The Sorceress & The Alpha

Aubrey's Origins

“Aubrey, are you listening to me?” Summer snapped at Aubrey that was glaring intently at her cup of coffee. “Are you trying to do magic again?” They were at a cafe downtown. It has been a week since they arrived at the coven and, even though she has been studying hard, she hasn’t been able to perform a single spell so far. She was starting to believe that something was broken inside of her or maybe all this was a mistake since the beginning. “You’re doing exactly the opposite of what Lady Lilian said, you have to relax, baby.” She said, touching her hand. 

“What if I’m not a witch, Summer?” Aubrey mumbled while taking another sip from her coffee.

“Don’t you dare say that, Aubrey! I know you can do it! You just need to relax and let it flow.” 

Aubrey was about to answer when she heard her phone ringing, she didn’t even need to see who it was, the only people that called her were either Summer or…

“Uh, is the sexy mate calling?” Aubrey shushed her but brought her finger to her lips while answering the call.

“Hey Donovan.”

“You look beautiful in that white dress.”

“Stalker much?” Aubrey said jokingly turning around searching for him, sure enough, he was outside in the street, leaning casually on his Land Rover. Aubrey couldn’t help wondering how he managed to look so sexy all the time. He always looked so elegant, his black hair pulled back perfectly, his tanned skin contrasted perfectly against his navy blue suit and white shirt. He was wearing black aviator sunglasses that blocked his eyes but the big smile that he had reserved exclusively for her was plastered there. 

Since day one, Donovan has visited her or called her everyday. Always being a gentleman without being boring. Always trying to surprise her, even with simple gifts as cupcakes or by asking her about what she likes. She has never felt this way, she was still not ready to open completely to him but she felt safe with him and he could sense it; and that was enough for now. 

“Want a  ride back to Lilian’s?” 

“Sure, thank you.” she said before hanging up, “I just got us ourselves a ride back home.” 

Aubrey was slowly getting used to her new life, from time to time she would wake up in the middle of the night scared, not sure of where she was. Eventually she decided to leave the lamp over the nightstand on so she would always wake up and see her surroundings. Things like these reminded her that this could fade away any moment now, that’s why she was trying to treasure every second of it. 

She picked her things up and went to Donovan, kissing him on the cheek. So far he has been such a gentleman, not being demanding and giving her the space she needed. Part of her was starting to feel what Lilian was mentioning, this strange force that was dragging her towards him. Her lips lingered longer than she intended on his face, once she pulled back she could notice the sparkle in his eyes. She was easing on him and he knew it. 

After a short ride, they arrived back at Lilian’s building, Donovan led them straight to the bar. Lilian was going crazy in there: opening bottle after bottle, smelling each one of them. Books were scattered all over the table and a world map was laying on the floor with blobs of ink and probably blood was smeared all over it. 

“Finally! You’re back, Aubrey! Come, come, come! Good thing Donovan is here. I need you greatly!”

Donovan arched his eyebrow, “Is everything alright?” Amusement hidden in his voice. 

Without answering his question Lilian closed the distance between them hastily and shoved a glass that contained purple dried flowers up to Donovan’s nose, “Does this smells like your mate?” Donovan backed away slightly initially for the sudden reaction but then he got closed to the container, sniffing it. 

“Actually, it does!” he said shocked.

Aubrey looked at him puzzled. She smelled like dead flowers? 

“Freesia corymbosa” Lilian declared proudly and looked around expecting everyone to know what she was talking about. She rolled her eyes but explained nevertheless, “As we all know. Werewolves have such a developed sense of smell that they can identify the scent that each individual carries. For mates, in particular, this is especially true. So thank you, Donovan, for helping me confirm my suspicions.” 

“Which where…” Donovan urged her to continue.

“Our scent is like a fingerprint and it is imprinted within our essence. Nevertheless, similar to DNA, this scent carries genetic information. This, my darlings, is information very few people know. That’s why it is easy for werewolves within the same pack to identify each other and, at the same time, identify when a werewolf is not part of their pack. Basically they carry similar scents in a general sense but with their own individualities. Now you, Aubrey… You have been quite a challenge. I know you have been frustrated because you have not been able to perform any spell. That’s when it hit me! What if our magic is not your magic?” 

“I’m sorry, Lilian. I still don’t get it.” said Aubrey shyly. 

“That’s because I haven’t made my point yet”, Lilian snapped, she was obviously euphoric about her discovery so Aubrey just closed her mouth trying to not take her response as an offense. “As I was saying, there are different types of magic, depending on where you come from. For population reasons, the celtic magic is the most commonly practiced but it’s not the only one. I assumed you were from here because you have been here since you were little. But what if you weren’t actually born here? That’s when I noticed that you ALWAYS use the same shampoo. Unconsciously you choose a shampoo that matches your scent! The Freesia corymbosa! A very common flower used to make fragrances but I only use the best of the best for mine. And THAT, darling, that scent of yours comes from a very particular flower that grows in the Southern Lands.” 

Lilian walked back to the map that was spreading on the floor. She pointed to a particular blob of blood in the map that looked quite fresh. Whose blood was it? Was Aubrey’s first thought, maybe a question that she rather kept unanswered. 

“Aubrey, you have shamanic magic!” she said excitedly. 

Something tingled within Aubrey’s insides. She has never heard about that word: shamanic; but knowing that maybe she was indeed a witch and this hasn’t been a mistake got her all excited and full of anticipation.

“So I’m a witch?”

“Well. Yes and no. Witch is a very common term to refer to everyone that practices magical techniques but there are all sort of types: witches, warlocks, shamans, nahuales, sorceress, and so on. So you indeed have magic within you, Aubrey; I am completely certain of that. But we have been trying to teach you the wrong techniques! Now that we have this information I can make some calls to see I can get some contacts to come visit and test your abilities.” 

Having strangers examining her didn’t excite her much, but if that was what it was needed in order to wake her powers, she was in. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. “Wait a minute… If I’m from the Southern Lands… Does that mean that that’s where my family is?”