"Have you lost your mind?"
Megan asks as she quickens her pace to keep up with me,
"No, I have not lost my mind. In fact, I actually found it again. I'm done with being the laughingstock of this pack. They all laugh and joke till they need my help or my powers, then I'm good enough."
Megan grabbed my arm and forced me to stop,
"Please, don't do this. You know what will happen to your wolf if you do this. She might be gone forever,"
I sigh because I know this and did not make this decision lightly. Megan doesn't know the pain of being rejected, and honestly, I hope she never finds out.
I have been thinking about this since my first rejection. An alpha from a neighbouring pack came to look for his mate. He rejected me when he realized that I was not something special and who my family was.
I started to walk again and pulled her with me. A small old wooden cottage in the middle of the clearing became visible and I sighed in relief. If she doesn't want to see you, you will never find her cottage.
"Don't pass this line. The witch might not accept you,"
I tell Megan and point to the black ash line on the ground. It smells like rotten eggs, mushrooms and something dead.
I take a deep breath before stepping over the line. My entire body tingles and a shiver runs down my spine. I shake it off and make my way over to the cottage, following the stone path with small flowers on either side.
I see smoke coming from the chimney and the roof is covered in moss this time. I also noticed that the cottage looked a little worse in terms of wear, but last time, it looked like it had just been built.
When I reach the door, I can hear the witch hum a nursery rhyme and I raise my hand to knock, but the door opens by itself,
"Come on in, little Elizabeth,"
I hear the witches' beautiful voice call me,
"I have been waiting for you, my dear. I thought you would be back sooner."
I don't say anything as I enter the house and place my bag at the entrance,
"no matter, you're here now,"
she says. I close the door and a few candles light up around the room.
"I see you have decorated the place a bit more since I was here last,"
I grimace, looking at the two wolf pelts and one fox pelt on the floor,
"Oh, you know how it is with enemies, my dear. They always think they're stronger than you... until they realize they actually are not,"
I don't know who would be stupid enough to make an enemy of her or think they could go up against her. Apparently, three shifters found out the hard way how powerful she truly is.
She has always been, by far, my preferred witch. Not only is she very old and strong, but she also prays to the moon goddess, whereas the others have their own preferences.
"Come... sit..."
she says as a chair pulls out from under the small rounded table in the middle of the room,
"Thank you,"
I took a seat and looked around for her, but I didn't see her,
"Are you still busy?"
I ask and then gasp as I almost fall off the chair.
She laughs as she appears right in front of me,
"I just finished a nasty job with an ogre that keeps pestering and terrorizing the fairies,"
I wrinkle my nose at that. Ogre's are nasty and they're hard to kill. They're not as dumb as most people think. They're actually quite clever with their little riddles.
I look over at her and she takes her seat. Her movements are always so elegant. Like a river, slow and sure, not like someone that just fought an ogre,
"I'm here-"
she lifted her hand,
"I know... I know. Nasty piece of business, this ritual you want me to do,"
"So you can't do it?"
I tease and she giggles,
"Come on, dear, you know I can. Don't play with me. I'm not one of your little soldier boys,"
My stomach turns at the mention of my military days,
"I'm sorry, I did not think, my dear. I take it back,"
"No,"
I sputter before she has the chance to erase my memories,
"There is no need for that."
She nods slightly as she holds her hand out for me, and I hesitantly place my hand on hers,
"Calm your wolf down before I prick you,"
"She is calm,"
the witch raises one eyebrow at me and I nod to reassure her.
My wolf was still sound asleep after the injection I got yesterday. I hope she will be out for at least five more days, but I know high-stress situations will jolt her awake and that is not something I need in this small cottage.
A long silver needle appears out of thin air and falls into her hand before it sinks into the skin of my palm. It burns and I feel my wolf stir inside of me. I struggle to suppress her, maintain control, and comfort her.
The witch's tongue darts out and she licks my open wound where the blood has pooled. I watch her eyes go from yellow to the familiar all-white and wait for the smoky grey to form in her eyes. She rips herself from me before falling on her hands and knees, vomiting. Her long, black, curly hair covered her face from my view.
I'm used to the white and smoke in her eyes, but the vomiting is new and it makes me feel panicked.
I shoot up from my chair and try to run to her, but she has placed some kind of shield around me. It forces me to stay in that one spot and I'm powerless, unable to help her.
I watch on in horror as the blood she just threw up starts to twist and turn before bubbles start to form and pop on the surface. The witch began to talk to the blood and it seemed to answer her questions. I don't recognize the language and I'm still stuck in one spot, sinking to my knees.
Suddenly, her head snapped to me, her mouth gaping open in shock. The bubbles keep popping and she just nods at me or the bubbles or something. I watch as her mouth closes and she gets a wicked little grin on her face.
After a moment, she gets to her feet as if nothing had happened and takes her seat at the table again. My chair turns with a flick of her wrist and she points her open hand at it. Urging me to take a seat.
I don't know when the shield disappeared, but I could move around again,
"Your life is about to change very drastically, my dear and I can not bind your scent for you,"
my jaw snapped shut as I took a seat at the table. She has always helped me. Never has she denied me before. Why now? What is going to happen to me?
I start to shake my head,
"why the hell not?"
I try to argue with her, to try and make her change her mind, but she interrupts me,
"Because you know what you are, Elizabeth. I will not bind a power like yours. If I bind your scent, I will bind your wolf and she might disappear forever. No unbinding spell can bring her back."
I feel my anger rise inside of me,
"my wolf is a fucking menace. So what if I lose her? It's not a big deal. A lot of shifters have lost their wolves and they are not even treated this badly. If my wolf is gone, I can go and live amongst the humans and have a normal life."
She sighs deeply and interlocks her fingers on the table,
"I'll tell you what, Elizabeth... come back in seven days and I'll bind your wolf for you. I'll even do it for the amount you have in your bag."
Her answer shocked me so much that my mouth hung open.
Did she not just spew nonsense about not binding powers like mine? Now she has made a complete 180 and tells me I should return in seven days with the money, which I thought would just be a down payment.
My mind runs wild as I try to figure out what will happen to me this week. Will I die? Will I lose control and be beheaded, or worse, will the army come back for me?
I look over at her, trying to understand what she is up to. She said, shivering,
"Don't do that. It's like my blood is turning ice cold in my veins."
I blink a few times and I feel the tension leaving my body,
"I will see you in seven days,"
I tell her and she gives me a warm smile while shaking her head. I grab my bag on my way out of the now-open door,
"See you in a few months, my dear Elizabeth,"
I turned to ask her what she meant by months. I was coming back in seven days, but the cottage was gone. There was nothing behind me. An invisible force pushes me to the black barrier and I pick up my pace.
"I will see you in seven days,"
I shout. I was unsure whether or not she could even still hear me, but I needed to make my point clear to her. I will be back in seven days and she will help me.
"What happened?"
Megan asks the moment I'm past the barrier and I have to take a few deep breaths before I can answer her,
"I'm coming back in seven days. She will do it in seven days,"
whether she knows it or not. I will be free of this mating bond curse.