The White Witch Alpha

Chapter 3

The witch sighs at the only defiance that I can offer at the moment. "Years ago, my coven was attacked. The wolf pack that killed my coven did it because they wanted the land. Can you believe that? Anyways, my coven was self-contained, we never needed to go into town for supplies or anything, unless we wanted to. We grew our own crops, raised our farm animals. We were as your country says, 'off-the grid.'"

It wasn't until she mentioned this country being separate from her that I notice a slight twinge of an accent when she spoke. She's staring at the far wall of the tent as if she's watching the far away event play out in front of her again.

"Mid-morning, while I and the other children were in the building we used for our school, the pack moved in and began slaughtering us. I was only just coming into my powers then so I couldn't do much but use the shadows to run to the house I lived in with my parents. The screams of my friends and neighbors, people who I've known since the day I was born, filled my ears, and still haunt me to this day.

"By the time I reached my house, it was already ransacked. When I entered, so much of my father's blood was pooling by the door that I slipped in it. I couldn't even count how many pieces he was in. All I could see were his empty eyes staring at nothing, his mouth twisted in pain, frozen in place. I crawled through his blood towards the kitchen, where I was sure my mother would be. She was barely alive, her clothes soaking up her own blood that was pumping from her stomach. As the High Priestess for the coven, my mother used the last of her energy to recall both the family and coven's grimoires from the ether. The last thing she saw was me covered in her husband's blood, crying over her."

The witch closed her eyes and swallowed hard. I didn't want to empathize with her, but she was practically describing the way she brutalized my own pack. Whatever her motivation was, I couldn't understand why she was determined to be in the right for doing the same thing to a pack that had nothing to do with her coven's demise.

"When I was ready to leave her side, I grabbed the books, our legacy, from beside her and ran from the house. I was so close to escaping in the tree line when I was brought down from behind. The books flew ahead and landed in the brush while I was forcibly turned around to my back by a wolf. He was gray and mottled with black throughout his coat. Blood was collected at his muzzle as he stared me down and growled. When our eyes met, there was like a 'pop' in the air, and I felt drawn to it. The wolf shifted into a man, a very naked but cute man, nonetheless.

"He was, as the wolves say, my mate. Another man, ran from somewhere behind him and called out, 'Rafe? What about this house?' My house was set apart from all others, so I knew he was referring to mine when my mate, Rafe, said it was empty.

"My mate was the one that killed my parents. Tears gathered in my eyes, but I refused to let him see. He didn't deserve anything from me. When we were alone again, he tenderly caressed my cheek and said two words to me. He said, 'Mate, run.' And so, I did."

"I got up, gathered the spell books in my arms and ran. For days, I continued running to the point of exhaustion, only stopping long enough to take a sip of water from a running brook, look for berries, or rest. I was paranoid that someone from my mate's pack was hunting me, so I kept moving. When I finally stopped running, I began reading and studying the grimoires. I spelled animals to build a shelter in a meadow I found and for years, I spent my time memorizing and creating spells.

"As I learned and grew stronger in my magic, vengeance grew, and I had a purpose. I was going to destroy those that destroyed me. And so, I made my way back to my former land. The land that was soaked in the blood of my people. I walked right into the pack, exposing a security risk for them that would prove to be fatal. My mate, Rafe was there, with a wife and three kids but as soon as he saw me, it was like they didn't exist. The mate bond called him to me even though he wanted nothing to do with me years before.

"He ran up to me, open arms, wanting to pull me to him, but before he could reach me, I paralyzed him. The beasts of the forest came through for me and killed everyone in the pack. And I forced my mate to watch as my very own wolf ripped through his family. When everything settled, I stood in front of my crying Rafe and told him he should had killed me when he had the chance."

"Killing him wasn't nearly as satisfying as I had imagined it to be. But thinking of your so-called goddess and her mate bonds made me think my new purpose was to rid this earth of both. And so, that's what I began to do. All of Europe and Asia are void of their shifter population. They tried going public with their existence to gain help, but even the humans didn't want them. Some of those packs I didn't even have to hunt down, humans killed them for me. And now, I'm here."

She was the definite ruler of Crazy-town, and sadly my father was working with her for the destruction of our kind. Why would any wolf align themselves with this plan?

"The mate bond is so disappointing. For years, I felt when Rafe was intimate with someone. Of course, I didn't know why I was in pain so often. It wasn't until I began observing and temporarily integrating myself with other wolf packs that I found that tidbit out."

"What does all of this have to do with me?" I ask because I'm not clear at all what her objective is.

An eerie smile claws its way onto her face, only made more menacing by the scratches I etched into her skin. "For whatever reason, you're not with your mate and I want you two to suffer for it."

She looks at the two shifters, Julien and the unnamed wolf at the door, reminding me that they were even there to begin with. "Leave us." The unnamed one leaves without hesitation, but Julien lingers, his gaze falling on me before returning briefly to the witch. However, even then, he leaves me alone with her.

The witch walks behind me and places her hands on either side of my head. She only lightly touches me, but I begin to feel a sharp pressure behind my ears. I can't imagine what she's doing to me and I'm just about to cry out from the pain when we're interrupted.

"Amryiss," my father's voice calls out from beyond the tent. "We had to check out her claim that the rangers are looking for us. We need to plan a move ASAP. Come find me in two minutes." He calls in, not even bothering to check on me. If I wasn't sure my father no longer cared for my well-being, I am positive now.

Whatever she was doing, or planning on doing, immediately stops when she pulls her hands from my head. It felt intrusive and a complete violation of my body. I lean forward as much as my bindings will allow me to so I can pant with exertion while Amryiss moves away from me.

"That's a beautiful necklace you have there." Comprehension registers as I come back to myself. A necklace that my mother had spelled to never fall off, had shifted into sight from the opening of my shirt. In the center it was grey stone that was encircled in gold. Surrounding the center, was a weird blend of pearl, sapphire, ruby, obsidian, and jasper.

"This will be easier than I thought. I guess we shall wait a bit more for the fun to begin." I hang on long enough to watch her leave the tent before I black out.