Winter: A time for love and revenge

After the ceremony, we were dismissed, giving Sebastian a chance to clean up and presumably heal while having a moment of privacy. It wasn’t until our meeting in the late afternoon that we finally got some answers.

We gathered in the atrium of the training facility that took up most of the top floor. The domed ceiling had skylights, letting in shafts of sunlight that hit the walls. The floor was a warm dark wood, as were the benches in the tiered seating.

Sebastian stood in the center of the room, wearing fresh clothes, with Haden at his side. He was as calm and stoic as he’d been in the training room earlier. His deep voice was easily able to be heard by everyone as he explained that one of the shapeshifters finally cracked and gave some information before he managed to take his own life.

It had been the winter witches that devised the plan and brought several shapeshifter packs into the fold. The leader of a winter witch coven—of course, the shapeshifter hadn’t known which coven because that would be too easy on us—had contacted Mitchell requesting a meeting on the Northern part of our territory. Once he had shifted to human form and his attention was divided, the shapeshifters attacked and killed him.

Winter witches were similar to regular witches but different at the same time. While they both had magic, their sources were different. Their magic came from—you guessed it—winter. They were at their strongest during this season in snowy areas. The places one would consider a winter wonderland were hell for anyone hoping to go against them. They could manipulate the weather and create snowstorms, frozen rain—the works.

Now that I thought about it, it had started snowing when the attack had started, but I thought nothing of it since it was winter and the ground had been covered in snow. The witches had probably tried to keep any drastic weather changes to a minimum to avoid detection. If it weren’t for the shapeshifter selling them out, we probably would’ve never known they were involved.

It took some work and calls to allies, but Sebastian and Haden had narrowed it down to seven covens of winter witches that might’ve been the ones to come up with the plot. Based on the shapeshifters we had captured, we knew which pack they were in, but they had mentioned other packs involved, so we’d also have to look into their allies to find out who else helped.

This whole thing was so damn confusing to me. Why the fuck were winter witches plotting against us? Was it because of our alliances with witches? I’d never heard of any brewing problem between their kind and ours. And why did they have to choose a full moon to make their attempt?

Sebastian and Haden talked about where the packs and covens lived and gave a general idea of the plans for those who went on the reconnaissance missions. Bitterness welled in the pit of my stomach. There was little doubt I’d once again be sidelined and not allowed to go on the missions, which wouldn’t be annoying if those my age also didn’t go out. So when Sebastian announced he wouldn’t be outright choosing the teams but would pick them based on the volunteers, I was stunned. That was not how Mitchell did things. He would’ve told us who was going, and that would be it.

Mitchell had been a good Alpha; there was no doubt about it. But sometimes, it felt like he was a little overprotective of the women, all but putting us in bubble wrap. My father thought it was because of the death of his mate that caused him to be this way.

Not only did Sebastian give us all a chance at possibly going, but he also made it clear there was no shame in not volunteering to hunt our former Alpha’s killers. We needed members to remain here, guarding our territory. If they were willing to attack our home when we were at our strongest, we couldn’t put it past them to try again.

It would be a smart plan to attack while we were spread thin, looking for them.

Sebastian dismissed us, telling us to think it over and if we wanted to be considered for the reconnaissance, to come find him in the meeting room. The moment he and Haden left the room, chatter erupted as everyone began speaking all at once. Most of what I’d heard was debating whether they wanted to go hunting or theories thrown around about why the winter witches were involved.

Aspen and I headed down the stairs to the ground floor of the atrium, where we joined Leon. “Again?” Aspen asked with a sigh, making me frown as I followed his gaze to where Cass and Adalind stood across the room.

From the looks of it, they were arguing, but even though the room was now half empty, I still couldn’t hear them over the chatter. Adalind’s arms were crossed and based on her expression, I was fairly sure she was considering strangling him.

“What’s going on between them?” I glanced between Leon and Aspen. Since they both were roommates of Cass’ and his best friends, I knew for certain they knew what was going on. Not only did they not seem surprised, but they acted like it was becoming a regular occurrence they were tired of, which pissed me off. Why hadn’t I been let in on this?

“They’re arguing about her human roommate,” Leon said, letting out a low sigh as he ran his hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair. When I had cut my hair shorter a few months back, Leon had joked that I was trying to look like him since we both had blonde hair and brown eyes—albeit his were darker than mine—but that was where the similarities ended. At the moment, my nice tan from summer was gone, while Leon’s skin was light brown.

“What about her?” Most of us tended to room with other werewolves—or other supernaturals that could pass for human—around our age just so we didn’t have to explain why we stayed out all night once a month. But some roomed with a human and didn’t mind having to hide aspects of their life.

“She and Cass used to be friends before he first shifted and moved here,” Aspen finally said after he shared a look with Leon. There was obviously more to this, especially with how Leon pursed his lips and looked away.

“Right.” I drew out the word, glancing between them until I realized I wouldn’t get anything from them. While I might be terrible at keeping secrets or things to myself, they didn’t seem to have that problem.

“Are you planning on volunteering?” Leon asked, glancing between us, and I had a feeling he’d only asked to distract me.

I’d been going back and forth on whether or not I should volunteer. Having the option to go opened many doors for me, but just because I could go didn’t mean I should. But on the other hand, I didn’t have school to worry about since we just got done with finals, and I doubted Sebastian and Haden would send me anywhere dangerous.

“Hell yeah, I’m more than ready to get some revenge on these fuckers,” Aspen said, stretching his neck.

Well then, it looked like I’d be volunteering also. I know it may seem pathetic going because a guy was, but Aspen was my best friend. Even if I didn’t have feelings for him, I probably would’ve gone just to make sure he stayed safe.

After Leon said he’d be staying behind when I asked if he’d be joining us, Aspen and I headed toward the meeting room. I’d never been in here before, and as we waited for those ahead of us to finish talking with Sebastian, I took it all in. The room didn’t have any windows, which would usually have me feeling uncomfortable, but the many paintings of vast forests helped. Each of the paintings were different sceneries, with a snow-covered forest—the snow-covered pine trees towering over the lone wolf in the center of the painting. The walls were wood paneled, the wood lighter than the dark floor.

A round table sat in the middle of the room, where Sebastian, Haden, and Garreth—the Gamma of the pack—sat, with multiple maps and papers before them. The table could seat thirty, with the surrounding chairs made of the same painted black wood as the table, with dark blue cushions. In one corner, there was a mini bar with bottles of alcohol and glasses to pour them in. While it made sense there’d be alcohol in here to alleviate the stress that had to come with meetings and planning attacks, it was also worrisome that they might be drinking when making these plans. The only thing that made me feel slightly better was that alcohol didn’t affect us as strongly as with humans—because of our accelerated healing and high metabolism—and it took a lot more alcohol to get us drunk.

Sebastian was soon done giving out the assignment, and his focus landed on us. “Well, if it isn’t my number one fan,” he said with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips as Aspen and I approached the table.

Now I was even more glad he’d won because if he’d been able to figure out I was the one to start the cheering, there was little doubt in my mind Everett knew as well. If Everett had won and was the asshole I was beginning to assume he was, I would’ve made a powerful enemy.

“You’d already won nine challenges. It was only fair you should win,” I said with a shrug.

Aspen placed his arm over my shoulders, stopping me from possibly rambling. His expression was neutral as I glanced up at him, finding his focus not on me but on Sebastian. The hint of a smile playing on Sebastian’s lips had grown—not by much—when I glanced back at him.

“I’m assuming you’re volunteering to go out,” Sebastian finally said, his smile fading as he got to business.

I’d been right in my assessment that he wouldn’t send us to one of the places where they were more confident had packs or covens involved. The coven they wanted us to check out wasn’t even on the list of covens, but one of the healer witches that had helped heal those injured the other night had suggested we check them out, just in case. Meaning, there was a low chance this scouting mission would be dangerous for us so long as we stayed out of the winter witches’ territory and didn’t let on that we were looking into them.