Witchery

Chapter 7

I guess I never really thought about myself as pretty, I have had too many other things occupying my mind. But it feels good to look at myself in the mirror, and not feeling sorry for the tired, sad, and scarred face which usually stares back at me. I again wonder about my past. Did I use to feel beautiful before my mum’s murder? What kind of interests did I have? Did I have a job, friends? Maybe I went to school or took classes at a university? If this is the case, it might just be a bit easier finding the rest of my name, figuring out what happened…

Ari clears her throat, and I realize I have been lost in my own thoughts. 

“What were you thinking about?” She whispers, both hers and Elise’s big eyes on me.

“Just… what life I might have led before all this.” 

“We will find out about you! My brother is digging, and the fact that you remember your own name and your mum’s dead will definitely help him! He is a master of digging up the truth about criminals.”  

“Is he some sort of detective?” I ask, intrigued. 

I have never really thought to ask him what he is doing for a living, thinking he is too busy running an entire pack. 

“Haha not exactly, but I think it is a conversation you should have with my big bro.” 

Smiling, she takes out her phone, telling me she’ll text him to ask, when he comes back.

I feel a bit self-conscious at the thought of Adriel returning. He has only seen me looking like a wreck and in the hospital gowns, what will he think of all my makeup and pretty clothes?

“He won’t be able to take his eyes of you.” It is like Elise read my thoughts. 

“You really think so?” 

I hate that I sound so insecure, but I also recognize I have all the reasons in the world to feel this way. 

“Of course, Esme. You will find your place in this world soon enough, then you’ll see for yourself.” 

Her words are almost enchanting, a warm sensation spreads through my body. 

Ari looks up from her phone, clearly having no idea what we just talked about. She smiles brightly and shows me a text from Adriel, telling her his on his way back. I muster up all my courage, finding inspiration in Elise’s words and in the self-confidence both of the girls shine with. Under all the layers of self-consciousness and insecurity, I am really excited to see him again, even though we saw each other only this morning. 

The door goes up, and Adriel walks in, accompanied by Lucas. Adriel has changed his clothes, a pair of sunglasses in his hair, still sporting all black. Lucas is in another perfectly pressed suit and tie, his hair neatly arranged back. They look opposite of each other, but you can tell their chemistry clearly is amazing just from how they interact with each other.

“Listen baby, I thought we might spend a little more time together this afternoon.” Adriel trails off, clearly noticing my look. 

“Wow, babe! You look beautiful! I mean, I knew the girls went shopping for you, but damn…” 

He clearly has no shame in uttering his thoughts to the people around him, because he continues towards me, kissing me on my mouth, whispering 

“I must be the luckiest man in the world. This is why you are my Luna.” 

He goes on suggesting we turn my room into a restaurant, ordering take-away. 

“I mean, how can I not invite you out, when you look like this?”  

It is like he is totally numb to my fidgeting hands and blushing cheeks. I just don’t know what to do about myself, not used to all these compliments and kind words. Elise and Ari are holding hands, not containing their giggles, which makes me even shyer.   

“Why don’t you lay down and rest a bit baby, they’ll help me put things together.” Adriel suggests, gesturing towards the others in the room. 

“And while we make this room shine, you can listen to some of my favorite songs, like I promised you.” 

He picks up Ari’s phone, which is laying on the speaker, and starts searching for a song. Ari doesn’t seem to mind him stealing her phone but gestures to Lucas and they quickly leave the room to get a table. Elise starts packing our shopping backs, also telling me to lay down, when I jump to help her. I finally give in; I am very tired after this very active afternoon. I rest against the pillows in my bed, appreciating their willingness to do all these things for me.

“Okay so this first one is a real banger. It is by Yeasayer and it is called ‘Ecstatic Baby’” 

“Yas, good choice!” Exclaim Elise, definitely loving his first pick. 

He presses play and some electronic tune starts banging out from the speaker. But I soon can’t help but rocking along to the tune, it is like it calls for dancing. 

Elise and Adriel can’t help but dance and sing along too, both of them apparently knowing the text very well. 

“It is a bit more electronic than what I usually go with, but I just love the beat so much.” Adriel explains, single-handily moving the beds around me to clear a space in the middle of the room.

The next song playing is definitely different, it is from a band called ‘Arctic Monkeys’, and the song features more guitar, less electronic sound. But it’s a nice song, and I can’t help but rocking out to it a bit as well. 

Ari and Lucas come back, caring a small round table. Ari, also recognizing the song, starts moving her hips to the music, clearly knowing how to dance. I admire her from the bed, promising myself to take dance classes when I get out. 

Anytime a new song starts playing, Adriel tells me about the number, the artists behind the music, or why he particularly loves this song. Elise sometimes voices her opinion, generally enjoying Adriel’s taste although a bit too upbeat for her from time to time. She is more into the chill indie genre. Ari and Lucas keep walking back and forth between the hallway and my room, every time bringing something with them to create a restaurant atmosphere, rocks out too, also letting me know, what they think about the particular song playing. Lucas admits that he is mostly into club music, he only really listens to music if Adriel puts something on or when Lucas hits the club on Fridays. 

Adriel asks me what I want to eat, but I still don’t know too much about the different foods or what to crave, so he ends up ordering sushi for everyone. Elise and Ari are clearly very excited about this choice. I personally think raw fish and seaweed sound a bit weird, but who am I to judge?  

When the food arrives, I’ve listened to everything from ‘Come Down’ by Anderson.Paak, to “We Will Rock You” by Queen, all the songs being described as “bangers” by Adriel. Ari, Elise and Lucas all bid us goodbye, and I am left alone with Adriel at last. He comes to my bed to help me down. The song playing in the background right now is “f**k it I love you” by Lana Del Rey, a bit more relaxing than the others he has played. Rock is definitely his favorite genre, but sometimes he also plays Hip Hop or R’n’B. He has me swaying a bit to the music and I close my eyes, leaning my head against his shoulder, enjoying the moment. Just being this close with him. It feels like all my trouble doesn’t exists, only him. I feel his lips against mine, and I shortly open my eyes in surprise but lean into it, closing my eyes again. I feel my legs go weak, but his strong arms hold me up. Like this, he slowly guides me towards the table, until I lightly bump against it with my upper thighs. I jump a bit, breaking off the kiss, from the interaction with the table and he draws away, gently smiling down at me, then helping me to my seat. 

The art of eating sushi isn’t for the weak-minded I quickly discover. I have to learn how to eat with chopsticks, the specific order you eat in, the fact that you swallow one piece of sushi in one go. But first you dip it in soy sauce and wasabi. Then you eat the pickled ginger to clean out the taste from your mouth, before trying a new piece. 

The wasabi and ginger are way to strong for me, and so, my first attempt to eat sushi nearly has me killed. Adriel first laughs at my wretched coughs but then remembers that my stomach actually isn’t quite ready for spicy food yet, which has him looking all sorry and he apologizes a million times. I brush it off, telling him I’ll just eat the sushi pieces with soy sauce, no wasabi and ginger for me. After feeling a bit more comfortable with the chopsticks and the whole procedure in general, I start enjoying the taste and the sensation of eating sushi. I think I start to understand why Ari and Elise like it so much. 

When dinner is over, I go to the bathroom to remove my makeup, changing into comfortable pajamas Elise and Ari got for me. My stomach is bloated like never before, I ended up eating way too much. When I come back out, Adriel has arranged my duvet and his blanket from the couch on the floor. He is already laying down, soft piano music now playing in the background. I join him, laying my head on his shoulder, staring up into the ceiling. We are both so full, we are pretty sure we will never be able to move again. The notes from the piano music beautifully weaves in and out, all around us. I lay breathlessly listening to it for a while without saying anything. It calms me down. Pictures of starlight, the milky way, moons and suns rummage around my brain, I can almost project them from my mind to the white ceiling about.

“So, do you really enjoy music then?” I ask. 

“Yes,” he answers, 

“My mum used to sing for me and Ari all the time. My father used to put on some old rock music whenever he was home. There was always music in my home when I was a child.” 

He voice is undisturbed, not giving away how he feels about his parents’ situation.  

“Ari told me what happened with your parents. I am really sorry to hear.” I whisper. 

“Well, it is not as bad as yours.” 

Adriel tries to brush it off, but I am not having it.  

“You can’t compare the situations like that. It is bad to lose a parent, no matter what or how. We don’t even know what happened to my father. Who knows, maybe he is still out there. Or my mum was a single mum or something.” 

He chuckles a bit, then agrees with me. 

“I guess my father and your mother met the same fate. My father was killed by a warlock too. It happened a few years ago in a warlock attack on the city. It was my first real fight. I didn’t see it happen though… but I can’t stop thinking that I might’ve been able to save him if I had only been by his side.”

 He lets out a long breath. 

I can’t help but roll up on one side, kissing his cheek. 

 “You couldn’t have done anything. You would probably just have been killed, too.” 

“I know, that is what everyone tells me, but it is still hard to stop imagining a different outcome.” 

I nod against his chest, knowing how he feels. 

“Can I meet your mum sometime?” I ask, not really sure if it’s okay for me to do so.  

But I can hear the smile in his voice as he says, 

“Yes of course baby, I’d love to introduce you to her. It might even give her a little to live for again. Not to put any pressure on you.” He laughs softly. 

Having really not thought I would get such a response, I hug him tightly. He actually wants to introduce me to his mother, that is a good sign, right? And the thought that he thinks it might even cheer her up has me excited too. 

“I would love to meet her!” I whisper. 

He pulls me tighter into him, and we lay for a while in silence, enjoying the music in the background. 

“Tell me more about the positions in a pack. What does being the “Alpha” mean?” 

“You are born with Alpha material. And there is always more than one Alpha in a pack, however the strongest Alpha usually has the ruling position unless there is tradition for something else, like passing the title on or if it is a subpack.” 

“What is a subpack?” 

“If a pack has gotten so big that it is hard for the Alpha to control all the pack members, he or she might split the pack in two. Or if a pack conquers another pack, then the other pack might get to live on with its original Alpha, just submitted to the pack that now controls them.”

“How does a pack get to… control another pack?” I ask, not really liking this idea of overtaking another pack.

“Anyone can, by principle, challenge the ruling Alpha, also Alpha’s from other packs. Either you fight until one Alpha submit to the other, or until the death of one of the Alpha’s, depending on the fighting.”

I look at him in shock. To death? 

“Don’t worry, most times the Alpha will admit when he or she has lost and just submit to the other Alpha. The hierarchy is very real within any werewolf packs, and we can sense when we meet someone stronger than ourselves.”

“How do you sense that? Have you ever met someone who was more powerful than you?” 

“Haha, so many questions you have. I think you’ll be able to feel it for yourself as soon as you shapeshift. Maybe even before. And no, I have never met any other with more power than me, except maybe my father, but it doesn’t really imply a lot, there aren’t many packs in this city, and we all get along pretty well.” 

“Tell me more about how the city and your relationship with the humans is working.” 

“The city is controlled by humans. They also ordered, a long time ago, that the different werewolf packs should set aside their differences and start working together, else the humans might interfere in our businesses or try to kick us back out in the woods outside the city. This is why the pecks get along so well, it turns out being friendly with the neighboring clans isn’t the worst idea. There are also a few vampire layers, but we sort of have an implicit deal with the humans where we try to keep the vampire nests down, and then they respect wolves running around the city and our different hierarchies.” 

I nod, everything sounding like a pretty sane way to deal with the different species, living side by side, until Adriel says:

“Then we also… have a witch protecting our area. And well… I thought you might go see her about your memories.”