SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twenty-eight
Tim’s Pov:
“Timothy, I’ve temporarily removed the memories from Joseph. We need to ensure things seem normal to that witch who is masquerading as Sanders. I’ve done this with his permission, of course,” Amethyst linked as a knock echoed through my room.
Quickly, I dismissed the Omega and waited to hear Madeline do the same. “We need to keep our linking to a minimum for the time being. We want to keep our upper hand,” I linked both women. “You don’t believe her mate is trying to trick us, do you?” Madeline replied.
“I’ve considered this, but it doesn’t appear so. Amethyst is certain she purged the witch from him, and I trust her. I know what God the witches’ worship. Once, he was to be feared. Now he has lost much of his powers. Their meager offerings barely sustain him. So I don’t assume there are any within their nest who could hold a flame to our Thyst,” I replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
We walked to the pack’s dining hall together in silence. The once warm and welcoming halls now seemed foreboding. Threats seemed to be in every corner. With every person I met, I couldn’t help but wonder how many witches infiltrated this pack. “Main, Elder and companions,” Sanders greeted us in his usual standoffish way.
“Sanders, pleasure to see you. Thank you for showing my Gamma to her room,” I replied. “Ah, lovely to see you all for dinner. Shall we begin?” Alpha Jennings beamed, walking in. “Yes, I am famished,” Amethyst smiled warmly.
“I hope your rest has been well and our Joseph has not bothered you too much, my dear,” Jennings grinned. Thyst blushed. “Joseph was a true gentleman, Alpha. I am nearly recovered,” she lied.
I knew my Beta. She was perfectly fine. Obviously, she had something up her sleeve. Unfortunately for me, her plan would need to wait until later. I struggled not to roll my eyes thanks to Joseph’s constant fussing over Amethyst. Thankfully, she groaned every time he did, and Sanders rolled his eyes for me.
“Joseph, the witch is more than capable of looking after you both,” Madeline teased. Instantly, Amethyst’s eyes darted to Madeline’s.
“Toad,” Amethyst snapped. As a result, the colour drained from Madeline’s face. I tried not to choke on my meal. The interaction between my Beta and Gamma was the highlight of the evening so far. Joseph glanced at Madeline before placing a kiss on Amethyst’s forehead. “Well, since she is the stronger mate, I need to do something to ensure she keeps me around,” he laughed.
Curious, I risked a glance at Jennings and Sanders, needing to see their reactions to the relationship between Amethyst and Joseph. It was of the utmost importance they did not find out we were on to them thanks to Joseph.
It was Sanders who appeared to be the most upset. His eyes were the reddish hue which I observed in Joseph’s earlier. Jennings didn’t seem to harbor any ill will towards Amethyst, which was a relief. Perhaps Joseph was wrong. And Jennings was an innocent bystander.
With dinner drawing to an end, Amethyst glanced at me with a worried look before turning her attention to Sanders. “Did you or your men collect any of the herbs I requested?” she asked. Her eyes were solely on Sanders.
“No, we’ve not. We still suspect you to be a part of them. We felt it was a trap. But I can take you to their location now if you like,” he beamed. There was something in his smile which forced me to suppress a growl.
“It’s nearly dark. Best to save this for the morning,” I snapped, taking almost everyone by surprise. “With the number of witches running around, it’s best not to take the risk,” I added.
“Of course, Elder. It was just with how eager she was to start when you all arrived. I assumed she would want to. Now you are delaying,” he mocked, hoping to get a rise out of Amethyst.
“Stop being a Flapdoodle Sanders. Just because you don’t have your mate yet doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with mine,” Joseph taunted back, causing Jennings to smile and Amethyst to blush. Sanders grit his teeth, finally realizing he was no longer in control, and stormed out abruptly.
The rest of our evening passed in peace. “We are all to report back to our assigned rooms. Thyst you will open a portal to yours to discuss our next move,” I linked. “Right,” they both replied to me almost in unison. We said our goodbyes, so any lingering ears would fall for our trap. As I paced my room, I couldn’t help but wonder what was taking Amethyst so long?
Amethyst’s Pov:
Joseph closed the door to my room, smiling. Quickly, I placed my hand on the door and closed my eyes. Before allowing the Goddess’s gift to flow through me, creating an unseen barrier on the door to keep any prying eyes and ears out. Joseph gaped at me.
Gently, I placed my hand on his head to return the memories I took from him earlier. Anger washed over his face as his memories flooded back to him.
“That ratbag. I don’t know how I am going to keep up this charade with him. You can’t keep wiping my memories,” he sighed, frustrated, running his hand through his hair.
“Something tells me we will not need to worry about that,” I mumbled. Joseph’s gaze locked on to me expectantly, unaware of the curses the witch who was posing as Sanders attempted to spit throughout dinner.
“I can hear any thoughts you have and any links you receive, remember?” I explained, grinning at Joseph, trying to push out all the naughty things he was thinking over dinner. Joseph blushed at my words, knowing I caught him.
“The witch who is masquerading as Sanders was trying to get you back under control. Even though I kept it from ever reaching you, I don’t think the beast knows I could sense its thoughts. It plans to make a move on us, and soon,” I explained.
Joseph swallowed hard. “How much time do we have?” he asked. “My best guess? Tonight,” I sighed. “We’d better get Timothy then,” he smiled as he went for the door.
The winds swirled as two portals opened, catching Joseph’s attention once more. Just as Madeline and Timothy waltzed in. “The beasts plan to attack us tonight,” I blurted out, forgoing any formalities.
“How can you be sure?” Madeline asked before Timothy could open his mouth. “Because I let Sanders think he was in control of Joseph.” I retorted. Timothy studied me, considering his response. Clearly, he didn’t like the darker path I’ve taken since meeting Joseph.
“If you are absolutely sure, Amethyst. Did they give you any clues what they are planning?” Timothy asked, his gaze burned deep into me. “No, none. We need to be ready when they come. Sounds like they are bringing a nest of them here.”
“Ah, good. Plenty of witch’s blood to be spilled this evening. We could see our home by morning,” Madeline grinned. The prospect of a battle always caused excitement to shine in her eyes. Timothy shot her an annoyed glare.
“You and I will switch rooms, Thyst. That way, when they come for you, they find me instead. Can you make a trap to slow them down?” he asked.
“Possibly. These beasts all seem to have the same aura about them. Even though I was never in close contact with their Covenness, I still picked up on her soul’s resonance. I can make it from that,” I thought out loud. “If anything goes sideways, Amethyst, you and Madeline are to get out of here. I can handle these beasts and anything they throw at me,” Timothy demanded.
Unhappy with Timothy’s orders, I walked to the door and laid my traps. The fading light cascading through the window caught my eye. The door was not the only point of entry they could breach.
Suddenly I was worried. Despite Timothy being a child of the Goddess and almost immortal, he wasn’t. He would eventually die. Was there something these witches could do to end his life?
“Don’t worry Thyst, there is nothing they can do to me,” Timothy’s voice filled my mind. Almost as if he knew what I was thinking. I sent him a sideways glance and hoped Joseph didn’t notice.
I stared at the window, trying to solve the issue of them possibly using it as a point of entry. “Runes, child,” the Woman’s voice whispered in the surrounding air. As I placed my finger on the cool glass, I closed my eyes, allowing the influence of the Goddesses to direct my every move.
The language of the Goddesses was some of the purest and yet darkest magic a witch could perform. Most knew it as runes. The strange silverish white glow of the runes illuminated the room as they etched themselves into the smooth glass. Gasps of amazement rang out before they faded from sight.
As if possessed by the Goddess herself. I walked to the foot of what would have been my bed and kneeled, placing my hands on the floor, chanting in a language I don’t recall hearing before. A brilliant light flashed before a strange pattern covered almost every inch of the floor with the same silverish white glow. This was the Woman. The intricate lacework of the rune was far too advanced for even my magic.
Timothy’s questioning gaze fell on me as I stood and made my way over to him, grabbing his wrist. I pierced my index finger with one of my wolf’s teeth, drawing a rune on the back of his left hand with my blood. I ripped 4 of my long strands of hair out of my head. Instantly, the one turned to the intense black colour of the Woman’s hair. As if directed by the Goddess, the strands of hair braided themselves around Timothy’s wrist.
Timothy gaped at me with eyes clouded with confusion. “Thank you, mother,” he replied, staring at the blood and hair sinking into his skin. “Blood magic,” I informed him. His eyes shot straight to mine, the anger burning off him would have normally made me step back. But not this time.
“You’ve been doing a fair amount of dark magic since we arrived. Perhaps you should head back home. I will send for another priestess in the morning.” His voice ripped through the room, causing both Madeline and Joseph to take a step back.
“We are aware and support her in the magic she’s used while here, Timothy. In some cases, we’ve even encouraged it. Not everything is as black and white as we would like. You need to accept this,” the Woman suddenly appeared, giving the room an unearthly glow.
“Amethyst, please take Madeline to her room and repeat what we’ve done here. My counterpart will assist with the Blood seal for Madeline. I must speak to my son alone.”