Suffocate Me

I shuffled away from Andy. Juliet’s appearance had shifted from a normal human to a young banshee. Her heart was broken in two so I didn’t blame her for being angry and upset. Tears stained her cheeks, betraying her hateful expression. It made sense now, Juliet was a banshee, the type of spirit that would fall hard for a kind heart and sweet smile.

Banshee’s aren’t evil things just self-centered. They normally spend their years working as bad omens, messengers of death, but others like Juliet would try to blend in. Now her cover was being blown by her own emotions and it was technically my fault.

That’s why I didn’t fight back when one of her hands gripped desperately onto my wrist.

“YoU!” She gasped, a little quieter,”Why do you steal him?!”

I couldn’t answer. Banshees were the least understanding of predestine d relationships and I didn’t want to rub “destiny” into her wounds. Mates were something of fate, not something that could be stolen.

“Juliet….” Andy said, obviously in shock.

“No, no.” she whimpered.

“Juliet, what is this about a spell?” Andy asked, his voice deep and almost threatening.

The banshee fell to her knees and hung her head. Blood beat in my ears and I reached out to help Juliet stand, but she pushed me back. It wasn’t rough or angry, it was a gesture of exhaustion.

“A spell?” I whispered,”She cast a spell?”

I turned to Andy. His lips were stretched thin, but his hands were outreached to Juliet in a gentle manner. Looking to me, he nodded.

“She said it. ‘You broke the spell.’ I’m pretty sure.”

Juliet’s screech from before had been so gargled that I hadn’t understood it. It hurt my ears just thinking about it. More importantly, if Juliet had put a spell on Andy it wouldn’t bode well for her. Casting spells on lovers was taboo. Such an antic would get her in serious trouble with wiccan and karma-oriented groups.

“I-I just wanted a h-home.” she whispered.

“Did you cast something over me?” Andy asked.

Juliet paused.

“Dragonfl-”

“Yes, yes, I’m your dragonfly, but now… now my little rabbit-”

“Did you use magic on me?” Andy demanded, annoyance taking over.

“Not at first,” Juliet said, looking up at Andy for the first time since shifting.

Regret must have weighed her down, because she hunched over further and her gaze fell. She went on to defend herself, rambling about “precaution” and “unpredictability.” Love had not been kind to her in the past so she wanted closure that Andy wouldn’t leave her. To provide that closure, Juliet had cast a spell of obsession that would only affect him when they were apart.
It was clear she didn’t know about his werewolf origins, which put both Andy and I at ease. She wasn’t trying to start a fight, Juliet just wanted to feel loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Will she be okay?” I asked.

“She’ll be fine,” Andy said,”She’s a strong one.”

Andy had been confused as to what to do with Juliet. He could alert the local wiccan group of Juliet’s misuse of magic or he could let her go and risk her using it again. Sympathy was on Juliet’s side and Andy let her go with a very stern warning. His scolding was intimidating to watch, but I also found myself somewhat aroused.

Can’t blame me for being attracted to my other half, I thought.

“There she goes,” Andy said as Juliet drove off.

I smiled sadly.

“Thank you, Andy,” I said, pressing my forehead to his shoulder.

A man came onto the bus, splitting me and Andy apart before Andy could say anything. He had the smell of cigarette smoke wafting off his breath. Black hair, brown eyes and eyeliner made up his look.

“Hey, C.C..” Andy said, sighing.

“Hey yo, all good now?”

“Yeah,” Andy said.

“Good, cause Jon wants a word.” C.C. said.

Notes