Veronica looked down at her transportation circle in the center of her room. Since she had never been to the Whispering Shadows Coven, she needed a circle to help her. She felt as though she had used this too often as of late. Between the Northern Pack and now the coven, she was traveling into untraveled territory, and something was telling her that it was going to bite her back soon. Veronica took a breath and said her incantation under her breath. In the next instant she was teleported into the darkness of the night. Veronica looked up at the old stone mansion that sat in front of her. Each window held a single burning candle. "Who are you?" a young woman came near. She wore a long black cloak. Veronica could almost laugh at the theatric of it all. "My name is Veronica. I have an Alpha who is wanting to meet with your head witch," she said. She knew that being here uninvited was a risk and needed to get her purpose out quickly. "What is the Alpha's name?" the girl asked. "
Arden sat at the patio table outside of the back door from the kitchen. Aurora and Eli were playing in the yard. Eli had wanted to show them a new game that one of the children had shown him at school. Arden chuckled as he watched Eli spin Aurora around in five circles with a blindfold over her eyes. Charles had left the next morning. He said that he was going back to the council to see what other information he could dig up for them. Arden and Aurora had thanked him for what he had been able to share with them so far. It would still be a few years before the curse showed its true form. Not that Arden wanted to wait but it was helpful that they had some time to find answers. "Alpha, there is a witch in your office," Rich's mind link cut through his thoughts. Arden stood up from the metal chair in the next instant. Aurora and Eli were still playing outside. Arden decided to see this visitor before alerting Aurora. Arden walked to his office and pushed open the door. An older woma
Veronica woke up in a pool of her own sweat. The nightmares had started after her visit to the Whispering Shadows Coven. Veronica reached for the water in the glass that she had left on her dark wooden nightstand. The room was still pitch black from her blackout curtains and the fact that it was still nighttime outside of her window. "What the hell is going on?" Veronica whispered to herself after she had placed the glass back on the table. She drew her knees to her chest and sat against the pillows that pushed against the headboard. She stared at nothing in particular in the room. Her mind replayed the dream that had caused her sudden wakefulness. Veronica had been standing over a man. He had been naked and laid out across the bed. She stood over him, her own body naked as well. She held a burning candle in her hands and slowly tipped the burning candle's wax across the man's chest. At first Vernonica thought her consciousness was playing out a scene from a movie, however she was
"What are we to do with her?" one of the other women who had entered the room asked. They all watched Veronica as she exhausted herself in her anger. "I think it best that she is removed from the coven," the woman who had originally walked up the Veronica said. The others began to nod their heads. "She will come back for us. She is one of our more powerful witches," Someone else said. Lila could hear the fear in that one's voice. The older lady thought for a moment. "Then we strip her of her memory," some of the women looked over with their eyes wide. They have never stripped a witch of her memories before. It had never been needed in the past. As the idea sunk in, they nodded their heads once more. They could not see a way around it. The group began to gather around Veronica. They joined hands and began to chant together as one. Veronica stood in the center. She tried to go after one of the smaller women, but her actions were halted by an unseen force that protected those reciting
The older woman stood across from Lila and regarded her. She could not tell if the woman was a threat. Although one could never tell another's true intentions until it was too late. "There is something I cannot quite put my finger on. You are a witch are you not?" The older woman asked bluntly. "I am," Lila slowly nodded her head. "You are the only one here?" The older woman questioned again. Lila slowly nodded her head, but her eyes flew to her stomach without thinking first. "You are pregnant," she said without waiting for Lila to confirm. "Sensing the aura, it is something mythical. What is it?" The woman's gaze met Lila's once more. "Werewolf," Lila said quietly. It was better to come clean now than deal with any sort of torture that the woman might inflict on her to get her answers. "I am not threat to you. I just wish to live here peacefully and raise my child. The same as my parents," Lila said. She hoped that it sounded convincing enough. There was a moment of silenc
Aurora and Arden stood in the office. It was almost 6pm the following evening. The witch, Meredith, had told Arden to meet her in his office. Arden gently moved his hand to cover Aurora's. Her gaze was distant. Arden knew that she was thinking about Eli. They had dropped him off earlier with Faith and Doctor Collins. Aurora had held him tightly and kissed the top of his head. "I love you," she whispered into his ear. Eli pulled back and smiled at his mother. "I love you too, momma. Don’t be long. I want to show you how well I am doing in my reading class tonight," Aurora smiled and nodded before standing back up next to Arden. Arden had wrapped his hand around her waist as he smiled down and Eli ruffled his hair. Eli giggled and then went to stand by his grandmother. As Aurora stared at nothing in the Alpha office, she thought about the day that she had given birth to Eli. She had not been ready to be a mother at such a young age, but she had never once regretted her decision to
Alpha Evander rubbed his temples as he walked down the long hallway to his bedroom. Today had been most taxing on his patience with his pack. There were quite a few fires to put out and issues to resolve and it left a pounding feeling in the Alpha's head. Alpha Evander opened the heavy door that separated his room from the rest of the pack house. The last thing he expected was for Veronica to be lounging about on his settee. "What a surprise. I thought that I might have seen the last of you," Alpha Evander drawled as he closed the door behind him. The last thing he wanted to do was show his surprise to the witch. He might enjoy her body, but it did not mean that he wanted anything else from her. "Does that mean you did not miss me?" Veronica faked a pout as she pulled her legs rom the side of the settee and put them back underneath her. Alpha Evand scoffed at her insincere response. This was exactly the reason he did not trust witches. "Well, I have you know that I have done exa
Aurora quietly closed Eli's door. They had not made it back before he had fallen asleep. Arden had carried Eli to his bed and then went to check in with Rich. Aurora had pulled the covers to Eli's chin and kissed his forehead. She watched her son sleep for a moment. She vowed that she would do everything that she could in order to break the curse. The witches had mentioned either the witch would break the curse, or she would have to die. Aurora shivered at the idea of taking another's life. Especially when she did not know the woman at all. Veronica. The name rang through her head once more. Aurora wondered if it was the same woman who was involved with Alpha Evander. Deep down she hoped it were so. They had no other leads if this one proved to be a dead end. Aurora closed the door to her and Arden's room. Arden sat on the corner of the mattress. Aurora put her hand to her heart. Arden chuckled as he walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her closed. I