His Blazing Witch [PROMO]

#4 The Black Brothers

"So... Selena Whitewood?" repeated Kelsi.

I nod. She is lying on her stomach on my bed and frowning next to me, her chin in her hand. After my phone call with her this morning, Kelsi had promised to come visit me right after her classes, and of course, she did. Her bag is hanging at the end of my bed, and her laptop is open in front of us.

"Have you heard of her?" I ask.

"Well, I've heard about the Lunas of Silver City, everyone here knows about the werewolves and their hierarchy, but... he didn't say anything else?"

"No... I wanted to ask more, but the nurses came back and pulled me back inside. I'm pretty sure he was given an earful too, he was called into the director's office right after that."

"Did you try asking Bonnie?"

"I haven't seen her since..."

It's almost strange, actually. It has been two days since I last saw the red-haired nurse, and she has never been absent for this long without telling me before. Did her twin telling me so many things put her in a bad position? I can't help but feel a bit bad about it. Somehow, I feel like this is my fault. What if she really got in trouble? Or does she not want to talk to me anymore because of what I know now?

"So?" I ask Kelsi again. "What do you know about that woman, Selena Whitewood?"

She sighs and sits up, shaking her head with her usual cute little pout behind her glasses.

"Not much, to be honest. I don't have any werewolf friends, so all I know is just general knowledge. You remember how werewolves obey an Alpha and his female partner, the Luna, right? Well, usually, territory is divided among several packs, each led by an Alpha couple. Since Silver City is so big, the werewolves here are split between several packs, but one of the biggest ones is the White Moon Clan, led by that woman, Selena Whitewood. She is basically the boss for all the werewolves living in the northern parts of Silver City."

"So she's still someone super important, right?" I ask.

"To the werewolves, yes. I don't know what she does for a living, though, she isn't really famous or anything. Most werewolf Alphas are often CEOs or celebrities of some sort, usually wealthy too, but that woman seems kind of low-key in comparison."

Kelsi turns to her computer and types that woman's name into the search bar. It only takes a couple of seconds, but when the results show up, we both exchange a look and frown. Only four results? Kelsi starts clicking, biting her hair.

"This one is a birth note for a baby girl born last year, Aurora Reagan Whitewood-Black... Probably that woman's daughter? So if her father's name is Black... Don't tell me, Black like the Black Corporation Group?"

"What is the Black Corporation Group?" I ask, confused.

Kelsi turns to me with wide-open eyes as if I was crazy.

"You don't know who the... Oh, girl, your wiped-out memory is really driving me peanuts! Boo, the Black Corporation Group owns about half of Silver City!"

I grimace and grab my notebook where I’ve been writing down all kinds of information. I hate missing important pieces of information like that. I have pages and pages of this notebook covered with writing already, mostly from things Kelsi mentioned as "I must absolutely know", and despite my best attempts to remember everything, it's just a lot... though, I'm pretty sure the Black Corporation Group was never mentioned to me before. Kelsi hands me a pen she just took out from her bag and goes on.

"They are a multinational company, their business literally exploded in the last few years. They own several business ventures: shops, malls, restaurants... They are mostly based in Silver City, of course, and famous for being run by the Black Brothers, all werewolves. They are basically the strongest and wealthiest group in Silver City. Probably your sister's nightmare too, in terms of business. They're probably rivals to any other big companies around."

"Wow... So that woman, Selena Whitewood, is married to one of them?"

Kelsi returns to the computer, adjusting her thick glasses with a frown and scrolling down.

"I guess? It doesn't say the parents' names here, just the baby's. Let's see the other links I got... Oh, she's a graduate of our university, in the Business Management Department... Well, she apparently dropped out over four years ago, so maybe not. Next link... Oh, this is just some stupid promo... Crap, that woman doesn't even have a social media account!"

"Maybe she uses an alias?" I suggest.

Kelsi sighs, staring at her computer screen with a frown and putting her hands in her sweater's pocket. She is wearing a pastel blue one with pink kittens today, just as ugly and cringey as the others. She even has little cat ears on the hood.

"To be honest, as a geek, I think it's more like someone made sure to delete her."

"What do you mean? Delete her?"

"You know, like when someone wants to stay private and everything? She probably had someone delete her info on the Internet to be left alone. You don't become this invisible just like that, even with very good privacy settings. However, if she's that influential, she probably paid someone to delete all of her info, or knew someone who could do it."

"This is crazy!" I exclaim. "We are supposedly on that woman's territory! Why can’t I find the slightest bit of information about her?"

"Well, at least we know that she probably lives here. Werewolves are territorial, it wouldn't make sense if she lived on the other side of Silver City."

I nod. Kelsi is most likely right. Even if online research didn't give us many results, we are already in the right area.

"Do you think I could find her?" I ask.

"Why don't you just wait a bit and ask Bonnie?" Kelsi insists.

I sigh. I wish I could! I have a feeling that Bonnie will not give me the answers I want, though. If she has avoided telling me anything until now and stopped showing up as soon as I got more information from her twin...

"I need to find that woman," I declare.

Kelsi coughs, looking at me like I'm crazy.

"Are you kidding? After all the things that guy told you?"

"He did say Selena Whitewood thinks witches are not bad."

"He also said most people in Silver City do! Boo, I think you're getting a little bit too impatient here. Why don't you just wait until Bonnie comes back? Maybe she's just on a short leave, or she's caught a cold? Moreover, even if you find that woman, what do you want to ask her anyway?"

"She knew the previous Earth Witch, Kelsi. Benjamin said Selena Whitewood was a friend of hers, and that's why she let my sister hide me here in her hospital. I want to know what she knew about witches, and who that Earth Witch was. No one else seems to know the first thing about witches. At least not the humans around me."

Kelsi nods a bit, glancing at the computer.

"I did try to research a bit about witches, but... nothing really matches you. Well, in ancient times, they did burn the women thought to be witches at the stake, so, not much resistance to fire from them, I guess... I mean, if they were witches at all. I think the actual witches probably did a good job of staying hidden. Even in Silver City, I found no record of witches, none. Not even about those two you mentioned."

"See? I need to find someone who knows, someone who was close to the other witches."

Kelsi is still pouting, but at least, she doesn't protest anymore. She sighs and starts typing again on her computer.

"Alright, maybe I'll find something about her husband, then... If she's with one of the Black Brothers, at least their information should be available, they are pretty well-known."

A website shows up quickly about the Black Corporation Group that Kelsi mentioned. They really are as big as she said. Most of their pages are about promoting their company, though, there really isn't much information about the Black family themselves. Finally, Kelsi finds an excerpt from a web page introducing their staff.

"Oh, here! Damian Black, CEO. He's the eldest brother... I've seen him in magazines. Doesn't seem like he’s very talkative, though, he's quite cold and hates interviews."

"You think that's her husband?"

"I don't think so," Kelsi shakes her head. “I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that this guy is the Alpha of the Blood Moon Clan, a different one. The other biggest clan of werewolves of Silver City, actually. If she's from the White Moon, he's probably not her husband... Oh, here's another one. Nathaniel Black, Vice Chairman and Director of the Black Leisure Group. That might be him... Damn it, there isn’t even a photo!"

Kelsi and I spend a while on the website, trying to look for more information about the Black Brothers, but everything is focused on their company, not them. Just like Selena Whitewood, we cannot find their social media profiles either. Finally, Kelsi manages to find pictures of the Black Corporation Christmas party from last year.

"Oh, here! This is the eldest brother... That woman next to him is definitely his wife. Oh, they look so cute together... Oh, she can't be Selena."

"What? Why?" I ask, confused.

Indeed, from their posture, you can see that woman is his wife. Damian Black is a tall man, with dark hair and clear eyes, looking very stern in his black suit. However, he has a protective arm around the young woman next to him. She is really pretty, wearing a dark purple dress and her hair, also black, in a braided bun. However, you can't miss the scar on her left eye... it looks like an old blade injury. That woman looks happy in the picture, though, and she's holding the hand of a young boy that looks like them.

"Look at her dress in the next picture... That one, see? It's not that obvious because of her dress and she's rather petite, but she was pregnant, at least a few months along. The other page we saw about the birth of the little girl said that she was born in late July the summer before. Either they had another baby on the way soon after or she isn't the same woman."

"Oh..."

"This one must be the Blood Moon Clan's Luna then? Damn, the werewolves' hierarchy is super confusing. I mean, if his brother is married or whatever to the White Moon's Luna, he should be the Alpha, right? Can't they just have one big clan? So complicated..."

I'm probably even more lost than Kelsi. I understand the werewolf hierarchy, it's rather simple, but I just want to find that woman, Selena Whitewood. I don't care much about her title or whatever it is. I'm just curious about the woman who can tell me more about witches...

Kelsi and I keep looking at all the pictures of that party, but either the other brother did not attend or we can't find him, I don't know. We end up closing Kelsi's computer, both feeling a bit defeated.

"Sorry, boo... It's okay, we'll probably be able to find more information once we ask around, though. I'm sure there are other werewolves like Bonnie and Benjamin around who can tell us. Especially if she's as accessible as that guy said, maybe you'll get your answers faster than you think?"

"I sure hope so... though I won't get any by staying here, that's for sure." I sigh.

Kelsi nods, leaving my bed to stretch. She opens the window to let the breeze in, taking her hood off with a smile.

"I like being alone so I'm probably not able to experience this like you, but I sure wouldn't mind being able to stay in my bedroom and watch my favorite TV shows all day instead of preparing for these stupid exams!"

"It's not staying here that drives me nuts, it's staying here with no answers."

"Well, it sure is weird. No one knows about your powers, your fire thing came out of nowhere ever since that accident... I'm very suspicious about your sister, though, you know. I swear she never, ever called you before that accident. You never mentioned your family, so I'd bet all of my game consoles that you were never close to her!"

"This much I can tell," I snicker. "I don't even feel close to her. If she didn't look like me, I'd think she's a total stranger..."

"It's been bugging me," adds Kelsi. "She got you this fancy room, negotiated with the werewolves for your sake... Your sis is definitely suspicious. I mean, maybe not bad, like this is not a movie and she's some villain, but... I feel like there's more to it. You think she could know more than she says about your witchy powers?"

I shake my head.

"I feel like she doesn't want to hear anything about it! She almost yelled at the doctors when she heard them calling me a witch in the corridor last time. She doesn't look very... witchcraft-inclined either. More like the modern businesswoman who doesn't have a minute to lose on voodoo and magic spells."

"So, what are you going to do next, boo? I'm pretty sure they won't let that Benjamin near you again, you know. I wasn't sure about telling you, but the nurses were talking about it. I wouldn't be surprised if they add another lock to your door."

"Well, I want to try asking Bonnie or my sister about that woman, Selena, and what they know about witches. They cannot pretend they don't know anything anymore."

Kelsi nods.

"What if they say they don't know again? Or if they don't show up?"

I take a deep breath, scratching my head. I can't wait anymore. I need answers, and it's clear now that they are not going to come to me just by waiting, locked within these four walls. Even with Kelsi hacking the hospital's wifi and sneaking her computer in, we only got this much. They are all working hard at keeping me in the dark, and I'm tired of it.

"Three days," I say. "If I don't learn anything new from my sister or Bonnie within the next three days, I'm breaking out of here."

"B-breaking out?" Kelsi repeated in a whisper. "Boo, that's a little bit extreme..."

I shrug.

"If the answers don’t come to me, I'm going to them!"