The Two Alphas' Fated Witch

The String Between

As these words exit my lips and fill the night air, something clicks between the three of us. I feel it, and judging by their reactions, they do too. They're still holding my gaze, but the previous anger and fury and rage have instantly vanished. All that's left is silence, shock, and something else.

Is that...

"Now that you're done having your growling fit," Cassie's voice snaps us back to the orchard, reminding us we aren't alone. Her amber eyes are locked onto Eric, though not all the fear has left them. "How about you shift back so we can talk about what the plan is?"

The orange wolf growls a little at her, but looks up at Joey. The man nods, and the wolf bounds away to the front of the house. Before I can ask, Joey says, "He's grabbing some clothes from the car. He'll be back in a second."

It's only then that I notice the scattered remnants of Eric's clothes. Other than his jacket, which Joey has across his arm, everything else is torn to shreds. Oh, right. Werewolves don't keep their clothes in wolf form. Which means, when he does shift back, Eric will be...

Nope, stop that! I shake my head, trying to get those thoughts out. We do not need to be thinking about hot naked dudes! I focus back on the group, which is starting to make its way back to the house. We walk in silence: Joey leading the way, head tilted to the ground, with the Santiagos and I a few feet back. Mother and daughter are watching him warily, but I'm still in my head a little. However, instead of visions of lean muscles and cute red curls, my brain is trying to organize what subjects we have to discuss. A part of me wants to tell them everything, but another believes only a minimum is necessary. And neither side is really making any headway.

By the time we are at the back door, Ive given up. Hopefully Mrs. Santiago will decide what is and is not important. Eric has joined us, fully clothed and human. Joey hands him his coat from before. I guess he was able to get that off before shifting. Now that I think about it, I wonder how that shapeshifting stuff all works. Does it hurt? Is there a process?

"Hey, you coming?"

Eric's bark brings me back to the task at hand, and I rush through the door he's holding open. I mutter a word of thanks as I step through, still a bit awkward with all that's going on. He just nods, then follows behind me.

The Santiagos are seated by the door, eyeing Joey on the other side. Eric joins his partner, walking around me. Now, both sides seem to expect me to join them, but neither really feels right. f**k it, I decide to just take Mr. Santiago's chair at the head, making myself part of neither group. Wide eyes stare at me from all persons, except Mrs. Santiago, who nods and begins, thankfully. "Now, let's get to the point. What exactly do you boys want to know?"

Eric scoffs. "I think we deserve the full truth, don't you?"

"The truth of the matter is that we are witches, including Ali. Three nights ago, she used her magic on you two, by accident, causing the three of you to share the bond of Fated Mates. But I'm sure there's more you two would like to know."

"How did she do it?" Joey asks before Eric can make another snide comment. "I know you witches are powerful, but this is a whole nother level."

Cassie nods. "You're right. Such a bond is created by the Moon Goddess. A witch shouldn't be able to tamper or replicate it. Not even our strongest have ever done such a thing, though I doubt any have actually tried."

"Most likely your magic reacted instinctually during that stressful situation you mentioned." Mrs. Santiago turns to face me, her voice becoming more serious. "What exactly happened, Ali?"

I shoot a glance at the boys. Both meet my gaze for an instant, and one thing is clear between us. None of us wants anyone to know what actually happened that night. I close my eyes, then turn back to Mrs. Santiago. "These guys actually found me before I passed out, but I was panicking severely, and shaking all over. They tried to help me out of the car, but you know how I am about being touched, especially when I'm like that. So, when they both reached out, I hit their hands away, yelling at them to stop."

It's close enough to the truth without them knowing about the attack. I look to Joey, and he nods, continuing where I cannot. "Once she did that, there was a gleam of purple sparks. They seemed to come from her hands, but I only had a second to notice before something pushed us away from her."

"Same for me," Eric agrees. "It actually felt like when I tried attacking you just now. That's why I thought it was the same magic."

I glance at Cassie, who does not seem to enjoy reminiscing on almost being torn to shreds. Still, she nods. "That's most likely due to the bond. It's one of the closest things to magic you werewolves have, besides shapeshifting. If your Mate gives you a strong enough command, you would be forced to obey it. Just like you are forced to keep your promises to her."

Joey's eyes turn a bit darker as she says this. "That's another thing. How do you know so much about us? This is even more than we know."

Cassie glares at him. "You don't need to know that."

"That doesn't seem fair, considering the circumstances." Eric growls a little.

"Well, I guess you two get to know what it's like to be treated unfairly."

A glaring contest ensues. If it weren't for the table between them, I'm pretty sure they'd be in each other's faces. After a few minutes, however, I've had enough. "Stop this already!" I snap at my best friend. "Seriously, Cassie, you're even starting to get on my nerves!"

Her shocked amber eyes stare at me, but I turn to the more victorious ones across the table. "And you two! She's right. We are here to discuss our problem and how to fix it. Nothing more. Understood?"

All eyes fix on me as I finish scolding them. Only Mrs. Santiago nods. "Well said, Ali. Now, about fixing this." She laces her fingers together, balancing her head on top. Her brown eyes lock onto the wall opposite her, but I'm certain she isn't thinking about changing the wallpaper at a time like this. "We know Ali's magic is the cause of this, we just don't know how. No witch has ever been recorded to do such a feat. However, one thing is for certain. If magic caused this, only magic can break it. I'm sure you two recognize that."

The guys nod, and Eric responds, "Yeah, it was kind of obvious when we couldn't reject her."

Wait, what? Something inside of me goes cold as Eric says these words. Like I was shot with a tiny icicle. What does he mean, reject me?

"So you did try," Cassie exclaims, then shakes her head.

"I understand this is rather personal, but if you can describe exactly how you tried, that may help us in finding a solution."

Eric pales a little, and glances at Joey. The other man has been silent for a while, listening and thinking, but finally, he sighs. "It's kind of hard to explain. It's like this bond is a string, connecting us to each other. Through it, we are tied together, and can feel vibrations, signalling when each other is feeling certain strong emotions. When they're angry. When they're scared or stressed. Even when they're lying. Basically, we tried to take scissors to the string. But every time we tried to cut, it evaded the blades, and disappeared for a moment. Like it's faded, or hiding from us."

As Joey explains this, I try to see if I can feel what he's talking about. But no matter how hard I try, I can't feel the bond. The only proof I have that it even exists on my end are the two crescent moons on my shoulder.

Cassie and I have the same idea. "Can you feel it, Ali?"

I shake my head. "No. I keep trying, but so far, nothing."

The guys look disappointed, and I know how they feel. Gods, this is so frustrating!

"Well," Mrs. Santiago tells us, "We now know there's no easy way around this. What I believe we should do is as we planned, girls."

Cassie and I nod, but Eric and Joey look between us, lost. "And what is that, exactly?"

"I will be teaching Ali how to use and control her magic. Hopefully, as she gets more acquainted with it, she'll be able to undo what she has done."

"And how long will that take?" Eric asks.

"That's hard to say. Normally, Ali would've already been through many years of training. However, due to certain...circumstances, I had to hold off in doing so until now."

"So we just have to live with this until then?!" A short growl of exasperation escapes Eric's throat, but even he understands there's not much else that can be done. A wave of guilt comes through me. I really f****d up this time.

"It will go faster if Ali stays with us. Then, we can-"

"Absolutely not."

We all turn, shocked at the two wolves' immediate dismissal of Mrs. Santiago's suggestion. But Eric is now standing, looming over the table. Even Joey seems adamant on this. "She will stay with us, where we can keep an eye on her."

Cassie rolls her eyes. "She already promised to break the bond. Why are-"

"This isn't about her running away from us," Eric interrupts her. "If Ali had wanted to, she had plenty of opportunities to do so tonight."

He's right, but that still leaves the question. "So why are you so against me staying here?" I ask.

"It's not that we're against you staying here specifically," Joey explains. "But now that you are our Fated Mate, you have no idea how dangerous this city just got for you."

"Not just the city. The entire world!"

My eyes look between these two, absolutely stunned with confusion. And a dash of fear. "What do you mean? Why would I be in danger?"

But it's actually Cassie that answers for them, with the look of sudden realization on her face. "Because you are now their greatest weakness."

"More specifically," Joey adds, "you are now the weakness of the two Main Alphas of one of the largest Packs in the world. And as such, we aren't letting you go anywhere." His dark brown eyes could really be mistaken for black at this point, as they lock onto mine, full of determination. "Not without us."