A Lover and A Liar

Relive Her Mistake

"Alina!"

The high-pitched voice made her skin shudder in annoyance. What now? What was she going to complain about? One of these day Alina was going to put a spell on her, tie her lips together and finally live in peace.

"Yes, madam?" she answered instead, the smile tight and fake on her face.

"Why haven't you sent the food to those wolves yet? They have been waiting for half an hour!"

As Alina followed the direction of her landlady's gaze, she gulped once, already knowing she couldn't escape this. It was one of her tables to serve after all, but the looks the two wolf-men were giving to her made her feel more than uneasy.

Alina should have been used to this by now. She worked in an old, dirty inn that accommodated mostly the travelers from any kind and specie, that except the food and the bed, wanted to find some release as well.

Which they did, with most of the witches that served around. But not with Alina. She would rather die of hunger than become a prostitute.

Figuring that complaining about it would go in vain ― especially when her landlady had tried for years to convince her to just sleep around for some gold ― she walked towards the two men, and never once they stopped staring at her, openly checking her out. Alina couldn't understand what was there to check out. Her dress was old and dirty, her curly hair a mess, and she had been working for hours.

"Welcome to our inn, gentlemen. What can I bring you?" she repeated the line she had said millions of times already, and it was making her sick in the stomach, the way it sounded. Like she was selling even her body to them, but for the sake of her feeding herself and her sick grandmother, she had to endure this. Just like she always did.

Alina was expecting all kinds of answer, even something as, 'You are enough for now, little witch,' but instead, without saying anything, one of the men got up and without warning, wrapped his big hand around her small wrist.

He was big, and Alina felt even smaller as he towered over her and started dragging her to the stairs, as if that was completely normal.

Panic started to grip her. There had been many males that had insisted of sleeping with her, even sexually harassed her in front of everyone, yet no one had ever dragged her to the bedrooms without any warning.

Alina looked at Madam Lu, her eyes pleading for help, but the older woman only gave a shrug, leaving her in the mercy of the wolf that kept dragging her upstairs, no matter Alina's protests. Tears pricked her eyes, but she stubbornly blinked them back, not allowing the others to see her cry.

It was so painfully brutal, the way everyone saw what was happening, and no one gave a damn about it.

However, she had never been the damsel in distress. Alina was a witch. Maybe a lonely one, maybe one without a coven, a family to belong to, but she was still a witch. A female that had been able to survive a town like this for twenty years now.

If a wolf thought he could have a chance to touch her body without her consent, he was being a damn fool.

"Let me go!" Alina exclaimed, but he didn't seem to care. "I said, let me go!"

He closed the door behind his back, finally letting go of Alina's wrist only when they were inside of one of the bedrooms in the second floors, where the travelers used to spend the nights with the females that worked in this inn.

It made Alina sick just to be there, alone with this man. Wolf, whatever he was.

"If you make another step towards me, I swear, I will pull your eyes out of your head," she threatened, not allowing fear to show on her voice. "And believe me when I say, I always keep my promises."

The man didn't step back, but surprisingly he didn't make another step towards her as well.

"Calm down, I will not touch you." His rough voice took her by surprise. "Not in that way at least."

She narrowed her eyes. "What way then?"

"You don't want to find that out, witch," he answered. "That's why you'll do what I say."

Alina couldn't help it, she laughed mechanically. "If you think you can order me around, you're mistaken, wolf." She walked towards the door. "I'm not afraid of you. You can do nothing to me."

"I'm not allowed to do anything to you, but to your grandmother? Do you have any idea what I can do to her?"

Alina stopped in her feet, her hand wrapped around the handle of the door, and her mouth suddenly dry. "I can protect her." This time, she didn't sound so sure. On the contrary, the panic was obvious, lingering in the air.

"From one wolf, yes. From dozens of them that are already around your little house, I don't think you can."

She closed her eyes in defeat, turning back to face the strange man once more. He had her now, Alina knew it. As long as her grandmother was in risk, she would do anything he said, and it seemed the man was informed enough about this as well.

What did he want? Alina had many questions but somehow, she was afraid to find the answers to them.

It was just like a repeat of five years ago, when she had been forced to ruin an innocent's boy life for the sake of saving her grandmother's. And when Alina had thought she was now strong, she found herself back to being the little, scared fifteen-year-old girl that had no one to protect her.

Nothing had changed.

"What do you want?" she questioned, taking a deep breath. It was the first time the man smiled, and she knew he could tell her to cut her throat right now and she would. She had no other choice.

"Lady Katherine told me to inform you she wants you back to her Court. She says there are a few things you left unfinished a few years ago."

Her heart sank. For a few minutes Alina couldn't think of anything but his face. And his voice. And the way his beautiful, emerald eyes had shone a bright grin after she had performed her dark spell on him.

That night had haunted her dreams, her nights, not once allowing her to forget, for the guilt to ease somehow after five years of the mistake she had done.

And now this man was asking her to relive it?

No, she couldn't.

Not that. Just not that.

"I can't. I'm sorry, I can't." Alina shook her head like something had possessed her body. "Tell your Lady to find another witch. A more powerful one. I can't do this. I won't do this again."

The man seemed to grow annoyed with her rambling. "Of course you will if you don't want to find your grandmother's head separated from her body. You have no other choice, so stop wasting our times and come with me willfully."

"Please." She found his dark eyes, trying to put any trace of sympathy there. "Please, don't do this to me. I'll do anything you want. Anything. Please tell her you didn't find me. I'll give you gold. I'll give you my body. I will use my magic for you. Please, don't send me there."

For a second he looked like he felt bad for her. Just a split second before he put his cold expression back in his face. "I will never disobey my Lady's orders. Quit the begging and let's go, the trip will be long."

He grabbed her wrist once more, put this time Alina pulled it away. "Not without seeing that my grandma is okay," she said, defiantly. "I won't go anywhere without meeting her."

He gritted his teeth together. "Alright. We stop by your house just for a few minutes so you can say your goodbyes. But if you tell her where you're going, if she tells anyone, there's nothing that can save both you and your grandmother from us. Do you understand, witch?" the wolf growled.

Alina let out a deep sigh. "Yes, I do."