Chapter 4 - The Witch

Jenna

Hannah is sleeping in my bed while I'm lying deathly still on a mattress on the floor. I'm staring at the fans in the ceiling. I watch them spin and spin and determine my emotions must move in the same manner, around and around in the same damn circle.

Earlier, I broke up with Jake and endured him yelling at me. I couldn't stop him from calling me names. My heartless ass deserved to hear his anger, and then, when tears found his eyes, I felt like the most terrible person on earth. I didn't even cry...

Though what really makes me wonder if I'm right in the head, now that we are officially over, I'm not sad; I'm finally free.

Jake never loved me. I was easy to deal with; I did what he asked and never complained when he left the kitchen a mess or played his video games the entire day. There was no love in our relationship. Jake took me for granted, and I now realize that I want more. I crave love, adventure, passion, and everything they make fairytales of.

I want...

A leak of pain puddles in my chest, and I toss around on my mattress. Suddenly it gets harder to breathe, and I close my eyes so hard it hurts. My heart is at the crossroads of love. There are two voices within me, one stretching me towards Ariel, while the other remembers how Blaze looked at me.

Hannah and I have been researching what it means to be someone's mate. We found endless pages of genuine love and descriptions of longing, warmth, and heat when we searched the internet, but there wasn't any site that could describe why I feel this way towards two people at the same time.

Blaze called me his mate. Ariel hasn't done that, but... I'm drawn to him too, so my boss probably isn't human if he is also my mate.

Gosh, this is so confusing.

All I wanted was to find a new job, and now it appears my life is spiraling out of hand. Vampires are attacking people in the central park. One of them is my colleague, Dana. And now I've found out that my mate is a werewolf and that I could have a second mate, my boss.

"Jenna?"

I glance up at my bed, surprised when I see Hannah peer down at me with tired eyes. She looks half-awake with her hair all messy on top of her head.

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

I give her a sad smile. "I have too much running through my mind,"

Hannah sighs. "Well, Jake will get over you someday... As for Blaze and Ariel... Are you sure that feel that mate-bond tug around Ariel?"

I know the answer without having to think about it. "Yes,"

"That means he most likely isn't a human..."

I nod at her. "Yeah, but how is it possible for someone to have two mates?"

Hannah shrugs. "I don't know, but..." Her eyes light up, and a bubble of hope finds my heart when she smiles at me. "I might know someone who can answer that question for you,"

I arch an eyebrow. "Who?"

"My father's new wife, his mate, Cecilia the witch. My stepmother,"

I stare at Hannah. "But you don't even like her!"

"True," Hannah gives me a lazy smile. "But she has been trying to reach out to me. She wants to make peace, and I might consider adding her on Facebook if she does that study-your-hand-thing with you,"

I inhale. "Is your stepmother accurate with her fortune-telling?"

"Yes, my father claims she is the best in her coven," Hannah makes a face. "I don't know why he thought mentioning that would make me accept her, but eh, my mother has found someone new, so I was planning on giving Cecilia a chance anyway,"

I smile. "I would really like to meet Cecilia if you are cool with it,"

"Great, I will call her tomorrow,"

"Tomorrow?!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, it's Sunday tomorrow. You aren't working, right?"

"No, but Cecilia may have something planned for tomorrow?"

"That's why we will call her first, duh, don't worry about it," Hannah says. "Chill,"

Hannah turns around, and I stare up at the ceiling. My first meeting with a witch... I wonder how that will go? Will she stare into one of those crystal balls and spatter nonsense for an hour, or will she have answers? I guess there is only one way to find out.

I close my eyes, wrapping myself securely in my blanket. And as I drift into sleep, I pray I won't suffer this conflicting pain in my dreams. I only need one boyfriend, someone who accepts me for the fierce weirdo I am.

***

It's foggy and grey outside, only rain clouds as far as my eyes can reach. It's perfect weather to drink tea and get your fortune read. I'm actually excited as we stand there, outside of Hannah's father's luxury house.

"Are you ready?" Hannah asks. "This might get pretty intense,"

I hand her a smile. "I should be the one to ask you that,"

She shrugs. "Perhaps, but I'm honestly more interested in your mate problems than I am in my family drama,"

"You shouldn't brush off your own problems as less important, though," I tell her.

Hannah hugs me. "And that's why you are my best friend,"

I try to slither away from her arms. I hate being hugged, and I'm not afraid to show it by hissing at her.

"No hugs!" I growl. "Release me, woman!"

Hannah laughs and releases me. I still glare at her, and Hannah responds by innocently knocking on the door with a smile on her face. I lift both eyebrows at her action.

"Why don't we just walk in?" I ask. "Don't you live here?"

"No. I haven't been here for months... I live with my mother,"

"Oh," I grimace. "I'm sorry,"

Our conversation gets interrupted by the door unlocking. Nervosity enters my veins, and I stand embarrassingly straight, barely even breathing, when a young woman squeals in joy.

"Hello! Come in, come in! Don't just stand there!"

Hannah hugs the woman, and I smile. This must be Cecilia. She isn't used to socializing with Hannah. Her entire face erupts in confusion when she receives a hug, but then she leans into it with a smile.

"Well, hello there to you too," Cecilia says.

"Hello," Hannah mumbles. "Long time no see,"

I expected Cecilia to be older; instead, she looks awfully young. She is maybe in her later thirties, while Hannah's father is way more senior, but who am I to question the mate-bond and destiny?

"I'm happy you're here," Cecilia says.

Hannah leans back, and the two women share a moment before we are moving, following Cecilia into the fancy house. I leave my shoes by the door, scared of dirtying the super-clean wooden floor beneath my feet. Everything looks so shiny, even the freaking plants.

"The tea will be ready within minutes. Have you eaten? Do you want food or pastries?"

I open my mouth, unable to help myself. "Pastries!"

Hannah laughs and shakes her head. "You ate like twenty cupcakes yesterday,"

I glare at her. "I crave sugar... Are you standing in my way, mortal?"

Hannah holds up her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay! Geez, give her something sweet before she bites my head off!"

Cecilia giggles. "Well, you said you wanted me to give your friend answers, right?" The woman looks at me then, her eyes warm and bright like summer. "What's your name?"

"Jenna," I meet her smile with one of my own.

"That's a wonderful name," I like her already. "Now, can I ask you another question, Jenna?"

I nod in approval. "Go ahead,"

"Does witchcraft scare you, Jenna?"

"No," Hannah laughs. "Jenna came here for answers, right? She wants all hocus-pocus you can give her,"

Cecilia smiles wryly. "I was asking Jenna," She looks back at me as she walks. "I can give you answers, but some people aren't very accepting of... Witchcraft... So I want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into,"

Cecilia walks into a large kitchen and then motions for us to sit down around the kitchen table. She pulls out a chair while holding my gaze, and I know she is waiting for my answer. Her eyes are cautious, almost afraid I will judge her for being a witch.

"No," I tell her. "I'm not scared. I just want answers,"

Cecilia smiles at me. "Great, because palm reading will not give you the answers you seek, but..." I watch her open a small jewelry box. There are three tiny truffles inside, each one looking picture-perfect. "These truffles are incredibly hard to make. The ingredients are almost impossible to get your hands on, but I will share them with you. You both get to eat one, but only one!"

Hannah widens her eyes. "Wow, they are beautiful!"

Cecilia looks proud. "Thanks. I made them myself. They are destiny-truffles. If you focus on a question while you eat them, the truffles will take you somewhere and show you exactly what you want to see in a vision,"

Hannah rubs her hands together like an evil villain. Her eyes zoomed in on the truffles. "Can you ask them anything?"

Cecilia nods. "Almost anything. The truffles can only show you glimpses of things that have already happened here on our planet. They can show you the past. You can't ask them to show you the face of the gods, or something like that,"

"So if I ask them if I have a mate?"

"Then they will most likely show you their past rather than their face today,"

Hannah looks excited. "Great, because I'm dying to find out if I got one of these special mates!"

Cecilia wordlessly hands Hannah her truffle.

"Thank you," Hannah smiles briefly. "They taste kinda weird..."

I watch Hannah hastily gobble down her truffle before Cecilia turns to me. Her eyes curiously grace over my face before she smiles and opens her palms to reveal a truffle. I slowly take it from her hand, with a shiver slipping down my spine like ice. Finally, I will get some answers.

"Two mates... How intriguing,"

I place the truffle in my mouth, and then I close my eyes. The question is already flooding my mind because I only need the answer to one.

Why do I have two mates?

I focus on that question, and suddenly, a scene unfolds inside my head.

It's like dreaming, but the image is more explicit. I can see a flower field spread out like an ocean while clouds form in the sky. The sun is setting, and there are birds as colorful as my clothes taking off for the night sky. Wow. I'm definitely no longer at home.

As I take in my new surroundings, I notice a girl is standing in front of a man. She is beautiful with red hair and a silky dress caressing her legs. Gracefully, she reaches out her arm to touch a man who is standing in front of her. She neatly places her hand on his cheek, and I catch her eyes in his as she whispers up at him.

"This spell will tie us together, forever. We are mates in this life and the next. This spell will mark my skin and make our bond transcend lifetimes,"

The woman touches her neck, and I hold my breath. There is a birthmark on my neck, and it looks scarily similar to hers. I always used to brush it off as nothing more than a birthmark, and it never bothered me until now.

The man smiles, and fear enters my chest because he looks exactly like Ariel! He is a living, walking copy of the man I've seen before, only this time, he seems a little younger and less experienced somehow.

"We are mates in this life," Ariel says and bends down in front of the shorter woman. His eyes are so heartbroken it hurts something physical to see him. "But what if you got another mate in your next life? What if this spell will cause you more harm than happiness? I can't possibly fathom how painful it would be to love two people, and I don't want to steal you from someone else!"

I stare at the couple, but the scene is already disappearing. The flower field turns into a white carpet, and I blink, aware that I'm back inside Cecilia's kitchen with even more confusion circling my mind.

"How was it?"

I peer up at Cecilia. She gives me a friendly smile, and I try to speak, but my throat is way too itchy and dry. It's almost as if I've eaten sand.

"Here," Cecilia hands me a glass of water. "Drink this,"

I grasp the glass from her hand, and I don't waste a single moment. I gulp water like a pro and then turn around to see what Hannah is up to, disturbed when I catch my friend hugging her legs close to her body. She looks pained, frightened even.

"Hannah?" My voice comes out hoarse. "Are you okay?"

No answer.

I clear my throat. "Hannah?!"

Hannah looks up with glistening eyes. "The truffle took me to a funeral,"

Cecilia places her hand on Hannah's shoulder to offer her comfort. "But it wasn't your mates' funeral, was it?"

Hannah shakes her head. "No, it was his mother's funeral, but his emotions washed over me so bright and strong that..." Hannah's lips are trembling. "He was suffering! And, I couldn't be there for him when he needed me the most!"

I inhale and automatically get up from my seat. I don't like hugs, but Hannah needs one. She is my best friend, and it pains me to see her so devastated.

"Oh, Hannah..."

Hannah licks tears from her lips, and Cecilia and I hug her in a group hug. We squeeze together, inhale, and then laugh at the empty jewelry box in front of us. It's haunting us with its presence, almost taunting us.

"Those truffles are intense," Hannah pulls a face. "No kidding,"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know the magic thingies would show you something so tragic..." Cecilia looks apologetic.

Hannah shakes her head. "It's not your fault. I'm actually quite happy over the fact that I have a mate, even if he is an old vampire,"

I raise an eyebrow. Something makes little sense. "But didn't you say your mate's mother died?"

"She died ages ago... I think the truffles took me back a couple of centuries,"

"Oh," I don't know what else to say. "That's... Pretty complicated,"

"Yup..." Hannah agrees. "Imagine meeting him and telling him I was at the funeral..."

We both snort at that. Cecilia rolls her eyes, but I know Hannah better than anyone. Dark humor is the best.

"You should tell him," I say.

"I will," Hannah promises. "Once I find him..."

I sit down in my chair. "I saw Ariel,"

"You did?" Hannah looks surprised.

"Yeah... He was my mate in another life, I think? I was a witch, and witch-me did this spell that binds us together forever-..."

"The forbidden love spell..." Cecilia interrupts and looks at me with a frightened expression. "Oh, honey, they forbid that spell for a reason! If it's not done correctly, it can break your soul!"

Yeah, now I'm definitely worried. I don't want to break my soul! Hell no!

"Break your soul?" Hannah asks. "How?"

Cecilia looks miserable. "The love spell was beautiful in the past. It tied mated souls together, helped them find each other after death, but when witches started finding mates that were vampires or something else that didn't die, problems arose. Suddenly a person could have two mates in their second life, and loving two people, well, it tears a person apart,"

I slowly process her words. "Do you think Ariel is a vampire?"

"Does he wear a daylight ring?" Cecilia asks.

Memories from our first meeting play on replay inside my head. His smile makes me quiver, and when remembering his voice cuts me more in-depth than a knife, I try my hardest to push him out from my head.

"He wears a ring around his finger, but something tells me he isn't a vampire,"

Ariel honestly doesn't seem like a vampire to me. I've met vampires, and they all look like goths, or like they haven't slept for decades. Their skin is pale, and, well, Ariel looks way too tanned, or maybe I just haven't seen a tanned vampire before. They might exist...

"Describe the ring," Cecilia demands.

I face her. "It looked like a dragon with ruby eyes... Come to think of it, he talked about dragons and told me they once existed, or something like that,"

Cecilia nods. "Then he could be a dragon,"

I snort. "Excuse me?"

"They existed a long time ago," Cecilia explains. "And if you saw the past, then Ariel might be way older than you think he is,"

I think back to yesterday, recalling Blaze's wolf form. It had looked so big and scary, but a dragon? I can't imagine what a dragon would look like. No similar creatures are walking this earth, and as a result, I hardly believe Ariel is a dragon.

"Yes, but..." I bite my lower lip not to laugh. "I'm having a hard time trying to picture him turning into a dragon,"

Hannah snorts, and Cecilia turns around to glare at her.

"Sorry, but Jenna is right," Hannah smiles sheepishly. "Dragons are tough to imagine. I mean, what would one even look like? Like an oversized chameleon?"

I can't fight the laughter finding its way to my mouth. An oversized chameleon! I'm dying! I would pay big money to see Ariel turn into this enormous chameleon! Oh-my-god, I can't erase the image from my head!

"See! Jenna thinks it's funny too!" Hannah says. "That's my girl right there!"

Cecilia shakes her head when both Hannah and I laugh like idiots around her kitchen table. Tears are flowing from our eyes, and soon we are barely making any sounds. We are hysterically laughing, but it's soundless, which makes it even funnier. We bop up and down like rabbits, crying and smiling at the same time.

"Both of you need help..." Cecilia mumbles, but I can see that she enjoys having us over.

"I need food; that's what I need!" Hannah dries some tears on her sleeve. "I'm hungry!"

"Do you want to order pizza?" Cecilia asks. "Your father doesn't like takeaway, but now that he is away on his business trip, I can cheat,"

Hannah beams. "Sure!"

I try to keep the smile plastered to my face when Hannah and Cecilia talk about the best place to order pizza from. I desperately want to share their enthusiasm, but I'm in too much pain. I have two mates, and I don't know what to do about it.

I'm not a witch, not in this life, and yet I wish I was. Then I could erase the suffering from my chest or lift this troublesome spell, but then... Then I would lose Ariel, and... I don't know if that's what I want.

"Jenna... Are you crying?"

Pure instinct makes me touch my cheek. Until now, I hadn't realized my sadness had brimmed over and turned into tears. And once I give in to the emotion, I can't hold back the ocean. More tears prickle behind my eyes, and soon even my lips are trembling.

Ariel couldn't get down on his knees... Ariel broke up with Catherine... Suddenly it makes perfect sense, and the explanation makes me incredibly sad.

Ariel can't forget about me either, the bond is still there, and I wonder if the forbidden spell might be more of a curse.

"Don't worry, dear," Cecilia places her hand on my shoulder. "I can check with my coven if they can lift the spell,"

I smile, still terribly depressed. "But then we wouldn't be mates anymore..."

"Isn't that what you want?" Cecilia sounds confused. "Having two mates is going to destroy you,"

I swallow tears. "I don't know what I want," I whisper. "I need to figure that out before we are breaking any spells,"

Hannah gives me a pained smile. "I'm so sorry, Jenna,"

I lift my eyes, only to shiver once I find Cecilia's dark expression. She looks deep in thought, and the clouds in her eyes make her appear older, wiser.

"You should talk to Ariel about this, figure out what he wants,"

I nod at her. "Good point..."

My hands find the mark on my neck, and when I close my eyes, I can see Ariel's smiling face. I shiver uncontrollably. Why does everything in my life have to be so tragic? Can't something be easy for once...