Threaded

• Chapter 01 • Being a witch is bad luck

In this life, you are either born as a witch or as a wolf. Thanks to the advancement of technology, the world developed in a way that those born as wolves wouldn’t need to change their form. Still, within their race, they are separated between alphas (the strongest and often, leaders), betas (who are mostly normal in strength), and omegas (the only ones who are able to get impregnated).

When a wolf is born, they are born as a mix of a human and a wolf; an easy way to differentiate them from witches.

Every person in this world has a mate, someone threaded to them with a red string, as per the Goddess’s choice.

Over the years, there was a massive hunt for witches, which caused the death of many. Thus, most witches lived together, in small communities.

The most known one is the Kirel Valley, home of the Crescent Moon Coven.

Every year, on the 15th of January, all children who were nine years old were brought to be tested, in order for the elders to assess what powers they possessed and so, learn which class they belonged to.

There are five classes of witches.

The zydas are natural healers and can control the elements of nature; usually, some are more inclined to one specific element but it doesn’t mean they can’t control others. The zydas are always, good-natured people.

The drycs are mages that basically work with potions and telepathy and they can cast basic spells like opening or closing doors, moving things around, and even weak element-related magic. The drycs are impartial, they tend to stay in their own zone, never meddling with other people’s affairs.

The zeins can foresee the future and talk to the dead. On rare occasions, a zien can train their magic and upgrade to a level in which they can bring dead people back to life for a short period. Like the drycs, the ziens are impartial; the difference is that they usually trade their magic for money.

The fourth, and not-so-common class, is the zeyha. A zeyha is how it’s called a child who is born with the blood of a witch and the blood of an alpha. Their personality and traits are unpredictable, being the parents responsible for it.

The last class, rare, almost extinct, is the vanik. The vaniks are always hunted down as they are the strongest of all classes, capable of doing what all others do, but perfectly. Their personality is unpredictable, but it was noted through time that they tend to be irrational, angry, and rude. They are also called chaotic.

The Crescent Moon coven was known for being peaceful and kind. Other towns would usually ask for their help with their sick citizens, infertile crop fields, and even protection when a threat was made. The reason why they had such a reputation was mainly that they had only zydas and drycs, and an old couple who were ziens with unquestionably good hearts.

As the sun rose on the horizon, awakening the citizens of the Kirel Valley, the excitement of the families was visible as they began their work, happily humming songs and chatting with each other, as another day full of work was starting; besides, it was an important date for most families with kids with the age of nine.

The cold wind blew softly the hairs of the kids, all gathered in the clearing of the Irrimont Forest, the largest of the country, situated at the very north. The ground of the forest was covered in snow, making it hard for anyone to get to the most important and sacred area: the clearing, where all rituals were made.

The test, as it was known, was a simple ritual realized in the clearing. The elders drew sigils in the middle of it, potentiating the power of the place, and placed not only one of each element as well as a little cauldron. If the kid turned out to be a zyda or a dryc, the elements or the cauldron would activate. For a zeyha, the power engraved on the ground below them would make them shift into a wolf; and for a zien, some kind of spectrum would form around them.

If the child turned out to be a vanik, a storm would form. And this was something beyond the will or power of the elders. The storm was caused by the gods, as a warning to everyone that a vanik had been discovered.

One by one, the kids were called, all a little bit nervous and anxious.

“Little Elle... It seems that you’ve been graced by nature just like your parents...“, an old woman, in her sixties, said softly to the little kid, blond ponytail bouncing from side to side. “Now...“, the woman held her hand gently as a greenish light, like a thread, wrapped their intertwined hands and drew a symbol on the girl’s wrist. “Go tell them you’re a zyda, child. Go.”

Elle jumped in excitement, hugging the woman’s waist and nodding fast as she thanked the older woman over and over again. She then ran over the clearing, anxious of telling her parents the good news.

After two more zydas and four drycs, they came to face the last test of this year; a highly awaited one. A child who came from a long and pure lineage of strong zydas.

The little girl was quietly waiting her turn, looking at her own intertwined hands, nervously anticipating the result.

“So, Moon, are you ready?”

The little girl placed her small hand over the necklace she was wearing, a gift from her late grandmother, and tightly held it as she nodded her head.

“Have I told you how pretty your name is?”

“Many times before, Miss Claire.”

Claire left out a low chuckle, caressing the girl’s hair, pitch-black as the night. “Yes, I did. Now, go place yourself at the center.”

Moon walked fearfully, each step carefully taken; she stopped right before the stone circle. Somehow, her slow movements made all the elders there anticipate her result. Although sure she would turn out to be a zyda, deep down, it felt like she could be something else.

As soon as her first foot touched the ground, a loud thunder echoed through the forest, together with the sound of crows flying above them. When the other foot did the same, not only thunder but lightning illuminated the sky, now fully dark with heavy clouds.

The little girl’s fears weren’t simple anxiety. She knew, deep inside her soul, she wasn’t like any other in her family. She wasn’t a healer with a good-natured personality.

She was supposed to be evil. She was supposed to be chaos.

As unfortunate as it sounded, she was a vanik.

Just like her late grandmother.

And her existence was abominated.

When the first droplet of rain fell, Moon’s eyes became red as she understood the excruciating silence of the elders in the clearing: her fate was sealed, right there and then.

“Moon, follow me.“, Claire’s voice now was cold and distant, void of any sweetness it held before. “We need to inform your parents about your result.”

The girl quietly followed the elder witch across the forest and toward the valley. Upon the sudden storm, everyone knew, just by looking at them, what was to come.

Claire knocked three times on the heavy light wooden door of Moon’s house before being greeted by the girl’s mom. The woman proudly welcomed them, hugging her daughter tightly, as she knew for sure Moon was a zyda. She wondered, though, which kid turned out to be a vanik.

“Judith, is Elijah home? I would like to speak to both of you. About Moon.”

Judith seemed confused at first but promptly walked towards the back door of the house and called her husband, dirty from head to toe as he was tending their garden.

As they all took a seat in their small but cozy living room, Claire kept herself standing. Judith insisted that the woman sit down as well.

“No need to, Judith. I’ll soon take my leave.“, Claire intertwined her hands. “The ritual revealed Moon to be a vanik. As you both are aware of our valley’s rules, no vanik is allowed within our territory. From this moment on, Moon is exiled from our land. You can either leave with her, given she is your child or send her down to Macondo, the nearest city to welcome any kind of person.”

“What?“, Judith’s shoulders fell from shock, her arms no longer hugging her daughter.

Elijah’s eyes shifted from Claire to his little girl, unable to form a sentence.

“You both have till tomorrow morning, ten hours sharp to make a decision. Two guards will be here, at your door, to either accompany you or her out of Kirel.”

Judith began yelling, unable to accept such destiny easily. Her family was purely made out of zydas, so how could her daughter be a vanik, out of all classes?

“I’m truly sorry, Judith. This outcome was surely a surprise to us all. But rules are rules, and we must abide by them if we want this place to continue the same.”

Claire left, not looking at Moon at all, but surely disappointed with the current situation. Losing the Bexley family would be a great loss to the valley.

Moon held back her tears as she ran upstairs, closing her bedroom door and hiding under the blankets.

For a few moments, all she heard was silence. A bitter warning of what was coming. Her parent’s talked in whispers, soon escalating to screams from both parties. Amidst her cry, she couldn’t make out the words being said but was sure she was the topic of it.

Her tears fell down endlessly, slowly pulling the little girl to deep sleep.

•

Moon was softly awakened by her uncle, from her father’s side, in the middle of the night.

“Hey, sweetheart. You need to get up... We have to leave...”

“We’re leaving?”

“You heard what Elder Claire said earlier. You can’t stay here anymore...”

“I’m not evil, uncle, I’m not. I’m a good girl... I eat my vegetables, I help mom around the house, I help dad at the shop, I-”

“I know, sweetie, I know. That’s why we’re leaving. Your mom is blinded by the power her name holds, too blind to understand anything. And your father can’t leave her, nor your little brother. So, we’re leaving. Together. You and me.”

“You won’t leave me?”

“Never, sweetie. Never.”

•

When she turned twelve, Moon accidentally put her coat on fire. Damion, her uncle, got devastated by the fear his niece had in her eyes, afraid of her own powers. He knew it was too soon, even for a vanik, to develop powers at such young age. Still, he was she had at the moment, and against his will, he began, slowly, teaching her basic magic; he planned on taking her to a friend of his, when she got older, to learn everything a vanik was.

At sixteen, during a visit to Vence, a small town to the south, Moon was taken to an old witch. Damion had noticed a strange aura surrounding her, something that no witch, regardless of class, had. The old witch kept silent for a long time before finally saying that the strange aura, was in fact, a demon. A demon that, unknowingly, got attached to Moon.

Why? The old woman couldn’t see the reason why the demon was attached to her, but the string connecting them was unbreakable.

Before they left, the old witch gave a final warning: to stay away from the Cerdaville family.

When questioned about it, she told Damion what had happened back in the Kirel Valley after they left.

It seemed that, just like when he was a kid, The Cerdaville clan had invaded the Kirel valley in search of a vanik. They killed almost everyone, including his brother and his sister-in-law; his nephew was missing.

Damion mustered his courage and told the young Moon about the recent events. She cried for about an hour, before sighing and saying that she’d grow up strong and she’d find her brother.

Until she completed eighteen years of age, in order to keep herself safe, Moon had mastered the act of pretending to be an alpha. Strangely, though, she never heard the demon, only felt its presence.

One day, a few months later after becoming eighteen, when she entered a*****e to buy some new clothes, Moon saw her reflection in the mirror; beside her, a woman was standing with a serious expression.

"I’m Noira.”

The voice echoed inside her head; Moon turned around to see who it was but she was alone. Fear crippled her.

It was the demon attached to her.

Noira had long black hair and gray eyes.

When she told her uncle, she was advised never to tell anyone about Noira, and never get into situations where she would lose control and end up using her powers. Not that she needed such advice, after all, she barely used her powers, and Noira always remained very quiet in her mind.

They had been in Berkshire for three years already, living near the city’s border, and staying away from the eyes of others, not attracting any attention; Damion got a job at the sawmill and Moon, at thirty years old, got a job at a coffee shop right in the middle of town.

The South, as far as she heard from the owner of the cafe, is governed by a council of influential family members who, at the top of the hierarchy in Berkshire, are the Sutherlands. That’s because, in addition to being the richest and strongest, they are the ones who created what Berkshire is today. Besides, it seems to Moon that philanthropy is their last name. She still doesn’t know them and doesn’t want to. The quiet life she and her uncle lead is enough. Except for the disappearance of her brother.

Barlow, the owner of the cafe where she works, is a contradictory guy. Although he looks like a barbarian with his six-foot-tall height, woodcutter beard and mustache, and leather boots (not to mention his jewel, a motorcycle he treats like a diamond); Barlow has the personality of a grandfather: quiet, sometimes grumpy, but always worried and giving advice.

As she cleans the counter, she realizes how far they’ve come. Even if there are still some citizens who look down on them and call them garbage or dirty blood, there are people like Barlow who take them in.

“Hey, Moon, I’ve got to work some things out at home. Can you take care of the store for me?”

“Sure, Barlow, no problem!”

“Don’t forget to lock up! If any problem arises, call me... I’ll send Sketch to help you.”

Moon nods her orange flannel as Barlow climbs on his bike and disappears from the line of sight that the big windows in the cafeteria provided. Ace, a guy who helps them in the late afternoons and evenings, was arriving just as the shift of ‘unbearable’ Dellia, as they called her, was over. And, as always, Dellia threw her apron on Moon and left without saying a word.

“Ain’t it funny how she feels so high and mighty? She’s just a beta, no big deal...“, Ace said as he put his backpack under the counter.

“She’s still part of a greater number than us witches.“, Moon said as she put the mugs on the shelf behind the counter.

That’s something that annoys her way too much. This hierarchy that the Alphas are above all and that they must be respected and obeyed. Only Moon knows the thousands of times that Barlow or her uncle and even Ace had to take her away from somewhere because she didn’t follow that rule. No matter who you are, respect is a must.

“The world is still f****d up if people are still living like this...“, he put a cigar in his mouth, without lighting it.

“Being a witch is bad luck.”

Ace sighs. “It’s hard to find a soulmate when you’re a hunted race...”

“Ace, you’ve been reading too many books... Soulmates don’t exist.“, Moon sighs as she looks at the red thread around her ring finger.

When she turned eighteen, Moon started seeing these strings connecting people. When she told her uncle, he gave her a big book, with a brown leather cover. According to him, it belonged to her grandmother. Most pages were empty, but one began writing itself with what the strings meant. She then learned about them. The red one indicated that her destined one was somewhere near.

“Destined mates, ok, I might believe that. But soulmates? This... deep and eternal love that people talk about? No, that doesn’t exist.”

“You’re too skeptical, Moon...”

“Realistic, Ace, I’m realistic.“, she sighed, ignoring the itching feeling on her finger.

Ace then leaned his arm on her shoulder and looked down the street.

“One day, listen to me, one day you’ll find out that soulmates do exist. And then, I wanna be the first one to know. And I’ll make so much fun out of you...”

“f**k you, Ace.”

Ace laughed loudly. But then his laugh died.

“Oh, yeah, f**k. Look who’s coming...”

Moon looked to where Ace’s eyes were pointed at. Archie, or ‘Mr. Arrogant’, as they call him, was at the cafeteria door, behind her, with his troupe of brutes.

“That’s great, isn’t it?“, she says. “Just when Barlow isn’t here, this i***t had to show up.”

“Behave, for f**k’s sake, Moon. It’s always vaniks hunting season.“, Ace whispers before leaving her and walking back to the counter.

Moon chuckled and turned around, also going to the back of the counter.

As soon as he opened the door, Archie snorted at Moon and Ace.

“I swear I don’t understand how they still allow people like you into this city. I think my father will have to talk seriously to alpha Ben.“, Archie said, with his eyes changing between brown and green, probably trying to intimidate with his aura, given he was an alpha.

And those were the times when the problems happened.

People below the alphas are always intimidated by the tone of voice they use and automatically bow their heads. Not Moon. Because she was sure she could win him easily in a fight; being a witch had its advantages.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to Barlows. What would you like to order?“, she smiled as best as she could while thinking of the thousands of injuries she’d like to inflict on him.

Noira’s presence was bugging her as well.

One of the guys who walked in with him, tall and tanned, was the only one who didn’t treat anyone like that. He was always quiet, which leads her to believe there was something very wrong with him.

He ignored everyone else and came to the counter.

“I’d like a double espresso and two doughnuts.”

Moon had to bite her lips so as not to laugh at Archie’s incredulous face. After a few curses to the boy, Archie, and his group made the requests to Ace. Taking advantage of the calmness of their presence, Moon decided to finish cleaning the tables.

But Archie wouldn’t be himself if he left her alone. Thanks to his foot, Moon fell face down on the floor and hurt her arm, because she tried to hold on to a nearby chair. Noira did not like it at all, itching Moon’s skin as she tried to get out. Her arm became increasingly red as she took a deep breath and got up.

She could hear Ace calling Barlow.

Moon got up, tilting her jaw in anger.

“Apologize.”

“What?“, Archie asked before he had a laughing fit.

Everyone else laughed, except the tall, tanned guy. Every second of his laughter made not only Moon but Noira as well, angrier.

Archie stood up and held the collar of her red plaid shirt. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Your worst nightmare.“, Moon felt the essence of being a vanik coming to the surface. “Apologize...“, she could feel Noira’s erratic behavior trying to take control of her consciousness.

In seconds Archie held her against the wall while one of his hands squeezed her neck. This time, both eyes were green.

“I don’t know where you came from, but here, in Berkshire, there is a hierarchy. Alphas rule this place. You should bow your head and obey me, you understand?”

Moon felt even more anger than ever, and held Archie’s wrist, piercing her nails into his skin.

"No powers are allowed in public.”, she remembered her uncle saying when they first came to Berkshire.

She was right when she said she could take him down easily. With little resistance, she managed to get his hand off of her neck; no wolf could ever compare to a vanik in terms of strength.

“I think you should see a doctor. How can a filthy witch like me get your hands off without any problem? Are you sure you’re an alpha? So... weak.”

Archie closed his hand and as he was about to hit her face, a hand held his fist.

“Not my best friend, Archie. You don’t want me as your enemy.”