The Witch's Alpha

Chapter 19

Connor walked back into Declan's office only to find him with an unconscious Alyssa in his arms.

"Jeez, Dec! What'd you do? Hit her over the head? I don't like witches either, but she didn't seem that bad," he told his friend as he hurried over to his side.

"No, I didn't hit her. She's my mate! Why would I do that? She fainted."

"I figured she was when you went ape shit when she was kidnapped," Connor said. "Congrats man. But how do you think the rest of the pack is going to take it? You know how they are when they even hear the word 'witch'. Verona was actually on the low end of flipping out."

"Yea, I know," Declan sighed heavily. "But Alyssa's different. She wasn't Coven raised. She's a convert. She wasn't raised with the prejudices of our races. I just hope everyone realizes that and doesn't hold her faith against her."

Legends hold that the first werewolf was Lycoan, the King of Acadia. He was cursed by Zeus when the god visited the king. Lycoan, disbelieving the vagrant before him was indeed the all powerful Zeus, killed and offered his youngest sons body to the god as the family meal. Zeus, finding the act heinous, transformed the whole family into wolves for eternity. Hera, Zeus' wife and queen of the gods, took pity on Lycoan's unsuspecting family, as they had neither an inkling nor had helped the patriarch in his dastardly deed. She didn't remove the curse, but she did make it possible for them to shift back into their human bodies.

Over the centuries, the descendants of Lycoan, embraced their curse, and made it into a gift. They reveled in the abilities that came with their wolves. They were far stronger, faster, and their senses were vastly enhanced compared to those of a normal human. Then during the 16th century, one of them went mad.

In the country side around the German town Colongne and Bedburg in 1591, a man named Peter Stubbe killed sixteen people and thirteen children. In wolf form he tore his victims' throats out and sucked the warm blood from veins. Gradually his thirst for blood grew and he roamed around fields in search of prey. The villagers finally set about and captured the insane wolf, not knowing it was their neighbor until a witch came forward and separated the man from his wolf.

Even though it nearly destroyed the witch, the wolves became fearful. If one witch could do that, what could a whole coven do? They've held a grudge against the witches ever since, and many of the pups raised in a pack are taught to never allow a witch near them.

"So if she wasn't Coven raised," Connor began, bringing Declan back to the topic at hand, "does that mean she doesn't have any powers? That might make them feel better. Especially if they think she's only one of those new-age-woo-woo-whack-jobs that's all about wearing flowers in those hair and hugging trees and all that crap."

"I don't know, Connor. She fainted before I got past telling her we were all weres, and that I'm the Alpha. But I felt the energy shift when she thought that pup was going to attack her, didn't you? I think she's a magick wielder, even if she wasn't raised with it."

"That's odd. I didn't think The Lady gave real powers to those without a blood tie to her," Connor mused out loud.

Declan just shrugged. He didn't really know what happened when a witch took their place in a coven. And seeing how Alyssa was still unconscious, he couldn't exactly ask her at the moment. He wasn't too concerned about it anyways. He'd already come to terms with what she was and decided it didn't matter to him.

The Goddess had made her for him, and he was already in love with her. Nothing could change that. He was just worried she would reject him once she found out what he was. He was afraid she wouldn't be able to see beyond the fur and tail he sported occasionally. Now that he knew she was not raised with the prejudices of the witches, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. But he was still hesitant that she would accept him.

Declan laid Alyssa on the couch, then turned and faced his most trusted friend.

"How's the pup? Is he secured?"

"Yes, sir. He started spilling as soon as we left the room. He claims Kevin was forcing him to do his bidding. Talking about how the bastard had killed all of his family except his sister, and was using her as leverage. I've got one of Verona's people checking out his story. He also said Kevin had talked about turning Alyssa. He claimed she was his and someone had brainwashed her into leaving him. The pup was assigned to track her down and keep tabs on her until Kevin was able to complete his plan."

Declan could feel his wolf fighting to take over as his vision started to tinge with a red hue. 'How dare that bastard try and do that to my Alyssa!' he thought. 'If I find that asshole, I'm going to rip his spine out. No one gets away with hurting what's mine.'

A soft sigh brought Declan's attention back to the young lady laying on the couch. He quickly made his way back to her side and grasped her soft delicate hand in his much larger one. With a worried look on his face, he watched as she slowly stirred and regained consciousness.

Alyssa opened her eyes and saw the worry clouding Declan's. It took her a moment to figure out why he was looking at her like she was about to run off. Declan could feel his heart start to shatter as he watched her eyes widen as the recent events played through her mind. His worst fears were coming true.

She was going to reject him.