Her Powerful Witch Mate

Prologue

Kirra

Australia is a land with a past. A past that has survived the test of time. Sixty thousand years back  Australia had absorbed the movement of the aboriginals from the Malay archipelago, the movements of animals like the dingoes four thousand years back and the movement of the white settlers in the sixteen hundreds.

Along with the humans came the non-humans. Disguised as travellers, they journeyed with humans to find better lands in the unknown world. She saw the history of her land flash in the eyes of her people who were witnessing the ceremony that day.

The stories of this land were passed down from the ancient dwellers to them. Some stories spoke about how the humans and the non-humans appeared and perished but the land survived. How the land imbibed the spirits of those who were gone and continued to gather strength from the dream time. 

"I, the granddaughter of Alpha Waru, of the Blood Moon clan accept the responsibility of leading my clan and protecting it from all dangers, physical and spiritual. Today I vow to give precedence to my clan over every personal gain,"  said Kirra and slit her left palm. She offered her blood to the Moon Goddess on their sacred Altar and shifted.

Her people were in awe of her darkest brown fur with a tuft of cream on her left flank. It corresponded with the birthmark that she had in her human form. When she was in her wolf form, it was shaped like a witch's orb and had a patch of shiny cream hair.

She knew her crystal grey eyes would be shining with determination. It made her people bow to her in respect and submission.

She was the Alpha of the most powerful clan of Australia.

*****

James

Australia, a land of equal opportunities, famous for responsible governance, a welcoming land that accepts people from all over the world.

His ancestors arrived on this land in the seventeen hundreds in a convict ship. Ironically, they were accused of witchcraft, he chuckled to himself as he set his cameras up in different areas in the woods around his camper.  

Some people from their ships tortured and destroyed the original dwellers of this beautiful land. Thankfully some people survived the onslaught. 

His kind helped the local dwellers; including the humans, werewolves, vampires and all other creatures who roamed on this land. His ancestors took notice of the local folklore and stories. They used the knowledge and strength of these stories to grow stronger.

Camped in a deserted forest land near Myponga where he had gone to solve the mystery of his lineage, he was sitting in his Merc camper van watching the feeds from the cameras outside. He was a filmmaker and a faculty for film and television courses at the Swinburne University in Melbourne.

His love for alternative cinema, his artistic vision and creative sensibilities had garnered him acclaims and awards from all over the world. 

He loved his work and he loved what he was. He was thankful to the moon God for his luck. His parents had been able to give him a decent life. 

They had suffered in their childhood, yet they had managed to keep him safe, given him love and education and made it possible for him to explore his identity. His rigorous physical, mental and spiritual training by his mentor had come to fruition when he received the intimation from the Keeper of the Orb. Now he was the most powerful witch in the entire continent.

His mother & his mentor both had insisted that he visits Myponga. His mentor had an epiphany that it was time to unravel his destiny. Finally, at 28 he was going to find out more about himself, he thought.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to get out of this sleepy little place but he knew that his guide never did anything without a reason and his mum was very perceptive to subtle changes in her environment. So he storyboarded for a doco, applied for the necessary licenses with the government, got his project approved by the University and now here he was! All alone in the forest!! But he did not feel lonely. He never felt lonely! 

He had the power of all the 5 elements. He could connect with his surroundings easily. His orb on the aconite kitchen counter snoozing. It was a family heirloom passed on to him by his mentor.

As he sat reading about the flora and fauna of the surrounding areas, planning for his newest artistic venture, his orb started to vibrate. He looked at it curiously. The only other time it had vibrated was 5 years back when he had accepted the allegiance to the 'Amenables'.

The vibrations increased and the orb began to glow with a silvery white light. The orb’s light was in stark contrast with the dim warm lights of his van. The twilight made its glow predominantly eerie. Suddenly he saw shadows move inside the globe.

He peered over it in excitement and was stunned to see a dark brown wolf, the darkest he had ever seen, with crystal grey eyes, look straight at him from the Orb. It was as if the animal was looking right into his soul.

He felt his heartbeats change their rhythm and a sharp piercing pain on his right flank, as if someone had branded him with something hot. He did not bother to look where the pain came from. He was mesmerised by the beauty of what he saw in the Orb. He knew he could stare at that enchanting face forever.

"Who is this buddy?" he said softly. The scene in the orb changed to a lightly wooded forest with a pack of wolves. He saw himself standing amongst the wolves as a gentle breeze teased his shoulder length, curly brown hair. He looked happy. 

"So the brown wolf is going to make me happy?" he asked and the orb gave a warm glow and went back to its silent, inert self.  

He knew about werewolves. All his kind knew about them. One of them had gone crazy and waged a war against the witches, killing most of them. He wanted to erase the entire witch population from Australia. The few who survived were trying to build their lives in secrecy, waiting for someone to save them.

He felt a slight tingling on his flank where he had just minutes before experienced burning. It felt like a cool piercing sensation now. He stood in front of the mirror and lowered the right side of his boxers. He was stunned to find the most beautiful brown wolf tattoo on his fair skin.

So this is what it feels like to connect with your soulmate! Now he only had to find her and seal their magical bond.

But what did the brown wolf mean? Was it metaphorical or literal? Why was he sent here? What did Myponga have in store for him?

With a thousand questions and a restless mind he went to bed and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

*****