“Divina?” he called out.
She wasn’t there. The sawdust scent on the pillow was Aric’s. He groaned and fell back against his bed. Maybe if he fell asleep quick enough, he could get right back into the dream.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Aric’s eyes shot open. His phone. He reached over and turned the noise off. He sat up on his bed with it.
He’d be lying if he wasn’t half hoping to find a good morning text from her.
No such luck.
He frowned. Not sure what he expected since they didn’t exchange numbers the night before. Hell, they barely exchanged names. But, they had made plans and everyone knew plans were better than no plans. He’d see her in a few hours.
Focusing on his phone begrudgingly, he found a series of texts from Bruce. Apparently, the elder wolf was concerned about Aric. Aric lifted his brow at the string of texts he had missed.
The elders had summoned him to breakfast.
Aric climbed out of bed with a groan directed at his erection.
“Sorry, big guy, we have some breakfast business,” he said to his cock with a smile.
He threw on some jeans and went to the bathroom without buttoning them.
After doing his business, brushing his teeth, and finding a shirt that didn’t smell too offensive, he left his trailer. He had never been summoned by the elders before, and he wasn’t too sure how he felt about it.
At the Alpha cabin, located at the center of their pack territory, the elders gathered for meals. Other pack members could join them at any time, and some did. However, when summoned by the elders for a meal, no one else would be there but the elders and the pack alphas.
Reasons for a summoning varied from an offer to a higher position within the pack, to a demotion, to outright exile. Scrubbing his face with both hands, Aric pondered the reason he could be summoned.
The only thing that came to mind was Selene and her damn prophecy. With a sigh, he climbed out of his truck and headed to breakfast. He wasn’t quite sure how Bruce would take the news of Aric dismissing Selene and her prophecy.
Aric approached the giant log cabin the size of a hunting lodge with numerous bedrooms and a sprawling living space. Before he could reach for the knob, the door opened. The petite blond alpha female, Kerry, greeted him with a warm grin. She showed him to the table of elders.
Aric eyed each of the six men with respect. He nodded to each and did a half kneel toward his alpha who sat at the head of the table. Kerry took her spot at the foot. Aric quietly sat in the only open chair, opposite the elders, with no one beside him.
Nothing intimidating about that at all, Aric thought to himself sarcastically.
“Bruce has told us about your conversation with him,” the Alpha, Thomas, addressed the group with the authority a king would have spoken to his court.
Aric reached for bacon and scooped some onto his plate. He respected his alpha and he didn’t fear the man; speaking with him felt natural.
“About the witch and the prophecy,” Aric said.
“Yes,” Thomas agreed as he speared some biscuits and gravy with a fork. “You can imagine my surprise at finding out one of my wolves is the key to the fate of the council.”
Aric kept his eyes on the plate. His tongue poked at the inside of his cheek. To anyone watching it would look as if he were contemplating what else to sample. However, he was stalled. He wasn’t sure about being the wolf of the prophecy. Especially after meeting the human, Divina.
Eventually, Aric regarded Bruce. “I think the witch was wrong,” he said.
“Letting your wolf run hasn’t cleared your head at all?” Bruce asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Aric tucked some bacon in his mouth. He surveyed the elders and the alphas while he chewed.
“No.” He swallowed. “I gained a lot of clarity on the run. I found my mate.”
Bruce canted his head. “Your wolf agrees?”
Aric grinned. “If he had his way, we would have claimed her last night.”
He shoved another slice of bacon in his mouth in triumph unable to hide his smugness. He wasn’t the damned wolf of the fucked-up prophecy.
“I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” he said to the group as a whole but his gaze lingered on Bruce a bit longer than the rest since he had been out to the diner to counsel Aric on the whole thing.
“And she’s not the witch you met before?” Thomas asked after swallowing some of his biscuits.
Aric turned his attention to his alpha.
“No, thankfully,” Aric said.
His loose posture and comfort at the idea of Divina being his mate eased all tension within Aric. The trouble Selene had brought with Perci didn’t matter. The prophecy didn’t matter. His mate, Divina, she mattered. Getting her to mate with him, that mattered.
Bruce murmured between the elders that sat near him. Worry lined his face. Aric sipped some milk, rather content to not be involved in this prophecy nonsense. However, he did feel a bit guilty having caused the hoopla.
Bruce cleared his throat. “Is she a witch?”
Aric considered the question.
Was she a witch? Good question.
She said she wasn’t a seer. Or did she? She said fortune teller. That sounded like human speak for someone who cons other humans out of money. Surely, no self-respecting witch would use that language.
“A fortune teller,” he repeated Divina’s explanation.
The elders exchanged glances with one another.
Their silence roused the wolf within Aric. The wolf snorted with impatience. Aric shifted uncomfortably.
“Have you ever met a witch before, Aric?” Kerry asked while she moved some eggs around on her plate without looking up.
Aric turned toward her, not quite putting his back to the men.
“Not before the one who came to my trailer,” he said.
She smiled and lifted her chestnut gaze toward him. “They don’t like to be known,” she explained. “Their kind is often exploited for the gains of others. Humans are known to come to them for enchantments and then persecute them. Vampires feed on them for the long-lasting effects of their blood. Not to mention, the allure of magic being a potential way for them to walk in the sun.”
The alpha female regarded her mate from across the table before she placed her fork down. She put her hands on her lap and continued.
“Then there is our own kind. We have not been fair to witches historically, either,” she said solemnly.
Aric considered her words. He glanced at his plate of bacon for answers. His eyes drifted upward toward the elders.
Bruce nodded in his direction.
Once more, Aric glanced around the table. Just as he had assumed, all attention directed at him. No one ate anything. A buffet of breakfast, everything you could want displayed out in front of them, but they all watched him. As he met each of their intent gazes he wondered if they wanted him to mate a witch. Did they want him to be the wolf of the prophecy?
Aric cleared his throat. “How do I know if she is a witch?”
It wasn’t like they wore signs or anything.
Chapter 27
With the morning sun at her back, Divina took a double take at the open gate of the Ursuline Convent. Taking it as a sign they knew she’d come made her linger at the gate a bit longer, hesitating whether or not to go through with her plan. If they expected her, she wouldn’t have the upper hand.
A middle-aged couple, with cameras around their necks, passed through the gate beside Divina. Their wide smiles matched the excitement in their eyes. They headed toward the small hedge maze near the door.
Perplexed, Divina blinked at them. They couldn’t be witches. Then it dawned on her: it was an active museum open to the public. People loved the history of New Orleans. Of course, humans would be there touring the convent in the daylight hours.
Taking a deep breath, steeling herself for the confrontation, Divina headed toward the maze. Two older people passe
d her on their way out, raving about the beauty of the museum and the rich Catholic history. Divina hesitated as she watched them pass.
Doubt creeped in and hacked at her confidence in her decision to confront the witches. Question swirled in her mind regarding whether or not the witches would even be there during the day, it seemed risky to convene with so many humans about. Surely, the access to the subbasement, where they met, would be off-limits to Divina. She couldn’t just waltz in, give a wink and nod to a guard, and have access to the full place. With a sigh, she leaned against the post trying to formulate a new plan.
For all she knew, the witches only met under the cover of night. They’d call to the moon to summon its pull on the earth to add potency to their vrăji. She snorted as the thought crept into her mind. Perhaps the witches were vampires after all. They only did their witchiness at night. It seemed plausible.
“Hello, Divina,” a warm voice greeted her as a woman approached.
The greeting pulled Divina from her thoughts. She shifted her attention to the woman, Josephine.
Dressed in a loose-fitting, cotton smock-like dress, Josephine looked like a tourist. If the witch was trying to look nonthreatening, she nailed it.
Despite this, Divina regarded her with apprehension. She wasn’t Esmine but she still belonged to the manipulative coven. This made her trustworthiness questionable at best.
Josephine reached out her arms for Divina.
Divina pulled back slightly, cautious of the woman and her extended limbs. Divina eyed Josephine as though she might come at her with a net, meant to ensnare and trap her, rather than welcoming arms meant to greet her. Josephine took Divina’s hands into her own patting them in a tender gesture.
“I’m so glad you came back,” Josephine said.
“I have questions,” Divina retorted, not wanting to fall for the warm, welcoming act.
Josephine nodded. “I expected nothing less.”
“First, what happened to Ines?” Divina asked.
Josephine’s friendly expression faltered ever so slightly. The sparkle in her eyes lapsed. The smile lines weren’t as deep. She looked away a moment, and her gaze surveyed all who were around.
Her attention returned to Divina. With it, came the 100 watt, friendly, non-threatening smile.
“Covens are very strong, dear,” she whispered as she released Divina’s hand and gestured for her to walk. “And ours is renowned for its strength.”
Divina followed, staying silent. She wanted an answer. What she got wasn’t an answer.
“The only way for covens to remain strong is for the witches within them to work together,” Josephine said. Her voice didn’t rise above a whisper as they made their way out of the hedges and into the convent museum. “When a witch joins a coven, she agrees to work with the other witches. No one witch’s agenda should take precedence over the good of the coven,” Josephine continued.
She stopped to smile and wave toward a guard. The young man nodded and stepped away from a stairwell door. Josephine progressed through it with Divina in tow. “The Ember Witches have the added pressure of Esmine serving on the Council of Others. So our group agenda far exceeds that of any individual. It extends to all covens in the territory.” She paused as the door closed. “We do not take our responsibility lightly.”
Divina studied Josephine. While her words were heavy and serious in nature, they were delivered in a kind and loving tone, filled with patience. Josephine looked upon Divina as a grandmother would when she passed advice about the world onto her granddaughter.
“Ines knew this.” Josephine’s voice soured slightly. “She was a young witch. She had a lot of potential.” Josephine shook her head, and her voice cracked. “Ines chose her own agenda over that of the coven and over all other witches.”
“I know what she did,” Divina pressed. “I want to know what the coven did to her.”
Josephine lifted her chin, her arms folded across her chest. She regarded Divina with a downward glance.
Divina straightened her spine. She intended to give the illusion of confidence.
“The coven protected itself, and in doing so protected all of the others,” Josephine declared vaguely.
Divina glared. “How does the coven protect itself from its own?”
Josephine’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Her offense was very grave, Divina.”
The way Josephine justified the actions rather than coming out with them led Divina to believe that Ines’s punishment must have been something awful. Divina needed to know. She didn’t want to lose her resolve.
“I’m supposed to join your coven,” Divina said. Josephine nodded, and the two descended a stairwell. “I’m supposedly this very powerful witch,” Divina reminded.
“It’s not supposed. You are very potent.”
“So then tell me the punishment for-for-for….” Divina struggled with the right words.
“Betraying your coven?” Josephine suggested.
Divina hadn’t thought of it that way. Ines had betrayed her coven. Ines had done something strictly prohibited. Divina took in a deep breath. “Yes,” she said unsure she was fully prepared for the answer.
At the bottom of the stairs, they stood before a large door. Beyond it, after a storage closet, was the great room with the horseshoe-shaped table.
While the convent itself thrummed with the energy, Divina couldn’t tell the difference if the static in the air was due to the table of witches she’d seen the last time or from the witches of years passed who had come to this place. Running a hand up her own arm, she doubted her ability to face all the witches again, especially Esmine.
“A coven can strip a witch of her power,” Josephine said with a hint of pain in her voice. “It’s very hard to do and can be detrimental for the witch being stripped.”
Wide eyed, Divina’s mouth fell open. “You killed her?”
Josephine twitched. “We stripped her. Ines had friends who could have given her more time if she so desired.”
Unable to reconcile the cold action with the soothing nature of the woman before her, Divina shook her head. She turned away from Josephine.
A witch without her power was a husk of a human. She would continue to exist, hollow, never feeling complete. They had sentenced her to a death of sorts. If she lived through the act of stripping, the emptiness could drive her to suicide. From what Divina had read, a stripped witch led a painful existence of pure hell.
Divina met Josephine’s gaze, searching for some sort of remorse or regret.
With her hand on the door, she turned away from Divina.
“Ines knew it was coming,” Josephine said.
Unease and disappointment flowed through Divina. Rori had painted a picture of an understanding coven where she would be taught the ways of the witch. She’d learn from Bătrânii, spells passed down through generations. She expected a sense of belonging, of love, and family.
Yet, she stood with the elder witch, speaking of sentencing another witch to an empty existence with detachment. The justification of Ines knowing the consequences, of Ines knowing it would come, left Divina wondering if the punishment fit the crime and furthermore, whether it mattered.
The motherly presence of Josephine, her soft tone of voice, and large eyes gave Divina the idea that the explanation of Ines’s knowledge of what would happen would somehow comfort Divina. Though, she felt anything but comforted with the thought, and Ines’s knowledge of it didn’t make it better.
“She knew she would be stripped?” Divina asked.
Josephine nodded. “It was foretold in her youth. She would have the opportunity to be an Ember Witch, but it would have a price for her. Ines paid the price for the honor of being in the coven.”
Once again, Divina’s features reflected her disbelief. She blinked, trying to comprehend the information given to her.
“She chose it?” Divina whispered.
“Ines chose to join the coven knowing what it would cost her,” Josephine
clarified. “She could have joined any other coven, but she chose this one because she understood the greater picture.”
Divina’s gaze fell to the ground, as though she couldn’t face the words, the situation, or the information coming at her. She brought her hands to her temples and tried to massage understanding into her head.
In that short period of time, Divina had been given an encyclopedia of information to process. She placed a hand to her throat to stave off the drowning sensation taking over.
Josephine’s hand rested on her back. The soothing gesture sent a calm wave through Divina. She looked upon Josephine the way a child looked upon her mother after a nightmare. She desperately needed the comfort in the face of all that overwhelmed her.
“When we are born into this life, as witches, we are born into a life of self-sacrifice. It is our burden as Ember Witches.” Josephine sighed and added, “It is now your turn. Her seat is meant for you.”
“But,” Divina started to protest.
Josephine rubbed circles into her back gently. “You quickened the vampire’s heart. You found the wolf. Now, all that is left is for you to join your coven and become the strong witch you are fated to be.”
Divina gasped as breath was stolen from her lungs. Wide-eyed Divina opened her mouth and closed it while words failed her. The weight of Josephine’s statement crushed Divina.
They had told her she would have a seat at the table. Surely, that had meant after some training or something. Wanting her to take the seat now, felt immature. The table was for proficient witches, Divina could do simple spells, summon the wind, but nothing like she thought would be expected for one to be seated at the table.
“The wolf?” Divina said.
Josephine smiled. “All in time, Divina,” she said. Pushing the door open, she revealed the storage area of the museum. “We have a lot to teach you before the new moon.”
Divina numbly followed Josephine through the basement. In a state of overload, Divina wasn’t sure she could process any more information. She tried to sort through it all in her mind as they walked through the storage shelves.
The Witch of the Prophecy Page 17