Snoe smiled. The place still needed more work, but he’d made a huge dent in it. The cobwebs no longer decorated the walls or ceiling. All the trash that was in the house was now out, one window fully cleared of vines and the other one halfway done.
The doe never came back. Snoe stayed up as long as his body would let him. But even as he rubbed his grainy eyes, he came to terms with the fact the doe had abandoned him. Snoe’s stomach growled, and he looked over at the fruit he still had left. It wasn’t really what he had a taste for. He was more in the mood for a burger or steak. Snoe’s mouth watered, curing his own hungry imagination.
The thought of going hunting had occurred to him a few times. Snoe was just lacking the basics, like a magical rifle or blessed blade or possibly any hunting skills at all. Snoe had never so much as gone camping before, let alone hunt. His dream of meat would have to stay a dream until he found the town.
Days turned into weeks and before Snoe knew it, he’d been out on his own for over a month and half. His front yard transformed into a beautiful garden that would bloom come spring. But with winter fast approaching, he tended to all the plant life around him. He’d finally found the town, but it was way too far to make multiple trips. Snoe had used the cash he had on hand to get a few supplies. Good thing he had quite a bit. He was even able to get a burger in town. It had been mediocre at best, but Snoe had eaten every bite with vigor. While there he’d bought tools to teach himself to hunt. They didn’t have any magical items, but that was probably for the best. Snoe was supposed to stay hidden to live like a human.
Snoe kept his witch side hidden and blended in with the humans as best as he could. The world knew about supernaturals; it was unavoidable with the territories split up into sections. There was the shifter region that ruled most of the northern coast; then in the south, vampires reigned with absolute power. Snoe had heard that they kept their humans in farms with limited freedom. The humans who stayed in the witch territory were semi-free until they weren’t.
Humans were ripped from their homes and families and placed as slaves in witches’ homes. They were called servants, but they were never paid, and their freedom was restricted to what witches allowed. It only made sense that humans held a grudge against supernaturals now, but to all the supernaturals this was just karma. After years of witches being burned at the stake, shifters being hunted for their fur, and vampires staked, humans had gotten what they deserved.
Parkins never showed up again, and if Snoe was honest, he was happy about it. He still remembered the disappointment in the older man’s eyes. Snoe had thought he’d grown accustomed to the looks of disapproval and disgust, but the elder had held so much hope for Snoe.
He groaned. It didn’t matter anymore; it was all behind him. Like Parkins said, he was no longer Snoe Blake, heir to the Blake coven and Blake Industries. Snoe decided taking his mother’s maiden name would be the easiest to remember. Not many people knew it because his mother hadn’t come from a prominent family.
He was Snoe Whyte, a nobody with zero ties to anyone or any witch bloodline. He just hoped his stepmother was now happy that he was gone and would never bother him again.
Chapter Six
Evil StepMother
“Has he been found yet?” Hilde asked.
“No,” a servant answered.
He rightfully cowered away from Hilde. How damn hard is it to find one weak rich kid? Hilde kept her composure as she sat at the kitchen table. Annoyance sat in the pit of her stomach, ruining her appetite. How could this have happened? Everything was going according to plan. Damn Parkins. She knew it had to be him who’d helped Snoe escape. There was literally no one else who would dare try and cross her.
Hilde swore she would kill the old bastard one of these days. But she had to bide her time—Parkins still held too much sway over the coven and the company. Being the right hand to the leader of the witch territory for so many years earned him a sense of loyalty Hilde had yet to gain.
“Then why the hell are you here?” Dash shouted.
He stood from his chair and snatched up the scrawny servant, tossing him roughly across the room. Magic sparked in the air as the smell of burning hair followed. The servant’s screams were guttural as he was forced to bend backward.
“He’s too loud,” Hilde said.
“Sorry, Mother,” Dash said.
“Wai—plea—” the servant begged.
Dash snapped his fingers. The sound of a loud crunch echoed around the large room. The screams abruptly stopped, and the magic dissipated as Dash released his hold on the servant.
“Idiot,” Dash spat out.
Hilde took a sip of her coffee, the rich bitter liquid washing over her tongue and taking away some of the headache that threatened to ruin her day even further. There was so much that needed to be done for her to take over. Her plans were constantly changing, but the outcome would be the same. She would rule over the Blake coven whether directly or through her children. Hilde was born into the world for greatness, and she planned to grasp it in her hands at any cost.
Her phone dinged. She picked up the device, reading over the message from Jero.
Jero: I wish to hold you tonight.
Hilde sighed. The man was needy, but he still had his uses, not to mention his magical power level was superb.
Hilde: Not yet. Have the elders come up with a decision yet?
Jero: No, it is still split down the middle on who should be next to lead.
Hilde ground her molars; the urge to lash out at Jero to do a better job of convincing the rest of the pests to her side was strong. Instead, she scrolled through her pictures, selecting an enticing picture of her legs with just the hint of her black lacy panties. That should be good enough encouragement.
Hilde: Keep doing your best, love.
A minute didn’t even pass, and Jero was texting back. Hilde didn’t bother to read it, knowing all too well Jero was reassuring her. Men were simple, easily ruled by their libido. Hilde placed her phone back down, glancing over to where the dead servant lay on the floor.
“Clean that up,” Hilde said.
Two other servants rushed over to the corpse and dragged it out of the room. Humans were disposable; there were plenty of them around the world. They were nothing more than tools to be used. The society they lived in was composed of vampires, shifters, and witches. Many years ago, there was an uprising. Witches were tired of being burned, vampires staked, and shifters hunted for their fur. Humans had never seen them coming, and they had reminded humans of their place at the bottom of the food chain.
“Dash, have you been in touch with Vanessa?” Hilde asked.
Dash was still foaming at the mouth. The boy had good magical abilities and listened to everything Hilde told him to do, but his temper was one of the things Hilde could live without.
“Dash,” Hilde called out.
He snapped his neck to look at Hilde. Madness swarmed in his dark eyes before he settled down, smoothing back his hair.
“Yes, she’s informed me they are no closer to a decision than they were before.” Dash sat back down. “It would be better if Sn—”
Hilde threw her knife at her son. It landed an inch away from his hand, stopping him from talking any further. She didn’t reprimand him or his near slipup. No matter that the humans in the estate worked for her, they couldn’t be trusted. Humans were weak-minded and could easily be broken to spill information.