Chapter 150
-Alex's POV-
The entire room went silent after the word left my mouth. Delores tilted her head to the side, staring at me like I had two heads. "What?"
I was still numb from shock. Everything was suddenly spiraling. I had to be the effect of the magic messing with my head because if it wasn't, this woman was my mother. They were the exact replica of each other. I stepped closer and she instantly raised her hand, and I felt the headache again, "Don't try to do anything funny. Your kind might think you are superior but I am a very powerful witch."
The intensity of the spell increased and it felt like I would pass out. I managed to get out, "My mother, Elora. You look just like her."
The pain stopped suddenly and Delores was the one with the shocked expression now, "You are lying. Elora died. There is no way she had a child."
She took a step backwards like she was seeing me for the first time, really seeing me, "Your eyes."
Then she shook her head, "It can't be."
Agnes and Fiona were staring quietly at the drama unfolding because truly it was drama. I never knew any of my mother's family members. In my little boy's brain, all she made me believe was that me and my father were her only family, which was why she had a lot of love for me. Not my father. Me.
And now she had a sister? Who was a witch? How then was she a werewolf? I didn't understand and apparently neither did Delores because she was staring at me like I was a ghost.
My mother's ghost.
A beat of silence passed before Delores spoke again, the words directed at the other witches in the room, "Leave us."
With one last look at me, they turned and left. Silence followed, this time I broke it, "My mother was your sister."
I didn't even know if it was a question or a statement.
"Was?" She asked me.
I let out a sigh, "She is dead."
“I know. I held her in my hands and watched her die. Elora was my twin sister and I watched her die. How do you exist, how did she survive? Why didn't she ever come back?" The last question was spoken more to herself than me.
I had a more important question, "How are you a witch and she was a werewolf?"
This time she smiled, a bitter smile, "Our parents lived a tale as old as time. Two different kinds that fell in love. A werewolf and a witch. Against all odds, they married and had us. My father chose to leave his people and live amongst the witches. They all saw what my mother saw and he became one of us," And then her eyes turned distant, "when we had both just turned eighteen, there was an attack by your kind. Elora did not survive. I held her in my arms. I watched her die but if she had you, by some miracle she survived and she never came back."
The pieces immediately started falling into place. I had always wondered why my mother married my father. How someone so loving could marry someone so spiteful but then finally it clicked. The attack must have come from my father's pack a long time ago and somehow my mother didn't really die. He took her, she must have felt like she owed him her life and then seeing that she was someone he could control, he married her.
I looked at her, the need to validate my mother seeping through, "My father was a horrible man. If she ever did want to come back, he would never have let her go."
We both stared at each other, probably she was trying to process her thoughts as much as I tried to do with mine.This is from NôvelDrama.Org.
It was hard, staring at the face of the woman that had loved me endlessly but her eyes were different, the same color but that forever promise of love my mother always had-it was absent.
She spoke again, breaking the silence, "Why are you here? History or not, after what happened, we do not tolerate werewolves."
"Like I told the other witches, I just want my wolf back," I explained, my voice firm. "There is a war coming and in order to protect the woman I love and my children, I need him back. My second in command told me that you are the only witch that does favors for werewolves and I can understand why so I need you to help me."
Her eyes softened as she continued to stare straight into mine, the same color as my mother's. Then she let out a sigh, "I do not do favors without getting something in return no matter who you are. Do you understand?"
I nodded.
She continued, "And I am not making any promises but I can try to find a way to bring your wolf back, but if he is lost, for him to return, there will be a price to pay. No matter what, nature cannot be cheated, are you prepared to pay this price whatever it is?"
I nodded again without saying anything. She continued to stare at me like she was trying to transform me into her sister. My mother but as if she got a snap of reality, she began to back away, "I will find you once I have acquired the materials. I will have them by tomorrow, for now you can find an inn to stay. You are hereby under my protection," then she paused, "I at least hoped she had a good life."
I gave her a sad smile but didn't give a reply as she disappeared into the shadows.
I stood trying to collect my thoughts. My mother had a sister, a twin sister. That's why Amaya and I must have had twins. I wondered what her early life would have been like. She must have been happy. She had just been loved and I suddenly felt a pang. I wouldn't be here if she hadn't met my father but at this moment, I wished she hadn't.
I suddenly felt her presence like she was here, her voice echoing.
"I will love you always and forever Alex."
My father may have made both our lives miserable but she had made me the center of her life and had made her love for me enough to be happy. That thought alone made everything hurt a little less and with that thought, I stepped outside letting out a tired sigh, suddenly being made aware that I was truly the enemy.
Delores must be one of the high ranking witches here because even though I got deadly stared at no one used magic on me again.
I walked out of the house, the cold night air hitting my face. The house was in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by tall trees. There was an eerie silence, broken only by the occasional hoot of an owl. I looked up at the sky, the moon casting an ethereal glow over the landscape.
I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. The events of the past few hours had been a whirlwind, and I was still trying to process everything. I had just met my mother's sister. And now, I was on a quest to find my missing wolf, with the help of a witch who was both my aunt and who did not like my kind.
I pulled out my phone, the screen illuminating my face. I had managed to get a message out to Christian but the possibility of him tracking me here felt close to zero. I felt it. A not physical barrier that I was sure they put up to keep everyone else away and on top of that, there was no service, of course. I was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by magic and mystery. I slipped the phone back into my pocket, feeling a sense of isolation even with the tens of stares in my direction.
I walked a few steps away from the house, finding a secluded spot under a large oak tree. I sat down, leaning against the trunk, and closed my eyes. I tried to focus on my breathing, to calm the racing thoughts in my mind.
But it was no use. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions, anger, and confusion. I was lost, adrift in a sea of uncertainty.
PThen the sound of collective chanting brought me back to reality and I raised my head to see Fiona leading five other witches chanting in my direction. Just as the first pain hit my head.
I struggled to stand to my feet as the chanting increased but it was to no avail. Fiona stepped forward, "I don't care what Delores says. Your kind are not welcome. Death to all werewolves."