Selena POV:
When I woke up the next morning, I stretched before going down. It had been a few days of training with Meredith and I was doing pretty well in the magic area. Meredith’s compound flourished with fruits and flowers and nausea I had felt before slowly melted into something poignant. Something that ran through me without hurting me in the least. I was slowly learning the various herbs and plants that witches used to enhance their magic, not having used any of them yet. To familiarize myself with them, I tended to each and every one, getting to know them after introducing me.
It had been fun.
This morning, I was again alone. Meredith was sleeping in and had told me we wouldn’t be training. I didn’t think much of it and started to prepare breakfast. I had taken to cooking for both of us, feeling like a burden on her. I started with making a dressed fruit salad, some fried eggs, and a tall glass of juice. Both of us enjoyed light meals
Selena POV:I looked at the clothes and then slowly put myself in the first one of the lot. I had only been allowed three at a time, so the rest was still in Duncan’s hand. In the background, I heard a female scurry out of their cubicle and speak to the person standing on the other side. “Honey, do you think I look fat in these jeans?” the girl asked. There was silence on the other side before the guy coughed. “You look fabulous,” he said with practiced precision. Though I didn’t understand the situation, the general tension in the air told me it was something bad in the human world. I shrugged and pried the door open. Duncan’s head propped up and he looked right at me. I opened the door a little more and showed him what it looked like. He frowned as he moved forward, tugging at the sleeve of the shirt. “It’s okay. Can you stitch?” he asked. I looked at him dumbfounded.
Selena POV:I walked through the front door in a bit of a daze after Duncan dropped me off. Before I could walk upstairs, I heard my name being called from the back of the house. I made my way slowly to the kitchen where I knew I would find Meredith. Meredith was at the small table, sorting through kitchen supplies. She looked up at me with a tired smile. “How was your day?” she asked. I noticed that she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles underneath and she also showed signs of crying. “It was interesting,” I told her, trying to keep the emotions out of my voice. I wanted to know what had happened to her while I was gone but she didn’t look like she wanted to talk about it. “Oh? Did you learn anything new about werewolves or humans?” she asked, getting back to her unpacking.“Yes. I learned about human behavior and stuff like that. I realiz
Selena POV:I woke up the next morning, feeling a moment of panic. I must have been really tired as the memory of falling asleep was lost to me. I tried to sit up but the covers were firmly tucked around my body snuggly. I doubted that I had moved all night. It was only then I realized how anxious I had been to go out. It had sucked all my energy out. Looking over at the clock, I saw that I had five minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off and decided not to wait. Untangling myself from the covers, I looked down and saw that I had sweated through my clothes. I gradually went through the motions before going downstairs, feeling as though there was a weight attached to each of my limbs. Ed was concerned when he came to pick me up for training. “I feel so tired today,” I said softly, trying not to sound like I was whining. Looking at the expression on his face, I had to assure him. “I’m okay… Still feeling a l
Selena POV: The rest of the lunch was relatively quiet. I noticed that Duncan was nowhere to be found. And Neo wasn’t bothered that he had to take up this urgent role to train the kids in place of the Alpha. He took it in stride. Ruth kept giving me sly looks when she thought I wasn’t looking. She was making me extremely uneasy as I wasn’t sure what was going on in that crazy head of hers. I was relieved when Neo asked her to follow him back into the woods. Ruth seemed to want to follow. But even though she was coming along, at least I would be busy with training, so any further interaction would be minimal. I wondered if I could skip on the meal from tomorrow so that I wouldn’t have to sit with all of Ruth’s hostility directed at me. It was wearing at my appetite. Walking into the clearing once again, I found that Duncan was already there. He was setting up a board and writing stuff on it. Various stretchable bands lay on the floor and the instructions on
Selena POV:I almost felt sorry for Ruth. Seeing her brought so low made it so, but thinking of the girl who had almost hurt two pups from the pack, I couldn’t bring myself to support her. Instead, I felt my stomach clench thinking that the joke was probably meant for me. The fire had just grown irritated and moved erratically, hurting others instead. What was wrong with this girl? Was she so consumed with the need for attention that she had to commit acts that could hurt other people? “Neo, take Ruth to the house. We will have a hearing about her conduct,” Duncan commanded, lightly pushing Ruth over to him. She didn’t give another excuse but willingly left with him, knowing she would be in for hell if she lingered around Duncan for a second longer. I turned away from the party, moving quickly towards where I knew Meredith still was. I needed to talk to her immediately about me being able to handle fire without any prior practic
Selena POV:Ed was the first to arrive, striding into the kitchen looking severe, but it was only because he was worried about me. He came over and looked me over, placing his hand on my shoulder for a reassuring pat. He told me that he heard a little of what happened during the lesson, but not the details.“When everyone gets here, I will retell it, but not until then,” I explained. “Okay,” he said, taking the seat beside Meredith and me. We stayed close to each other until the door opened once again. A group of voices could be heard coming from the entryway as the three of us made our way into the dining room. Duncan, Neo, and another man walked in at the opposite side of the room moments later. Duncan came in, talking in lowered voices with the older man. Neo seemed to notice me and came over quickly. “Are you okay? I was so preoccupied with what happened that I didn’t check in with you,” he said quietly.
Selena POV:Back at Meredith’s compound, Argon and Meredith walked farther in front of me as I trailed behind, thinking about what had happened. I found myself going into the house and to my room to change into normal clothing. I stank of sweat and soot and wanted to get out of it as soon as I could. When I came downstairs to the kitchen area, I heard voices coming from the greenhouse. It was a regular occurrence to find the door to it open. I peeked in, not wanting to intrude, and found Argon looking around the room in admiration. “Seeing the garden and now this… beautiful,” Argon said, his deep voice drifting in my direction. “She did this all by herself?” he asked after a while. “Yes, she did. The first time I saw her use her life magic. I had to use a lot of my power to contain it,” Meredith added.The more I heard these comments, the more curious I was to see what other witches could do. Even
Selena POV:“Alright, it’s time for Selena and me to go to the forest,” Meredith announced, walking us out of the house. “I am coming along. Are the plants being infected at a rapid rate?” Argon asked calmly as Meredith led us into a smaller forest path. As I stepped through the narrowing path and through the thorns. I could only gasp in horror to see all the rotting trees, fruits swarming with flies, and bushes withering away from the very entryway of our primary destination. Again, I was hit with the feeling that the energy in this place was polluted. I looked down and saw that the area was barricaded by a large magic circle. “Meredith, why are their two circles?” I asked. “The inner circle is the heart of the ritual, needed to prepare and repair. The outer circle is the containment circle. So that the rotting doesn’t spread and the things outside it are protected from being infected,&rdqu
Warning: There is sexual content up ahead. Please beware.Selena POV:“Selena, thank god!” Meredith exclaimed into tears the moment I walked into the greenhouse. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder. I hugged her with as much intensity, needing a moment with her after passing through the destruction. I felt nothing but gratitude to the powers that had allowed me to live and see the people I love alive. With everything that could have gone wrong, it was truly a miracle. We pulled away but kept our arms around each other. Meredith’s face was a contradiction in expressions. It held tears of released fears but it also showed absolute love for me. “We were so worried,” she started and then stopped to swallow down some of her tears. “When the ritual was over and we had all survived, I knew you had succeeded but we couldn’t find you. We tried everything but you… I mean&helli
Duncan POV:In Meredith’s greenhouse, we all felt the abrupt shift in the air. It seemed to be gone as suddenly as it had arrived. I looked over at Lamont with a questioning look. He looked stunned as well. I walked over to him and watched as he processed what was happening. “Is it gone?” I asked. “Yes. They succeeded,” he said quietly. But he didn’t look pleased. I arched my brow, feeling anger rise in me at his reaction. He looked up and then shook his head. “There is a shift in the air, but I can’t pinpoint what is wrong.” He sighed. “Call the witches.”I moved out of the greenhouse and looked outside. I could sense the destruction this thing had created, but it was farther off than the pack than I had realized. I dialed Argon and Meredith’s phone, but it just wouldn’t connect. I was sure that the magic eater had destroyed the power lines and it wouldn&rsquo
Selena POV:We were surrounded by the darkness.I was shaking with helplessness. I felt its ice-like fingers moving towards me and I frantically moved away from it. Looking over to my right, I saw that it was Meredith’s hand I was holding. She wore the same expression on her face that was flowing through me. On the opposite side of her, Argon was holding on her other hand. We had found ourselves in a small opening in the forest, trying to regroup, only to fall into its trap. The trees and bushes around us were alive with unnatural and pure gloom, foreshadowing what was about to befall us. “Everyone, get into position!” Argon shouted. The noise from the forest was loud enough that normal conversation was impossible to hear. As I looked at the others taking their position, for a brief moment Duncan’s face floated into my head. My own fear changed into warmth. His face—his person—everything, had become something
Selena POV:Duncan’s cellphone rang just as we acknowledged what was happening. He answered it quickly, practically yelling into the receiver over the noise being created by the wind and water outside. The humans were terrified. “Yes. I know. We think so too,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. There was chaotic fear and absolute certainty. The lights above us flickered a few times and then went dead. The emergency lights flashed on almost immediately as we emerged out to the main area. A waiter was crying to calm a crying girl afraid of storms when she noticed us. “I am sure the lights will be back on momentarily,” she said quickly, but I could see she was physically shaking. Duncan was trying trying to move us out the doors, but I stalled him to take a good look at the humans. Absolute fear. These people would be caught in between powers they didn’t know about. What would help them?
Selena POV:Following the success of the new ritual, practice continued daily for the next week. The tension I had thought was snuffed out returned in another form. Instead of flaring emotions, it was restlessness that gripped me. The unspoken question of when the magic eater would come hovered over everyone. There was no certainty about when the magic eater would arrive, but we were expected to carry on with our lives as if it were business as usual. It was starting to become too much to handle and we were feeling the drain outside of normal ritual work. I found myself nodding off a few times during wolf training. Duncan was exhausted too. Each time I practiced, the ritual chipped away at me, but Duncan bore the brunt of the emotions. His heart felt heavy as he couldn’t shoulder the load with me or offer anything that my stubborn pride would allow. On top of that, we were both frustrated that there never seemed to be a time when we were truly al
Selena POV:I walked out of the bathroom after my hot bath and found Duncan fully dressed and looking at the journal next to him. Lamont had handed him the book before we left with a request to bring it with us to tomorrow’s practice. He was dozing off and when I approached him, he started awake. “Sorry,” he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing a hand across his eyes.I laughed at how boyish he looked and perched on the edge of the bed next to him to rub his neck. “With you running around all day and emotionally supporting me, you are more tired than me. I am surprised you are still awake.”He smiled sleepily and leaned towards me to rest his chin on my shoulder. I reached my other hand and massaged the top of his head, enjoying the feel of his soft hair and the gentle waves of contentment radiating from him, relaxing me in return. “Nice,” he sighed, setting more against me, drifting back to sleep. I g
Selena POV:The home phone rang as I was cleaning the dishes. Knowing that it was most likely Duncan trying to contact me, I hastily wiped my wet hands on a dishtowel and managed to answer it by the fourth ring. “Hello?”“Selena, Lamont needs us to head over to the greenhouse to go over the new ritual. Should I come to pick you up now?” Duncan asked, getting straight to the point. “Sure, that’s fine,” I told him, feelings tingles of stress and strangely enough, eagerness when he said the word ‘ritual.’“Great. I will be home shortly,” he said before quickly disconnecting the call. Did that mean we could use this new ritual? I had transcribed the segment and felt unsure about it. But it was still worth a try. .The greenhouse was alive with activity when Duncan and I walked through the back door. My eyes landed on Argon, who was helping Lamont lift a large pot
Duncan POV:As soon as we were back from wolf training, I practically dove in to get the witch notes out. I placed the package on the table and carefully unwrapped it to find an old, beat-up, leather-bound book nestled within it. A frayed red ribbon was stuck between the pages and I gently opened it to the section marked. A crude ink drawing of a circle took up one side while scribbles of what looked like notes were on the other. The only thing that I could read with ease was the top note in larger scrip that said: “Negating dark energy.”“What did you find?” Selena asked quietly, taking a seat beside me and leaning over for a better look at the contents. I pushed the books towards her so that we could share, hoping she might be able to decipher some of the faded writing on the pages. We were both quiet for a few minutes as we studied the content. Selena broke the quiet with a sharp intake of breath and sat back. Her emotions had changed
Selena POV:“Duncan, I know that you have more experience in being the leader of the pack, but I am not dumb. And I am not without knowledge of being a witch. My instincts have helped me a lot and I haven’t been wrong when I listened to them. I trust your instincts as the alpha and want to approach Meredith for help. I know you thought it was the right thing to do, but please trust me,” I whispered. He stopped the movement of his hands and remained quiet for another second. His emotions revolved around us, but none of them were anger. “I know you are not dumb. You are a talented witch and alpha female. I just forget sometimes that you are capable of so much more. All I want to do is protect you…” he said sincerely and then spoke softer. “…because you are mine.”He pulled me along him so that we were lying chest to chest, my face above his. A wave of sweetness rolled inside me, seeping into my pores as that