AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Silence. Silence everyone, please.”Emilia somehow commands the attention of a sea of black lace and velvet. The thirty-six witches milling about the meeting house had arrived throughout the day, and now we’re meeting for our first meal together.
My guys and I sit at the long head table facing the meeting hall and the other tables laden with a top tier beta feast.
I’m right in the middle of the table, with Rafe on my left and Drago on my right. Jonah sits next to Drago, and Rook is next to Rafe, and if you didn’t know better, you might be tempted to think that since I’m front and center, I’m the Pack Alpha, but that’s just what happens when you have an even number of mates.
But it’s not just the wolves and witches here. Sunny and Eden, my two favorite vampires, sit side by side at the end of the long table, while Lily and Emilia sit at the opposite end.
“Group by your lines, and we’ll start the processional,” Emilia says from her spot at the head table.
Thirty-six witches rearrange themselves and form a line around the perimeter of the log-cabin-style meeting hall.
Jonah’s idea to host the witches for a meal on Solstice Eve has slowly morphed into something more akin to a royal wedding with formal introductions, gifts, and a full court procession, something I would have tried to talk them out of if I’d known about it sooner.
I didn’t quite understand why they were giving me little offerings, but Jonah says it has something to do with witch culture and being polite guests. And that’s fine, but I was hoping to make it through this without coming face-to-face with Belle, who apparentlymustbe here for the spell.
I planned to avoid her at all costs and also keep Rook as far away as possible.
I’m definitely not looking forward to the interaction.
I don’t think she will try anything in front of so many people, but my hackles are raised just in case she does.
If she even looks at Rook wrong…
Fortunately, the tempting scents of the betas’ feast keep people from dallying. The pack settles into their seats around the hall and the processional begins.
As the first two witches approach, I can’t help scanning the rest of the line, wondering which of them is the monster that hurt Rook.
“Hi! We’re two-thirds of the Celestial bloodline. I’m Samantha,” says a pretty blonde witch with a knit hat. “This is Whitney.”
“Hello,” the second witch, who is just as pretty with long black hair, says.
Whitney places a small box in front of me and tugs Samantha along.
“Thank you,” I say as they make their way to the waiting witch table at the far end of the hall.
“From the Earth Bloodline, I’m Kayla, and this is Izzy and Libby.”
I nod to all of them, and Libby, a witch with mesmerizing eyes and coppery hair not too dissimilar to Sunny’s, sets an oblong box next to the Celestial line’s gift, and the three of them move along.
The rest of the elemental lines—Air, Fire, Water, and Metal—go much the same. Three beautiful women introduce themselves and set a small gift in front of me. And next up are the seasonal lines.
“Summer Bloodline and I’m Tracy.”
“I’m Vicky.”
“And I’m Briana.”
Tracy sets a small velvet pouch on the growing pile, and they hurry off before I can attach their names to their features and really commit them to memory. Winter, Autumn, and Spring continue, and I haven’t been able to intuit what the remaining magical bloodlines might be.
I also haven’t run into Belle yet.
“I’m Iola, and this is Jen and Kandice. We’re the representatives of the Infernal Bloodline.”
Infernal…
Like demons?
Interesting.
