Searching Souls: Book 2

By Nicole Stone

It has been nearly a year since Serena Rae has learned she is a Witch. She has accepted this truth, but it has not been easy. The secrets and lies have taken their toll. Only her boyfriend and soulmate, Damian Drake, truly understands. Being a Vampire extraordinaire helps.

 

After a great summer, Serena and Damian prepare for their next chapter, but before they can leave, the impossible happens. Now Serena must embark on a rescue mission to save Damian, and herself, from an enemy in the shadows. Serena will have to come to terms with who she is and what she can do. She will need every ounce of strength she has.

Is she powerful enough?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: May 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886933291

Nicole Stone

Nicole Stone is a mom of two amazing kids, a dog and a cat. She has been married to her loving husband for 15 blissful years. She lives in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of New York state. Enjoying the wine and the waterfalls.

Book preview

About the Author

Nicole Stone is a mom of two amazing kids, a dog and a cat. She has been married to her loving husband for 15 blissful years. She lives in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of New York state. Enjoying the wine and the waterfalls.

Dedication

For my husband, who is my Soul.

Copyright Information ©

Nicole Stone 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication date

Stone, Nicole

Searching Souls

ISBN 9798886933277 (Paperback)

ISBN 9798886933291 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9798886933284 (Audiobook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023905408

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Chapter 1

Serena!

I smile at the squeaky, excited, voice that comes from behind me. I turn slightly to look for the girl the squeal came from without stopping my walk down the hall, only to see her skipping down the hall behind me, waving. I turn forward with a smile, Of course she would be skipping, I whisper to myself as I shake my head. Sam is such a bubbly girl that I half expect a bright pink twirling dress, pigtails, and a lollypop. I love that; instead, she is in ripped shorts, a black tank with a bright sugar skull print and her golden blonde hair in a messy ponytail.

Can you believe this will be the last time we walk down this hall together? Sam asks as she finishes her skip over to me and weaves her arm through mine to stop me from turning the corner to the senior hallway.

I stop willingly and turn on the nostalgia, It seems like the last four years went so fast, I pause as I think back over the last four years, and that is enough of that, but this last week dragged. I am so glad that high school is over. I am ready to start my life I say to her smiling.

You mean you are ready to run across the country to live with Damian. Sam laughs, holding me firmly in place as I try to step forward, still not letting me turn the corner.

Yes, well, there is that. Even though this year has been amazing, the perfect last year of high school, I am ready to start my life with Damian, there is no denying that.

Okay, Sam says, taking a deep breath, are you ready to walk down this hall for the last time?

I was ready two minutes ago! I laugh looking over at her.

But I wasn’t! Take this in, Seri; it is the last time we turn this corner, She says, looking around the corner; nostalgia, she is so focused on the nostalgia. Apparently, she was not done with the walk down memory lane.

Okay Sam, let’s do this, I say, trying to sound serious and sad, and failing as I giggle. She looks at me with impatience. Okay… Nope still can’t get it. Okay! I say, laughing. Memory lane it is.

It’s all I ask for, she says to me as we begin to turn the corner. Sam, of course, starts her skipping again. She drags me along as she skips down the senior hall toward our lockers, making me laugh even harder. The last time you laugh in this hallway. The last time I skip down this hall. She doesn’t stop when we break apart to head to our lockers, The last time I open this locker. The last time I smile at the picture in my locker of you and me. The last time I pull my books out of my locker. The last…

I get it I say, loudly, with a bit of manic laughing as I shove everything into my bag. I look up at my locker door smiling at the collage of pictures hanging there. Sam and I the first day of freshman year, my parents and I in the green house last summer, Damian and I at Prom. All four of us over spring break. I smile just a little bigger as I stare at the picture of the 4 of us; myself, Damian, Sam, and Cornelius. Things are about to get even better. I’m excited that this is it. We’re moving forward, our lives are truly starting. But, I begrudgingly admit, at the same time, I hate that we are moving in different directions, literally. I’m going to Oregon, hopefully, and you to Florida. I start to take down the pictures on my locker and put them into the envelope I thought to bring. I don’t want them to get ruined. We close the lockers as if on cue.

We then turn to each other as if it was a choregraphed dance causing us to laugh as Sam says, I know, but it isn’t like we will never see each other again. You know as well as I do that Neil and Damian, I smile at the names of the two men that we love, will never let that happen.

Your right. Those two know how important our friendship is. But I doubt that is why they wouldn’t let us drift apart. I think that has more to do with the fact that they couldn’t go that long without seeing each other, I say, laughing.

Sad, but true. She laughs as we walk out of the hall, without looking back. We take one step at a time down the stairs walking more slowly than usual. We should be home already, getting ready, but we stayed late to help set up for graduation tonight. And seeing as we are both procrastinators, neither of us had cleaned out our lockers. So, we are the last ones to head home.

The truth is, that under normal circumstances, we might both feel a little more choked up over the end of high school, but Damian and Cornelius are waiting for us outside. I smile again at just the thought of them waiting in the parking lot.

How had we gotten so lucking? How had I gotten so lucky? Not only do I get an amazing soul mate but my best friend finds hers as well. Okay, okay, so I don’t actually know if they are soul mates. I just feel it, or as my mother says, I hope it. I don’t care, because the simple fact that she is with Cornelius means that I will not have to hide from her. What makes it even better is that Neil is Damian’s boss and best friend. That means we will always be together. Sisters. More important it means that Sam can be in on our secret.

At the bottom of the stairs, we both stop, taking it all in one last time. I look down the hall toward the office windows and the library, One last walk around? I ask smiling. She smiles and we drop our bags and run down the hall passed the office windows. We run to the other side of the school going up the stairs, through the computer lab doors, then back down the stairs within the library bringing us back to the office windows.

Smiling to each other we grab our bags as we walk out of the gym lobby doors. We immediately see Damian and Cornelius leaning on Cornelius’s car talking quietly to themselves, waiting for us. We stop and just watch them. These two men love us so much.

The silence only lasts a moment before I hear Sam squeal, Neil making me jump as she drops her bag to run to him, leaping into his arms as she wraps herself around him. I laugh at them as Damian begins his slow walk to me. We have talked about the difference between our relationship and theirs before. Sure, we have our moments of excitement but we are more laid back then they are. It just goes to show you that every couple is different but none is better than the other.

I just love how they are together though. She brings him out of his shell. Out of his head. She makes him more extroverted, while he tames her a bit. Sam has always been loud and energetic. With Cornelius, she is more laid back and mature. Despite the previous squeal and run. Opposites attract and compliment, I guess.

As far as her calling him Neil…I had tried calling him Neil once, but got a deadly look for my efforts. I shake my head smiling at the memory.

What are you thinking about my evil little Witch?

Damian asks in my mind.

I look over to him and smile as he finishes his slow walk to me, I’m thinking she will take the news Cornelius has for her well. My news…not so much.

I truly hope you are right my love, but why aren’t you sure about your news? He says with a crooked smile as he wraps his arms around me. In his arms, I can breathe, I can relax. In his arms, I am free, I am home.

The past ten months I have been so worried that Sam would figure everything out. That she would see me use my powers. Or walk in and see Cornelius or Damian feeding. But while I am with Damian, I feel like I can think clearly, I feel calm.

Because I am her best friend and I have basically been lying to her, I finally answer.

She will understand, he says, gently brushing the hair out of my eyes.

I didn’t think it would be like this though. The day Cornelius and Sam met I really thought all would be great. Sunshine and meadows with a few rainbows thrown in for good measure. Maybe a unicorn in the corner. He smiles at me, shaking his head slightly. I thought I could go this year with Sam in on the big secret, no lying, and no hiding. I could tell her that you are not just my boyfriend but my soul mate, brought to me by a spell nearly 500 years old, I say, not for the first time, for the millionth time maybe. He again listens to me, running his fingers across my cheek. Even I am getting tired of hearing it.

But that didn’t happen, Cornelius wanted to wait. He wanted to get to know her, to make sure she was the one for him. I didn’t argue with him about that. I understood and wanted him to be sure so she wouldn’t get hurt.

But it still never happened, he just continued to come up with reasons not to tell her. He wanted her to enjoy the holidays, to enjoy spring vacation. He wanted her to finish school. None of which I understood. Maybe I was just thinking of me but I thought this year would have been amazing if she had known. But it was not my secret to tell. Okay, so part of it was, I just didn’t want mine to be the only secret told.

He came up with every excuse he could for the past ten months. Not that I blamed him. I may not have agreed with them but, I saw the reason behind his excuses. I just didn’t like it. If no one can tell, I am very back and forth on this.

With Damian’s arms around me, all that stress disappears for just a moment.

It all ends tonight, thank the Goddess. While all our classmates go off to the graduation party, Sam and I will be going to Grey Securities. Tonight, he will tell her what he is. Tonight, all secrets will be out.

I, slightly unwillingly, step out of Damian’s arms to grab Sam’s bag that was obviously forgotten in lieu of Cornelius. She loves him. It will go well, it must.

Turning back to Damian I take his out reached hand and we walk over, hand and hand, to meet them at Cornelius’ car.

Oh, Thanks Seri, Sam says, taking her bag back. I didn’t mean to drop it. She laughs looking at Cornelius. He smiles down at her with pure love. We pile in to Cornelius’ tiny car and head to my house.

On the drive home, Sam and I talk about what we are going to wear for the ceremony. We plan what we are going to do with our hair. What we are going to do with our makeup, our whole ensemble. The guys just sit quietly. Sporadically shaking their heads and rolling their eyes for good measure.

To save their sanity we move on to what type of things we want to do this summer before we head off in different directions for college and work. They got more involved with that topic. Apparently, this is something they have already discussed in detail. I am starting to think that these two need a life. Not saying I don’t love their ideas but from what they say they have been planning this summer for a few months. I smile as Damian tells us the plan to go to Martha Vineyard, Even though we can’t drink? I ask, completely and knowingly pulling them in for the snap.

There is a lot more to do there then you think. We are going to have candlelit dinners and walks on the beach. We can go paddle boarding and horseback riding… He says, getting excited.

Oh, I know, I just don’t understand how two strong manly men can plan all these fun filled girly romantic weekends.

Sam points back at me nodding, Girls got a point, she says in a goading tone.

We are men planning a romantic weekend for our women! What is manlier than that? Cornelius asks in a gruff voice.

Oh, I don’t know, planning only one weekend like that, not a whole summer of hopping from place to place doing nothing but romantic things, Sam says with a smile shrugging her shoulders and looking out the window.

Alright then we won’t do any of it.

Too late, now you got us all excited. Just know that we now expect this kind of thing all the time. Forever. No take backs, I say.

What! Damian squeals. This is only because you two are going to college, you are graduating and this is the last summer before your crazy busy adult life starts.

That was very well squealed out babe. I laugh patting his leg. He just looks at Cornelius who has a copy of his confused and shocked face on.

Well, come on boys, you didn’t think you could plan an amazingly fun and romantic SUMMER, not weekend. Not night. But SUMMER, and we wouldn’t expect it all the time? You played your cards; you showed your hands. We now know just what you are capable of. No turning back now, Sam says with a smile.

Cornelius pulls his car into my driveway, puts it in park and his head falls to the wheel. I watch as Damian sits next to me dumbfounded.

I am so much more excited to see what you plan for our one-year anniversary, I say, patting his leg again.

Oh shit, he breathes.

After a few minutes of me and Sam watching them and trying not to laugh, Sam breaks the silence, Well we have to get ready so are you two going to get out and open the door for us or what? That gets them to snap out of it and they both give us a look. We lose our