The Witch Prophecy

by Mary Goldberger

  “But why?” Abella said putting a hand to her head as all the information went swirling around in it.

  “Because with my mother gone, he assumed he would get the Alpha position,” Caden told her in a hard voice. He hesitated for a second, “Also we think he was involved with what happened a few months back.”

  Abella’s head snapped up and her grey eyes narrowed, and Caden nodded his head slowly, “We think that he was the leader behind the rogues, and I think his mate was one of the wolves that got away.”

  Abella frowned as she said slowly, “There was one particular woman who seemed to enjoy hitting me although the only thing she would say to me was that she was going to get me to tell her what she needed to know. At the time, I didn’t think how odd it was that her questions were…different then the other two who questioned me.” She looked at him, “She is the one I mentioned earlier to you.”

  Caden’s eyes narrowed at her talk of that time and his wolf snarled at the remembrance, but Caden closed his eyes and took a deep breathe to calm them both down.

  “So,” he said in a harsh voice. “What did this woman look like?”

  Abella frowned slightly her grey eyes thoughtful as she replied, “She was older than I originally thought.” She shook her head as her eyes came back into focus and she looked at him with a scowl, “I would have to actually see the woman. Besides, she would probably dislike me on sight.”

  “Why?” Caden asked with one raised eyebrow.

  Abella chuckled without humor, “She contacted a 12-hour bug if I did my spell right.”

  Caden couldn’t help the laugh that came out as her meaning became clear and she shook her head as a soft smile came to her lips.

  She looked down at the backpack and Caden seeing her look explained, “My mother’s diaries.”

  Abella bit her lip and then asked, “Do you mind if I read them?”

  Caden knew the answer before he had even thought about it, “I prefer that you kept them here.”

  Abella nodded her head and said, “I can put it in my room.” At his look, she chuckled, “My secret room, Caden.”

  Caden and his wolf both relaxed at her words, and he sunk back against her couch with closed eyes.

  “Caden,” Abella said about to ask what advice he wanted from her about Jessa when a slight snore came from him.

  Abella shook her head as another slight smile tugged at her lips and she quietly got up from the chair. She looked down at him for a moment before she said a slight chant that eased him from a sitting position to lying down on her couch. Then she did another chant that teleported the quilt at the end of her bed into her arms and she unfolded it placing it over him after she took off his shoes.

  She hesitated for a second before she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on his cheek, “Goodnight, Alpha Caden.”

  Grabbing the glasses, she went into the kitchen washing them before heading back through the living room where she grabbed the backpack and placed it in her secret room. She locked the door and checked on Caden one last time before heading up to her room.

  That night she had no nightmares and slept peacefully for the first time in weeks.

  The next morning, Caden groaned as his cell went off waking him up and he reached for it until he realized that it wasn’t on his nightstand.

  His eyes opened and he sat up looking around Abella’s living room as she came running downstairs.

  She stopped when she saw he was awake and she blushed slightly before saying, “Good morning.”

  He nodded his head and she grabbed her book bag, “I need to head to school. There is coffee if you drink it, but if you want anything else, you have to get it yourself.”

  Caden nodded his head as he stood up and Abella smiled before heading to the front door.

  “Abella,” Caden called, and she stopped to look back at him in confusion. “We never finished our talk from last night.”

  Abella’s confusion cleared and she said, “No, but I think what you wanted advice on is if you think Jessa should know the truth?”

  Caden nodded his head as he walked over to her and looked down into her grey eyes. She had to tilt her head back to keep eye contact with him and he nodded his head again.

  “Then I suggest,” she told him, “tell her the truth. If you were relieved that he wasn’t your father, then ask yourself how Jessa would feel when she finds out he isn’t her father?”

  Caden had to admit that he hadn’t thought about that, and he heard Abella say, “Before you tell her, though, I would learn more about her biological father.”

  His black eyes gleamed with a different light and he watched as Abella’s eyes widened before he leaned down and placed his lips against hers. The kiss was light, but it still caused Caden’s breathe to catch and as he drew back, he noticed that Abella was breathing rapidly.

  He was smug as he said to her huskily, “Time for you to go to school.”

  “O…Okay,” she stammered out, and he chuckled at her response. He watched as Abella threw him a narrowed look before she walked out the door and he listened for her car as it started up. He closed her front door and headed for the kitchen after grabbing his cell phone from his jacket pocket.

  After pouring a cup of coffee, he checked his missed call and noticing it was from Timothy, he frowned. He took a sip from his coffee as he dialed Timothy’s number and waited for him to answer.

  “Hello,” Timothy said into the phone.

  “Hi Timothy,” Caden said opening Abella’s refrigerator to see what he could make, and his eyes crinkled at the corners at the stocked refrigerator. Pulling a few things out, he continued, “I am guessing since you called me on my cell and not through the pack link that it isn’t important.”

  Caden heard Timothy’s chuckle as he answered, “No, but I was tired hearing of Jenna and Devin asking where you were. So where did you spend the night?”

  “Did Jessa get off to school all right?” Caden asked ignoring Timothy’s question.

  “Yes, she did,” Timothy replied taking the hint. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Not really,” Caden said, and then he asked, “Timothy, can you get some information on a fighter wolf by the name of Jared Jenkins.”

  “Sure,” Timothy told him, but Caden could hear the question in his voice.

  “Get any information you can find about him for me,” Caden said. “Don’t worry, Timothy, I will tell you why I need the information.”

  He heard Timothy laugh as he said, “Caden, you never ask for anything without a reason.”

  Caden smiled although all he said, “Thank you, Timothy. I will be home in about an hour.”

  After saying goodbye, he quickly made an omelette and settled down at the table to eat while he scanned her kitchen liking what he saw.

  His wolf was content, he noticed, and he asked, you seem to be relaxed.

  I like her was his wolf’s response, and Caden was satisfied with his answer as he washed his dishes.

  Going back into the living room, he noticed that the backpack was gone and he frowned slightly before pulling his phone from his pocket.

  He sent a text to Abella: Did u move the backpack? Caden

  A few minutes later, his phone vibrated and he flipped it open to read her text, and he smiled: Put it in my secret room…don’t worry, Alpha, it is safe. Abella

  He shook his head as he put the phone in his pocket and folded the quilt Abella put over him. He placed it on the end of the couch before picking up his jacket and walking to the door where he frowned until his phone beeped at him again.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled it out to open: Close the door behind you and I will take care of the rest. Abella

  He did as she told him but he frowned and went to go open the door again when his eyes widened in stunned disbelief before he laughed aloud. His wolf did a gruff growl that Caden took as a laugh and shaking his head, he headed for his truck and back to the pack house.

  Once he pulled in front
of the pack house, his black eyes were back to flickering with anger and the smile was gone from his mouth that had straightened into a grim line.

  He climbed out of his truck and headed inside hoping that Timothy had found what he needed because he wanted to talk with Jessa that night.

  Chapter 15

  Abella straightened from where she was crouched on the floor straightening the books as asked to do. She bit her lip wondering if she was going to be allowed to stay because today her review was due. She sighed loudly as she stretched her back before heading back to the desk. Her grey eyes scanned the room noting how quiet it was today even for a library. Normally there was whispering, footsteps as people walked around the aisles, even an occasional cough, but today the library was eerie quiet, and it made Abella uneasy. She walked back to the desk and she felt it, eyes on her watching her every move. Her own eyes flashed with anger because she was starting to dislike this feeling. She knew her training wasn’t complete yet, but she needed to do something so she settled down on the stool behind the desk and taking a deep breathe she clenched her fists in her lap, and focused on those eyes. She didn’t know where the person was, or even who it was but she knew someone was watching her.

  Her eyes went blank as she concentrated on the staring eyes and suddenly she gasped as her eyes went wide. She could see the person not clearly, but enough to know that they were there.

  Then she asked in her mind not thinking she would get an answer, who are you? Why do you watch me?

  She sensed the person jerk as if surprised before it answered, you are not ready for what is to come, but it will be here sooner than we suspect.

  Abella gasped aloud as she gripped the counter hard and her eyes came back into focus, and she unconsciously turned to where the figure stood.

  Mrs. Benders stepped forward her eyes never shifting from Abella as she stated, “You are strong. In fact, I think you are even stronger than you give yourself credit for. Have you tried what you just did before?”

  Abella frowned as she said quietly, “Only once, and it wasn’t intentional. I was thinking about the person when I saw him in my mind.”

  Mrs. Benders nodded her head as she turned slightly waving her arm and Abella watched the door closed and locked.

  “What about…?” Abella began only to stop when Mrs. Benders turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “There is no one else here,” she said striding pass her. She threw over her shoulder, “You knew it that was why you were uneasy and did what you did.”

  “What did I do?” Abella asked after a few seconds. She followed Mrs. Benders into the back of the library and she didn’t answer as she stopped in front of an old section of books that no one really used.

  Abella watch as she looked at her before lifting a hand and sweeping it across the books in a graceful arch before the wall actually began to move.

  Abella jumped at the grating noise and looked at Mrs. Benders in confusion, but the librarian wasn’t looking at her.

  Mrs. Benders waited until the wall stopped revealing a small passage and stepped through stopping slightly as if waiting and Abella swallowed but followed wondering what she was in stored for.

  The wall closed behind them as Mrs. Benders walked along the passage and Abella followed her hands stuck in her pockets, but her eyes were wary and alert.

  “You asked what is it you can do,” Mrs. Benders said in soft voice as they strolled along the passage. “It doesn’t have a known name although many consider it to be clairvoyance.”

  Abella shook her head at that, “No, my mother had clairvoyance and it was nothing like this.”

  Mrs. Benders sent her look over her shoulder, “No, my dear, your mother’s gift wasn’t exactly clairvoyance although it was easier for her to explain.”

  Abella’s eyes went up in astonishment but before she could ask her what she meant, they came to a solid door. Mrs. Benders reached out a hand and opened it with just a touch, and Abella was amazed when it opened so easily.

  “It only responds to those with true witch blood,” Mrs. Benders explained, which did nothing but confuse Abella more.

  The door closed behind them as they entered the room, and Abella was stunned to see that the room was similar, if bigger, than her own secret room at her house.

  “As witches,” Mrs. Benders said going over to a table that sat against one wall, “we tend to find a place that allows us to work without prying eyes. It is where we feel safe and secure when we are not around someone who does that for us.”

  “Someone,” Abella repeated slowly as she looked at her in confusion. Then she shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

  “I know you don’t, dear,’ Mrs. Benders said. “Your mother died before she could explain everything to you although she had taught you what you needed to know. Jed told me that you kept up your practice as much as you could after their deaths.”

  Abella nodded her head as she walked toward the middle of the room and automatically sat down before responding, “I did as much as I could but it was hard. After I moved out on my own, I trained harder and Uncle Jed helped me a lot more, but my training is not completely finished is it.”

  Mrs. Benders nodded her head, and she told her, “But before your training can be completed, you need to remember everything from that night.”

  For some reason, Abella’s hands began to sweat and her eyes watered. “I have been having dreams about that night,” she confided in a sad voice.

  “But not everything,” Mrs. Benders pressured. “Your dreams are circling around what happened but you haven’t finished them. You force yourself not to remember what you need to the most.”

  Tears started to slide down Abella’s cheeks as she whispered, “Because if I do, then…”

  Mrs. Benders shook her head, “No, he asked you to remember that he loved you and your mother. He died for you no matter what anyone else told you.”

  Mrs. Benders lifted her hands and a fire sprung up around Abella who froze where she sat. “It is time that you remembered everything.”

  Abella’s eyes widened, and she shook her head, “No, I don’t want to remember…”

  Before she could finish the sentence, the room went dark, and she fell to the floor as the block in her mind broke apart, as if it was glass.

  Abella heard them ran off but she focused on her mom and dad, and she watched as her dad strolled toward her.

  “Later you will ask yourself how he knew my name,” her father whispered placing a hand on her cheek to her confused mind and aching body felt warm.

  Her father sighed as Abella looked up into the grey eyes that she inherited, “He knows who I am because I was one of them.”

  As his words sunk in, Abella’s eyes widened and her body screamed in pain as she stiffened.

  “Baby girl, listen to him, and relax,” her mother said coming over to kneel against him. She looked up at her father and whispered, “Honey, you need to hurry. They will be here soon.”

  Her father nodded his head as her mother laid her other hand against his cheek, and he turned his head to kiss it before continuing. “When I first met your mother, my job was to learn her habits and then to take her as it was discovered that your mother was the last of the bloodline of one of the original witches. It was my job to get her to trust me, and as I was very good, to get her to accept me. My uncle laughed and said I should even get her to fall in love with me, and at the time, I felt disgust at the idea. Then I met your mother and my world fell about her. I tried so hard on to hang to my training as a hunter, my responsibilities, but they started to change as I fell in love with her.”

  Her mother smiled slightly, “He didn’t know that I was already in love with him although I knew that he could hurt me more than anyone else ever could, and I was right.”

  Her mother looked at her father and he looked at her with such sorrow that Abella, even 15 years old, knew in that moment that he loved her mother with everything he was.

  “I j
ust learned I was pregnant with you,” her mother said looking down at Abella, “when your father took me from my home and to his uncle. His uncle loved telling me how I had been tricked and fooled by the best witch hunter in the world, and how I was going to give him something in return. I was heartbroken at what I learned, but I was a witch and taught never to coward down in front of anyone least of all a witch hunter. He taunted me with what he had done and how your father had used me, but I realized that he hadn’t known that we had made love. David hadn’t told him that, and for some reason that gave me hope, although I didn’t ask myself why. I think he was thinking of torturing me and I was worried about you, my child, when your father had enough.”

  Her father picked up the story and Abella could hear voices in the distant coming closer, “As I watched Glenda look at him without backing down, I knew that I loved her and I knew that no matter what, I wasn’t going to let her die. I also learned what my uncle truly wanted from her,” her father shook his head at this. “My uncle through all his talk of witches being of unnatural creatures and symbols of evil, he wanted what they had. He wanted their power and he assumed that the more he destroyed than he could harness their power.”

  Abella’s showed her confusion at this, and her father said gently, “He thought by breaking them down and then drinking their blood, he would gain a little of the power they possessed. Of course, he failed every time. When he discovered that your mother came from an ancient bloodline, he was confident that she could give him what he wanted. When I heard what he had planned, I was horrified and started to question everything I had done, and we escaped that night. I didn’t think she would go with me once I got her out, but she did and when she told me about you,” he didn’t finish but Abella saw the look of pride and love in his eyes.

  “I was raised from birth to be a hunter, a witch hunter, one of the best,” he said quietly as the voices reached them. “But I learned after meeting your mother and having you that I was an even better husband and father although hunting became a part of my everyday life.”