Chapter 11
1158 Words
I walked out uncertain.
All done? For now, I guess.
Aunt, is it hard to meet with a witch?
A witch?
She looked at me, her eyes furrowed in a thoughtful expression.
“Christy… why are you asking about witches?”
I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged lightly. “It’s just something I came across in the library.”
“A book?” she asked.
I nodded. “About Moon Calling. It seems they perform better Moon Callings, they are more attuned to nature so they might have an explanation.”
Her steps slowed just a little. “Oh,” she said quietly.
I glanced at her. “Is it strange to want to talk to witches?”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “Not strange. Just… not something people talk about often.”
That only made me more curious.
“So, is it hard to meet a witch?” I asked.
She let out a small breath, like she was considering how to answer.
“Not exactly hard,” she said. “But not very common either.”
“So it’s possible?”
She gave a small nod. “Yes. Graham might know one or two. And Adaira… her pack has connections, so it’s possible through her as well.”
A small smile tugged at my lips.
“That’s good.”
She looked at me again, this time a bit more carefully.
“Why the sudden interest?”
I kept my tone casual. “Well, from what I read, witches seem more attuned to nature. If Moon Calling has anything to do with bonds, they might understand it better.”
Sadness flashed in her scent before she covered it up quickly “That’s true,” she admitted. “They do see things a bit differently.”
Encouraged, I added, “So I thought it might help to hear their perspective. Just to understand it better.”
She studied me for a second, then smiled faintly. “Research, hm?”
I smiled back. “Exactly.”
She shook her head lightly, amused.
“You and your questions.”
“So you’ll ask Sir. Graham?” I pressed.
“I will,” she said. “No harm in asking.”
Relief settled in my chest.
“Thank you, Aunt.”
She nudged me gently as we continued walking.
“But don’t expect too much, and don't get discouraged over it”, she added
"Not every question has a clear answer. Or a comforting one.”
My mind flashed over to that brief episode. How awkward. She knew, I hoped she didn't think I was depressed. I was just.... overwhelmed that period.
“Maybe,” I said quietly. “But I still want to know. I won't get discouraged about it, Aunt”
She didn’t argue with that.
I'd find a way, I might have given up on a relationship with Alec but I still wanted answers. I wanted the whole pack to understand that it wasn't my fault.
I know what I felt.
"Can you ask him now, Aunt?"
“Alright, let’s go—” she started, then paused. “No… sit here. I’ll come back after I speak with him."
"Okay." I answered calmly but inwardly I was panicked, what would she tell him? I could already imagine the words.
My niece thinks she’s the mate of her Alpha, but he denied it. The shaman tried the Moon Calling twice, but nothing changed.
Now she wants to meet a witch… Please help her, I’m very worried about her.
I closed my eyes, a mix of embarrassment and frustration settling in. I wanted to tell her not to worry about it but the pain of this mystery would be worse than this embarrassment.
So the only words that came out were, “Thank you.”
"Don't worry about it," She replied.
That should have been my lines, believe me, I was worried about it.
"Witches can be very proud so they might not agree easily, but we have to try at least."
She disappeared down the path walking at a steady pace, leaving me alone on the bench with nothing but my thoughts and unfortunately, there were far too many of them.
For a while, I didn’t move.
I just sat there, staring ahead at the carefully trimmed grass and the rows of flowers that seemed almost too perfect, too intentional.
Everything in this place had order, purpose, and balance. Even the air felt curated, carrying faint traces of earth and bloom, layered over the unmistakable scent of wolves that marked this as theirs.
It should have been comforting.
And it was, just not enough to quiet what was building inside me.
My fingers laced together loosely in my lap as I exhaled, slow and measured, like I could breathe my way into clarity. But the more I tried to settle my thoughts, the more they unraveled instead, pulling me back to the same place I had been trying to move past.
Alec.
To that moment.
To the way everything that had felt so certain… had been dismissed so easily.
My jaw tightened slightly.
Despite all this time of throwing myself into studies and books to prevent stray thoughts, it had still come back to him.
I didn’t want to think about it—not like this, not here—but it wasn’t something I could just push aside anymore. Not when it kept resurfacing in different forms, in different questions, in different possibilities that all led back to the same unsettling conclusion:
Something didn’t make sense.
And I couldn’t ignore that.
That was the real reason I was here. Not curiosity. Not idle interest in witches or old rituals or stories buried in books that most people probably skimmed past without a second thought.
No.
This was about understanding something that refused to be understood.
My gaze dropped to my hands.
I am not delusional.
The thought came again, quieter this time but no less firm.
I knew what I had felt.
It hadn’t been imagined, no matter how easily he dismissed it.
There had been something there, something real, something undeniable. Even now, the memory of it lingered faintly, like an echo that refused to fade completely.
I had already been exiled for this.
Not for rebellion. Not for defiance.
For something they refused to accept or understand, for a bond they claimed didn’t even exist.
So I needed answers
I was sure it wasn’t imagined…
Then what was it?
A misalignment?
Or was it Alec? My shoulders rose and fell in a slow breath.
That was where the idea of a witch's Moon Calling had rooted itself.
Not as a solution.
Not yet.
But as a way to see clearly.
Of stripping away doubt and confusion to get the truth of what the bond really was—or wasn’t.
If witches truly understood bonds…
Then asking them wasn’t unreasonable.
…Was it?
- Writer
