The Two Alphas' Fated Witch

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"So how does it work again?"

I'm standing in Mrs. Santiago's workshop, watching her play with the door. Cassie is back in the same chair she was in the other night, lounging around like this is all perfectly normal. For her, it probably is. "For the fifth time, Ali, Mama's going to move the entrance to your place. Then, we'll grab everything, stock it in here, and bring it back to the wolves' cabin. Anything you don't want there, we'll store until your free of them."

Yeah, I got the plan. What I'm confused about is how my mentor is going to move an entrance. I give her as much space as I can, which isn't a lot, due to how cramped this room is. She doesn't seem to mind, though, and keeps both her hands on the door, with eyes closed. Focusing intently.

Though she's still able to tell I'm staring, it seems. She smirks and says, with nothing physically asked by me, "I'm focusing on my marks that I've laid for entry points. It's similar to looking at a map with pushpins everywhere. I just have to search for the correct one and- Ah, found it!" Her muddy eyes shoot open and she turns to me. "Now I just have to activate that entrance. This will only take a moment."

As she resumes in her task, I hear a chuckle coming from Cassie. "What?" I ask, glancing at her.

That mischievous smile has returned. "You may want to sit down."

"Why-" But my question is cut off as the room violently shifts. I'm thrown into a shelf, bumping my head on a jar of twigs. Grabbing the shelf for dear life, I wait for it to happen again. But by the looks of Cassie and her mother getting up and coming to help me do the same, I assume we've already reached out destination.

Cassie rolls her eyes in amusement at my prone figure. "I told you to sit down."

"Well, you could've warned me a little more as to why!" I respond, slightly aggravated. Still, I grab her offered hand and hoist myself off the floor.

Mrs. Santiago as dust off her hands as she waits patiently for us. Now, with me firmly standing on both feet, she announces, "Cassie will go out first to check that the coast is clear and your house is vacant."

She moves out of the way so her daughter can get to the entrance Cassie salutes me as she opens the door, sending me a wink. "Be back in a sec."

A second later, she's gone, leaving Mrs. Santiago and me to wait for her return. My teacher seems relatively calm as the time passes by, but my paranoia is already starting to creep up. What if my brothers are home sick? What if Dad took the day off? What if he already made good on his promise? What if-?

The door opens again after not even a minute. Cassie peaks her head in with a smile. "No one's home. Let's go!"

I sigh a breath of relief I didn't realize I was holding as I follow her and Mrs. Santiago out of the workshop. Sure enough, we're at my house. Or rather, in the backyard. The fenced-in pool area is pretty big, but it's been abandoned since it started getting cooler. Dad always locked it up earlier than other people. That way he didn't have to pay for it to get cleaned in September. Now, our in-ground swimming pool is nothing but a navy blue expanse of cloth, surrounded by lawn chairs that have never really been used.

I look behind us and see the old greenhouse. Still locked up, as it has been for the past eight years. The plants inside have long since died and withered away. However, now a strange wooden door resides against one of the dirty glass panes. A door Mrs. Santiago has just closed.

Noticing my staring, she answers my unspoken inquiry with a bittersweet smile. "Whenever I came over, your mother and I would spend hours out here. I'd help her with caring for her plants, and in return she would assist me in making some of my remedies. Any healing potion or warding brew she helped make was quite powerful, but I just enjoyed her company."

"So you've had this entrance marked all this time?"

She nods. "Though I never used it to get here. Your father would've questioned my sudden appearance if I hadn't always used the front door."

"Speaking of your father..." Cassie calls, reminding us as to why we're actually here. She's by the back entrance, waiting for me to unlock it.

We nod and head over to her. Next to the door, there's a number panel. My father always thought our house's security should be a priority. He had the latest locking system installed. We could open the door, but a silent alarm would be triggered if the code isn't input. I just hope he didn't change it while I was gone.

I hold my breath and enter in my mother's birth date. Luckily, as I press the last number, the yellow light turns green, and an audible beep tells us we're in the clear. I exhale, and hear Cassie and her mom there do the same. Then, I open the door.

Being a lawyer, my father is a pretty wealthy man. As such, he always wanted to show his good fortune. We live in an HOA community, in one of the nicest, stylish houses on our street. Three stories, excluding the basement, with a fully-furnished living room, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the attic. Even with four people in it, the house always felt some big. So empty. Or maybe that's just the hole Mom left.

Not now, Ali. We've got stuff we have to do. Shaking my head of unnecessary thoughts, I lead the way through the hall to the staircase. Then, passing by my brothers' room, I stop in front of a plain, beige door.

My plain beige door.

My earlier anxieties start to creep and crawl their way through my skin as I stand frozen in front of my room. The door looks fine, but there's no telling what could be behind it. He really could've already wrecked the place...

"Ali?"

I turn towards Cassie. She's been watching me this entire time, just standing in front of my door. Her amber eyes look at me, bright and shiny. Shiny with hope. A smirk spreads upon her lips. "You just gonna stand there and admire the architecture?" She jokes.

I roll my eyes, but she's already broken whatever depressing mood I was in. Finally, I grab my doorknob and slowly walk into my room.

Although I had been panicking only a moment ago, relief washes over me as I look around my bedroom. Everything is just as it was when I left over a week ago. My twin bed with starry bedding is in the corner by one of my windows. My desk, cluttered with my laptop, tablet, drawing equipment, and the origami I had started, sits under the other window. In the other wall, a small bookshelf is bordered by hundreds of sketches, drawings, and photos. Even my dirty laundry is still lying on the floor, exactly as I left it.

But there's one thing I was the most worried about. I head to my closet. My clothes are still hanging like before, but I push them away to look at the wooden planks in my wall. There was always one loose one that never fixed. Instead, I purposefully left it like that. Now, I easily pry it off, showing a secret shelf within.

On this shelf are my treasures. A jewelry box, containing only a few bracelets and a necklace. I don't have my ears pierced, and I don't like rings, so that's the only jewelry I like. Behind it, a photograph from my grandfather's seventieth birthday. The whole family was there, and it was such a happy memory. It was one of the last times I remember my father actually smiling. But my focus immediately locks onto a beat up, overused, leather bound volume. There's no writing on the spine, but I don't need a title to recognize it.

My shaking hands reach forward and carefully grab my mother's scrapbook. I flip through a few pages, reminiscing a little. There's my fifth birthday, the first one the twins were around for. I'm sitting in front of a gigantic blue cake, but I'm more excited about holding both if my baby brothers. Then there's their first day of school. They wouldn't let go of my hand for almost a half hour when I brought them to their classroom. I chuckle as I look at their bawling forms. Even Mom was giggling a little that day. And then, there's the campsite off of Echo Lake...

"Ali, do you want us to grab some clothes?"

I snap the book shut and turn around. Mrs. Santiago has my backpack open behind me while Cassie is grabbing my laptop and tablet. Right, this isn't the only thing we came for. I move out of the way and nod. "Yes. Thank you."

She smiles and starts stuffing some clothes into my bag. With Cassie handling electronics, there's not much else for me to do. I don't own a lot, what with my dad taking most of my paychecks for rent and food. So I sit on my bed and look out my window one last time, clutching the book tightly to my chest.

This is it. I'm finally getting out of here. Not in the way I expected, but for once, I'm not complaining about what happened. I'm just happy I'll never have to see them again. I'll never have to endure another insult or injury. Never have to dread the arrival of that black Cadillac rolling down the driveway.

Like it's doing right now...