The Witch Prophecy

by Mary Goldberger

  Chapter 1

  “I do not want an unknown human here,” snarled Caden Brody.

  His sister sighed, “I understand Caden, but it is for a school project and it being my last year, I would like to keep my grades up.”

  He growled and his black eyes flashed with unwanted memories of a woman he would rather forget.

  “Fine, but keep her out of the main rooms,” he relented reluctantly and crossly.

  “Thank you, big brother,” she said kissing his cheek.

  He nodded his head as he returned his attention back to the paperwork on his desk.

  Jessa Brody walked out of her brother’s study with a frown wishing that the woman who brought those unwanted memories to her brother’s eyes was standing in front of her. It would give her immense pleasure to hit the woman just once to give back some of the pain that her brother suffered.

  “Jessa,” a voice said and she turned to her partner for their history project. The young woman looked at her with wary grey eyes and yet Jessa didn’t see any suspicion or awareness in them.

  Jessa rearranged her face as she smiled, “Sorry, Abella.”

  “No problem,” she said shaking her head slowly as her shoulder length brown hair swung back and forward. “But why don’t we meet at my house for now on?”

  Jessa frowned at her wondering if she knew that she stood in the house of one of the strongest packs of werewolves in the States, the Fidelitas Pack, which Jessa shook her head at until she learned what it meant; the loyal pack. She didn’t discern much about Abella Deans considering she transferred in this year although Jessa knew that her grades were above average. She reminded herself to talk with Ms. Helms at school tomorrow for some information on Abella.

  Her eyes widened when Abella’s mouth turned up at the corners, “Your brother seemed upset to have a visitor in the house and I don’t want to be a bother to any of you.”

  Jessa nodded her head saying thoughtfully, “I believe you may have a good idea and I apologize in advance for my brother’s attitude.”

  She glanced at Abella narrowly when she shook her head at her words before she sighed and closed her eyes at her fanciful thoughts. Most of the kids at school were from their pack with the exception of humans that attended the school. They were unaware of the existence of supernatural beings such as werewolves and most of the humans that new about werewolves were actually mated to one.

  She shook her head opening her eyes to glance at Abella. “We will go up to my room to work.”

  She led the way to her room where they sat down and begin to discuss what they should do for their project.

  An hour later, both Jessa and Abella closed their books.

  “I dislike doing projects like this,” Jessa moaned. “Give me ten to twenty page reports and I am happy.”

  Abella laughed as she placed her books into her backpack.

  “We should be done in no time,” she advised as the door opened.

  “Jessa, honey,” the man said with a smile until he spotted Abella. He tensed up and his smile froze as he glared at her.

  “Baby,” Jessa said jumping off the bed, “This is my classmate, Abella Deans. We are working on a project together.” She walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around her protectively, “Abella, this is my ma…boyfriend, Timothy James.”

  Abella nodded her head noting how his blue-green eyes were hard with anger although she had a feeling it wasn’t truly aimed at her in particular.

  “Hello,” he said in a cold voice.

  Then ignoring her, he gazed down at Jessa and said, “Dinner is ready. Caden asked me to come and get you.”

  Jessa perceived the emphasize he put on “you” and frowned at him her eyes burning at his impolite attitude.

  However, before she could say anything, Abella was already speaking, “I need to get going, Jessa.”

  Jessa turned to look at her as she swung her backpack over her shoulder and glanced at her watch.

  Abella looked up at her and smiled, “See you tomorrow in school. It was my pleasure to meet you, Timothy.”

  She walked out of the bedroom and they followed her. Jessa watched as she headed for the front door before she called out.

  “I am sorry, Abella.”

  Abella turned and gazed at her with a question in those grey eyes, “For what, Jessa?”

  Jessa rolled her eyes as she laughed, “See you tomorrow.”

  Abella had just opened the door when the click-clack of heels on the uncarpeted floor echoed through the hallway and they all turned as an impertinent voice spoke.

  “Who the hell is she?” a sharp female voice said in an angry tone.

  Jessa scowled as she said, “A friend, Jenna.”

  Jenna glared at Abella who had turned to look at look at her with the door slightly opened and her face was expressionless.

  “Does your brother know she is here?” Jenna asked with a growl.

  “Yes, he does,” Jessa said before she turned back to Abella ignoring Jenna. “Goodbye, Abella.”

  Abella nodded her head opening the door wider and walking out not bothering to glance back behind her as she felt burning eyes staring at her.

  As soon as the door closed, Jessa wiped the smile off her face and turned to glare at Jenna. “Maybe you should show some respect next time, Jenna, to my visitors.”

  “Jessa, I am just looking out for you brother,” Jenna said with a roll of her eyes.

  “I know who you are looking out for, Jenna,” Jessa mocked before she walked past her heading to the dining room.

  Everyone was already sitting at the table and from the disheartened expressions, Jessa was aware that what spoken in the hallway had been broadcasted to the rest of the house.

  “Don’t worry, Caden,” Jessa said as she sat down, “Until we finish the project, we will be meeting at her house.”

  She felt Timothy next to her tense, but Jessa focused on her brother who stiffened in his chair. They stared at each other for a few minutes before he nodded his head slowly and said quietly, “Just be careful.”

  She smiled as they began to eat and she noticed the smug smile on Jenna’s face as she sat down next to Caden.

  Jessa lowered her eyes to her plate not wanting to see her brother making out with the slut of the pack. Ever since his mate Leana left, he changed and she wished there was someone out there who could make him happier than Leana ever could. She sighed as she began to eat the food on her plate not tasting it as her mind wandered.

  On the opposite side of town, Abella let herself into her small cottage. She closed the door and walked in the living room on her way to the kitchen.

  The place was dark as she swung her backpack on the couch and headed for the kitchen turning the light on. She opened up the refrigerator making a mental note to go shopping tomorrow as she grabbed a few eggs and other ingredients before shutting the door. She made an omelet with what she had and sat down at the table eating it.

  As she ate, she thought about Jessa and where she lived absently wondering what was with the big house even though it was a beautiful three story house. She frowned as she finished her omelet and got up to wash the dishes from the simple meal. Jessa had been frowning when she left the office and Abella had caught his initial words when they first entered the house. There was something strange about them, but she shook her head ruefully reminding herself it was none of her business. She turned off the water and dried her hands with the dishtowel before she headed out the door. She flipped the switch for the light before grabbing her backpack and checking to make sure she locked the front door, she headed upstairs to her room.

  She sighed as she entered the room, and placed the backpack in the chair by her desk. She gazed at the picture on the nigh
tstand next to the bed and murmured, “Getting involved will only cause trouble.”

  In the picture, a man and a woman stood with their arms wrapped around each other; the woman had blondish-brown hair with hazel eyes and the man had dark brown hair with grey eyes, and they were laughing at the little toddler girl who sat at their feet with brown hair and grey eyes. Abella smiled gently at the photo as she sat down on the bed her grey eyes still staring at the picture.

  “Hi mom, dad,” Abella sighed allowing her body to fall back across the bed and she stared up at the white ceiling blankly. Her grey eyes filled with sorrow and pain as she thought about her parents who she lost three years ago when a group of witch hunters attacked them on their way home from a local carnival. Her parents knowing Abella would be a strong witch even at the age of six, decided to tell her early about the fact she came from a long line of witches. Abella closed her tormented eyes as she thought about her parents, her pretty, but stubborn mother, and her handsome but odd father. Abella had always wondered how her father and mother met since it was the one thing she never remembered her parents telling her. Even with her father having no supernatural powers, he loved them unconditionally and when the attack occurred, he tried to protect them, but died in the process. Abella had almost died herself, but strangers found her and took her to the nearest hospital where she had to recuperate for three months. In those three months, Abella had nightmares almost every night so she built a shield to protect herself as the doctor, and the nurses questioned her about the nightmares. The doctor had called in a psychiatrist after she wouldn’t answer their questions and he diagnosed her with partial amnesia, as she could not recall what happened after they were attack, which increased the shield she built within herself. The shield came in handy when after her release from the hospital, relatives on her father’s side took her in. She learned early that they did not really want her so she never could understand why they decided to take her in. For the next two years, they made her aware of how they viewed her but it was their snide remarks about her mother that she disliked the most. They considered her mom to be a “quack” who took her father off course of his rightful calling as a “doctor”; her father had been a chef while her mom had been a teacher and she smiled remembering how easy her witch training had been because of it. She learned a year later when she turned 17 why her dad’s relatives took her in when her mom and dad’s lawyer contacted her few days after her birthday. Of course, her relatives had wanted to go with her but the lawyer would only speak with her, which frustrated them. She remembered her shock when she sat in the lawyer’s office and learned that her mom and dad had left her an inheritance. The inheritance was from a distant relative given to her mother at the time of Abella’s birth and her parents had added to it over the years through their hard work. Although the inheritance didn’t make her wealthy, the sum of what they left her was enough for her go to college if she decided to go and be able to take care of herself during that time without relaying on a job while she went to school. She had been stunned even more when the lawyer asked her if she was happy with her guardians and Abella had found herself confiding him about her situation. When she returned to her relatives, she had been still stunned at what she had learned although she didn’t disclose what the lawyer told her only to discover her relatives had known about the inheritance and it was the reason they had took her in unaware her parents had made sure to protect their daughter’s inheritance. They assumed that as her guardians they would have control of it when she came into it, but the clause prevented that and her lawyer, after she confided him suggested that he could file a petition on her behalf to remove them as her guardians. Abella took the lawyer’s advice and petitioned the courts to make her independent of them, and within two months of learning of her inheritance, she had moved out of their house although it had taken longer for the courts to approve the petition. Her lawyer had found a place for her to live with the approval of the courts until the petition passed and she became responsible for herself. Not too long after the courts finally approved of her petition, she moved away from them and to this town. She scanned the room from her bed and she had to smile at how lucky she had been when she first arrived in the area. She found this cottage not too long after she moved wanting to finish school but in another part of the state from her relatives. She loved it immediately although she tried not to and it took her the rest of the time before the school term started to get her self settle in after weeks of negotiating with the owners to sell to her. With her new home, she went back to training her witch powers, which she never stopped doing in the three years since her parents death although it had been difficult to do while keeping it a secret from her dad’s relatives.

  She closed her eyes as flashes came to her but just as before, they quickly faded away and she sighed in frustration. Three years since their deaths, she thought to herself, and she still couldn’t recall what happened that night although the nightmares were still present. She got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom to fill the bathtub waving her hand as she entered and the candles located around the room immediately lit up. When she moved into the cottage, the lawyer who helped her forwarded a box full of things from her parents. In the box, Abella found her father’s recipe books, which made her smile, and tears came to her eyes when she saw her mom’s spell books including the carved box she placed in her living room. She had been startled to discover within the spell books, there were also training guides and references for her, and Abella, in that moment, realized her mom most have suspected something awful was going to happen before she finished training her. She knew her mom hadn’t been your average witch and she remembered her mother telling her once jokingly she could see in to the future. It was only after Abella did some research that she learned her mom’s ability, which she learned was precognition, had limitations as she could see probable outcomes based on certain actions and with that knowledge, her parents prepared for the worst probable outcome for their daughter.

  She finished her bath and went to bed wiping her mind of all thoughts hoping for a decent night’s sleep. The nightmares, which plagued her since she was in the hospital, never left so sleep was rare without waking up with her sheets drenched in sweat and she hoped tonight would be one of her good ones.

  Chapter 2

  The next day after school, Abella went shopping to replenish her empty refrigerator when she ran into Jessa and her boyfriend, Timothy.

  “Abella,” Jessa called out recognizing her in line.

  “Hi Jessa,” Abella smiled as she unloaded her cart.

  “Do you think we can get together tonight and work on the project?” Jessa asked.

  “Sure why not,” Abella said with shrug of her shoulders as she waited for the cashier to finish ringing her up.

  “We will have a chaperone,” she added with a grimace tilting her head to the man at her side.

  Abella laughed as the cashier finished and gave her the total, and she paid before saying, “He doesn’t trust me and wants to protect you.”

  Her statement surprised Jessa and Timothy as Abella said “thank you” to the cashier. Before she pushed the cart out the door, she said, “I will text you my address. Send me a message when you are ready to come over.”

  Jessa nodded her head still surprised at Abella’s words before she glanced behind her meeting Timothy’s eyes noting his own surprise had caused his eyes to narrow.

  Abella went out to her car where she loaded the trunk with her groceries and the whole time, she was conscious of eyes on her. She closed the trunk after she finished unloading and pushed the cart to the trolley looking around as she walked back to her car. She opened the car about to get in when her eyes made contact with a male in a duel cab Ford truck. His black eyes, the only aspect of the individual she could view, stared at her without blinking and the swirling emotion she recognized in his eyes held her captive. She had a feeling the stranger was trying to speak to her and with an effort, she pulled her gaze away and sl
id inside her car slamming the door behind her. Her body was shaking and she said a slight chant used to ease her mind a chant her mom taught her when something upset or worried her. Once calm, she shook her head at her foolish thoughts and started for home.

  Caden Brody scowled his eyes following the young woman as she walked back to her car and drove out of the parking lot. He had observed her loading the groceries in her car to pass the time while he waited for his sister and her mate, his Beta. He would have turned away then if he hadn’t noted her scan around her when she put the cart up. When she had walked back to her car, she still had been looking around until her grey eyes met his black ones. The minute his black eyes had met her grey ones, he had felt a pull like nothing he ever felt before including for his own mate.

  His wolf’s confusion vibrated through Caden as he muttered she is not our mate, but there is something about her.

  Could she be our second mate? Caden asked dryly with a touch of sarcasm. In their world, Alphas had one true mate and if the mate rejected them then they didn’t get a second chance to rediscover the bond one only had with their mate.

  You know the answer to that question, his wolf stated with a growl.

  Caden recalled how their eyes had remained locked until with an effort that amused him, she tore her eyes away and got in her car. She sat there for a few seconds before she shook her head and pulled out of the parking lot, which for some reason he found oddly pleasing.

  The opening of the door pulled him out of his thoughts as Jessa said coldly, “I know that you don’t trust her, Timothy, but what will you do while we work on our project?”

  Timothy frowned as he said, “I will find something.”

  Jessa snorted, “Don’t be an ass. Abella is not going to hurt me.”

  “What about her parents?” Timothy asked in a brooding tone as they loaded the groceries before getting in the truck. Jessa settled in the back seat as Timothy slid in the passenger seat next to Caden as he asked, “Do you know anything about her?”