Owned By The Alphas novel Chapter 24

24. The Witch
I bathed and dressed faster than I ever had, combed through my long dark
strands of hair, then met my alphas outside my suite.
Brax chuckled, obviously back to the Brax I knew. “You’re going to get us
in trouble, Spitfire, but I have a feeling you quite enjoy that concept.”
He laughed, and I smirked. I did.
“Let’s go. I’m starving, and even eyeball stew sounds more appealing than
having to eat with the pack tonight after today’s…issues.” Derik sighed.
“Why?” I asked, and he cleared his throat.
“It got to the other wolves that Brax and Kai were fighting over you. It
doesn’t bode well for the strength in our pack if the alphas are fighting at
all, let alone over a winter born human,” he murmured, and I bit my lip.
I didn’t want Derik even more stressed; he was already so wound up all the
time.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, and he smiled easily at me.
“Don’t be, beautiful. They’re just rumors, and we are still strong together.
They’ll learn that the hard way if they wish to,” he said, and kissed me, then
strode away, the dinner suit and vest he was wearing making my blood burn
in my veins.
I bit my lip for an entirely different reason before Kai grabbed my hand and
followed.
All three of them looked insanely good, dressed up for dinner.
Kai was in his dinner slacks and a plain tucked-in shirt, a gemstone
necklace hanging on his neck that I hadn’t seen before. A braided leather
bracelet was on his wrist, the end dangling on mine.
Brax was in slacks, his dinner jacket embroidered with a wolf head like the
symbol for the territory, but this one had a gemstone as the eye, the same
moss green color that Kai wore around his neck.
I pointed to it and looked up at him. “What does the crystal mean? All three
of you have it on,” I asked, seeing that Derik had his in a chunky ring on his
finger.
“It’s a symbol of trust with Cain’s mother. She’s a seer, a witch of sorts, and
her kind has always been at odds with the other creatures of our world. This
moss agate is her link to us. It means a balanced friendship or alliance. It’s
one of the conditions of our visits that we wear it.”
“Oh. A lady in the village told me that moss agate is a crystal used to open
the heart to love,” I said, and Brax snickered.
“That’s the other half of it,” he admitted.
“Hmm, interesting.” I grinned, and Kai squeezed my hand with a sly smirk.
“You’re an interesting human,” he grinned and led me down the stairs.
“Thought I was your human?” I teased.
He chuckled and nodded. “That too.”
He bent down and kissed me. It took all of a second for me to give in to his
tongue slipping through my lips. I slid mine along his, and then he was
shoving me against the wall.
I didn’t know what wall or where in the estate we were, but it didn’t matter.
I kissed him back, sighing as he picked me up and pressed me against the
wall. I was so sore, so achy, but somehow it never mattered when I was
kissing one of them.
“Nikolai! Not now,” Derik growled, and Kai pulled back, smirking at me
before slowly letting my feet touch the ground again.
“I will be inside you tonight, human,” he breathed, and it was the best
promise he’d made so far.
I grinned and walked ahead so he couldn’t give in to what I knew was
resting between us.
I wanted to know the crazy witch person that kept the wolves wearing moss
agate to their meetings. I looked over my own clothes and took note of the
mossy green color of the dress.
It made me wonder if it was a respect thing or a way of introducing me into
the alliance. Or an ownership thing, but I didn’t mind being owned by the
alphas.
I walked forward and slid my hand into Derik’s. He squeezed it and led me
down the stairs, toward the front area that I knew well now.
“I never thought to ask, but do you require a handmaiden?” Derik asked,
and I frowned at the concept.
It was outdated to say the least. The ladies of the village took care of their
own shit, literally. And as far as I was aware, werewolves would be seen as
weak for letting someone else handle them.
I appreciated the gesture though and shook my head with a warm smile.
“No thank you,” I replied, and he frowned at that.
“I mean to help you bathe and dress. Or to fetch you things you need when
we cannot be there,” he offered again, and I shrugged.
“I’ve never had one before. And I can dress myself just fine. Thank you
though,” I said, and Derik smiled.
“Okay, well, I will send an initiate up to spend time with you while we are
away in case you need food or something. She will fetch it for you.”
“Is that code for sending someone to keep an eye on me?” I guessed,
smirking as he led me out the front door and down the steps to the pathway.
The same pathway that led to the road out of the city.
There was a carriage waiting, one of the same fancy-looking ones in black
with the wolf head on the side. There was a single horse connected, a huge
black horse with a silver mane and tail.
It was beautiful, standing out in the dark night. There were stars sprinkled
in the sky with a crescent moon shining bright and big as it always did.
Derik didn’t say anything about my comment, which was its own form of
confirmation. I didn’t mind though; maybe it’d give me something to do
that wasn’t getting fucked by the alphas every waking moment.
Although, that part was quite fun.
I looked over the front lawn of the estate where it sprawled down to a low
brick fence, then to the street. It was empty, like it had been since I arrived.
Brax opened the door of the carriage for me, and I lifted my skirts, climbing
in, with the alphas getting in behind me.
I sat on the opposite side to Derik and Brax. Kai sat next to me and hauled
me into his lap, nuzzling into my neck, his thumb brushing my jaw as his
lips teased my flesh.
I sighed and my lids fluttered closed. Kai’s other hand slipped under my
skirts, his fingertips brushing along my thigh. The carriage started moving,
and I clutched his arm.
“I thought we weren’t meant to be doing this outside of the estate so the
wolves didn’t get even more angry that I’m here?” I sighed.
“You’re not,” Derik bit out, and Kai chuckled against my neck, his hot
breath making my skin rise.
I smiled and pulled back. “Then raincheck, Alpha,” I said, and went to
move off him.
He gripped me tighter, his claws growing as he held me there. I rolled my
eyes at his temper, then kissed his pouting lips. I used that as a distraction,
slipping out of his hold. Then I let the kiss go.
He watched me settle back into the seat next to him with intense eyes that
saw everything. I smiled, and he huffed.
I ignored it and went to look out the windows, but the window was blacked
out. I frowned and turned to Derik, who was not as innocent as he looked in
that moment.
“You had the windows blacked out?” I asked, and he nodded once.
“The wolves don’t want you knowing their home.”
“Why?” I asked, not sure how I felt about wolves feeling threatened by me.
I wanted them to see me as more than a human, not a pushover, but I didn’t
want them only seeing a winter born. I’d already lived that life in the
village.
“Most of them saw the destruction of the last winter born. You not seeing
their home was a part of the conditions proposed in the council meeting by
the pack.”
It made sense, and I couldn’t blame them after the things I had heard about
Elias, but I was starting to hate the idea of living in the estate every second.
It was huge and beautiful and I was allowed to visit the village, but could I
really contain my life to a single building forever?
I was stuck in my mind, thoughts of my life and what it was leading to
rushing through it.
Being with the alphas was where I wanted to be for the moment, but what
would happen when they got sick of the winter born human making the
pack torn? Or they had to find females to mate with? Have children with?
I hated the idea of being the sad lover stuck in the estate while my alphas
paraded around with their mates and children. Or would they send me back?
Tears prickled my eyes at the thought of going back to the village after
being with them. I was already an outcast, but I would have no place there
after being so tainted by the wolves.
I had no idea why I was thinking so in depth now, on the way to dinner with
a witch, but I couldn’t help it. My mind was spiraling, thinking of
everything, all the possibilities, and emotion prickled in my heart, my
throat.
I didn’t want to share my alphas, I didn’t want to go back to the way things
were, and I wished there was some way for my stupid human body to give
them everything they needed. But there wasn’t.
I sighed and leaned back in the seat, hating that I had human emotions that
were overwhelming me. The alphas said nothing and I wondered why,
especially Brax, since he always felt how I was feeling.
I opened my eyes and looked at them, but they were just staring with
curious eyes.
“What?” I asked through a rough voice.
“Nothing,” Brax said too quickly, and the lie trickled through my blood.
I frowned at him, and he looked away. “What’s going on?” I said, my
instincts coming out.
“You’ll find out soon, beautiful,” Derik interjected, and that felt more
honest, but there was something I was missing.
I sighed and leaned back in my seat again. As soon as I did, my mind
clouded and my thoughts were piercing, stealing my focus again.
But this time, it wasn’t the alphas. I thought about the shadows. The good
ones inside me and the ones on the outside that were trying to get in.
I used to hate the idea of being winter born, being the cursed one, but now I
was happy about it. It had brought me closer to the alphas.
But it did make me question why they had kept me. Because Kai couldn’t
stay away? Because of the letter from my father? Or was it because I had a
winter born power within me that they could use?
If it helped the pack and, in turn, the village, then of course I didn’t mind,
but if they wanted the power just to wield even more of it over the villagers
then that was going to piss me off.
They already got the best of everything we had.
We farmed produce, wheat, and animals; the Forest gave them materials,
wood from the trees, rock and stone from the caves; and then the Water
village provided water, fish, and some herbs for medicines.
The villages traded between each other, but all the best of every village
went to the wolves.
It was how it had always been, and I didn’t mind most of the time, they
protected us after all, but sometimes I wondered why we had to be so
separate?
Would the wolves live without humans providing everything for them?
I doubted it, and it made me wonder about the power balance, but then
again, if they were trying to use whatever power the shadows had in me, at
least they were going for the good shadows.
That had to mean they were good and had good intentions?
And my shadows connected with Brax and trusted him, so that was good
too. I thought so anyway. Unless my brother was to be trusted. He believed
they were not good, using me for whatever nefarious plan he believed the
wolves had concocted.
I had no idea who to trust, but I did know that my shadows had been loyal
so far, and that they gave me a much safer feeling than the red-eyed
shadows did. I trusted that.
I pressed my fingers to my throbbing head, a dull ache starting throughout
my skull, but my head was still a mess.
Every thought I’d had since meeting the wolves processed in those
moments in the carriage, the silence pierced by my heavy breathing as I
tried to sort through the swirling of thoughts.
I clenched my eyes shut and leaned forward, concentrating on my
breathing, when there was a tug on my shadows inside me. It was strange,
like I hadn’t done it.
I frowned as it tugged again and my shadows filled my body with warmth
and trust. I wasn’t sure what I was trusting, but I did. I relaxed, and my
thoughts came through clearer.
I remembered the bad shadows and how horrible they made me feel and
how it made me not trust them. The ultimatum they had given me, the
timeline. I was still scared for it; I didn’t know how to beat shadows or how
to use mine.
Not well enough anyway. I’m pretty sure playing hide-and-seek wasn’t
going to work with the bad shadows. Those red eyes would find me. They
were always there, hovering.
Well, at least that’s what I assumed, since they always seemed to know
when I was vulnerable, ready to whisper creepy shit in my ear.
I shivered and pursed my lips as all my thoughts stopped abruptly at the
same time the carriage did.
I blew out a breath as the alphas climbed out. They held the door open, and
it was strange getting out. They were all tense. Not the usual ready-to-fight
tense, but an anxiety that flowed off them.
I frowned at the reaction, looking over each of them as Brax helped me out
of the carriage. I stepped down, a splash dirtying my legs, shoes, and
bottom of my skirts.
I looked down at the swampy texture of the ground.
Derik walked forward, looking over the swamp, mist covering the
expansive area.
It smelled so bad. Like rot and, well, swamp.
But there wasn’t a warning in my blood, so I stepped forward with Brax
holding me, helping me wade through the ankle-deep mush.
It was so dark I could barely see, but that didn’t seem to be a problem for
the wolves.
We stepped forward. The only sound breaking the night was the sloshing of
our footsteps.
“So creepy,” I breathed, and Kai snickered.
Derik turned to me. “Don’t say that to her. She loves this godforsaken
place,” he muttered in disgust.
“To each their own, I guess.” I grimaced, trying to find a house or
something to indicate where she actually lived, but I couldn’t see anything.
Until I saw two glowing eyes peering up out of the water.
I sucked in a breath as it moved through the water, shuffling closer to Brax.
He looked at me, then to where I was staring, wide-eyed. He hissed at it,
and it came further out of the water.
It was a fucking alligator. A huge one. I froze and Brax growled at it in
warning. It paused and looked like it was taunting him.
“I’ll turn you into a fucking belt with boots to match if you get any closer,
Ruby,”
Brax swore at the creature.
Its eyes narrowed before the alligator thwacked its tail on the water,
splashing them both, before spinning away and disappearing. Derik shook
his head as Kai laughed, breaking the tension with his deep husk.
“Don’t piss off her pet.”
Derik rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. “That thing is not a pet, it’s a
menace.”
Kai laughed again. “I want one,” he said, just as the swamp beneath my feet
turned to wood.
I looked up, and there was a dark wooden ramp that led to a log cabin.
There were no lights on and it seemed kind of abandoned, but it wasn’t.
There was a plump, dark-skinned woman out the front watching with a
smirk on her face.
She held a cane, wore a knitted shawl and full skirts that were a tattered,
faded floral pattern.
She smiled as Kai walked forward, embracing the short woman.
“And how is my favorite wolf?” She smiled warmly, kissing Kai’s cheek.
“Mom, what have I told you about playing favorites when you’ve only got
one child? You have to pick me.”
Cain sighed, coming away from a dark wooden post on the deck around the
house. I hadn’t even seen him there dressed all in black, blending into the
night.
“I’m great, Aunt Tabby.” Kai grinned like a kid and stepped back as Derik
came forward and kissed her on the cheek next.
“I can feel that. I haven’t felt you so…distracted since the last heat.”
She chuckled, kissing Derik on each cheek before nodding to Brax. He
offered a half smile and nodded back.
That was something I was going to find out about later. She didn’t like Brax
much, and my curiosity was piqued. He seemed the most relaxed of them
all…most of the time anyway. Not here though.
“And your guest. Lorelai,” she said, then turned to me. “The winter born.”
She smiled softly, then stepped forward with her hands extended, her smoky
voice triggering a feeling inside me. A tug at my shadows.
“Hi,” I said timidly, giving her my hand that she reached for.
She closed hers around mine, and the carriage came back to me. I gasped
and snatched my hand back.
“That was you,” I realized, the feelings the same when she touched me as
they were in the carriage. Like her imprint on whatever she had done was
making sure I recognized it.
She wanted me to know it was her.
“Yes.”
“What were you doing?” I demanded, feeling a little violated that she had
been in my head. Or maybe intimidated that she could get in there in the
first place.
Reading my thoughts was much more intense than just getting a feeling.
“I was reading you.”
“What does that mean? A proper answer, please,” I said, not wanting a
vague nonanswer.
She wanted me in her house, eating her food, to meet me. That meant
having my trust. I needed a reason to give it.
She smiled knowingly, like she knew exactly why I was annoyed, exactly
what I was thinking. Brax squeezed my hand tighter.
“I read every thought and feeling you have had since meeting the alphas to
understand what motivates you, what your intentions are, and whether I can
trust you,” she admitted, her chin high like she wasn’t even sorry.
“You could’ve asked.”
“You could’ve lied.” She shrugged.
“You would’ve known if I had.”
“Yes,” she stated simply, and I clenched my jaw.
“A compromise then. I won’t lie, and you won’t dig in my head without
permission.
If I lie, then you can find the answer yourself,” I offered, and she grinned,
hobbling forward and pressing her lips against my cheek.
I pressed mine against the papery soft, crinkled texture of hers.
“If I hadn’t found what I found in your head then I would be feeding you to
Ruby, but you were genuine. I like genuine,” she said, then turned on her
heel, shaking her walking stick.
“Dinner time, friends, come in!” she called, and the house lit up, the
curtains drawing on their own.
I gasped and looked through the windows at the feast she had laid out on a
crowded circular table set with enough seats for us all. There were pitchers
of wine, and the lights were strung up in flowers along the rafters.
The others filed in behind her, but I hung back, looking up at Brax. “You
okay?”
He nodded once, and I frowned at the lie. “Can I help?”
He shook his head. “You can help later, Spitfire.” He winked and I smiled,
wrapping my arm around him, snuggling in before walking into the house.
It was not just a house, it was a home, filled with plants, crystals, and
tapestries hanging. It was cluttered but still tidy, like everything was in its
place for a reason.
The living area was quaint with a homey sofa of florals, a rug, and
bookshelves, all facing a fireplace that was roaring with life, making the
whole place warm.
An incense burned, filling the space with a calming lavender. Candles were
lit all over every surface that wasn’t already occupied.
Tabitha sat down in a chair facing the kitchen along the back wall. It wasn’t
like the clean, modern wood of the estate; it was weathered, but loved. Like
her kitchen and dining room was the true hub of her home.
It felt like it anyway.
I sat down in the chair next to her, Cain on her other side. Brax sat next to
me, shuffling a little closer, widening his legs so his brushed my thigh.
I eyed him, and he smiled. He wanted to be touching me. When I looked at
Kai, he didn’t even look possessive about it like he usually did.
I had to know what was going on with Brax, it was driving me insane. But
this also wasn’t the place to find out. Of course, that made me want to find
out more.
Kai sat next to Cain, Derik opposite Tabitha at the round table, and then
they dug in.
No talking or a speech, just serving the food like the villagers did on
holidays.
It was nice, the feeling of being so comfortable. I got stuck in too, and
before long, the conversation drifted from wolves to the full moon and then
on to the tougher subject for me to hear about. The heat.
“So. Have you told the wolves you have no intention of being available for
the heat?” Tabitha asked, her fingers clasping in front of her.
Everything went silent, and I cleared my throat, laying my fork on the plate.
“We’re in negotiations. The council is aware.”
“And how are they taking it?”
“Tabitha, not now,” Derik tried, but she chuckled.
“She needs to know these things, especially if you plan on keeping her long
term.”
“I’d like to know,” I interrupted, and Derik pursed his lips.
Braxton put his hand on my thigh under the table as Cain leaned forward.
“The council are demanding that there be a heat celebration when it comes
on.”
“I have a feeling I am going to regret asking this, but what is a heat
celebration?” I asked, not sure I even wanted an answer.
“The main pack and the unmated wolves of the city are locked in the estate,
the ballroom, where they all give in to the heat together.
“Being all in one place means they can feed off the power and magic in the
room. It makes everything stronger and more intense. It will replace the
power that the females are missing out on from the alphas,” Cain explained,
leaning back with his hands behind his head.
That didn’t sound too bad to me. It sounded like a reasonable demand, but
something in the way Derik and even Kai were glaring had me thinking
there was a vital part that Cain was forgetting.
“Not going to happen,” Derik bit.
“It sounds like it could be the only option, Derik,” I said, and Kai snarled.
“No!”
Tabby put her hand on the fist he had slammed on the table.
“I’m missing something here?” I assumed, and Brax leaned closer, like he
was only talking to me.
“The alphas have to be present at the celebration, even if they’re not
participating.
But we won’t be able to leave you alone while that is happening in the
estate or the wolves could lose control and sense a human.
“A human is a dangerous scent to have around, but a winter born human?
Even worse because of the power,” Brax said softly, rubbing his thumb over
my hand.
“Oh. So I would have to be in there with all of you. And all the wolves from
the city would be fucking?” I asked, and everyone stayed silent, until
Tabitha laughed.
“Yes, dear. That’s the idea.”
I didn’t care what I had to watch or be in the same room with if it meant the
alphas got to stay mine.
“Then say yes. I’ll stay in the room with you three and that happening if it
means I’m yours and you can stay mine. And if it keeps the wolves happy
with our arrangement then it kind of seems like a no-brainer,” I said, and
Brax chuckled, bringing my hand to his lips to kiss it.
Kai grinned then and looked at me with hungry, lust-filled eyes. I smiled at
him, avoiding Derik’s glare.
“Thanks for your hospitality, Tabitha, but I think it’s time we were leaving,”
Derik said, sliding back his chair.
Tabitha sighed as I stood up with him.
“Can I ask a question? I don’t want to seem rude, but I also don’t know how
to make it sound like I don’t mean it in the wrong way,” I asked, wanting an
answer before we headed back to the estate.
Tabitha nodded, standing, accepting her stick from Cain. “Ask.”
“The alphas told me that the witches don’t usually get along with the
wolves. Why do you?” I asked, and she smiled.
“Because I have a son who is half his father, and I wouldn’t be a very good
mother if I ignored that fact, now would I?”
“Half wolf, half witch. I thought wolves could only procreate with their
own race?”
I asked, hating how intrigued I sounded and not sure what the wolves were
going to think of my question, but I asked anyway.
“I was blessed by some very cruel gods to be given a hybrid. It is not
possible, but there are usually exceptions to the rule. Apparently I was one.
I have no answer as to why, but I’m sure destiny had its reasons.
“I can also see the alphas’ true selves, and they are not like the ones who
came before,” she said, and I nodded.
Even my mother had said that about the current alphas.
“Did you know Elias, the winter born before me?” I wondered, lowering
back into my seat.
Derik leaned back against the kitchen, not in such a hurry to leave now that
the subject had changed. Tabitha sat back down too.
“I did. He was just as evil as you’ve heard. Rotten to the core.”
“Is that why you wanted to meet me?”
She nodded. “I wanted to get a sense of your shadows and who you were as
a person.”
“And I passed your test?”
“As long as you say no on the next full moon.” She eyed me knowingly,
and I nodded.
“I planned to.”
“I’m aware. But I also sensed your indecision. Your brother is heading
down a dangerous path, young winter born. Be sure you don’t follow,” she
warned, and I nodded, swallowing a tense breath.
The room filled with tension as the alphas froze. I hadn’t mentioned my
brother or that he had shadows, but I got the distinct feeling my new friend
Tabitha had known that and wanted them to know.
I was about to answer, to defend my decision—more to the wolves since
I’m sure she knew my reasons—when a metallic, iron taste hit my mouth.
Blood pumped in my ear and the strong scent of chemical or potent
sanitizer, I wasn’t entirely sure, hit me hard in the next second.
Tabitha gasped as the wolves all stood from the table, growling and
snarling, their claws and teeth growing, red eyes taking over them.
Panic rose in my chest, but I wasn’t even sure why until Derik spoke.
“Vampires,” he seethed, and then the wolves were no longer my alphas;
they were beasts, defending their territory.