CHAPTER 3 - THE WITCH

HUDSON'S POV****

I got back to the pack house at 7:15 and my wolf was acting strange. I could hear chattering as I parked the car in the underground garage. I took the elevator from there and went straight to my room to have a shower.

I held another potion in my hands as I allowed the water droplets to hit the floor from my body. How many of these have I tried and the problem still remains unsolved? This was a different strain that my witch friend, Silva, had prepared. The side effect to this one would be an increase in my beast's rage, but he was determined to try it.

Quickly, I uttered a soft prayer and gulped the contents down. "Yuck" It tasted like dirty water and smelt like ten days' cabbage water which tainted my breath. I brushed my teeth about five times and even after using the mouthwash, I could still smell the stench on my breath. Guess, I will keep everyone at a distance tonight.

So I got dressed, and plastered some moose into my black silk hair, brushed all the strands to the back with my fingers and headed to the kitchen for a cool drink. As I made it to the stairs, a nice scent hit me. "Could it be?" I asked my wolf, Regis, as I carefully trailed the scent to the kitchen. My wolf rolled over with its tail wagging as he uttered the word "mate."

"I've finally found her." Regis gleefully said.

I hesitated as I wondered what I would say to her. What if meeting her changed nothing? I doubled my fist in anger at the thought of having to reject my own mate. I would have her swear to me to keep this bond a secret. No one could know that I have found my mate. It would be the best thing for her to move on and find someone else who could make her happy.

I stood and waited for her to turn to face me. She slowly turned her face to the doorway and I stared into those blue eyes. For a minute I was lost in the depth of her eyes as if she was taking my soul out of me. I snapped out of it when my Gamma Chad exclaimed, "Would you care to join us, Alpha?"

I shook my head, stormed out of the kitchen and went for a run. A grown man shouldn't act like this but I felt a nightmare was waiting to happen. She was beautiful and her smile was heavenly but the reality remained that she would not want me if she found out my greatest flaw. I would have to tell her, but not before I got another potion to erase her memories of me after the rejection. I sped off to see Silva again.

"Back so soon?" The pink-haired witch inquired from the wolf man in the doorway.

"I found my mate!" I blurted out to her, getting directly to the point.

She turned around being genuinely happy for me. Her gray eyes twinkled with mirth. "Isn't that good? You should try to complete the mating process immediately," she instructed, as she poured herself some tea.

"I will, but I need something from you in case she doesn't accept me." Fingers crossed that Silva would oblige and help with my unusual request.

Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, "What is the potion for this time?" I guessed that I have bothered her too much with the frequency of my visits.

"One that wipes her memory of me." I knew my friend did not approve of this but it had to be done to protect me. I pointedly looked at her to read her body language.

"You are being selfish and I would not do it if you were not my friend." She was angry this time. "Come with me to my herb room."

I followed her and sat at the window where I could stare at the moon. I wanted my mate and needed her. It would be so easy if my life was simple and I didn't have this one flaw. The sound of my mumbling witch distracted my thoughts and I observed her as she did the mixture of herbs and other things that I would not know about.

"I keep warning you that potions do come with side-effects, but does he listen to me?" She grumbled further and making mocking expressions, "No, no he does not!" She jammed the ceramic herb grinder into the masher bowl as she continued to vent. "I'm only a witch, but what the hell do I know?"

A chuckle escaped me, her head cocked to the right with a deadly glare. She pointed the grinder at me but said nothing.

"I promise only to use it if extremely necessary." I appealed to her soft side.

"It should be her choice. You are nothing but a villain if you force her to drink a potion like this." There she goes with her chidings. She sighed, and stopped what she was doing to look at me. "I am checking with others witches to see if we can find that person for you."

"Thank you. I know you will try your best." I wished that I could hug her, but I can't have her scent on me. My mate shouldn't have to smell another woman on me when we just met. "Just let me know what you want for Christmas and I will give it to you."

"A Lamborghini would be nice," Silva quickly said with the brightest smile. "Make it in the color of my hair, pink." She no longer stabbed the bowl, her mood has lifted as she laughed at what I said.

Yeah, that put me in trouble, but I will see what I could do for her. She simultaneously added a  clear bubbling liquid along with a green slimy one that caused smoke to ooze from the masher bowl.

'That looks disgusting,' Regis took the words out of my mouth.

"Will this wipe her memory permanently?" A part of me didn't want to be forgotten by her.

"It should last for six years, and then little fragments will come back to her. Mostly through her dreams, but if she saw you again after those six years, all of her memories will return." She took a small  glass vial from her cupboard and poured the contents into it. "So it means that you must never appear before her."

My treacherous heart did not want me to use the potion. Despite that, I took it in my right hand with my mind wavering. "I understand."

"Witches don't like to go against the moon goddess. There are consequences, so I do hope that you change your mind."

I nodded and left with a heavy heart. I was becoming a nervous wreck but had to face the facts of life. This had to be done, sooner than later, before we both fell in love.