The Sorceress & The Alpha

Aubrey's Choice

“Your Precious?” Donovan stood up slowly, glaring directly at Elias who was standing by the door. Their anger visible in their eyes, Donovan’s were pitch black and Elias’ were red like blood. “HOW DARE YOU HIDE MY MATE FROM ME?” Elias took a step back at the intimidating alpha tone in his words but regained his composure quick enough.

“Donovan, come on! She is not your mate. She’s just a slave. She’s my property. As well as this castle is. So I have to ask you to leave my room…” Donovan gave a small nod and Alex grabbed Elias by the neck without a warning, crashing him against the hall’s wall. Donovan turned to look at Aubrey and extended his hand to help her up. With some precaution she took his hand and before she could stand up, Donovan lifted her up and carried her bridal style. 

“We’re leaving with my mate, Elias. I highly recommend you don’t do anything foolish. You know very well that the slavery agreement does not apply if a human is mated to a werewolf.” He walked past Elias who was trying to get free from Donovan’s Beta. Once Donovan reached the stairs, they let the vampire go and followed his Alpha. 

Donovan was already in the main entrance, people were staring at him and the girl in his arms. 

“YOU CANNOT TAKE HER AWAY, SHE’S MINE!” Elias screamed from the top of the stairs. The music stopped and the people from the ballroom got out to see what was going on. 

Donovan turned slowly, securing Aubrey against his chest. “He’s no longer yours, Elias. She’s my mate so you have no claim on her anymore.” 

“Oh, but I do, great Alpha. According to the treaty, you cannot take her if she does not want to leave.”

“Are you serious right now? YOU HAD HER CHAINED!” several gasps could be heard around the room. Now the whole party was in the main entrance seeing the spectacle. 

“What I do or don’t do with the woman I love is none of your business!” more gasps filled the room. LOVED? Was he being serious right now? Aubrey looked at him in complete disbelief. How far would he go to not let her leave? 

“Donovan, put the girl down.” A strong voice came from within the crowd. People stepped aside letting a man in his mid 50’s with a grey beard and ocean blue eyes appeared. 

“High Priest Blackwell?” Donovan said, confused.

“Elias is right, it is this young lady’s decision if she stays or if she leaves. Please, put her down.” Donovan obeyed and let Aubrey stand on her own. 

“Miss…”

“...Aubrey.”

“Miss Aubrey. My name is Arthur Blackwell, High Priest of the Western Lands. It seems like two gentlemen here are fighting over you. According to our rules, it is your decision with whom you want to stay. Alpha Saunders or Lord Ghica. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes sir… Is leaving by myself an option?” She could hear people laughing at the question.

“I’m afraid, that is not how it works. Not with humans at least. So please, do make your choice so we can settle this and continue with our business.” Aubrey felt right there in the spot, with everyone looking at her. Was this the formal way of doing things? She felt like she was mere entertainment for all these supernatural people. An entertainment they will probably forget about by tomorrow. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Summer. Oh Summer! She couldn’t let her here alone with him. Almost as if she could read her thoughts she mouthed ‘it’s ok, go!’.

Per the High Priest request, Elias and Donovan both stood in front of her 10 feet apart from each other. What was she? A dog? Choosing which Master is the lesser evil? Is this what she wanted? To go from being someone’s pet to another? She knew being a mate wasn’t the same as being a pet but still, she didn’t know this man, the mating bond was making her trust him but it could all be part of it. The bond makes you act blindly. But it couldn’t be worse than with Elias, could it? She looked at Elias and he was looking at her intently, almost mesmerizing. Has he always been this handsome? Something in his eyes was telling her to go towards him. She started walking his way not really being conscious of what she was doing. She wasn’t the one commanding her legs to walk...was she? No. She had no control over her body. The only thing she could do was walk, without taking her eyes away from his.

As she was getting closer she could feel her mate getting anxious. How could she? Sudden realization hit her. Elias was hypnotizing her. As soon as she understood this the bracelets in her wrists started burning against her skin. Something was wrong. She was trying to pull away from his gaze but he couldn’t. She felt invisible strings pulling her body like a marionette. She was barely three feet away from Elias. She tried pulling away from him but her body didn’t let her. The burning sensation in her wrists got worse the more she fought. She knew everything would be over if she reached him. She will be officially his. 'Stop, just make it stop!' She kept repeating in her head over and over again. Her heartbeat got louder until she couldn’t hear anything else. The smirk on Elias' face grew wider with every step. 'Stop, stop, stop, stop….'

“STOP!” Aubrey shouted out loud, feeling the invisible string cut loose and making her fall backwards by the inertia. The once golden bracelets were now red hot and vibrating. All the room went dead silent. “YOU WERE HYPNOTIZING ME!” Aubrey screamed with tears trying to escape her eyes. Donovan growled and punched Elias square in the face. Elias was about to respond to the punch when suddenly a strong female voice echoed above the chaos. 

“She’s a witch!”