The Witch’s Regrets

Cold Realities.

Luka POV

Luka had spent the last several days teleporting back and forth from his office at the coven and the pack house in Illinois. Luka stayed close to the packhouse tonight as he heard the girls were going out to celebrate Natasha’s birthday as it was tomorrow. Luka knew the three of them were upstairs as he could feel his daughter's aura. Luka decided to just sit in the living room and not ruin her evening with his presence. Luka wasn’t even sure if Natasha knew he was in the territory. Nat has been living as a human for several years and her witch abilities were weak at the moment. That didn't mean her magic wasnt just below the surface.

Luka smiled as he heard her laugh with the Braxton girls as they were leaving. He honestly couldn’t recall the last time he heard his daughter laugh. That was something he had thought long and hard about the last five years. Where he had screwed everything up.

Luka looked back and knew it was the night he got word his father was handing the coven over to him. Luka never wanted to lead the coven. He didn’t want the responsibility. Luka liked teaching, and being sent out into the world to take care of threats to the supernatural world. That allowed him to practice his magic often and helped him to develop the ability to cast without chanting an incantation. It took him a hundred years to master that skill, but it saved his life.

His brother was supposed to take over the coven. Out of the two of them, Luka was more powerful and he was chosen by his father to take over the coven.

While most witches and wizards would love the power, Luka hated it. He just wanted to live his life with the family he created. Life didn’t work out that way for him or his family. Svetlana was another regret of his. Natasha was number one on his list, but Svetlana was number two. Svetlana wouldn’t even talk to him any longer, the last he heard she found her wick in some bear shifter. That was like a knife to the heart. It was no more than he deserved. He will never forget the look of devastation on Fitz face when he told her that he found his wick.

Luka caught the sight of his daughter passing and felt the closest thing to happiness like he has never felt in the past five years.

.

Luka was sitting with Killian and Nathan waiting for the girls to get back. Luka was planning on staying out of his daughter's way. That was until she walked through the door. The second Natasha walked through the door he could sense that damn Alexei Patrovi all over her.

“Natasha Volkov, what are you doing going around that boy?” Natasha looked taken aback at seeing him in the packhouse. She looked fearful for a moment, but then responded,

“It’s none of your business Luka if I see my wick!” She called him Luka, not Daddy. His heart broke. “You didn’t stop seeing your wick when I told you she was mean to me.” Luka honestly had no response to that. Natasha was right.

“I-I just thought that,” Luka started.

“Yeah, you just thought I wanted my parents back together. Of course, I did. But I wasn’t lying about Julie either.” Natasha started to walk off,

“Wait! That doesn’t change the fact that someone put a spell on you.” Luka shouted out desperately, and Natasha stopped moving.

“What do you mean?” she asked with her voice low.

“Don’t think of me as your father for a moment. Just as a wizard, you’ve had a spell put on you. I could recognize it the second you walked through the door.” Natasha looked away.

“I thought it was the bond.” Luka sighed,

“No. The bond should make you feel a pull in your stomach or heart. It won’t affect your senses.” Natasha didn’t respond, she just walked away with a tear in her eye. Luka tried to follow her, but he was stopped by Liliana.

“Luka, don’t push her.” Luka hated the fact that she was right. He let her go, again.

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Nat pov

Nat lay down in her bed cursing herself for believing Alexei’s bullshit again. Why did she let herself believe him over and over again? Nat pulled up her sleeve and traced the marks that were carved onto her skin. She should have known that the wick bond didn’t change people.

Killian changed for Liliana. He was the world's biggest bully when she met him. He called her fatty, and other nicknames in school. Nat had a first class seat seeing how a bond changed pesople for the better. Natasha thought that the weak bond would change Alexei, she was such a fool. What Alexei did was so much worse.

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Flashback begins: possible triggers ahead

Nat was headed to her dorms after her classes at the academy were over when a hand was placed over her mouth. She was dragged behind a building where she saw Alexei, Ivan, Igor, and several other lackeys smiling maliciously at her. Nat was increasingly nervous, she tried calling on her magic but it wasn’t responding to her. It didn't when she was anxious.

“We blocked your magic, so don’t bother trying,” Igor laughed at her. As she was being boxed in.

“What’s going on?” Nat asked and everyone around her laughed.

“Guess what we learned in class today полукровка?” Alexei asked her with a cruel smile. Natasha decided not to respond, and they laughed at her.

“Awww she doesn’t want to play with us!” Igor taunted her, and the rest of the men except Ivan laughed. Nat looked at Ivan pleadingly. Ivan was the nicest one of the bunch, he would simply ignore her existence. He didn't hurl insults.

“We learned that while witches don’t react to silver or any other metal. Iron can sometimes affect us. I thought you might want to demonstrate that for us,” Alexei taunted as he pulled out a knife. Nat was terrified and decided to make a run for it.

“Grab her!” Alexei yelled and the chase was on. Natasha unfortunately didn’t get very far before she was dragged back against the building. Natasha fought for all she was worth; kicking, punching, screaming scratching. But she was no match for six men. They held her down as Alexei started carving on her arm.

“Hmmm, look at that guys, there doesn’t seem to be any sizzling like there is with wolves or vampires.” Alexei really was a sick f**k. He was treating this like it was a science experiment. He wasn’t treating her like his childhood friend he Alex had known since they were both two years old. Nat bit the hand that was keeping her silent. The hand pulled away and Igor cursed.

“Your sick Alexei,” Natasha said. Alexei just looked at her and smiled. He continued with his work, and it seemed to dig in the knife harder. Natasha cried out hard, and the hand was replaced to muffle her scream. The cuts continued on forever. She felt it dig into her skin all down her arm and the sticky blood flow out of her as those monsters look down at her with hate and fascination.

Finally, they were done with their sick game and dropped their hold on her. The men laughed at her, all except Ivan. Ivan looked at her with sympathy.

“f**k you, Ivan,” Nat said. He was just as guilty. Ivan finally walked away, leaving her to wallow in her pain and misery. Nat looked at her b****y arm and saw what they carved into her arm. полукровка. They carved half-blood into her arm. Nat cried, she had stayed strong throughout the t*****e until she saw what they had put on her arm.

Flashback ends

Nat looks at her scars for the first time in seven years. Nat had only told her mother about what had happened to her that day. Nat had to tell her mother because Nat wanted to leave the coven academy. Her mother wouldn’t let her leave without a good reason. When Nat had told her mother she had been bullied she was waved off, “I was bullied too. You just have to develop a thick skin.”

Nat resented her mother so much right then because her mother was bullied for her raw talent and Luka Volkov was in love with her. Her father was a teacher at the time and the girls at the academy were jealous.

Her mother was in denial of how bad things were for her so Nat simply showed Svetlana her arm. Her mother was properly horrified, but Nat still had to return to the academy the next Monday. Her mom gave her lots of reasons, and she understands them. It doesn’t mean their relationship didn’t suffer.

Nat still had to face Alexei and his g**g of thugs. They smiled and laughed at her asking how her arm was.

Nat traced the word over and over again.

“You know we can always put a tattoo over it,” Penelope said as the two Braxton sisters walked into the room. Nat didn’t look away from her arm. She was surprised that she didn’t pull her arm away, Nat was ashamed of her scars, of what had happened to her. However, with these girls, she never felt safer. They became her new family.

Nat had considered going to a parlor several times over the years, but frankly, she didn’t dare to go to the tattoo shop. Maybe soon she would be able to get them covered up, but she had this weird attachment to them. She couldn't explain it, even to herself.

“Braxton’s brother Denali did an amazing job covering up the scars on his chest,” Penelope continued. The sisters continued to chatter and Nat listened without joining in on the conversation. Nat started to fall asleep without even realizing it.

Authors note: will still be posting soon just have to post a couple more chapters in TFR first. Also sorry if the layout is weird. The app is being weird