The Luna Witch

Darkness, unparalleled darkness

She looked around, trying to find the source of this beautiful smell that made her heart beat hard in her chest. She looked to Mia, who had the same wide-eyed look on her face, clearly smelling something just as beautiful. “Where is that smell coming from?” Ivy asked her quietly, Mia shaking her head. “I don’t know… It smells like Lavender” Mia whispered, Ivy frowning. “I smell something else…” she said, the two being shushed by the people before them as the doors opened. Ivy craned her neck to see who was walking in, unable to spot anyone but noticing the smell getting stronger.

“My King” she heard Jacob say. She heard nothing for a moment, someone clearing their throat, breaking the silence. “Jacob, it’s a pleasure” the low voice replied finally. Ivy tried peering around the people in front of her to see if she could find out where the smell was coming from that filled her with a sense of peace. “My King”, she heard Lila say, getting a ‘Luna’ in return from the low voice. Ivy waited patiently as the man was introduced to the family who welcomed him individually, trying her hardest not to snort in amusement at the preening voice Clarissa put on when she welcomed him.

“Please, come through” Jacob said, everyone beginning to scatter around the house as Jacob took the party with him through the entrance, way into the house. “Come on, we might as well take advantage of the fact we don’t have to work tonight” Mia said, sighing and turning to Ivy. Ivy nodded, broken out of her trance of trying to work out who the smell was coming from, and followed after her into the main room.

“Cheers” Mia said, handing her a flute of champagne with a smile. “Cheers” Ivy replied, c******g her glass against Mia’s. Her head perked up as the smell flooded her nostrils again, stronger this time – whoever it was, they were close by. “Mia, I keep smelling that strong smell” Ivy said, Mia looking up at her. “Do you think…?” Mia asked, Ivy inhaling deeply at her suggestion of what it might be causing the sweet smell – her mate. “Everyone, let us convene outside for the first part of this special evening!” Jacob called out to everyone.

Ivy followed after the crowds of people shuffling out toward the grounds outside, Mia’s hand in hers. There had been a whole day of the boys from the pack putting up the decorations for this evening around the grounds – one for the welcome of the Alpha King, and the other for Michael’s first shifting. It was a big evening all around. A long row of seats had been laid out down a pathway leading to a stage that had been laid out before them all.

Ivy walked over to the seats with Mia dragging her along for a good space so they could see. Either way, it was a spectacular event – Michael’s first shift would either be a disaster or would be exciting and the girls wanted to see whichever way it would go. Ivy took her seat, noticing the smell suddenly stronger than before. She looked around to see who was close by, who it could be. Sat opposite them and slightly further up the line were Jacob and Lila, so it wasn’t them. Beside Lila sat Hugh and Clarissa, the latter batting her eyelids down the line at the man sitting beside Jacob.

The Alpha King. It was the first time Ivy had seen him. He was a tall man, she already knew that, but he had beautiful dark eyes, curly black hair and a striking jaw line. He was younger than she had imagined he would be, almost closer to her age. She swallowed as his eyes caught hers, seeing his pupils dilate upon seeing her even from this distance.

It can’t be, she thought to herself as she felt her tummy turn over, the smell filling the air around her stronger than before. She could see him shuffle in his seat, his eyes never leaving her as Jacob yapped on about something to him. Ivy tore her eyes from the man as Jacob stood and welcomed everyone to their seats. “Welcome, all! What an evening. Two of the greatest moments for our pack on the same night – our King as our guest to my son’s first shifting. I won’t keep you all too long. I know Michael is waiting anxiously for the moment to come! Please, join me in welcoming him to the stage”, Jacob called out to everyone, raising his glass and looking down the line as they all stood up.

Ivy snuck a look back over toward the Alpha King, catching eyes with him almost immediately and having to physically stop herself from leaping across the way to him. She inhaled deeply, letting out the slow breath to calm her beating heart. The crowd went quiet as Michael walked down the pathway, covered in ancient furs and looking ahead seriously. It took everything in Ivy not to snigger, gripping Mia’s hand and feeling her gripping back as they pressed their lips together in an attempt to stop themselves from laughing. Ivy looked up, seeing him smirking as he caught eyes with her and then looked down at her feet. She looked up again, watching Michael as he took his place on the stage and turned to face them, dropping the furs behind him onto the floor.

Ivy watched him as he closed his eyes, focusing on his inner wolf. She had seen plenty of shifts from the pack before, but it was always exciting to her to see one anyway. “Something isn’t right” she whispered to Mia, seeing Michael twitch violently as if something had jabbed him with something sharp.

She gasped as Michael suddenly jerked forward, screaming out in pain, and pushed off of her chair. Jacob stood up from his own seat, a deep frown on his face as he held a hand out to the crowd. “Michael?” Jacob asked, Michael breathing heavily on his hands and knees. Michael let out another shriek of pain as his body jerked backward in the most unnatural way, Ivy’s eyes widening. “Ivy, Mia” Jacob sternly called them forward as Lila rushed to her son’s side, the Alpha King standing as Jacob called their names.

Ivy pushed through the crowd of people that had walked forward, looking for a way up onto the stage. She walked to the edge of it, ready to just clamber up, but felt a pair of hands resting on her waist and lifting her from the floor. She swallowed hard as she looked behind her, seeing his face looking up at her and his arms letting her go. She rushed over to Michael, seeing Mia take stance opposite her. “What’s wrong with him?” Lila asked, kneeling beside her son desperately.

Ivy looked to Mia, who had a hand out over his body with her eyes closed as she tried to understand what was happening. “It’s his wolf, Ivy, but I can’t see fully what is happening”, Mia said. “We need to get him inside” Mia concluded, opening her eyes and looking to Ivy. Ivy held her hands to either side of Michael’s face, her middle fingers resting on his temples as he looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes.

“Sleep” she said, Michael’s body dropping to the floor in a floppy heap as he dropped into unconsciousness. “Inside, now” Jacob barked at the boys around them, Ivy and Mia stepping back as they picked him up and carried him down the steps of the stage.

“Ivy?” Jacob asked from across the room. He was standing beside Lila, his arms folded and a stern look on his face. “His wolf, Alpha. It’s his wolf. He was ready to shift, I’m just struggling to find out what was stopping his wolf from phasing. Something was forcing his wolf back, but I can’t see what” Ivy said as she sat on a stool beside the bed, her hand hovering over Michael’s head.

“Keep looking” Jacob said, turning to the door and opening it, slamming it behind him. Ivy looked over to Mia, catching her eye for a moment as they heard his steps receding down the corridor to his office where the King and his pack were waiting for news. “Is he going to be okay?” Lila asked, the two girls shocked at her vulnerable and fearful voice.

“Yes, Luna. He just needs to rest” Ivy said with a soft smile, tucking the blanket around Michael as Mia replaced her hand where Ivy’s once was. “Can you see anything?” Ivy asked, Mia shaking her head for a moment. “Here” she said suddenly, Ivy sitting forward in her chair and closing her eyes as she placed her hand atop Mia’s.

“What is that…?” Ivy whispered as she saw what Mia was seeing – somewhere in a tiny corner of Michael’s memories was a dark curse they had never seen before. “This is new, Mia” Ivy said with a shaky voice – the girls had never seen dark magic like this before. “I have never seen this before” Mia whispered back, Ivy removing her hand from Mia’s. “I should let the Alpha know” Ivy said, pushing off of the stool she was sat on. “Don’t try anything without me being here, Mia” Ivy warned, Mia nodding back with a small look of nervousness in her eyes as Ivy took a deep breath and walked down the hallway.