Chapter 5
2169 Words
After breakfast, she is up in her room getting ready for what is to be the most important magical ceremony of her life when she feels a warm glow around her. She turns around quickly to see why.
“Hi,” She turns around to see Erik standing in the doorway.
“Hi,” She feels the blush creep over her cheeks.
“You look beautiful.” He walks closer, and she can’t help the smile that forms from ear to ear.
“I haven’t even put on my cloak yet.”
He slides his arms around her waist and pulls her a little closer. She looks into his blue eyes, and it feels as if some force was pulling her closer to him. She slides her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes, and softly places her lips on his. She feels him going slightly rigid before relaxing.
“Okay, I have to meet your dad downstairs.”
He lets her go and winks before leaving her room. Whatever she is feeling is overshadowed by what happened with Isobel, and she can’t let that ruin her entire life. She needs to speak to her mom later tonight!
***
By the time she walks into the living room, everyone is waiting for her. They grab their brooms and cloaks and fly to the coven grounds.
When they land near the circle border, her mom waits for the high priestess to arrive to let them through the border. Tabatha feels all the strain of the last couple of weeks leaving her body. Being in a circle of perfect love and perfect trust just makes her feel so light.
They all gather around the bonfires and greet each other, catching up. She loves the pack, but being part of the coven is a special bond she can’t explain.
They call the corners and open their circle. She and Willow are the only two who are receiving their full powers today. They used to always make jokes about it, and she feels her heart ache at the fact that she had to break their bond as twins.
Things might have been so different if it weren’t for Radagast…
They are called to stand in the middle of the circle, and she takes a deep breath. Her mom told them that they would feel an immense surge the moment the ancestors grant them their power. The coven starts to chant a spell standing in a circle around them.
She feels a burning sensation on her forehead when she lifts her head, and a bright blue light shines down on her. She looks over at Willow, but nothing is happening to her. Could it be because she broke their bond? Why isn’t anything happening to Willow?
Then she feels power surge through every cell of her body. It feels as if every cell explodes and returns to its place. It feels as if she is burning up from the inside out, and in an instant, it’s all gone, and she falls to the ground.
Everyone rushes over to her, even Willow. She feels as if a truck ran over her, she is so tired.
“I can’t believe this!” She hears the high priestess say to her mom.
She looks wide-eyed at them.
“What just happened?” Tabatha feels panic rise inside her.
“Honey, this is a huge thing, but the elders need to talk first. You just rest. Willow will sit here with you.”
She watches her mom and the elders gather in one corner, and their facial expressions make her worry even more!
***
Erik feels something strange happen to his bond with Tabatha, and he looks at her dad. It feels as if their bond just grew a thousand times stronger.
“Yeah, that’s what it feels like to be mated to a witch.” Frank laughs, knowing what they went to do at the coven.
“Are you serious?”
“Yup, remember, you feel everything she feels.”
Erik uses it as his opportunity to ask about what happened in the past.
At first, Frank seems a little irritated, but then he takes a deep breath. He didn’t realize it had bothered her so much that it could influence her mate bond. He takes a deep breath and tells the story of how Radagast and Isobel met. Erik smiles thinking about the festival. He would love to see one of those! But it’s when Frank starts to tell him about how Isobel was isolated from her family, how Radagast influenced Willow, killed his father, and finally killed Isobel.
“But she’s alive?” Erik looks confused.
“Yes, that is thanks to the moon goddess or the creator… I’m not entirely sure what happened. I’m just overjoyed that my daughter came back to us.”
“Wow, no wonder Tab has so many trust issues.” Erik frowns thinking about how she struggles to commit.
Frank then tells Erik that Tabatha had to go as far as breaking her twin bond with Willow, which makes Erik’s eyes grow wide.
“Isn’t that like losing your wolf?!”
“Yes. It tore her apart, but it was necessary at that point in time. Look, son, I know she is still hesitant, but give her time. She will come around.”
Hearing those words from her father gives him hope that they will have a future, he just has to keep fighting for her.
Frank asks him more about his family, and he groans. It’s his turn to tell his soon-to-be father-in-law, and if they stay here, Alpha, how his parents fought in the war against the wolf king and how he lost his mother and father for so many years.
***
The elders walk back to her, and she feels as if something is wrong. None of them are smiling! Her mom comes to a standstill in front of her and rubs her arms.
“Just tell me! What is it?”
Her mom turns towards Willow, and they explain to her that the power of her wolf is her strongest power, that is why she didn’t receive any others. Tabatha feels her heart break for her sister, but then Willow bursts out in a bright smile.
“Oh, thank the goddess! I don’t think I can deal with more power… I might just explode!” Everyone bursts out laughing, but Tabatha feels the anticipation build up inside her.
Why did they talk on one side? They only do that when something is seriously wrong.
Her mom turns around and looks at her again.
“Sweetheart, the coven has never seen such power bestowed on any witch. Not even the high priest of the council possesses this kind of power.”
She looks from her mom to the rest of the women around her as she tries to take it all in.
“What does this mean?” She feels fear creep into the pit of her stomach.
“Well, honestly, we don’t know.” Their high priestess steps up, and the concern in her eyes makes Tabatha feel her chest getting heavy. She starts to hyperventilate.
“Tabatha, honey, calm down.” All of them suddenly start looking frightened, and she feels her fire burning hotter and hotter from deep inside.
Her flames burst out on her hands, and she realizes why they are asking her to calm down. It feels like it did when she first developed her powers and nearly set her bed on fire! She takes deep breaths as she had to do in the beginning until her entire body calms down.
“What does all this mean?” She looks from one to the other, but none of them have any answers for her.
After the ceremony, the coven promises to find out what it all means and that they will help her with the necessary training to get her powers under control. They get on their brooms and fly back home.
How is she going to explain all of this to Erik? She doesn’t even know what to think!
***
When he is dressed and smells better than the sweat from before, he walks over to her house to see her, but the front door is open and everyone is sitting in the living room talking. He clears his throat before softly knocking on the door, so they know he is there. He doesn’t want to interfere in their family talks if he isn’t wanted.
They invite him in, and their family is so overwhelming. There is laughter and everyone is talking at the same time. They are talking about some huge event that happened at the coven, and Melissa is explaining everything to him in-between, but he hasn’t dealt with magic so much in his life. It all sounds Greek to him, but he tries to take in as much information as he can.
There is a soft knock on the front door and a beautiful young woman walks in with a little boy bounding over to Frank.
“Honey!” Melissa jumps up to say hello, and Erik feels a little confused.
“Oh, Erik, this is Isobel, our daughter, and her son, Nathan.”
ISOBEL!
***
Tabatha takes Erik’s hand before he is trapped in the family discussions.
“Would you mind if we spend some time in the training hall.” Her eyes alight with something that sparkles, but he can’t miss it.
“What happened at the circle thing?” She bursts out laughing when he asks her on their walk to the gym.
“Our coven meeting? Well, I got my powers.” She rolls her eyes and proceeds to explain what happened and that she has this enormous power growing inside her, and she needs to release it in some way other than burning down her bedroom or their entire house!
He bursts out laughing.
“How are we going to train if you are scared of burning everything around you?” He rubs the sides of her arms, and she feels goosebumps crawl all over her skin.
She tells him how her mom taught them when they were little how to cultivate their powers, and she will do her best not to burn anything down.
“I trust you.” He takes her hands in his and his loving smiling makes her heart melt.
What is wrong with her that she can’t just accept him?! She asks herself.
They go to the change rooms and return dressed in training clothes, taking positions opposite each other. They move almost as if dancing, facing off until he moves in, and she blocks him. Her eyes are wide in surprise.
“What?” He stops.
“I don’t know how to explain it… It’s as if I knew what you were going to do, then saw you do it in slow motion, and I just acted on it.”
“Okay… Were you able to do it before?”
“No.”
“Do you want to try again?” He looks worried, and it takes her a moment or two, but she grins at him, nodding.
“Hell, yeah I want to do it again!” She grins at him, taking her position.
***
After training his blue eyes on her make her feel as if she is about to drown as he walks up to her, sliding his arms around her. He puts his forehead on hers and his hot breath blows on her lips as he says. “Mine.” A soft growl coming from his throat.
It feels as if her heart is about to jump out of her chest, and she is going to drown in those blue eyes. Her palms rest on his chest, and she can feel his calm breathing, but she can feel his heart racing just as fast as hers.
His lips move closer to hers, and he places a soft kiss on her lips as if tasting her. Her eyes close, and she feels slightly faint, sliding her arms around his neck to steady herself.
She shivers when he nuzzles his nose into her hair and takes a deep breath. This is the weirdest thing and feeling she’s ever had. She knows wolves are possessive. She’s a wolf, she’s one of them, but why does she feel so nervous. Why on earth does this feel so…
Why does she feel like running to her parents' side every time his blue pools look at her?
“You are insane! This is our soulmate you are talking about! What’s wrong with you?” Dib shouts.
“He is our mate!”
“I know Dib. I just feel a little… Nervous.”
Her palms feel as if they were on fire, and she rubs them against her sides feeling the friction build-up. She must be feeling like this because of the adrenaline from training with him!
- Writer
