The Scarlet Witch

Chapter Two - The Announcement

Amaranth sat on her porch in one of the rocking chairs that a friend got from a yard sale in town for her. Sipping on her cup of coffee, she looked up at the sky, soaking in the sun and the peace of not having to be in attendance for the meeting that was scheduled for today. Being forced to stand in during meetings the alpha had always put her in a foul mood. She felt a mixture of anxiety and sorrow. Anxiety of somehow catching the attention of a man who will ask to have her keep him company during his stay at the pack. There has not been a time where any guest forced himself on her and forced her to do anything s****l, but there was a time where it came close to that. It was enough of a close call to make her wary of most men that visit the pack.

Amaranth was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice her best friend Matthew approaching her small cottage until he was right in front of her.

“Jesus! How many times must I ask you to not sneak up on me like that!”

“How exactly was it ‘sneaking up on you’ when I was calling your name as I was walking here? It’s not my fault that you completely zone out when you’re thinking really hard.” Matthew laughed as he took a seat next to her.

The two sat in a comfortable silence until a realization fell upon Amaranth.

“Though I love it every time you visit me, what exactly brought you all the way out here?”, Amaranth asked. Though as the pack witch, she is viewed as a high-standing member of the pack on paper, her living conditions showed a different story. She didn’t live in the main pack house with the Alpha family, Betas and Gammas. Her cottage was on the outskirts of the pack land, almost completely isolated.

“Oh right, I was enjoying this moment with you so much that I forgot why I was here.” Matthew chuckled, “The meeting that the Alpha was in is now over, he’s told the pack through mindlink that he will be making an announcement tonight at dinner. Everyone must be there.”

“Including me?” Amaranth whined.

“Including you, love.” Matthew said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her in for a side hug as she sighed.

The two friends spent the rest of their day casually chatting about everything and nothing. Spending time with Matthew always made Amaranth feel content. He was the first friend that she was able to make in the pack and one of the few people that she trusted whole heartedly. They have shared many secrets with one another and both feel a deep connection with one another. Matthew often jokes that they were probably mates in a past life. But in their current lives, Matthew has his mate and Amaranth does not.

Before they knew it, it was already 5:30pm. With the pack dinner being set to start at 6pm, the two start to make their way to the main pack house. They walked there in a comfortable silence. Amaranth’s mind slowly started to drift, wondering what sort of announcement could the alpha make that required everyone’s attendance, even hers. As the pack house started to come into view, she decided to voice these questions.

“What do you think the announcement will be about?”, she whispered, turning her head to look at the other pack members heading to dinner.

“I honestly have no ideas. Me, Zach, and Jared were talking to Beta Simon after training. He told us that the meeting today was about pack safety. He wouldn’t tell us anything more but we kind of were able to conclude that Alpha Michael was asking another pack for protection.” Matthew whispered back, looking around for their friends.

As Amaranth was about to respond back, she gasped in surprise as someone jumped her with a hug from behind. Quickly turning her head, she couldn’t help but to laugh when she saw that it was her friend Charlotte, with her friends Saphire, Zach, and Jared jogging to catch up.

“What on earth are you doing walking towards the main pack house for dinner!” Charlotte exclaimed, turning Amaranth around for a proper hug.

“I was told that my attendance was also mandatory for tonight’s announcement”, Amaranth answered with an eye roll.

They all gave her sympathetic looks, all knowing how she felt about being around not only the whole pack, but also the head family, Alpha Michael, Luna April and their daughter Melanie.

The group all heads into the pack house together, heading straight into the dining room. They pick a table that fits the six of them and patiently wait for glasses of water. Not long after, the dining room was full and the Alpha and Beta families made their way to their seats. Dinner was served and there was an eerie feeling throughout the dinner. No one really talked, but everyone could tell that they were all wondering what sort of announcement Alpha was about to make.

After the last plate was cleared from the tables, Alpha Michael pushed his chair back, making sure that the sound of him doing so was as loud as possible, and stood up. Everyone’s attention was on the alpha and he smiled inwardly. Having all eyes on him made him feel more powerful, like he had full respect from the members of his pack. Though he tends to overlook the fact that most of said respect is out of fear.

Clearing his throat, Alpha Michael began “Firstly, I would like to say thank you to all of you for coming to tonight's dinner. It was a bit short notice, but what I have to tell you tonight is too important to hold off on. As some of you may know, there has been an increase in rogue sightings, and there is a likely chance that these sightings will only increase. Because of this, the safety of our pack has become a concern. Today, the Luna and I met with the Alpha of a neighboring pack. This pack is just as big as ours but warriors that are strong enough to have made a name for themselves. I asked this pack if we could come to an agreement of sorts with them helping us in the event of a rogue attack.”

Alpha Michael fell silent for a moment. Amaranth was pretty sure that he was doing this for dramatic effect. But she also wondered why she wasn’t expected to be there for such an important meeting surrounding pack safety.

“I am happy to say that we were able to come to an agreement. We decided to have a pact or marriage agreement.” As Alpha Michael said his last remark, he turned slightly and looked directly at Amaranth.

She froze. She’s seen this look in the alpha’s eyes before. It was one that he always had when he was about to force her to do something, leaving her with no room to say no. The words “marriage agreement” repeated again in her head. A shiver ran up her spine as everything clicked for her. The first meeting in months that she was told she didn’t have to attend, pack safety being the concern, marriage. She knew what had been done, she didn’t even need Alpha Michael to say it aloud. And he also knew that he didn’t need to as well.

As Alpha Michael concluded his announcement, Amaranth began to feel numb. All these years of asking to be able to go back to her coven. Of asking to at the very least to be able to visit on holidays. All of them being met with no for an answer, with no explanation as to why she couldn’t leave the pack. All of the years of being his power play, his trump card. Being used as an intimidation tactic.

This is how he repays her, by selling her.