The Gamma's Dark Witch

13 - Family Dinner

(Nisha)

I slept on a bed of clouds. I prided myself on being able to make myself comfortable anywhere, but this was unlike anything I had ever felt. I woke up later than I had been; buttery morning sun filtered through cream curtains, and birds chirped outside the balcony door I didn’t fully close. This place felt like a dream.

I pulled out clothes from a drawer where I arranged my few packed belongings in another temporary hope. I took a long bath last night, so I would be fresh this morning.

I wasn’t sure where I was heading, but I figured down would be a good idea. A few others walked around the stairs and first floor. Some paused, and others smiled. What they knew about me did not matter. I was a guest of Islas.

“Nisha.” Jackson greeted me, standing tall near the front doors, talking to a group of large men and fit women. They eyed me warily until Jackson turned to me with a wide smile. “We were just about to start breakfast, do you..”

“Eat?” I asked.

“Uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Yes.”

“I do.” I smiled back at him. “Despite the hair and the fact I can’t change into an animal, we’re pretty similar, you know.” I winked.

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Well, I do now. You do give off some insane amount of don’t f.uck with me power, though,” he admitted, but there was a warm smile on his face. I glanced behind him to see the people around him shrugging and agreeing with him. “Follow me,” he said goodbye to his people and led me to a door off the main entrance.

A hall that seemed to reach the sky and windows as tall as the walls opened up and showed the landscape bathed in sunlight beyond. Even though the trees were still mostly bare, light green shoots of leaves peppered the dark branches. The view was stunning, and I paused. I don’t know how they could ever get used to this.

Jackson stopped, and I remembered myself. A long table reached the ends of the hall, and a crackling fireplace large enough to walk into was lit, even though Spring had now mostly reclaimed winter.

Isla was sitting at one side of the table with beautiful women with raven hair and streaks of silver. Her gray eyes widened when she saw me, and she smiled at me. The man next to her matched her warm smile, and I felt very... Welcomed.

“This is Abigial and Jim. My adoptive parents.” Isla beamed at them. “Jim is the head doctor, and Abigial, well, Abigial basically raised me. She’s my best friend.” Abigail’s smile turned to her.

“Lucas.” The shaggy brunette stood up and flashed me a bright smile pulling me into a hug.

“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that, and he let me go taking a step back, wrapping his arm around a woman with black curly hair, deep brown eyes, and golden-tanned skin.

“This is my mate, my Isabella.” Luca’s ocean-blue eyes pooled with love as he looked down at her and squeezed her close. I don't know why, but I was relieved to find that Cameron didn't seem to have a partner still.

“Hi,” she said, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. “It’s so nice to meet you. Officially”

“She’s new to the supernatural world.” Lucas shrugged. “Well, kind of. So forgive her manners, or staring, or whatever she might do to offend. Ouch-” Isabella jabbed him.

“It’s really nice to meet you.” She ignored her mate. “Come sit. You must be starved.”

Lucas pulled out a chair for me, and I gratefully accepted.

Food was piled in front of us on large plates. It smelled divine, and my stomach rumbled. I had been eating light while on the road, barely stopping to forage anything I didn’t readily pass and only eating what Soleil packed for me.

“What are you waiting for?” Lucas turned to me. “Dig in.”

I waited until others started to pile food on their plates for me to start doing the same. This was different than any meal I had before. We usually ate in silence or filled it with some small talk about the day. My sisters and I spent so many of our waking moments together we didn’t have much news. Many times, we would grab what we could and eat whenever we found time.

Chatter and laughter swelled around me. Everyone had their own conversations and adding into the conversation at large.

“So, where are you based?” It took me a moment to realize that Lucas was talking to me.

“South, we’ve been staying with a friend for a few months until the snow cleared.”

“Then where to?” He jabbed a sausage with his fork and shoved the entire thing in his mouth. I saw his mate, Isabella, roll her eyes behind him, but she couldn’t help smiling at him.

I shrugged. “Wherever our path takes us.” I knew I sounded monotone, but there were only so many times you could hear the same words and repeat them. They seem to lose their meaning.

“That sounds nice.” Isabella sighed, and Lucas looked worried. “I mean, to live a life with no set plan. I don’t think I could survive like that but..” She shrugged, going back to her plate. “I see the merit.”

“Phew.” Lucas put his hand over his chest. “I was worried you were about to run off with her.”

“Never.” Isabella shook her head, smiling at her mate.

I wondered if they knew immediately with the bond or if it was something that clicked in place over time. I didn’t like the idea that some deity could decide your fate; so much of life was already chosen for you against your will. You didn’t get to choose where you were born or who you were born to, what species, what family, what advantages, or, more often, disadvantages.

Giving up the choice of your forever partner to someone else rubbed me the wrong way. I was glad that we didn’t have something like that. We had enough ambiguity, following the purpose of our creator. I was glad that I was at least left with a choice of who to f.uck, even if I knew our lifestyle would never condone anything as lasting as a life partner.

“How long can you stay?” Isla asked, her cheeks flushed, and she fanned herself with a napkin.

“Until I can be certain I know enough to bring back to Soleil. She is the expert, and I’ll make sure that you’ll receive her recommendations.” I thought back to Soleil’s words. I didn’t understand exactly what I was supposed to be doing, but I would figure out as much as I could about this place.

“Stay as long as you’d like,” Isla offered.

“I think I’ll only need a few days,” I said. It both seemed like a long time and too short at once.

Cameron walked in, and I tensed. The air felt charged in a way that I couldn't describe outside of magic. Everyone was silent, and I didn’t understand why. He seemed to be a part of the group, but maybe he was on the outside.

“Come sit,” Lucas called to him.

“I was just getting some coffee,” Cameron mumbled. I looked at him briefly, and his jaw ticked before he found his feet and walked past us. “I ate with the warriors earlier,” he said, heading out another set of double doors.

Isla glanced at Abigial and Jackson, and Lucas slumped back in his chair.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He’s just a bit,” Lucas said, sighing.

“Uptight,” Isabella suggested, and Lucas laughed.

“Yes,” Lucas replied, turning to me. “He’s wary of us.”

“Witch-type things?” I suggested.

“Strangers,” Lucas corrected, his face seemed tenser than I saw it all morning, so I decided to drop it.

Isabella excused herself to get back to studying something that Lucas explained as computer magic.

Isla and Jackson offered to show me around. Abigial joined us, and after Jackson had to leave, bundling Isla up on a bench outside, Abigail continued to show me the gardens and a few short paths beyond.

I felt alive here, more so than anywhere we had ever visited. I was struck by a rippling chord of envy. A feeling I wasn't unfamiliar with, but it made it hard to bear sometimes here. Seeing them all so settled and confident in a place that I could find no flaw in. I wondered why some creatures were made for simple lives revolving around others and their family, and others were made as pawns for an unknown purpose.