The Werewolf Priestess

Nadine

8. Nadine

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We finally got to the town after the long run , the sun was already down but it was not late in the night, they got dressed while I waited and then we ventured into the town.

Fia and Reed had gotten back to their happy chatters while we walked down the streets and several passersby, thankfully we were able to blend in thanks to our clothes, if I had been wearing my usual dresses it would have earned me several stares from this people.

There was excitement in Fia's voice as she spoke to Reed about the town, she was fascinated by the things she was seeing and it made me realize that Fia had not really stayed in a human town, I had cared for her since she was a child yet I had deprived her of a lot of things.

She deserves to have a mate, not me, she deserves to live in her own world not shackled in mine that might be never changing, if Reed had not appeared there would have been nothing different in our lives. Yes the plagued wolf would have been there but Fia and I would have had to deal with it on our own.

I walked up the front porch of Nadine's house with Reed and Fia tailing behind me, much has not changed since I last been to here and that was over thirty years ago, thirty years of Nadine using magic to make the humans not realize that she was not aging.

I do not understand her obsession with these humans, but her entire existence seems to be tied to these people or maybe one person in particular, I would not know, Nadine had always been secretive.

I knock on her front door and waited for her to open up, it takes less than a minute before the door finally opens revealing her.

She still looked the same, her brown skin was as beautiful as ever, it still loved like it had been kissed by the gods themselves, her face was as lovely and flawless as ever and her massive curls danced a crossed her face as the wind blew past us, she was completely breathtaking.

She had a frown on her face, but I know that she was not displeased to see me. She still had her innocent look but I know behind her innocent face where battles she had won and lost.

"I did not think I would see you again in this century" Nadine blurted out with a blank look imprinted on her face, we might be friends but we had lot of differences, the major one was me serving the moon goddess, she had always felt like I was betraying their clan. Same clan that did not accept me because of my wolf side, they don’t accept yet they don’t want me to live without them.

"We are not enemies Nadine" I stated dryly, I had no strength in indulging Nadine’s and her games of feelings.

Her forehead creased and she gave a smug look next for a second or so before replacing it back with the frown. "The child has grown" she said as she glanced at Fia, eyeing her while Fia stared back at her in confusion, Fia does not remember her because they both had not directly met, Nadine had once tried to convince me to live with her in her human town fifteen years ago, she came late in the night and Fia was asleep at that time. "It looks like you have raised her well, is that...., it is not her mate, there is no bond between them but— I feel something between you and that male" she added, her gaze fixed on Reed.

I sighed before saying with all seriousness"I need your help".

Nadine welcomed us into her house immediately, she knows that I mean business now but she had a confused gaze which moved between Reed and I simultaneously.

Reed was staring back at her with equal intensity, I could feel that he was interested in whatever Nadine had to say about the bond between us.

I settled in her couch and Fia sat beside me, but Reed had decided to stand, I don't think Nadine had much visitors, her house was just like a human old woman house that lived with several cats.

"Can we talk in private" I said looking at Nadine that was staring intensely at Reed

"No!" Reed almost yelled "I want to know what she has to say"

"This does not concern you Reed!" I hissed in annoyance

"It concerns me, you are my mate!" He hissed back.

"You have a mate. How is this possible, is this the bond I feel between both of you....,A lot has really happened, when did this happen" Nadine rambled.

"This bond between us is not a mate bond" I gritted between my teeth as I glared at him "Can you magic help us" I faced Nadine.

The tension in the room was at its peak now.

"You want to confirm the bond?" She asks "Can you not do that yourself?"

"I have tried and I am weak right now, this is more than this strange bond between this wolf and I"

"What happened to your magic?" She questioned, she looked worried, it reminded of the old times when I would venture out for days on a mission sent by the moon goddess, I miss her.

"There was a plagued wolf–"

"What in the hell, that magic is forbidden, it is too dark" she cuts me off

"The plagued wolf is the least of my problems, I had a vision when I tried to find out who was behind it"

"You went to the another realm" she blurted out in a quiver, she knew what I was trying to say, she walked closer to me and I stood up from the couch, we were facing each other eye to eye, she took my hands into hers and she recited an incantation I was not familiar with, she had not taught me this before.

And then it happened, everything turned black for a second until I see myself in the dark realm, what just happened?

"I am here" I hear Nadine voice, and she appears beside me.

"Do you know this place?" I ask, this place still gives me the same dreaded feeling like it was instilling fear within me.

"I do, this is worst than I thought, I was hoping you would be wrong" she responded

I was about to ask if she had a way to stop this then the ghastly creature appeared, "Nadine watch out!" I yelled.

Everywhere goes blank again and we pulled back into the real world, Reed is holding my arm.

"I thought we would not get out" Nadine was gasping

"What do you mean?" I ask

"I tried to pull us out but I couldn't, how did we get out?" She responded

I turned to Reed, his hands was still on my arm "Reed" I breathed, he pulled me out again, thankfully this time I was not fire.

*****

Nadine was completely confused and was pacing round her living room while I sat impatiently waiting for her to explain what happened and what she knows, she was able to pull us into that world, what was that world?, how did she know about the dark world?. There was several questions running through my mind but I know that she had to process everything.

Reed was sitting across from us, his head was down but I sense fear from him, he was worried about me, and I have been nothing but estranged with him and it made me feel bad, he was better off without me.

Fia was silent as well watching everything unfold.

"Nadine please speak" I pleaded desperately, there have to be answers to this madness "What was that world?"

She stopped abruptly and released a lengthen breath "It is the world for punished witches" she answered

"Punished Witches?" I was completely confused, how did I not know about a place like that.

"Althea, there is repercussions for witches that go out of line when you are welcomed into the order"

"The Order?" I ask, Reed lifted up his head and his gaze was now on Nadine

"The strongest full born witches are born into the Order and some half born are selected into the Order if deemed worthy, my father was in the Order, he was born into it" she explained

"How does this all link to that world?" They have to be more to this than just a world of punishment, how does it lead to me, I was not in this Order of anything of that sort.

She moved to the other side of the room and sat on a chair before responding " Althea there is a reason why not all witches are in the Order, some of us are not strong enough to conjure some certain magic and those in the Order are in the there to control their magic for better use but sometimes things doesn't work out so the world of the punished witches was created by hundred witches of the Order"

"How does this all lead to me?"

"That is what I do not understand, you are not part of the Order, you are strong enough to be part of the Order but you work for the moon goddess so you were not chosen, but this is bigger than that, that world is different now"

"How different?" I ask, I do not want to think much about this reasons why I was not chosen, if these Order could create something like this then I was better off in that circle, it was not the first time I would be rejected for something, if they could not accept me into their coven even when Nadine pleaded then I had no business with their Order world.

"My father is in that world, but it was not that dark, it was gloomy and but those ghastly creatures did not exist" she confessed, Nadine did not talk much about her father, I had always assumed that he was dead, her mother was dead as well.

"Your father?. You visited him there?"

"Yes. I can, I am part of the Order Althea but I have not visited him for a year now"

"Oh!" My eyes widened, a lot had really happened since we last saw, if she was part of these Order why did she choose to stay with this humans and not with her coven and the Order.

"Althea, we can discuss about my father later but that dark world had been manipulated but I did not think that it was possible, no witch should be that strong. This you lose your powers in there?"

"Yes I did, and one time I burnt down the things around me" I answered with a whisper, Reed stared at me as the words left my mouth, my eyes went to his hands, it was healed up and there was no scarring but if Reed had been human, he would have been badly hurt and I would have been the reason, he deserves better.

"Althea, I don't want to say this but I think you have been bounded to that place" she announced and an uncomfortable pit dug up in my stomach.