The Secret Origin

Grace

The first thing I noticed was the mix of aromatic smells, spices and herbs. Some I recognised and others were new to me but there was definitely a strong scent of amber all around me. My body ached all over and although I didn't open my eyes, I could tell that I was laying on a sofa of some sort with a cover over me. There were footsteps coming closer and the sound of two hushed voices: a female voice and a male voice. I  concentrated, trying to make out what they were saying.

"I can't believe that you put a protection spell on the house without telling me," he said.

"It was necessary. We have a few enemies at the moment and anyway, how was I supposed to know that you was going to have company over? I can't remember the last time that you had a girl visit," she responded with a mischievous tone.

He let out an exasperated sigh, "I just don't get it. She has a wolf scent, I picked it up on the roof tops and when I helped her out with the wolves the other day, I was sure that she was a wolf but today, she shifted into a fox and was with other foxes. What is she?"

She let out a light laugh, "she is neither wolf nor fox, what she is is incredibly special and sought after which is probably why the wolves are after her. speaking of the wolves, what happened to the them?"

"The foxes are dealing with them," he responded with a slight twang of anger in his voice.

Keeping as still as possible, I tried not to react to what I had just heard. I needed to find out what they knew about me and I didn't want to blow my chance so I decided to pretend that I had just woken up. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. The lights were turned off apart from the lamp which was behind my head. The walls were a slate colour and I could see a large bookshelf filled with hundreds of books. I tried to sit myself up but pain shot up my back making me groan. A tall, man rushed over to me. I noticed that he was not wearing a shirt, exposing his perfectly sculpted torso which was covered in beautiful tattoos. His hair was short and black and he had a short beard which really suited his face. He knelt down besides me, supporting me to sit up. I looked up at him and noticed his eyes. One blue and one brown. He was the lone wolf. He smiled at me as I stared at him, unsure of what to say. Thankfully he broke the awkward silence.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"A little sore," I croaked, "where am I?"

"This is my home. I am Elijah," he held out his hand and I shook it responding, "I'm Willow."

Elijah laughed, "yeah, I know, you introduced yourself to me back at the field while patting me."

I let out a little laugh while swinging my legs around so that I could stand. He held onto my arm, supporting me as I got up.

Just then a petite lady walked into the room holding a tray with a teapot and a cup. She had dark long, curly hair and looked like a female version of Elijah.

"I am glad that you are awake Willow. I have made you some herbal tea to help with your pain," she said as she laid down the tray on the coffee table, "I am Grace, Elijah's mother. I must apologise about that little incident. I put a protection spell on the house which doesn't allow anyone to enter apart from us and I did not think to tell Elijah. It won't happen again though, I have amended the spell so that you are free to enter as you please." She poured the tea into the cup before handing it to me and signalling for me to sit down. At that very moment it hit me, this was Grace, the witch that I had been trying to track down and her son was the lone wolf.

"Look, I'm really sorry if I seem awkward or quiet, it's just a lot to take in. I was actually trying to track you down because I was told.that you may know where I originated from or who my parents were," I took a sip of my tea, welcoming the hot liquid which warmed my throat.

Grace sat on the chair opposite me while Elijah sat on the sofa, leaving a space between us.

Grace chuckled, "our paths were destined to cross Willow, I do know a lot about you but I am aware that you have had quite a day. After your tea, Elijah can show you to his room where you can shower and change. I have laid out some clothes for you."

My face grew hot as I looked down and realised that I was wearing an oversized Nirvana T-Shirt and nothing else, which meant that I must have shifted back when I was unconscious, laying naked on the floor. Grace was too small to carry me, so Elijah must have had to carry me, naked up the stairs. Aware that I was wearing no knickers, I crossed my legs and noticed Elijah begin to blush to.

Grace laughed, throwing her head back and clapping, "oh sweetheart it's fine. Elijah, please take Willow upstairs so that she can change into something comfortable. When you are ready Willow, come down and we will have a chat."

I nodded and followed Elijah up the stairs. Photos lined the wall leading to the top. Some were clearly Elijah as a child and as a teenager, others were of Grace and other people. Elijah opened the door to his room and stood aside, allowing me to enter.

His bedroom was spacious and minimal. He had a couple of guitars hanging on the wall and a big king-size bed in the centre. I spotted the clothes on his bed along with a towel. I walked over to the bed, inspecting the clothes. They could not have been Grace's as she was far too small for these.

Elijah stared at me and as if reading my mind he said, "they are my sister's clothes. She lives in America now but my mum keeps her room here for whenever she visits," he walked over to another door, "this is the bathroom. Help yourself to anything there. I will just be downstairs."

He began walking to the door so I reached out for him, touching his chest to stop him and he looked at me in surprise, "I just wanted to say thank you, for saving me from the wolves," I said.

"From what I saw today, you don't need any help or saving. Thanks for backing me up today. Here take my mobile, call your pack or group..."

"Skulk," I interrupted.

"...call your Skulk, they are probably worried about you."

Realising that my hand was still on his chest, I dropped my hand taking his phone from him before he walked out of his room closing the door behind him.

I sat on his bed, my head spinning from everything that had happened. I knew that Nathanael and Noah were going to be worried about me but I had no idea what to tell them. I held onto the phone trying to decide who I should phone and what I would say. If I phone Nathanael then he would be round here demanding I come home and I needed to find out what Grace knew about me so I decided to call Noah instead..

I dialled his number and on the second ring he picked up. He sounded stressed and I knew that he was stressed because of me.

"Noah, it's Willow, I'm fine," I stated quickly.

"Thank f**k for that," he said, "I was so worried, Nathanael is freaking out and he is looking for you. Where are you, I'll come and get you now."

"No, Noah, you cant, not now. Look I can't explain now, but I am so close to finding out what I am. I promise you that I am safe," I reassured him. "I will come home soon."

"Soon as in a few hours soon? Or soon as in a few months soon?" he asked.

"I don't know, tell Nathanael that I needed to clear my mind and I needed a break from everything tell him that I am fine and that I will be back when I am ready. Tell Maxim the same thing." I said.

Noah was silent as he tried to decide what to say, "ok" he finally said, "but be careful. Maxim is questioning the wolf he captured. They can't get much out from him. He has admitted that they want you but they are not saying why. If they can't get any information from him, Maxim is going to want you to stay here with us. So whatever you are Peanut, do it quick,"  he warned.

"I will, I will call you soon." I said before ending the call.