Read Online The Witching Moon: The Witches of Redwood Falls - Book 1 by Janelle Daniels - Free Book Online

front in Drake’s
handwriting.
    Fingers numb, she reached out for the creamy
envelope, carefully opening the paper as dread settled in her
stomach.
    She gasped, reading his words. The paper
fell from her hand, landing softly in the afternoon light.
     
    Poppy,
     
    I promised you that I’d step aside. And I’m
sticking by that. I love you, but I can’t be here. I can’t watch as
you choose someone else.
     
    Drake
     
    She sunk to the ground.
    He was gone.
    He’d left so that he wouldn’t have to see
her with someone else. She did this. She could only blame herself.
She’d been stupid, unsure, and instead of following her heart and
accepting Drake, the man she loved, she’d tossed it aside. Because
of fear.
    A tear trailed down her cheek, quickly
followed by a second and third until she couldn’t hold them back
any longer.
    She’d lost him.

Chapter 7

     
     
    When all of her calls went straight to voice
mail, Poppy knew Drake’s phone was off. On the night of the full
moon, she dialed his number one last time, hoping that she’d
finally be able to speak with him, to tell him how much she loved
him.
    Voice mail.
    She lowered the phone to the table,
breathing deeply. This was out of her hands now. She done
everything she could. He wouldn’t pick up his phone, and his
parents didn’t know where he’d gone. She had to accept it. It was
over.
    Her heart ached for him. He’d left, but she
still needed him.
    It all started at Cloch Chroí and that was
where it would end. She gathered items slowly, her movements calm
as she prepared herself.
    The moon was low in the sky, but it was
bright enough to light her path without a flashlight. An animal
rustled in the brush beside her, but her steps remained steady. An
owl called out somewhere in the distance, but she didn’t answer.
Life had gone on for all these creatures, just as her own would
once the night ended. But it would never be the same.
    Not without Drake.
    Fog sifted through the stones, moonlight
reflected in its depths. It was an image straight out of a horror
film, but it didn’t frighten her. She’d woven through the stones
too many times as a child to let it bother her. They were a part of
her.
    She walked to the center of the stones,
drawing her circle. Sending up a prayer of gratitude, she poured
out the love and the heartache she’d experienced. Even though she’d
lost it all, she’d known love. She’d always be grateful for
that.
    “Send my words in the air, that he may know
how I care…”
    Stepping from the shadows, Drake entered the
stone circle. “I heard.”
    “Drake?” she gasped, wiping tears from her
eyes. “You’re here?”
    He didn’t answer, only stepped closer to
her. “Let me in.” He eyed her circle.
    He didn’t need to come in. She could easily
come out. She wanted to. All she could think about what racing into
his arms, about pouring her heart out to him. “It’s okay. I’ll
close it.”
    “I don’t think so. I need to come in.”
    She didn’t know why he was pushing for it,
but she didn’t care. If it meant that much to him, she’d open it
for him. She’d give him anything.
    Chanting, she reached out of the circle,
grasping his hand before pulling him in.
    Light arced from the ring, swallowing the
forest. Her hair shot into the air as wind tunneled through the
circle. Power surged around them, through them. And she knew.
    It was from him.
    “How?” She searched his eyes.
    “I don’t know.” He lifted the back of her
hand to his lips, brushing a tender kiss there. “But I suspected as
much after the last spell we did together.”
    He’d had magic all along. “I don’t
understand.” But she didn’t need to. She didn’t care. All she cared
about was that he was here. With her. The prophecy didn’t matter.
None of it did. “You came back,” she whispered.
    He wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’ll always
come back.”
    Her eyes scrunched closed. “I thought you’d
gone for good. I thought I’d