A Witch’s Promise

Chapter 4: Wake Up

A week and a half later, Naomi lay awake staring at the ceiling. It was nearly midnight. Moonlight spilled through her bedroom window. She tossed on her side. Then on her back. Then stomach. Nothing helped. She felt an inescapable restlessness and an unnerving heat in her chest that slowly began to spread. Naomi stared at the clock.

“August 19. Just great. 18 tomorrow and I am coming down with the flu. Another great perk of being a weak human. Sickness. Yippee.”

As the clock struck midnight, Naomi’s heart began to accelerate and pressure began to build. Her skin prickled. The prickles grew to needle-like sensations.

“Too hot. Too bright. Too everything. I have to get the hell out of here,” Naomi puffed.

She took off down the stairs of the pack house. The old Summer Jam T-shirt she had on suddenly felt entirely too heavy. Without thinking, she peeled it off to stop the suffocating feeling creeping in. She lay on the ground as pain rippled through her. Naomi screamed in agony as it felt like her bones were being ripped apart. The heat began to intensify and her body seemingly elongated.

Simultaneously, the ground began to shake. Nearby, trees bent on their trunks and wind whipped through the starless night. Then, just as quickly, it all disappeared. A voice echoed in her mind. Soft. Female. Familiar even though she had never heard it before.

“Happy Birthday Naomi. I am so glad we can finally meet.”

At that moment, Naomi, realizing she was nearly naked in the woods, went to grab her T-shirt only to find metallic grey paws with ancient purple symbols trailing over her arms and legs. Shocked, she asked the voice, “Who are you?”

“I am Talia. Your wolf. And it’s time we woke up. There is a lot you don’t know little one.”

At that moment, a dark shadow began to unfurl. Out of it stepped a woman with bright green eyes like witch fire and those same ancient symbols on her arms and feet. She also had an additional symbol placed directly in the middle of her forehead that appeared to glow. Her skin was porcelain and red hair whipped all around her like a tornado. She seemed to be in the forest and simultaneously somewhere else at the same time.

Naomi immediately shifted back, unable to control her form. She screamed and began pushing back against the dirt. “A witch! A witch! Who are you? What do you want?!”

“Oh, shut up, why don’t you! You are a supernatural being for Goddess sake! You live with wolves! Surely this cannot be all that surprising. Seriously, what do they teach at that animal academy of yours? I really need to stop interfering and helping people. I need to stick with people my own age. From my own millennia.” The strange woman muttered.

“No one under 100. That should at least cause some decent brain development around here. Decent company. Who are you? Who am I?!? I’m just the person who saved your life and is risking my safety to bring you into the coven. Rebuild what your mother lost…. stupid witch’s promise…high priestess.”

As the strange lady continues to ramble, Alpha Zeke and Chris break through the tree line to see Naomi wide-eyed and sitting on the ground in mid-scramble position. He speaks in rushed tones, “Angela.”

“Zeke.”

Naomi turned facing the two men coming out of the bushes and immediately shifted as Talia took over. Naomi/Talia locks eyes with Chris. Their entire world spins on its axis. She stares in shock, taking in the boy who has bullied her for years as the bond snaps into place with monumental force.

“Mate.”