Alison's POV
I keep thinking about my mother. Ever since I began learning about different potion methods and doing more and more witchy things every day, I've thought about her. Some days are filled with happy thoughts and some are filled with sad thoughts but they're all along the same lines. I'm curious about her.
Did she ever try something like this?
Would she approve of my choice to attempt it?
It's impossible to ever know. She's gone. She couldn't get out but she forced me out. I had to live. It was as important to her as it is to me that my children survive this whole thing. Just goes to show; if you really want a woman in the back of a van, put her kid back there.
Most of all, I wish she was here to teach me all of this.
Amelia and I have spent two weeks taking an intense crash course in potion making. I'd already picked up on some stuff but that was only a drop in the bucket. Our heads started overflowing with snotty lectures about all the dangerous stuff after day one.
Honestly, the main reason that I insisted on Amelia sitting in with me was to have at least one person on my side at all times. My vampirlings have been expressing a polite disdain for my decision since the words left my mouth. It's been helpful to have someone who both supports me and takes meticulous notes.
"Alison!" Ana practically shrieks at me. "This is important!"
I take a deep breath and nod. "I figured that out the tenth time you went over it." My words lash out at her snippily.
Her eyes fix on me like stones. "I'm sorry for caring if you die." She responds just as cold.
"Come on, Ana! Do you think I'd be doing this if I didn't care about myself?" I stand up forcibly from the training room table. "You don't want me to do this because it could be dangerous. Meanwhile, if I don't, I will definitely be in extreme danger! I don't get it!"
She's more tense than I've seen her. Everyone else sits and watches in silent apprehension, waiting for her next move, which only takes a second to happen. "You cannot know how the magic you put in will react with the kind of ingredients you need for a potion of this strength. Before magic infused grimoires became common, I saw rooms of witches be taken out by the wrong experiment."
"You're also a thousand years old." I point at as soon as she finishes her last sentence. "You've told us all of the things that surrounded those circumstances like a hundred times over. Amelia hasn't written anything new in two days now. We understand that we need to be cautious and that putting my magic into something without an established blueprint is dangerous but, for fucks sake Ana, it isn't my fault that we're starting over from scratch."
My fists clench by my sides in the quiet that settles after my words fade off with a defeated sigh. Every anticipatory eye in the room is waiting for me to continue. I tilt my head back slightly and huff as I came to a decision. "So, we're done."
"What?" Multiple vampires ask at once.
Hands settling on my hips, I rephrase. "Well, you're done. Amelia and I will take it from here. You don't have to worry about it anymore. If I die it's on me."
The clarification rings through different realms of realization before anybody reacts. First, as always, is Ana. She stands, stunned, for mere seconds. Then she explodes in protective rage.
"You can't do it without us!" Her voice raises in pitch. "What if something happens? You need us to protect you! Let alone guide you through it to make sure you don't do something stupid!"
YOU ARE READING
Burnt
Werewolf"Alison," one of them says, walking closer to me. "Yes, Alpha?" I ask as I shuffle back slightly, keeping my head down. He takes a few more quick steps towards me, backing me into the cupboards. I flinch when his hand reaches out to gently cup my fa...
