Wolf Tainted Union: The Complete Collection - 6-Book Bundle (Books 1-6) - A Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance

by Hart, Melissa F.

  “Get down, I need to talk to you!” Iris insisted.

  Confused by the urgency in Iris’ voice, Allegra began to descend the tree. She dropped gracefully to the ground, barely making a sound. “What is it?”

  “The choosing is tonight,” Iris caught Allegra’s hand and led her deeper in to the forest, further away from the coven.

  “I know.” Allegra nodded.

  “You must go through with it,” Iris told her.

  “You know that I can’t.” Allegra released herself from Iris’ grip and stared at her friend.

  “You have to!” Iris implored.

  “Iris, I told you. I can’t. I’ve found the man I’m destined to be with.”

  Iris’ eyes began to well up with tears as she looked at the dear friend who she had known since she was a baby. Allegra was like a sister to her. But she’d seen the fear in her own mother’s eyes and knew to heed the warning she had given about the choosing.

  “Then run,” Iris told her, pointing distantly in to the forest. “Run and never return. Run as far away from this place as you can.”

  “What’s gotten into you?” Allegra asked with concern.

  “If you are determined not to go through with the choosing, then you must leave!”

  “Leave?” Allegra echoed. “I can’t just run away, Iris. I at least need to say goodbye to my mother.”

  “If you return to the coven, they will force you to undertake the choosing ceremony.”

  “Well, I’m not going to,” Allegra announced. “I’ve promised myself to Caspian. I can’t be betrothed to another.”

  “Allegra,” Iris stepped toward her friend and grasped her hands in her own. “If you refuse to partake in the choosing ceremony, the elders will kill you.”

  “What?” Panic flared in Allegra’s eyes. “That’s impossible!”

  “I know, that’s what I’d have thought, but my mother said—”

  “Wait, you heard that from your mother?” Allegra felt her fears subdue slightly.

  “Yes.” Iris nodded.

  “What did you say to her?”

  “I was just asking about the choosing, about true love. I asked if we had a choice, if we couldn’t just go off in to the world and find our one true love like you have.”

  “Did you tell her about me?” Allegra asked quickly.

  “No, I kept my question rhetorical but she went crazy. I’ve never seen her like that, Allegra. She was completely panicked and beside herself with worry. She told me that any witch who refused to partake in the ceremony was killed.”

  “But Uma refused, and she was banished, cast out to practice dark magic,” Allegra stated as her body suddenly felt like it had been pushed down a well and she was falling a terribly great distance. “Uma can’t be dead,” she uttered with despair. “She can’t be. You have to be wrong. Your mother is just trying to scare you into going through with it.”

  “And what if she isn’t? What if it’s true?” Iris asked, fear making her tremble.

  Allegra didn’t want to contemplate that. She didn’t want her coven to be wicked. She didn’t want Uma to be dead and her mother complicit in her murder. It was all too terrible.

  “I really think you should run,” Iris urged. “If you truly believe that Caspian is your destiny then run now and be with him. Be free and be safe.”

  “I can’t,” Allegra sighed. “I tried to run but I can’t. I need to know the truth. I owe Uma that much.”

  “If you return to the vale and they try and hurt you, I can’t protect you,” Iris said as her eyes welled up. “My magic isn’t nearly strong enough to take on an elder.”

  “Don’t worry, you won’t have to,” Allegra stated confidently, certain that it was all wrong, just some misunderstanding. Uma was cast out before the choosing, as she refused to partake in it. She wasn’t dead. They couldn’t kill witches just for not complying with their archaic rules.

  “I’ll tell the elders about my decision not to go through with the choosing and they will respect it and then banish me, that’s all.”

  “I don’t want you to be banished!”

  “I’ll whisper words on the wind for you each and every day, I promise.”

  Iris thought of her mother’s face, the sternness in her voice. She wasn’t so sure that it had all just been a threat just to ensure her compliance in the choosing ceremony.

  “Promise me that if things start to turn bad, you’ll just run away,” Iris pleaded. “I understand that you want to know the truth about Uma, but you can’t sacrifice your own life to do that.”

  “You know our coven,” Allegra said as they began to walk back toward their home. “We grew up there. We were little girls being taught basic magic in the schoolhouse or watching the fireworks on St. Edever’s Eve. That is our home. There are no killers here. We are white witches, witches who practice magic to protect and enrich nature, you know that.”

  Iris nodded. It did make sense. They’d been brought up to uphold the peaceful nature of their coven. All the magic they learnt was to aide nature, never to take or extinguish life.

  “You’re brave,” Iris complimented as the vale appeared just ahead of them, the main square already full of eager, excited bodies. “If it was me, I’d just run.”

  “I thought about running,” Allegra admitted. “But this is my home, I need to say goodbye properly. To both you and mother.”

  Iris smiled fondly at her friend before reaching forward to embrace her.

  “Just be careful,” she urged. “And you’re probably right. The elders won’t be happy about your decision, but I imagine the least they can is respect it and set you free from the coven. After all, you can’t help giving your heart to a man. Love is the most powerful magic of all. It’s not as if you are in love with a werewolf or anything!”

  Iris pulled away from the embrace and immediately headed into town, where she was quickly swallowed up by the masses of bodies around her. Dumbfounded, Allegra stood with her mouth agape.

  She was in love with a werewolf. Would that change things? If Caspian were just a man, would the elders accept her decision? Blighted by indecision, Allegra turned to look back into the woods, considering running away once more. She was about to flee when a hand firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the main square.

  “Where have you been?” her mother hissed angrily. “You look a complete state!” she continued before Allegra had chance to respond. “You are so close to being late for the choosing! But you’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

  “Mother, let go of me!” Allegra ordered, raising her voice so that people around them drew silent with curiosity.

  Allegra nervously cleared her throat as she felt dozens of pairs of eyes upon her, scrutinizing her outburst. “I need to speak with the elders,” she told her mother calmly, though inside she was quaking. “It is a matter of urgency.”

  ***

  Several elders sat within the main town hall behind a large wooden table. They whispered between one another as Allegra nervously stood before them, awaiting her opportunity to speak.

  The elders were old and withered with skin as thick and weathered as tree bark and wise, dark eyes. They looked at Allegra with obvious disdain and then spoke amongst one another in hushed voices. They each wore their hair in the same style; a silver plait snaking down their backs and onto the floor.

  “You may speak,” the central elder eventually said, extended a claw-like hand toward Allegra.

  “But be swift,” another warned, “for this is the night of your choosing and the ceremony shall not be delayed.”

  Tentatively, Allegra stepped forward. She’d seen the elders before but never like this. Their eyes bore down on her, making her nervous. Usually she saw them scurrying around the coven, and they rarely addressed young witches. Often, the first time an elder would address a young witch would be at their choosing ceremony.

  “Thank you for meeting with me.” Allegra tried to make her voice big enough to fill t
he empty space around her.

  The town hall was usually full of numerous bodies, the walls pulsating with energy. But now the space felt empty and vast as everyone else was gathered outside still preparing for the imminent choosing ceremony.

  Behind Allegra stood her mother, her face locked in a permanent frown. She was obviously extremely displeased with her daughter’s behavior.

  “What have you to say to us?” the central elder demanded, her voice brittle yet sharp.

  “It’s about the choosing ceremony,” Allegra began.

  “What of it?”

  “Well, you see, I can’t go through with it.”

  The elders turned and whispered among each other. Allegra strained to hear what they were saying but couldn’t distinguish any words.

  “And why is that?” the central witch enquired, her eyes darkening.

  “Well.” Allegra wove her red hair between her fingers, entwining it like a trapped flame. “I’ve already chosen someone.”

  Behind Allegra her mother did a sharp intake of breath but the elders remained motionless.

  “Child, you cannot choose,” the central elder eventually responded. “You know that. Your mate is chosen for you during the choosing ritual.”

  “But I have chosen!” Allegra insisted, stepping forward. “I’ve met a man and I’ve fallen in love with him! I refuse to go through with the choosing when my heart belongs to another!”

  A cruel smile played upon the lips of the central elder. “A man?” she asked mockingly. “You refute our selection for you because of a man?”

  The elders began to cackle amongst themselves. Allegra bunched her hands into fists at her side, growing angry.

  How dare they mock her! How dare they mock Caspian!

  “Men are mortal,” another elder announced coldly once she’d ceased to cackle. “They are not deserving of a witch.”

  “You’re a stupid child,” the central elder added.

  Allegra ground her teeth together in frustration. She was not a child, and she certainly wasn’t stupid. The elders were always treating the younger members of the coven as though they knew nothing and she hated it.

  “He’s more than a man!” Allegra cried. “He’s a werewolf, and he’s my destiny!”

  The cackling instantly ceased, and an eerie silence engulfed the room. It was the central elder who finally spoke. “A werewolf?” she repeated.

  “Yes,” Allegra nodded sincerely. “And I love him, truly I do. He’s my destiny, I just know it.”

  “The lycan are the sworn enemy of all witches,” the elder commented, looking down her long pointed nose at Allegra.

  “Any witch who consorts with a werewolf is committing treason.”

  “I just want to leave the coven on good terms and be with him!” Allegra stated reasonably.

  “Leave the coven?” the central elder’s gray bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise. “No one leaves the coven.”

  “But?” Allegra turned to face her mother who refused to meet her gaze. “My sister, she left the coven. Mother, Uma left the coven, didn’t she?”

  “Treason is punishable by death,” the central elder announced.

  “What?” Allegra looked back at the elders in horror. She was about to turn and run when a pair of arms seized her by the shoulders and locked her in place. Allegra struggled but couldn’t overpower them, it was as if they were using some spell to keep her in place. Turning her head, she saw with despair that the arms holding her belonged to her mother.

  “Mother!” Allegra cried. “What are you doing? Let me go!”

  Allegra’s mother looked at her daughter with cold, dead eyes. “You’ve betrayed the coven,” she said stoically. “You must pay the ultimate price.”

  “Prepare the pyre!” the elder witch cried, getting to her feet and walking out from behind the table, her long hair swishing behind her like a macabre tail.

  “The choosing ceremony can wait. Tonight, we burn a heretic at the stake!”

  ***

  The village was bursting with excited energy as the floral arch for the choosing ceremony was swiftly moved and replaced by a pile of firewood. Within the center, was raised a long, tall spike.

  Iris looked on in horror as the changes took place. With a sickening feeling, she instantly understood what was about to happen. All around her people whispered about treason and how there was a traitor amongst them. But Iris knew the truth.

  She watched as the elders, all dressed in black, assembled around the stage like ravens, harbingers of death. Their wicked eyes glinted with excitement, and there was blood lust in the air.

  “They can’t do this,” Iris implored to anyone who would listen. “This is wrong!”

  But no one would listen. The witches of the coven were incited with the promise of retribution. Treason was the highest crime anyone could commit against the coven. Allegra was no longer one of their own, she was a traitor and they each couldn’t wait to see her burn and pay for her sins.

  “Please, no,” Iris begged her own mother. “Mother, it’s Allegra, she’s done no wrong!”

  “Speak not her name,” her mother hissed. “I won’t see you burned up there with her. Just be quiet, you hear me? Don’t go making a scene!”

  Witches began to congregate around the stage, all talk of the choosing superseded by the excitement to see someone burned at the stake. Iris looked around her in bewilderment. They were supposed to be passive witches, using magic only to aide nature. Yet here they were, glorifying the death of one of their own. It wasn’t right.

  The witches around the stage roared with approval as Allegra was led onto the stage by her own mother, her arms crudely bound behind her with enchanted twine that prevented her from even attempting to break free.

  Iris had been pushed to the back of the crowd. She tried to stand on her tiptoes and catch Allegra’s eye but she was too far away.

  Allegra’s mother pushed her daughter on to the stage and Allegra, powerless to resist, could only comply. One of the elders roughly moved her up to the stake, her bare feet catching on the pile of firewood.

  Her ceremonial robes for the choosing had been removed, and she was now dressed in a plain brown dress that hung over her like a sack. The flowers from her hair had been pulled out, as had her plait, and her red curls now flowed freely down her back, catching and dancing in the wind.

  They positioned Allegra at the stake and rearranged her bindings so that her hands were bound behind the stake, pinning her in position.

  Allegra kept her gaze skyward, unable to look upon the people who were so desperate to see her die. The wood felt rough against her feet as she stood precariously atop the pyre. Was this the fate Uma had suffered? How could Allegra not remember what became of her beloved sister?

  “This witch has betrayed us all!” One of the elders stepped forward and addressed the baying crowd with a booming voice.

  “She has consorted with the enemy and now must pay the ultimate price! She will be burnt at the stake for her sins committed against this coven!”

  Iris watched helplessly from the crowd. She looked at Allegra’s mother with disbelief. How could she stand by and let her daughter be burned like this? How could she possibly endure it?

  Tears started to run down Iris’ face as the elder continued to speak, detailing how flames would soon ravage Allegra’s body and end her worldly existence and bring retribution for her actions. This was supposed to be the night Iris met the man she would marry, this was supposed to be the happiest night of her life and instead she was about to watch her best friend be burned alive.

  “Stop those tears,” a voice said warningly close by.

  Iris turned and saw her own mother glaring angrily at her.

  “If they see you weeping, you will be punished,” she hissed.

  “Do you even care?” Iris demanded. “Allegra’s own mother stands idly by as her daughter is about to be killed!”

  “It’s for the good of the coven,” Iris’ mother told h
er sternly. “The coven will always come first.”

  “Not for me it won’t!” Iris cried. “Fuck the coven! Fuck all of you!”

  Before her mother could reply, Iris turned and fled. She ran as fast as she could, away from the crowd, away from the coven, away from Allegra, who was about to suffer a horrid fate. Iris refused to let her friend die. She had to save her. She just had to.

  She ran up in to the woods, not knowing where she was going, just hoping that her senses would guide her to where she needed to be.

  ***

  Allegra turned her head slightly to try and look at her mother but the woman who had originally given her life had since left the stage. Her part in this morbid play was over. She would watch her daughter burn from the main courtyard with the other witches.

  “Witches do not associate with werewolves!” the elder addressing the crowd continued dramatically. “It is a tainted union, one that must be stamped out!”

  Upon the stake, Allegra squirmed, desperately trying to break free but the binding around her hands held steadfastly. The magic that ran through the fabric kept it strong, and she couldn’t move her hands at all. Freedom was beyond her grasp.

  In her mind, she frantically ran over all the spells she’d previously learned, wishing that one of them could help her. She could cast wind to extinguish the flames but the elders’ magic would be stronger. They could easily overpower any spell she cast. Feeling helpless, Allegra tried to keep calm. She refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry or hearing her beg.

  She thought of Caspian and how she’d give anything just to hold him one final time, just to say goodbye. He’d been right all along about her coven. How could she ever have doubted him?

  “And now the flames will burn the impure!” the elder called as a warlock approached the stage, brandishing a torch upon which a bright orange flame danced garishly in the evening air. The crowd parted like water to let him pass. No one even attempted to stop him, to prevent the flame reaching Allegra and ultimately turning her body to ash.