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This was worrisome, as one of the laws of witches was that they were to protect all living things. Yes, there were those who turned bad, but they were few and far between and were usually found and punished; this sounded like an unmanageable divide. Then the lady said something that caught my ear and made me sit up straighter.
“We found her fraternizing with a wolf. No offense, Miti, but the rest of us do not shift and are not used to being around other shifters. It’s only because of you that we’ve had a good relationship with others not of our kind.”
Miti stood up at this time and walked to the podium. It was then I felt Lira. Her heart was pumping fast, and her scent was strong, which meant she was here. Willing myself not to look back, I took a deep breath and held it, closing my eyes and reveling in her scent. She smelled so sweet, like nectar; I could smell her all day. But she was afraid.
My wolf was clawing at me by this point, wondering why I wasn’t already standing and walking toward her, but I couldn’t. I knew as soon as I stood, she would run, and I couldn’t let that happen. The longer we could be in the same room, the more she might get used to having me around and come to understand I was just a normal person. Well, a normal person who shifted into a wolf, but we could bring that aspect in slowly.
I rubbed my chest and insisted my wolf calm down; I knew what I was doing. After promising I wasn’t going to let her go, he finally backed down and let me have control again.
Provided she got through this meeting, I might have a chance to find her afterward.
Lira
I opened the door as silently as I could and slipped inside the room. There were so many people in the building that all the seats were taken. People were standing in any place they could find. This made me feel a lot better. It meant I was able to blend in at the back but also slip out if things got crazy.
I saw an old lady stand up and walk toward the front of the gathering. But my attention was captured by the handsome man who had sat next to her. What is he doing here?
My heart started beating uncontrollably, and everything inside me was screaming at me to go to him. My hand went to my chest as I held myself in place, hoping my heart wouldn’t burst. I wanted to take the spot the old lady had just vacated, but I held my ground. I had enough turmoil in my life right now and didn’t need to add him to the mix. But even as the old lady started talking, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Then I heard her start talking about a guy named Pac.
One of Millie’s voicemail messages had mentioned something about Pac, and that I really needed to talk to Bruno, because bad things would happen if I didn’t. It wasn’t like Millie to be overdramatic, that was my department, but I wasn’t sure I could do what she asked of me right now. There were too many things going on—new things, strange things. I had to come to terms with my heritage first, and here I was, at my first coven. That was enough for now. So I would listen to what this lady had to say and then leave. I tore my gaze away from Bruno and watched the old woman speak.
“Many of you have heard our news about Pac by now. He is a traitor to our kind, to both shifters and witches.”
At this, the energy in the room seemed to surge, and I made myself smaller by pushing back against the wall.
“I believe he has amassed an army of both shifters and witches.” The clamoring in the room rose an octave higher, and Miti stepped back, waiting for everyone to calm down before continuing. “We must stay grounded. Many of you have been around as long as I have, if not longer. You have seen worse. We have survived worse.”
A lady stood up in the front row and said, “But this is different, Miti. Before, we all worked together as a team. We were united. Now our covens are splitting, and our numbers are dwindling. As you said, some witches are going to Pac’s side, wanting to keep traditions that are archaic and harmful. We cannot survive such a split. It has never been seen before.”
“That’s not true.” Miti’s voice boomed around the room, and its effect was instantaneous, because silence reigned once more as everyone waited on her to elaborate. “It has happened before—when the darkness rolled in when I was a young girl.”
“We had you then, Miti. You were special,” someone said from the back.
I craned my neck to see who it was but couldn’t make out who had spoken.
The speaker continued, “As you said, you were young. You know our powers wane as we age. There are not a lot of young witches these days. Their powers have not been showing as early as they used to, and when they do show, they are already of middle age; hard to train.”
“Being a witch is not all about having power,” Miti said. “My grandson is here today. Bruno, stand.”
I watched as the man I loved stood. Soaking in his physique, I felt myself walking forward, parting the people standing in front of me until I was standing behind the last row of seats. When he sat back down seconds later, disappointment rushed through me, and I turned to go back to my position against the wall, feeling confused. Had I wished he would turn and see me? Did I want him to know I was here?
Miti continued, “He is not a witch but a wolf shifter, as many of you know. But he is well trained in potions and remedies. Yes, our magic is still needed, but training our allies will help in our endeavor to quash the storm that is coming our way. And it’s not all as bad as you say—we do have some young witches.” She pointed at Trixie and the two girls I had met two nights ago. For a second, I thought Miti looked straight at me, but when her eyes moved on, I began breathing again.
“Three is not enough,” someone said in the back. “We need more.”
“We will use what we have,” Miti said. “Have hope, my fellow witches. We must keep hope alive.”
Grumbling rolled through the room. Miti had just declared war on Pac and his group, but you wouldn’t know by the grunts and shaking of heads around me.
“Right now, it’s just a bunch of witches who are upset. It will pass,” someone said.
“It happens every few hundred years,” someone else said.
“I will not sacrifice my coven to stop a handful of shifters and witches. There is no proof they’ve amassed a large army. We outnumber them still.”
That’s when I saw a fireball appear in a woman’s hand. It just appeared! Out of nowhere!
The woman held her hand up high and said, “We are sworn to protect all living things. We must gather our strength and show those who threaten others that they cannot prosper. My coven and I stand by you, Miti. We will help however we can.”
