The Two Alphas' Fated Witch

More Lies?

During our discussion, I had completely forgotten about the two marks that link me to the two werewolves currently outside. Ignorant of the fact that they were right. I am a witch. And that means...

A groan escapes my mouth as I facepalm hard. Today just keeps getting better and better. After internally hating myself more than usual, I pull down my shirt to look at the rotten fruits of my untrained labor. Sure enough, the dual crescent moons stare at each other, just like they have been for the past three days.

"There are TWO?!"

For a second, I completely forgot Cassie and Mrs. Santiago are here. And now, they are gazing at my marks with the widest eyes. I can't really say much more to that. These freaking things speak for themselves, so I just nod.

Mrs. Santiago's eyes gain a small glimmer of hope for a second. "Then maybe they are just tattoos, not-"

Both Cassie and I look at her with sorry glances. "I wouldn't have felt the connection if they weren't real, Mom."

"Plus, you guys didn't see how they reacted to meeting Dylan. I knew werewolves are territorial, but I didn't realize that could lead to such bouts of jealousy."

Both of them instantly snap to my face. Cassie's the first one to speak out. "What did they do? I swear, if they touched even a hair on his head-!"

"Don't worry," I reply, equally as perturbed. "I got him out of there before they could try anything. And I made sure they both understood how stupid they were being." I glare at the door, as if they were standing behind it.

"Thank you, then. But now, we have quite the issue on our hands." Mrs. Santiago gestures to my shoulders. "How did this even happen?"

"Yeah. I've never heard of werewolves having two Fated Mates. Let alone one being a witch!"

I open my mouth, ready to tell them everything, when something stops me. I know they'll get pissed at the boys if I tell them the complete truth. Not that they don't deserve it. Still, a part of me feels bad about all this. Maybe it's the bond, or something else, but I can't ignore the guilty feeling I have. Yes, the guys tried to kill me. Yes, they haven't told me why yet. But these marks aren't their fault; they're mine. I did this, which I'm now sure of, due to all the information I've received today.

I sigh, and finally look back at the two women. "It's complicated, but I think that, due to a stressful situation, and my migraine- I mean, magic, I'm the one ultimately responsible."

Their shocked stares show disbelief. "But," Mrs. Santiago asks, "how?"

"I'm not sure. I remember touching the both of them, yelling...something. Then, I woke up this morning, three days afterwards, with these marks on me. They said they saw purple sparks when it happened, if that means anything."

Mrs. Santiago nods. "It does seem like magic. Purple sparks is a dead giveaway, though knowledge of yourself and what you have the potential to do in a stressful situation don't hurt either."

"That also explains how you have two Mates, even as a witch" Cassie agrees. "Fated Mates are a bond the Moon Goddess grants only a select few of her children. It is the completion of soul, pretty much your classic soulmates situation, where two people are destined to be together for their entire lives. It's almost exclusively between werewolves, with a few exceptions for human Mates, due to an arrangement Moon Goddess made with her own pair, Sun God. However, I have never heard of three people being bonded."

"And witches are not a part of that arrangement," Mrs. Santiago concludes, "As we are creatures of Mother Nature herself, when she forced Chaos and Order into balance."

This surprises me. "I've never heard of that story."

"That's because it's an old witches' tale, passed down to each generation." Mrs. Santiago gives me a wink.

Suddenly, Cassie claps her hands. "Well, now that we know you did this, we can fix it."

My guilt is overridden now by a surge of hopefulness. "You can?"

"Ali, she said 'we'." Mrs. Santiago smiles. "That includes you."

"Me?" I asked, perplexed. "How can I help? I've never done magic before. At least, not on purpose."

"That's where we come in." My best friend grins at me.

"Yes. I can teach you to become a full witch. I made your mother that promise, and I intend to keep it. And while you train, Cassandra can look for ways to help break the bond."

"It is my specialty, after all."

I scoff at my friend. "You break Fated Pair bonds on a regular basis now?"

"No, but I'm a Rabbit Witch. We specialize in relationships and emotions."

My brows furrow in confusion. "A Rabbit Witch? What's that?"

Mrs. Santiago explains "All witches specialize in certain magical abilities based off their Spirit Animal. It's our truest self, and our guide through life, as well as magic. Much like how werewolves have inner wolves, but far more complex."

How interesting! I wonder what my Spirit Animal is. Or what my mom's was! Before I can ask more questions, however, Cassie pulls a phone out of her back pocket. She looks at the screen and immediately cusses. "s**t. Dylan's asking what's taking so long."

Right, we told the guys we would meet up with them. "How long has it been?"

"About twenty minutes. Guess your watchdogs are getting bored."

For some reason, her calling them "dogs" really irritates me. But I shake it off and stand up. "We better head down there before they decide to come back early."

"Wait a moment, Ali."

I turn to Mrs. Santiago. "What is it?"

"We need to decide what you are going to tell them, and how to get you away from them while we work on a solution."

Cassie clicks her tongue, annoyed. "That won't be easy. If they are feeling this bond like any other Fated Mate, they won't want to leave her for a second. Hm, maybe we can say you weren't feeling well, or..."

I stand there, listening to the two of them discuss plausible stories. Just like Eric, Joey, and I were doing this afternoon. Suddenly, an uneasy feeling comes over me. I know they're right, that I should lie and try to stay away from them. But those pained eyes keep reappearing in my head. Finally, I can't take it anymore. "I can't," I say.

Cassie stops talking about another convoluted plan and turns to me. "Can't what?"

"I can't lie to them, and I can't leave them. Not like this."

Mrs. Santiago sighs and smiles sadly at me. "Ali, I know your bond is telling you not to, but-"

I shake my head. "This has nothing to do with my bond. To be perfectly honest, besides a slight attraction to those two, I haven't felt anything near what they do. No, this is something else. What I did to them..." My arms instinctively wrap around my shoulders.

"But you didn't mean to," Cassie replies. "It was an accident."

"Yes, and one I will fix. But that doesn't change the hurt that I've caused them, and am still causing. The pain they're going through... And they already suspect that I'm a witch. They also think all of this is too weird not to be magic-"

"Wait, they know?!" Cassie suddenly bolts out of her chair, almost tipping it over. Even Mrs. Santiago has gone a bit pale.

"They suspected, but I was certain I wasn't a witch, and they believed me."

"Oh, thank the gods!" Cassie falls back into her seat. "You scared us for a second there."

That reminds me... "That's actually another reason I can't lie to them."

"What is?"

"This bond. It allows them to tell when I'm lying. It's how I convinced them I wasn't a witch in the first place. I truly thought I wasn't, so I technically wasn't lying. But now..."

"f**k, I forgot about that!"

"¡Lengua, hija!"

"Sorry, Mama," Cassie apologizes, but is still contemplating this new development. "We could still tell them you're sick and can't see them."

But I shake my head. "At best, they'd get worried and come looking for me. At worst, they'll think I abandoned them, leaving them to deal with this alone, and they'll still come looking for me. You should've seen how quickly Joey objected to me coming here in the first place. If I hadn't invited them to come along, I would probably still be in that cabin, thinking I'm not a witch." I chuckle a little at that.

Cassie's amber eyes are shooting death rays at me, but she knows I'm right, and sighs in defeat. "Then what are we going to do?"

One idea comes to mind. It's really stupid, but there isn't a better plan that I can think of. "Can't we just...tell them the truth, and have them promise not to say anything?"

Even Mrs. Santiago can't help chuckling at that. "Ali, I know you're trying to be optimistic, but werewolves and witches have been enemies for centuries. We can't just-"

"THAT'S IT!!"