his current existence. As he left the tree line just outside the village he spied Duncan walking barefoot and topless, towel draped over his shoulder, towards the bathhouse.

"Duncan." The wolf looked around and grinned at his friend. "Off for a scrub?"

"Aye, seems like the best place to be heading with my towel." Raphael rolled his eyes and caught up to his friend.

The bath house was a large wooden hut with a huge copper tank in the corner with a fire below. From the tank, a pipe led out above a large sunken pool. When he'd first arrived Raphael had marvelled at the ingenuity of it, yes his home had many bathrooms with running water but in a village of wooden cabins and cottages, he'd assumed it would be dips in the river. There were two bathhouses in the village one for men and one for ladies and everyone took it in turns to man them and keep the water tanks full and the fire fed. In winter everyone wanted the job as the bathhouse was always warm and steamy even in six feet of snow. It was things like the bathhouses that made him love this wolf pack so much. They had a simple approach to life that was often actually genius in its simplicity. Like the bathhouse. Heating the water over a fire was so simple yet so effective.

But what Raphael would never get over was how welcoming the wolf pack had been to a vampire. He'd expected a pack that had hidden themselves away from everyone on a hidden island to be unwelcoming. But nothing could have been further from the truth. When they'd told him he was welcome to build himself a home and stay as long as he wished after only a short time knowing him he'd been more overwhelmed than they would ever know. He'd found an acceptance he didn't think he ever would, especially from Duncan's mother the Luna of the pack. She treated him like one of her own pups.

Slipping off his trousers and sliding into the tub on the opposite side to the wolf he sighed.

"Do you have much planned for today?" Duncan shrugged.

"Nah, might go hunting, Ma commented that we've got barely any meat in the pantry. You?"

"I'll join you on a hunt if you're going. My larder is a little sparse." The two men bathed in relative silence. Raphael laid back in the steaming water and sighed. He could hear a group of wolves outside walking past. He recognised one of the voices as Bryn. He knew she still liked him, she never really tried to hide it, the complete opposite in fact, but she had backed off over the years. If only he'd have met her before he laid eyes on the witch. He could so easily have spent a long and happy life in this heavenly place with the sexy tawny-haired she-wolf in happy ignorance of his fated bride. Now he couldn't even show the she-wolf a good time, let alone be a mate for her, his body was inert, completely useless. His demon would not let it respond now it had set eyes on their fated bride. It wanted only her with an irrational need that left them impotent.