✨Her Essence✨

3: Witches

Bret detached himself from me immediately and created a distance between us. I felt so bad but I understood why.

Jace stood in between us. He and Bret were almost the same height, except that he was just an inch taller than his beta. His brutal glare stayed on me the entire time. In a bid to avoid his gaze, I focused my attention on the floor.

"Excuse us, Bret" He ordered. His beta did not hesitate to do so, he left the room and shut the door. Leaving just the two of us.

I gathered the courage to look into Jace's eyes. His beautiful grey orbs were back. I was annoyed with him for what he did to me, I wondered if he could feel my anger toward him.

He brought his nose near my hair and took a long sniff with his eyes closed. "You smell of lavender mixed with strawberry and a hint of chocolate" He all but whispered.

If I hadn't known better, I'd say he wanted to lick me.

I moved back. "My mother will come looking for me, you should go". I don't know where I got the courage from, maybe cause I was still mad about what he did to me in the woods.

"Bret is standing in the hallway." He replied almost immediately. He came closer and took another whiff of my scent. It felt good, but I wasn't letting him have his way. I pulled back again, and this irked him: "A while ago, you were in my beta's arms, wanting him."  He pressed me against the wall. I shut my eyes tightly as he nuzzled my neck.  "You think I don't know that you've got the hots for Bret?"  He bit my earlobe lightly.  "I feel your sexual desires,"  He brought his lips close to mine and tried to kiss me but I turned away. "Now, you avoid me?"  I could see the hurt in his eyes stirred with anger.

"He wasn't the one who hurt me in the woods." I retorted.

He sighed and pulled away. "Fine, I am sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did"

I couldn't believe my ears! Did Jace just apologize to me? "I'll think about it"  Damn, I felt good.

"Lemme make it up to you. Come meet me tonight in the woods. I have something to show you." His voice was a bit softer this time.

"I can't"

"Why can't you?" He asked with concern.

"I'm not supposed to go out at night..."

"It's an order from your alpha prince". He brushed off my hair from my face and placed the strands behind my ear. "Come"

"Okay."

"Good." He kissed my forehead and walked out.

I stood there as though my feet were nailed to the floor. My heart was racing with happiness. Does he want to claim me as his mate? I can't believe it!!! He must have realized how much he doesn't want to lose me and decided to do the right thing. My heart fluttered just thinking about being by his side.

"LANA!!!" My mom's voice resonated in my head and I jumped from my stance. I ran to the kitchen to assist her in preparing dinner AGAIN.

***

Sneaking out of our quarters was the hardest thing ever, but I succeeded. When I made it outside, I fell on my knees as my bones begin to rearrange.

I stopped myself from screaming out because of the excruciatingly painful process of transformation. When the agony ended, I looked down and saw my paws and my snout. My senses skyrocketed.
My brown fur looks unkempt but that would be dealt with later. The full moon was imprinted beautifully in the night sky, and I had to stop Mayi from howling at it. I made my way to the woods, avoiding being seen by the patrol. There are a few perks to being small and unnoticeable.

I stopped in front of a big tree in the heart of the wood, where Jace's scent got stronger.

Just then, I heard the snap of a twig and the shuffling of leaves. A silver wolf emerged from behind the tree. His fur glowed in the moonlight. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

He trotted up to me and nudged his snout against mine, and licked my face. I chuckled within and played with him.

But our playtime was short-lived when some strange figures emerged from behind the other trees. They wore black hoods over their faces and held a staff in their hands. Their scents were confusing: a nauseating mixture of dead reptiles, rotten sea creatures, toads, and some kind of lethal flower... witches!!!

I moved back, tugging on Jace's wolf to warn him of the danger but he didn't budge. He stood there, watching me. One of the witches walked closer to him, I pounced on her to protect him, but before I could sink my teeth into her skin... Jace's wolf bit my neck. I fell to the ground, whimpering.

The witch stood up from under my hold and hit me on the head with her stick. This made me lose consciousness.... everything went blank...

***

I woke up to find myself in an unfamiliar part of the forest. My skin was so hot. From my periphery, I could see some red candles surrounding me, the flames from those candles must be the reason for the heat. My hands and feet were bound to the ground, I couldn't move. Hooded silhouettes walked around me, chorusing incantations. They must be the witches from before, but where is Jace?!

"Mom! Dad! Help me!!! Jace!!!" I cried out, but no one came to my rescue. What do they want from me? What?

They stopped abruptly, and one of them walked up to me. She placed her long-nailed fingers on my forehead and started humming... her voice was like a siren. Suddenly, the sky shook with thunder and lightning. And the moon turned red like blood. I started to feel dazed as if the world is spinning around me. I screamed out my lungs until no sound came out of my mouth. It was as though my head was being divided into two... the suffering is inexplicable. My body went numb and my head was on fire... SAVE ME!!! I could not scream...

Then, just like that, it all went blank again.