The Broken Alpha

Savannah (19)

Anna

“I still can’t believe this!” I said for what seemed like the hundredth time

After coming home yesterday, Deedee and Kelsie had sat and told me the truth. That I am the eldest daughter of Celine, with a living, younger sister who is Kelsie and Deedee is our grandmother! The same Celine that I helped destroy. The one that Deedee took away my memory of. The one who did those awful things to Jason’s pack and to his family. The one Jason hated!

Oh God! How was I going to tell him this? How could I even tell him this? He already hates her so much…..and now, he will hate me too

“It’s going to be ok Anna” Tara said

Tara had come over when I had woken up this morning and seen Kelsie at the breakfast table. She had stayed the night and while I didn’t begrudge that, I felt overwhelmed and had sent Tara a text to come get me. We ended up going out for breakfast instead and then taken a long walk around one of our local parks as I explained everything to her. Tara had been aware of most of it and stayed silent as I ranted, cried, got angry and then cried again.

Jason had even called me a few times to speak to me but it was too much. I couldn’t answer and so I told him I’d message later. But like a typical alpha; he kept calling until I turned off my phone. It was only when Tara’s phone started to ring and ping with worried messages that we started to head home. When we had gotten through the door at almost three pm we were both hungry. When I saw Sophie, Kelsie and Jason standing in the livingroom, my face must have expressed something because Kai stood up and told everyone that they had to go. Including Jason and Kelsie.

That kid is seriously, freakingly weird, wonderful and insightful for a three year old! Kelsie looked like she wanted to cry and Jason looked like he was about to explode…..but they did it. Tara and I called uber and asked for a mcdonalds delivery…..a very big order! And sat in my room.

“How is it going to be alright?” I asked Tara “Not only am I witch and remember, he thinks I’m human. But a high witch…..and NOT just a high witch...but bloody Celine’s daughter!!”

“Which is not you’re fault” Tara said, finishing of her fish burger “We can’t pick our parents or family remember”

“Yeah well I wish we could” I grumbled, stuffing my eight chicken nugget into my mouth

“Forget about anyone else right now. You need time to think about you” Tara said “What do you want to do? How do you feel?”

“I...I’ve always wanted brother’s and sisters. You know that” I sighed “but this….”

A knock sounded on my door and I sighed. Deedee had tried to talk to me five times since I got home but I just couldn’t. Every few minutes she would knock and I would say go away but Tara’s right. I need to think about myself and I need answers.

“Come in” I shout

Deedee comes in and I almost gasp in shock. She looks tired, drained and so much older. Even Tara looked at me in surprise

“Deedee” I whisper

“Let me explain. I don’t know how much more time I have” Deedee said as she approached me and sat on the single wicker chair that’s shaped like an egg.

“What do you mean?” I ask her

“Hush love and let me speak. No interruptions until I finish” Deedee said, looking at Tara and I

“Ok” I replied

“When I was no more than twenty, I found my Tanniem. I was the youngest witch to do so. But that came with a big responsibility. You see, demons were becoming a problem. While some only do what they do because they have been summoned and forced to; there were those that tried to work with other beings to come into our world. When I became the high witch, the old high witch had been told of a powerful dagger that could help control the demons. The purer the witch’s heart, the goodness the dagger can bring. In other words, I could seek the help of a good demon to do some work. This way, the dagger released some of its frustration of keeping these beings attached to itself. And I did” Deedee said

“Did what?” I asked

“Use it’s help. When the girls were born. You’re aunt and mother, at each birth; I sent the demon to bless the grounds of a struggling farmer. You see, the deed has to be selfless. And so, the purity of the action means the dagger is not cursed but blessed. Telling the demon to pick whichever poor farmer needed help meant it wasn’t benefiting me. I wasn’t telling it which farmer to go to so I could benefit from that farmer. As the girls grew, you’re grandfather had a vision and it kept growing stronger but I kept telling him it was a mistake”

“What was the vision?” I asked, intrigued

“That out of the two sisters, ones greed will lead her to destroy the other and the dagger would become cursed” Deedee replied “But my pride...knowing I was a high witch; I assumed my girls could do no wrong. After all, Celine was meant to be the high witch after me”

“S...she was?” I asked, shocked

“Yes. It usually is the line of the first daughter that becomes it” Deedee explained “I was there when Celine was told of the prophecy about the Supreme and how it would be her son. Had she allowed the course of nature to take place, it would have been fine. But she tried to make it go her way. A seer told her your brother could die, explaining to her that he would be her third child. You were only a couple of days old then. Instead of her coming to me, asking for help….she decided to write her own fate. Now you need to remember something, love. The dagger holds both good and bad demons. Which answers your call is dependent on you as a person and how selfish the request for help is and what it is for”

“Wow!” Tara said, wide-eyed

“Indeed” Deedee nodded “You’re mother stole the dagger from me. It’s only after I had saved you that I realised she had stolen it very early in her pregnancy. The dagger only works for our bloodline you see and when she realised she was pregnant, she had approached another lady in our coven who had dark magick knowledge. She didn’t practise it, but knew of it due to her ancestral background of doing voodoo. Of course, had I monitored who she visited when she came to visit me, I would have guessed sooner. She then realised she was able to conjure up a stronger demon if she committed blood sacrifices”

Both Tara and I gasped. Blood sacrifices! Human blood….innocent blood…....Baby or children’s blood! That’s what Deedee means. A spell works best when the person is pure both in body and mind. Children before puberty or someone before losing their virginity! If the person has lost it but their heart is very pure, that is the only other time that small technicality can be bypassed.

"I know” Deedee whispered, eyes sad “By the time she had….committed seven sacrifices, the demon she conjured was vile, sick. He promised her your brother’s life would be long. That he would put one of his own demon brothers inside of him to keep him from ever dying; and what the seer told her, wouldn’t come true….but it would come at a cost. A family blood sacrifice”

“Me” i whispered

“Yes” Deedee nodded “Your mother would visit every second week, staying for two days. Of course later I found out it was so she could use the dagger and then return it into my room without me knowing. Still your grandfather insisted he was right and in my pride I refused it...until I went to use the dagger for a good purpose, only for it to flash black before turning white. I knew then that he had been right. It took me three days to work out what she was going to do and knew she was going to sacrifice you. I was told by the good demon not to interfere as Celine stabbed your heart as it would go into the baby, yoiu ... itself and protect you. Again, my action was for the greater good, not just my own, as I knew that the bad demon could unleash untold horrors onto the world;  so no consequences. The last time she came, I followed her as I knew she was due any day and wanted to give birth here, beside me. I followed her deeper into the forest behind Chohan’s cottage out on the south pasture and as she passed his cottage, she started to have labour pains….ones she brought on by black magick”

“Oh no” I whisper, my eyes darting to Tara who was shocked but wanted to know more

“How could she do such a thing?” Tara asked, not really looking for an answer

“When she gave birth, I almost wept. You were so beautiful! You only cried out to say you were here but after that you were silent, wanting the comfort of your mother’s arms. For a moment Celine hesitated and I thought, Yes! Finally she saw the error of her ways….but within a blink of an eye, as she grabbed the dagger; the white demon came out and went into you. You’re mother didn’t see that in her greed to get to you and I had to watch as she stabbed you in the heart” Deedee said

“Why didn’t the dark demon tell Celine ?” Tara asked

“To this date I don’t know” Deedee said

“A...and grandpa?” I asked

“His death was my fault too” Deedee said with tears

“How?” I asked

“Celine took the dagger and started to walk away from the clearing, her mission completed. I rushed over to get you when the white demon left your body. It was then I realised that the white demon had sacrificed herself for you because it was her heart that the dagger pierced and not yours” Deedee explained

“Oh my god!” I cried out

“s**t!” Tara said

When Deedee looked at Tara, she has said sorry and looked at me, her eyes bulging at all the information

“I ran with you towards the house, knowing that Celine’s sacrifice didn’t work. As I got near the beginning of the forest, I heard loud voices. It was your grandfather….fighting with Celine! He confronted her. I was going to make myself known when Celine….stabbed him” Deedee sobbed

“Completing the bloodline sacrifice” I completed her unsaid words

“s**t!” Tara whispered

Deedee didn’t check her as she was caught up in her own grief; my eyes watering at my poor grandfather’s death.

“I took you to a healer’s home and asked them to care for you while I confronted your mother. She told me she went into early labour and that you were stillborn. She cried so well; had I not seen what I did, I would have believed her story. She was that good!” Deedee said in between sobs “You’re aunt Rissa had called Celine and just as I had been about to attack; I was moved away”

“Moved?” I asked, confused

“That was the first time I had met the Moon Goddess” Deedee explained

“B..but I thought you said you met her when we went to help them defeat Celine” I said

“I..lied. I’m sorry” Deedee said, shame-faced “She was beautiful and so serene. It was then that I was told”

“What?” Tara asked,

“That my Anna wouldn’t just be a high witch, but one of the most powerful, long living witches in history. As you know; once a high witch finds her Tanniem and completes the mating process; the old high witch automatically starts to deteriorate-” Deedee cut off when I cried out

“Nooo..oh no Deedee...no!” I said

“It’s ok love. I knew this would happen. Listen...listen….hush now” Deedee said as she walked over and hugged me

I couldn’t help it. My body shook as I cried, knowing what she was about to tell me

“The Moon Goddess and I made a deal. She told me how special you were, how you would be able to manage both sides of the dagger. How important you were to the future line. There were things she couldn’t tell me but said she would visit me three times. One when she was in need of you to help defeat Celine, the second when you were in need of me and third when it was time for me to go. She explained how she would send one of her own who would be special for you and for your future. A future that could destroy the world if it wasn’t completed the way it was meant to be” Deedee said

I moved from her and laid my head on her lap, pulling my legs up onto the bed. Tara grabbed my bed throw and covered me with it before sliding her feet under it too. As Deedee ran a hand over my hair, she kept speaking

“I knew then that something big was going to happen. I knew then that I had to let Celine go and act like I didn’t know anything. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do. So...I had a young couple…..who had been staying as a guest at the hotel; come and claim that they were pregnant and had decided to stay here to give birth as they loved it here. When I found my love, I had to tell everyone he looked like he had been attacked yet I thought he had died from a heart attack and that he had then had a bad encounter with a wild animal. Everyone thought I was crazy, after all Tanniem’s have a long life together. Especially those of a high witch. But they could never had guess that it was his daughter who had murdered him” Deedee softly said

“Did my parents know?” Tara asked

“Yes. They have been aware of everything from the start. So I buried him and started a lie. That this couple agreed to go along with” Deedee said

“Why did they?” I asked

“Because….they were seers. Both of them. And they had visions of what Celine did to you. They wanted to help” Deedee stated

“Where are they now?” I asked, feeling drowsy from all the depleted energy

“Siberia I believe. Helping a wolf pack with some issues. I’ve always kept tabs on them, if they ever needed me. I had to cut Celine off from my life and when Rissa’s Shelly was born, and I saw what Celine tried to do with her sister, and how much Rissa’s greed for a son easily took over; I cut them both off from me. I told them that I had adopted a daughter who was younger than Shelly and neither of them questioned it although I think Celine had something to do with that. And I raised you as my own ever since then” Deedee said

“But...I don’t understand” I said, sitting up again “why didn’t they ever visit? Why didn’t Celine question when she didn’t become a high witch or either of them about granddad? Why didn’t you tell me about them all before?”

“They didn’t question it because to protect you, I had already placed a hidden spell. One that altered any resembling features and the scent of your magick. When a new high witch is born, from the age of two, she starts to smell different. I also put a fog around us, so if Celine ever looked our way, she would think I was just moving on with life. Since you hadn’t found your Tanniem; and I hadn’t aged, she assumed she would be able to still take over whenever she wanted. I knew when each of your siblings were born and how my arms ached to take them and hug them; but I couldn’t risk exposing us. The only thing I could do was guide Kelsie to finding good adoptive parents” Deedee explained “I couldn’t tell you. I wanted you to live without Celine’s shadow, her evilness. When the Moon Goddess visited me the second time, I knew what it meant. When you came back, you were different and I knew then that Celine may have affected you more than you realised. I hid your memory of her because when you had met Kelsie and helped them, you’re blood unlocked and let of sparks; alerting Celine. The only good thing was, her greed for your brother and his power was so great, she momentarily forgot you. Had she not; I don’t know if you would have been here today” Deedee sniffed “When you started to connect the dots, the questions that you were asking….I had to change your memory, wipe some part and change your scent even more”

“I can’t believe…..all these years” I sniffed as tears started again

“I had to protect you. And now, I have to prepare you. I’m dying love” Deedee gently cupped my face

“Nooooo” I cried harder

“Yes. Already you can tell I have aged more in the last few days than the last fifty years. You must tell Jason the truth and complete the mating fully. Both in the wolf worm and witch way” Deedee encouraged

“I can’t!” I cry “His hatred for Celine is so much...to hear that I am her daughter...I can’t!”

“You must. I can’t leave you without being blessed into the role and I know I don’t have long left” Deedee caressed my cheek

“I...he will hate me” I cry as Tara rubs my arm in comfort

“Your his mate. It’s impossible for him to hate you love. He may be upset with all the secrets….but he wo-” I cut Deedee off

“He says I’m not his mate!” I cried out “That he can’t ever have a mate after losing Tasha and his baby”

“It’s not that easy to dismiss a mate” Deedee smiled “He may claim it. But he won’t be able to deny it. Tell him the truth. Explain the importance and if he still denies it, ask him to reject you. Trust me, his wolf won’t let him”

“R...R..Reject me?” I cry harder “How do you know he wont?”

“Because Not only did his wolf almost attack his own brother but Jason almost shifted and took out his brother for daring to be near you. I’m sure you both had words after leaving here….was he jealous?” Deedee ask

“I...Yes” I whisper, shocked

“He’s conflicted at the moment because of his desire for revenge. He won’t reject you” Deedee said “But you must speak to him...urgently”

“I have so many more questions...things I don’t understand. A..and Kelsie...how” I cut off, shaking my head

“One step at a time. First, respond back to Jason; tell him to meet you here and speak to him. Then we will ask Kelsie to come back and speak to you. Also I need to explain who Sophie is as well” Deedee said

“There’s more?” I asked

Deedee chuckled

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Tara said, getting up “This feels like an all nighter thing. I’m just gonna let mum know I’m staying over and I really need to pee”

“Don’t you think you should ask me if you can stay?” I teased her

“b***h please” Tara scoffed as she walked to the en-suite “I’m staying. I ain’t asking. I’m tellin”

As the bathroom door closed, I heard her speak on her mobile and I sighed, my eyes sad as I looked at Deedee. When she got up to leave, I held her wrist

“Where are you going?” I asked her

“To get a pot of tea. We are going to need it” Deedee smiled

“I’ll get it” I say, scrambling to get up from the bed

“Sit” Deedee commanded

“But-” She cut me off

“No. I am not so old that I can’t do this. Now you sit” Deedee said sternly

I nod, knowing why she was doing this. When she left, I sighed and started to re-arrange my bed. I spread out the throw and brought over my morning table; a long rectangle table that looks like a tray. I put it on the bed for the tea and arranged the pillows, knowing how Tara likes to sit. When my phone buzzed and I saw Jason’s number, I trembled.

“Hi” I said, answering the phone

“Where the f**k are you?” He shouted

“ I...At home” I replied

“Why aren’t you answering your phone or messages? What’s going on?” He asked me

“I...just need some space” I replied

Silence...then he exploded

“SPACE?!?!? SPACE!?!? We came back talking and in a good place until we get to your house and I get kicked out-” Jason shouted

“You didn’t get kicked out” I interrupted

“And after that nothing!....I tried calling you, messaging you….nothing!” Jason said “All f*****g day! Almost half the day is gone and you’re saying SPACE?!?!”

“Please….I just…” I cut off with a sigh

How do I do this?

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked

I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it. This Jason was different. Immediately, his voice changed. He was softer, more caring and he was whispering

“I…” I paused, unsure what to say

“Anna, baby; what’s wrong?” He ask me

Did he just call me baby? Does he even realise he did that? The soft words were to much, being called a sweet name was too much for me. I sobbed

“I’m coming over!” He growled

“No! Please” I burst out

“Anna!” Jason started

“No..Listen. Yes we need to talk but I can’t just now. Please….I just need some time” I said

“Talk about what? What’s going on?” He asked me suspiciously

“Will you please meet me tomorrow. At two. We can chat here” I encouraged him

“Why can’t we chat just now?….fuck this s**t! I’m coming over” Jason started

Suddenly my phone is snatched from my hand and I see Tara taking it. I stand up, my eyes widening at I shake my head

“Stop forcing your will on her” Tara said angrily “She’s asked for space so give it to her. Not that you deserve an explanation but Deedee and I are with her tonight. No you don’t need to know why…...Well you’re still just a random guy...unless you’re her...I don’t know...mate or boyfriend or something….No? ...cat got your tongue?….well she’s said at two tomorrow to two it is…..oh and alpha, don’t call again tonight, she won’t be answering any calls or texts”

Saying that Tara cut him off. I face-palm myself. Oh god! What did she just do. Tara chuckled when my phone immediately rang. I held out my palm but she just cut him off before shutting off my mobile and then proceeding to do hers

“TARA! I shout

“What?” She shrugged her shoulders “You know he’s going to keep calling. I’m going to tell Deedee to tell Kai to tell him to stop calling”

Tara walked to the door

“What?” I asked

“Kai...he’s super smart and there’s something up with him. You should see how the adults act with him...everything he says….He’ll make jason stop” Tara said smugly before walking out the door

Oh Lord! I sit down on the bed, my face in my hands as I think about turning on my phone. I even pick it up but bite my bottom lip.

Jason...Celine...black magick...blood sacrifices….and now Kai! What else is there? Jeez! I quickly get up and walk towards my chest of drawers and look inside. I pull out my pajamas and walk to the en-suite. This looks like it’s going to be a long night with even more junk food and sugar needed to get through it. I may as well shower and settle in for the night even though it was only four-ish in the afternoon.

As I step into the shower, I think about everything Deedee has told me so far. I can’t even begin to comprehend it but my biggest concern?

How do I tell my mate, my partner...my Tanniem….that I am the daughter of who he has been chasing all these years…..trying to find her. That the one he has been having s*x with is the daughter of his enemy!