Chosen Witch

by Rae Hendricks

  “I don’t think anyone knew she came to see us other than myself and Hyacinthe. She came because she said that she was sick and dying. She had some kind of secret, but I don’t know what it was. That was a long time ago, and I had almost forgotten about her. She wasn’t the first or last person to come ask for my help. She knew about me somehow. She knew I had a lot of power and that I was one of the only people who could perform the kind of magic she needed.”

  “Wait, my mother needed magic?” he asked. Roman was becoming more confused by the minute.

  “Yes, she said that she needed to protect her children, her sons, from whoever it was that was after her. She seemed to think that she wasn’t just sick like a normal person could be sick. She thought someone had used magical means to make her sick. She wanted to be sure whoever it was couldn’t hurt her sons. Of course, I knew very little about any of you at the time. I was so sheltered, but her plea was so genuine. I wanted to help her, so I did,” Annalise explained.

  Did that mean someone killed his mother? He had always thought something was strange about her illness. Roman had no reason to think it was anything other than a tragic illness. Now, he wasn’t so sure. “How did you help her?” Roman demanded, reaching out and grabbing her wrist.

  “Ow!” she said, pulling away. Annalise rubbed her sore wrist. Roman shook his head in apology. He was just so worked up about the information he was finding out. “I performed a spell, using her blood, and mine, to protect her sons from harm. The spell would protect them from any unnatural death by anything or anyone other than myself.”

  Roman jumped up, bumping his knee into the coffee table. He ignored it, though, as he realized what that meant. “You were the only person who could have executed Orson.” Now he understood why she hadn't told Isaiah about all of this. Not only would the idea there was another betrayal somewhere in their family’s past stress him out to a breaking point, but since he would be feeling invincible, anything could happen. After all, only Annalise could kill him.

  “Yes, that is true. I didn't know until Hyacinthe told me I should accept Isaiah’s request for one of the witches to perform the execution. She helped me remember that day. I was just a child. I really didn’t know.”

  “No, that's alright,” Roman said, sitting back down. “I won't tell Isaiah, but this means that something happened to my mother. It means this whole thing may be bigger than Orson, after all.”

  Annalise was taken aback by Roman’s response. That was not at all what she was expecting. It seemed like a dangerous idea for him to hope Orson still had been tangled up in someone else’s web. She knew that to be false. It had to be two separate incidents. The look on Roman’s face let her know it wasn’t going to matter what she said.

  He was out the door just as quick as he had come in. Annalise thought it was time to move on. She didn’t want to be in that house alone anymore, and she didn’t belong at Isaiah’s any longer. For all she knew, the bachelor pad around her would be burnt to the ground before the drama of the remaining Young brothers was over. It didn’t feel right to go back and live with Hyacinthe either. Especially now that she had begun to take over the coven. She was going to need a place of her own, and she knew just who to talk to about it. It was time to go back to witch territory and work some things out. After choosing day was over, so was her time with the pack.

  Hyacinthe was not at all surprised when both Diane and Annalise showed up at her doorstep. She had seen it coming like she did most things. Only recently had that failed her during the sinister plots going on to undermine both the coven and the pack. Only one other time had it failed her so miserably. The one she thought was the love of her life had turned out to be a downfall for the coven, or at least, potential downfall. Hyacinthe had raised Annalise so that her mistakes would be different. It didn't seem to be turning out that way. That same caring heart that had gotten Hyacinthe in trouble, would surely get Annalise in trouble as well.

  Hyacinthe looked the woman up and down, as she realized she was no longer a little girl. She had kept Annalise safe, as if she had been her own child. It had been the only way to pay the debt she owed to her brother. She was the one who caused him so much pain and his death. There was so much of him in Annalise, much she had yet to discover. He had been the greatest leader of that coven in centuries, and perhaps Annalise could live up to that.

  Hyacinthe then turned to her partner in crime, the blonde whose future had been so easy to read. It was that way from the moment she came to live with her grandmother, to learn and practice her magic. Diane’s green eyes were so open. Hyacinthe could read the girl like a book, but she would never tell what she had in store. That would ruin the surprise. Besides, not everything was set in stone.

  “I see the two of you have come to me to ask for an adult residence in the coven. Is that right?” Hyacinthe asked, allowing herself to sound bored as always. It was her best defense against her stupid, weak heart.

  “Yes, I think it is time for both of us considering our duties have been increasing in the coven. I also feel that after the choosing happens, I should come and make myself at home again. This is still my home, right?” Hyacinthe sighed and couldn’t help but crack a small smile at Annalise.

  “Of course, this is home. You still have some duties with the pack, but Diane and I will get a place ready for when you get back. It will be nice to have you here again. The coven could use a real leader again.” Hyacinthe knew that Annalise would realize she was dismissed with that. But for good measure, she used magic to send her on her way. Hopefully, whatever unfinished business she had with the pack would wrap itself up. Somehow, she doubted it. It didn't really matter, though, because Annalise would be coming home to be the leader of the Olympia coven either way.

  Hyacinthe turned towards the woods and began to walk along the edge, wondering what she was going to do with herself once she finally let go of her position with the coven. She wasn't going to leave it, of course. She never could leave that coven. She was a witch through and through. She would have the opportunity to discover a part of her she had laid to rest in order to raise her niece the way she should be. Part of her was afraid to take that journey back into herself to find all those things she had tucked away. The other part was excited. She was excited for not always having to know what was coming next. She was curious as to what kind of life she could have if she was not the leader of the coven any longer, nor the sole protector of Annalise.

  Hyacinthe smiled at the thought that the burden was no longer her own. Annalise knew her powers intimately now. Whether she liked it or not, the wolves would always come to her aid.

  “So, now that they have made their decision, I am officially leaving,” Annalise said, looking to Isaiah. The clouds were threatening to rain on them rather than snow, giving the first signs of spring to come. The choosing had finally happened. It was almost split down the middle. It made sense to her that it would be that way. She knew many would not give up their identity as a witch. Others would feel the wolf too strongly to ever leave the pack, no matter what they wanted.

  “You mean, you’re going back to rule the coven,” Isaiah clarified. “I am not sure how to feel about that. Once you go back, there won't be any reason…”

  Annalise cut him off. She was not up for some tear-jerking goodbye with him. It was best for both of them if that didn't happen.

  “Things will go back to normal, that is all,” she told him, trying to keep her own emotions in check. Just like always, though, no conversation was to be had anyway. Tamara came strolling up with Roman trailing behind her. Roman looked distressed. Annalise had a bad feeling about it once she saw the angry look on Tamara’s face.

  “Either you tell him, or I will,” Tamara seethed, looking to Annalise. Annalise glanced back at Roman to confirm with him, silently, what this was all about. The guy had obviously somehow trusted Tamara with the information about their mother, and now here she was, blabbing.

  “I’ll tell him,” Annalise volunte
ered. She didn't need Tamara adding any embellishments for her own sake. She would have plenty of time after Annalise vacated the premises, to snake her way into Isaiah's heart. There was no need to use Annalise to do that anymore. “I’m leaving anyway.” She wanted to make that clear to Tamara. Maybe for just one day, the woman would back off. It didn't seem to be in her realm of capabilities, though.

  “Tell me what?” Isaiah asked scratching his head in that damned attractive way he always did. Then, he looked around, realizing that whatever it was, he was the last to know. “You do know that I am the alpha of this pack. Any pertinent information should come to me, regardless of emotional qualms?” Isaiah raised his voice, especially looking to Roman. Of all the people there, he should know that. He knew Roman had been going through the ringer, but he didn't expect him to start keeping secrets.

  “It wasn't his secret to tell,” Annalise defended. “Or yours,” she added, looking at Tamara one last time. She wasn’t going to waste any more pain or glances on that woman. Tamara was getting what she wanted. She didn't deserve anything else form Annalise. “I met your mother once, when I was a child, Isaiah.” Annalise wasn’t going to beat around the bush with him. She was ready to get this over with, like ripping off a Band-Aid. “I met her as a child, and I did a spell for her. I didn't know it was her, then, but I know now.”

  Isaiah looked back and forth between Annalise and Roman. What kind of crazy secret were they keeping? If his mother had gone to the witches for a spell, and specifically to Annalise and Hyacinthe, she not only needed something big, but she would have had to know about the level of powers those two possessed. With the way his father was, how could she have gotten such information? The only way was if she had spoken with coven members before, probably behind the man's back. Isaiah shook his head. It really shouldn’t have surprised him. If his father was the only dealing the coven ever had with the pack, the coven surely would have wiped them out.

  “Isaiah?” Annalise’s voice came through the fog of his thoughts.

  “Sorry, I was just processing, Go on.”

  “She asked me to do a spell to protect her sons, because she thought she had a spell on her or had been given a potion. She was sick and dying and didn't want whoever was after her to be able to hurt her children. I was sympathetic to what she wanted and did the spell. It meant that only I could ever kill one of you. I didn't know until Hyacinthe insisted I be the one to do the execution, and I didn't know how to tell you before.” Annalise felt a weight off her shoulders as she let it all out. Now, if they truly wanted to find out what happened to their mother, they could, and it was no longer in her hands.

  “You mean, other than by you or old age, I can’t die?” Isaiah asked, trying to work it all out.

  Annalise nodded. “As far as I know, that is how it works, unless the protection is removed.”

  Isaiah staggered backward, unsure of how to take the news. It could make him the most powerful alpha of the Olympia pack ever, but it could also be a curse. His head started to spin with all the possible ways this could bite him in the ass. And what if one day, he deserved to die, and Annalise agreed. She would be the one to watch the light go out of his eyes.

  “Isaiah,” Roman spoke up. “You’re missing the point, here. Mom wasn't just sick. Somebody did that to her, and we have to know who.”

  Isaiah turned to his brother. “We will talk about it later, but whoever that was, is probably dead and gone.” Isaiah already had someone in mind. It was a man who gave him the curse of being alpha. He couldn't be sure, but he doubted Roman could handle another blow to his opinion of male family members like that.

  Roman walked away, disappointed. It was better than what it could have been. Isaiah turned to Annalise. “I guess this just makes it easier to say goodbye,” he said. It was the end of something, and he could feel it. Knowing, and yet not caring that his mate was right behind him, he stepped up to Annalise and embraced her. “I hope you find happiness over there and that we don’t have to meet again too soon,” he joked, making them both laugh. The laughter sounded darker and sadder than he expected. Before he pulled away, he brushed his lips against her ear. “One day, I will come to you and ask you to remove that spell.”

  Annalise looked at Isaiah in horror as he let go of her and took hold of Tamara’s hand, leading her away from there. Annalise did not know how she would handle that day, but she could only hope it was far into the future. With tears she did not expect to have running freely from her eyes, she turned and ran, ran towards the safety of a coven that was almost entirely hers.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was Sunday already, the day that Tamara was supposed to spend with her father. Isaiah had held up to that promise. They had begun to fall into a routine, now that Annalise was back with the coven. Even a few of the hybrids who had chosen the coven had been able to go back, having figured out how to control the change even before the full moon. It was coming, though, and Isaiah wondered if they might finally be free to just be werewolves again.

  He stood outside just as the sky opened and began to pour. It was still cold, but the snow of winter had gone, bringing in the rain of the spring. Really, in most other seasons in Olympia, rain was a way of life. But this rain was a strong, heavy one. It was the kind that would saturate the ground and make things grow. Isaiah was hoping, as he watched, waiting for Tamara to come walking back from her visit to her father, that it would make more than just plants move towards the sun.

  Finally, he could see her shape through the sheet of water that was coming down mercilessly form the grey cloud cover. It matched his brooding mood inside as he thought of what Annalise was up to right now. He knew that it was not the time to think of her. It was only fitting, with his history, that right before he made his biggest move yet on a woman that should already be his mate, to think about the witch with the piercing blue eyes. Even as he had said goodbye to her for what was supposed to be the final time, he had been almost certain she would show right back up the next day. It would be with some excuse as to why she couldn’t leave the pack yet. She had not come back, though. He had heard little as far as the coven. It should have been a sign of peaceful times, but instead, it just felt ominous.

  Tamara was coming out of the fog of the rain, an umbrella protecting her now short, deep red hair. She had cut it shortly after Annalise had left, citing a need for grooming. Isaiah didn't really care about that so much. She still looked like Tamara, and in fact, had begun to look more like the one he remembered.

  As she came close, her jeans were torn in places, not from a factory, but from actual wear and tear. Her boots were wet and scuffed. She had on a leather jacket over a tank top that revealed just the tiniest bit of her navel. It was an effortless look of both sexy and comfortable; one she had been pulling off since she finished puberty. He had just never noticed through his own eyes, only others. Men had always fawned over her, but not him.

  Isaiah had begun the painful process of questioning himself as to why he did not look at her that way. The thing was, he had been looking at her like a sister for his whole life. It hadn't crossed his mind the same way it had hers or her father’s. Apparently, they felt she and Isaiah would end up together, in some way. But here they were, and he needed to get in touch with the part of him that did enjoy the way she looked, if they were ever going to successfully mate. There was, after all, no excuse anymore. Roman was back on his own most of the time, and Annalise was gone. Isaiah knew his hesitation had been unfair. It was exactly why, even though the love he had hoped they would have by now was not yet there, he was standing in the rain, watching for her.

  Lacy was behind her and went inside the moment the two were in touching distance. Isaiah had asked for privacy from the guards, as much as possible, the past few days. Hector was still breathing down his back with some kind of information. It made Isaiah angry that yet another person had some big secret to tell him. He didn’t want any more revelations, not right now. Peace was good. Peace is what
they all needed to heal.

  “What are you doing, standing out here in the rain like a fool?” Tamara asked, thumping him playfully on the chest. “You are soaked!” she announced with a giggle.

  “I was waiting for you,” he said simply, daring to wrap his arm around her, testing how that might feel for the both of them. He had been so gentlemanly before, he was afraid she might have gotten used to it and given up.

  “You’ve never done that before,” she commented, looking at him strangely. There was something about the first major rain of spring. It was making her feel different; bolder. It was like the beginning of something new, and maybe she needed to stop questioning him so much. Annalise was gone. There was no reason to resist any chance they had of closing the deal now.

  Tamara let her eyes trail down Isaiah’s body, sopping from standing out in the rain. His light auburn hair was matted against his head, and his nose had water rolling off of it like a tiny slide. His shirt had the sleeves rolled up, and it clung to his chest. She could make out the definitions of the muscles underneath. His jeans stuck to him as well, showing off the muscles in his legs. The man was a runner, even when he wasn’t a wolf. It shouldn't have surprised her to realize what great shape he was in. The truth was that she had hardly let herself look at him that way, since her kiss with Orson so long ago. She had been certain Isaiah was not the brother she would end up with. That was the problem with their attraction. They had not allowed themselves to try.

  “I thought it was time for something different. Everything feels different now,” Isaiah commented, blinking the rain out of his eyes. Then, he looked down at the woman that was supposed to be his mate. He let his hand rest on the small of her back, feeling the sliver of skin that was between her shirt and pants. Tamara moved her umbrella so that it hung partially over his low bent head. They could now see each other’s faces better, without the rain covering them.