Chapter 36 Witches Moon
1631 Words
Chapter 36
Witches Moon
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Jada
“Jada, wake up. It’s time to go...”
I opened my sleep-stuck eyes to see Duane’s looming face hovering over me. As my view cleared, I noticed he wore casual dark denim jeans and a light blue button-up shirt. A strong wave of his deodorant reached my nose and made me cough.
“Agatha’s waking Anna now…” he said, stepping back from me. “Then she’s bringing the car around…”
“Car?” Yawning, I sat up. Where am I?
My entire body was sticky from sweat and dirt. And I didn’t smell great either. When I was living in the Celestial Moon packhouse, I was ordered to shower every day. It was a rule that my false mother had expected me to obey. And because of that, I had never been so filthy.
I glanced around, and my disorientation passed. I realised where I was. “Any chance for a shower first?”
Duane laughed as he hooked his arm through mine and helped me to my feet. “There will be time after we get there... Now come on, we don’t have a minute to waste.”
Brushing hair from my face, I eyed him sideways. “You’re hanging out to meet your mate, right?”
“Is it that obvious?” He ran his hands through his hair, and the strong deodorant nearly knocked me back into the bed. It wasn’t bad, but it was overpowering.
“Yes…” I replied honestly.
“You two better get going,” Lillianna insisted from the doorway.
“Okay, okay, I’m awake…” Yawning again, I followed Duane and Lillianna out of the room.
When we regrouped by a dusty path outside the bunker, it was bordering on dusk. The day’s heat was still in the air, making my sweaty skin itch. I was still tired. I had been in a heavy, deep, and dreamless sleep for at least four hours, making me think Agatha had cast a spell on me. She is a witch, after all. A few werewolves were placed in a protective shield around us. I could see a fierce glint of determination in their eyes.
“Jada,” Anna threw her arms around me. “See, I told you I would be fine...”
She had healed quickly. All her bruising had faded to a spotted yellow hue, and her eyes were their brilliant blue. I hugged her, feeling her wince beneath me. “You’re still wounded…”
“Okay, I might be…” She wheezed. “But I’ll be fine–as long as no one touches me.”
A dark, rusted red car pulled up beside us. Agatha climbed out of the driver’s window and waved us over. “Let’s go...”
“That car looks as old and as mangled as you, Witch,” Kyra snorted from behind me.
“It may be old,” Agatha chuckled, “but it’s just as reliable as me…”
Kyra made a throaty noise that disagreed with Agatha’s response.
“Are we ready?” Duane asked. He opened the back door for Anna and me.
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” grinning, Agatha slid back into the driver’s seat.
“Be safe,” Lillianna pleaded, kissing her daughter’s forehead. She leaned over and kissed mine. “Both of you...”
Inside the car, Anna and I stared at each other. My heart was racing a million miles an hour, and I couldn’t calm it. Was I going to do this? I hugged myself, trying to hide my nervousness. Was I going to face the Alpha and Luna of the Mist Clan and tell them I was their daughter?
“I feel anxious about this too,” Anna admitted honestly, patting my knee.
“But you seem so calm.”
“That’s for show. Inside, I’m all frayed nerves.” She began to chew on her bottom lip. “Highly frayed nerves… That could come undone any minute…”
Duane climbed in the front passenger seat, and the next thing I knew, we were leaving a dimly lit dirt compound. Behind us, the compound was thrown into darkness.
“What do I say to them?” I caught Agatha’s glance in the rear vision mirror as I faced the front. “‘Hi... there was a mistake in the hospital... Your daughter was swapped with Hugh’s daughter… I’m sorry, but I’m your real daughter...?’”
Duane chuckled. He peered over his shoulder at me. “Something like that...”
“How long is the drive?” Anna asked. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, attempting to move the seatbelt from a sore ribcage. “An hour or so?”
“If we cut through the hills and avoid the Celestial Moon territory, we’ll get there in three hours...” Agatha nodded at me, then returned her eyes to the road.
“Aren’t you a witch?” Duane teased. “Can’t you snap your fingers and magic us there?”
“Don’t witches use magic for everything?” Anna added as she continued to wriggle in her seat.
“I don’t think we’ve seen you do any magic.” I watched Agatha’s side profile as she drove. “Have we?”
A coy grin spread across her lips, revealing a sliver of her front teeth. “What makes you think I haven’t?”
I turned to Anna, my hands heading straight to my face. “Did she cover my face in warts or something?”
Everyone in the car laughed.
“Isn’t that what witches do?” I asked. My cheeks started to burn with embarrassment.
“I have no reason to curse you, Jada.” Agatha met my eyes again. “But you did need assistance sleeping… So, I helped you and Anna with that.”
I stared back wide-eyed but half-expecting. “I thought I was sleepier after you touched my shoulder...”
“Me too…” Anna added.
“I am order,” she explained. She removed her gaze from me and focused on the road again. “My mother was chaos. I was always there to help, and she...” She trailed off.
“And she hindered?” I finished for her.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Ying and yang... She messed things up, and I fixed them.”
“What happened to your mother?” Anna asked curiously. She had finally found a comfortable position.
Agatha snorted and clicked her tongue simultaneously. “Burned at the stake... A befitting execution for someone hell-bent on creating chaos.”
“What about your dad?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No clue... He’s either dead... Or some ancient being... Not sure if he was human or something else entirely.”
“Imagine if you were part vampire,” Duane chortled. “Explains why you don’t age.”
“Vampires aren’t real.” Both Anna and I laughed together.
“Oh, they’re real...” Agatha’s voice had become emotionless and almost hostile. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. “They are seductive, manipulative, and dangerous...”
Anna and I shared a concerned glance.
“You werewolves never want to be mated to a vampire,” Agatha warned, annoyance in her voice, “He’ll lure you in with his charm and good looks, tell you he loves you, then try to sacrifice you to his coven when your back is turned.”
“Sounds like a vampire broke your heart,” Duane concluded softly.
“Broke... Devoured...” she sighed. “It’s all the same thing.”
“You never had the chance to tell me why your mother did this to me,” I said, leaning forward in the seat until the seatbelt clicked and restricted. “I get she was asked to do it… but what did she gain from it all?”
“A promise is a promise.” Agatha sighed. “And I did promise you the answers…” Her left hand went to her temple and massaged the skin in an attempt to either fight off a headache or summon the memory. “The Alpha of the Celestial Moon tasked my mother to swap you and the true Alpha daughter at birth. He was, and still is, hell-bent on destroying every neighbouring pack.” Agatha returned her hand to the steering wheel. “She could have refused, but my mother was never good at turning down jobs that created havoc.”
“What exactly did she do to his true Alpha daughter?” I asked, grabbing Anna’s hand for strength. “Did she curse her?”
“Yes,” Agatha nodded. Then she shrugged. “I don’t know what curse she used or who she is, but it will be strong enough to make the Celestial Moon’s Alpha daughter dangerous. That’s why I joined the rebellion. I want to end the curse before it destroys the balance.”
“I find it admirable that you’re doing this.” I patted her shoulder, making her half-smile. “We’re in this together.”
“Together…” she agreed.
After a minute of silence, Anna sat bolt upright in her seat and pointed towards the sky. “Hey, look ... it’s nearly a full moon ... and it’s a shade of blue I’ve never seen before.”
“A witches moon…” Agatha sighed deeply. “It is a bad omen to our kind. You should never trust it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Her words had a haunting appeal. I peered out the window to see an indigo moon shining on us in a cloudless sky. “It may be a bad omen, but it is beautiful...”
- Writer
