“Kai, come on. We haven’t seen you in months! The kids are begging to see you,” Reese’s sweet voice came through the phone.
It had been over 6 months since I had seen the twins last. They were almost 2 years old now and quite the handful. Reese was Luna of not one, but two packs in the area. We had met each other in a rather odd situation where a crazy uncle was trying to blackmail me into breaking her bonds with her alpha mates, Eli and Hunter, so I could get my sister back. It turned out Reese was pregnant and I had no interest in coming between a soon to be mother and her child - especially a she-wolf and her pup. That was basically murder talk.
“Alright, alright. I’ll see if I can sneak away in a couple weeks and make a trip out there. But no promises! I do have a coven to run, you know,” I tell her, though I knew my sister Kali was itching to take on more duties and would gladly take over for a few days so I could get away.
After a few more minutes of catching up, one of the twins started screaming in the background and Reese had to rush to whatever aid they needed. I had to admit - I had been avoiding visiting my dear friends. No matter how close I had become with Reese and her mates, I couldn’t lie that I was slightly jealous of what they had. I was going to be 27 in just a few short months and had yet to meet my mate. Mates were rare for witches, but normally the more powerful a witch was, the better chance they had at finding their mate. I had no doubt I had one out there..I just hadn’t come across him or her. Not to be a downer, but it was starting to slowly eat at me. I longed for that connection with another. While I had both females and males throwing themselves at me left and right, I had zero interest in any of them. And I had already made up my mind of not taking a chosen mate - I was powerful enough. At this point, mating wasn’t about gaining power - it was about gaining love.
I finished up a few small tasks in my newly refurbished office and decided I would take a stroll around the grounds - it was important to keep on good terms with every member of my coven - it kept us all strong. If a coven didn’t have a strong bond, they were nothing. Every single member had to feel cherished and important for the magic to bend at our will.
Passing through the manor, I luckily didn’t run into anyone. While most werewolf pack houses let wolves live in their main pack house, a coven was slightly different. Witches lived on the estate grounds, but the manor was only housed by the coven leader, or grand master (yours truly) and the council members. The council of the Waverly coven was voted in - just how I liked it. I wasn’t a dictator and I sure as hell wanted my council to question my decisions. A good leader needed to be checked at every decision - that’s how we stayed strong and aligned.
Making my way to the garden, my usual spot to take an afternoon walk, I started feeling a little off. Not in a “I think I ate something bad” off, but in a “something is different or is about to change” off. It wasn’t a bad feeling though - I was normally pretty confident with feelings and if it didn’t feel ominous, then it wasn’t. Though I didn’t know if the feeling was about me particularly or if it was for my coven. Time would tell.
Our garden here at Waverly estate was beautiful - there wasn’t any other word for it. Every rose, every vine and every flower was in its perfect spot. Every shrub was perfectly trimmed. Nothing was out of line. The paths lead to four different diamond sections of the garden, each with their own focal point - Air, earth, wind and fire. The four elements.
Every witch had their natural element that they excelled in, but then there were also witches we considered special - special beyond the four elements. My sister and I were two of those special kinds. Kali was a healer - she connected with the earth. While there were earth witches, not all earth witches could heal. Now I was a different case - since I was leader of our coven I possessed power from all four elements, which was special in itself, but that wasn’t what made me so special. My talent was of the mind and soul. I could read a person’s soul and see what thoughts passed through their head - see everything about them. There was no hiding anything if I really put my mind to it.
“Kai! It’s about time you got out of that stuffy office of yours! Though if my office was near as fancy as yours, I’d probably spend more time in it, too,” Kali joked as she ran up beside me. My sister with her deep red hair and ocean blue eyes - We could pass for identical twins if not for her being 10 months younger. Our skin color was exactly the same - a beautiful tanned olive tone, hair color and eyes identical, even the strong shape of our jaws and our feminine eye shape was exactly the same. The only difference between the two of us was her slender, shorter frame compared to my 6’3 height and muscular body. That and Kali’s hair reached her waist and I liked to keep mine in a tousled short style that fell right above my eyes.
“Some of us have work to do, sis. Like run an entire coven, for example.”
“Yeah, about that. Reese called me earlier today and wants you to come visit their packs. I know you hate leaving the coven, but I promise you I can handle it! I won’t get into the same situation I did with Arlo - that was a huge mistake. I know that and I know better now.”
Kali had been taken by the late Alpha Arlo, who just so happened to be Reese’s mate, Alpha Hunter’s uncle. He was a complete psycho and had tricked poor Kali into believing he genuinely cared for her. The man was 25 years her senior, yet that hadn’t been a red flag to her. I loved my baby sister, but sometimes she could be incredibly gullible. She believed all people were good..too good. That was a beautiful trait to have, but also a potentially deadly one. She trusted too easily.
“Listen, Kali..I know you,” I started to say and was abruptly cut off.
“Please, Kai. Let me prove myself. I’m your sister, after all. You’ve trained me yourself. Let me do this. Please let me show the rest of the coven I didn’t fail mom and dad. Even though they aren’t here anymore, I want to make them proud.”
Well, s**t. That was one way of twisting my arm - bringing our dead parents into the matter. And I couldn’t deny it, I was a complete pushover for my baby sister even though I hated admitting it.
“Oh..fine. I guess a few days wouldn’t hurt. I’ll make plans and let you know the final dates. I’ll let the council know, too.”
“YES! Kai, you’re the best!! Thank you thank you thank you! I promise I won’t disappoint you!” Kali screamed as she jumped into my arms and kissed me on the cheek. She ran off without even saying goodbye, leaving me to my own thoughts.