Part 19. The Pack Witch

A bright ray of light woke her up, her hand coming to shield her eyes as the omega blinked through heavy eyelids. She cursed to herself, rolling over to the side to hide away from the sun, wrapping her leg around the body length pillow. It doesn't hold any comforting smell, but it kept her company during restless nights.




Ava had a little more energy this morning, though it's still not enough to make herself breakfast or put on decent clothes.




Rayly was already hovering over her bed. The beta had to be in the clinic in an hour or so. Before that, she had to drop Ava at her brother's cabin. Ava was getting her pack duties from Zach today, and she couldn’t be more smug if she wanted. Throwing the covers off her body, the omega rushed to the bathroom before her friend could start yelling.




“Ava, we should go shopping.” The beta remarked once the omega stepped out in a loose yellow knee-length dress. It was baggy under her arms, and the robe around the waist was holding it together.





“Why? Your old clothes are fine for me.”




Rayly bristled at that. “Nonsense. You will get your allowance today, and we are going shopping. I don’t want to hear anything.”




“Umm…okay.”




Ava didn’t question about the allowance part, hoping it to be another part of being in this pack. In her tribe, they didn’t need to earn any money, getting monthly allowances from the Council.





On their way to the cabin, Ava was greeted cheerfully by the pack members while others ran away in fear. Her fight the day before somewhat built a reputation around. While most of them adored her, gushing about her quick defence, some beta females scoffed and stayed away from her. She had no idea why.




The omega secretly enjoyed the praise directed her way. Unfortunately, she only met half of the pack and was waiting for her feast. Her official introduction will be done, and she will bear the pack symbol on her wrist soon. The thought made her stomach twist. It meant her tribe would no longer acknowledge her.





“Ava”, A voice called from somewhere behind them. Spinning around with an unintended yawn, she found a strange young woman walking towards them. Her hair was covered under the hood.





“Jade!” Rayly exclaimed, throwing herself into her arms.




Ava watched the interaction with rapt attention, confused about the person. This Jade didn’t have the smell of wolf. Who was she?




“Oh, Ray, I missed you too.” She parted from the hug, adjusting her hood. Her eyes bore into Ava with interest and curiosity.




“And who is this?”




Rayly slapped her forehead. “I almost forgot. She’s a beta, Ava Pearl, the newest member of our pack.” The beta turned to her. “And Ava, this is Jade, our pack witch.”





The omega nodded at her, shyly waving. She had no idea what to talk about with a pack witch, especially since their tribe always tried to keep conversation minimal with witches. Ava shifted on her feet, suddenly nervous at the eyes raking over her.




“I was wondering if I could speak with you about some things, Ava..."




Rayly made a sound. “About what?”




“It’s no use to you, dear friend. Why don’t you go to the clinic? I can continue my conversation with your friend here.”




The beta looked at Ava questioningly, who nodded her head. The Omega was curious about what the witch had to say to her that could not be expressed in front of Rayly.




“Okay then! I’ll see you during my lunch.” With that, the beta turned around and made her way to the clinic.
***
The omega followed the witch, watching her closely, picking out every single detail.





“I thought that you might not want your secret exposed in front of Rayly.” Jade crooned, both her hands coming up to tuck her long hair behind her ears.




The omega went pale. Colour drained her face, and she froze as those words sank in. Draping an arm around her back to shield her from the cold, Ava quietly followed her. Jade knows something.






Eventually, they reached their destination and slipped inside, conclusively sitting down right in front of each other. A single flame illuminated the entire room Jade had lit to a wick of the thick candle atop a wooden desk in the corner.





"So...Ava. Where do we even begin?" The witch asked, placing the block to the side and then digging her elbows into her splayed knees, resting her chin in her palms.




The omega thought her words out carefully so she wouldn't give anything away, sparking things up with a simple, "How much do you know about me, umm?"




“You can call me Jade.”




“Okay.” Ava squirmed. “Jade”




“I know everything.”




Well, there goes nothing. The omega kept her cool, arching her brow. Most of the times, witches bluffed to get their way, so she challenged her.




“Oh," The omega squeaked in surprise, clearing her throat and delving deeper into the mystery. "Everything? Like what?”





“For starters, you are a tribal omega pretending to be a beta. And you are hiding your scent with heavy herbs…mhm, let me guess…tree sap mixed with bane roots.”




Wow. That’s supposed to be a secret. The ingredients that went into making scent blockers and suppressants. Her skin prickled with goosebumps.




"Okay," The omega drawled with widening eyes, obviously knowing where this was going and pleading for her to continue. This was the real deal. “Why did I end up here then?”




“You know the answer, Ava.”




"You mean this is my destiny?" The omega gasped, truthfully hoping she'd theorised that correctly.




"Is it so hard to believe that out of all the places beyond the forests, you wound up here, where you belong?" The witch countered, making the omega choke on her spit when she tried to swallow. "It is not too far-fetched to consider that your true instinct knew you were not where you needed to be, and it reacted to get you here.”





Ava opened and closed her mouth, a sigh escaping her lips. All those things that happened in the last few days were only happening because of her destiny. “But Jade…do you know about my mates?”




“Yes”





The omega whimpered. “But they could never love me. Not me, the broken omega. The three of them are Leaders! They are too perfect, and I am awful! I could never be good enough. I have done nothing but lie to them.” Tears pooled in her eyes, sliding past her cheeks as she thought of the three Alpha Leaders.




Jade raised her eyebrow and comforted the sobbing omega as best as she could. "Don't be so negative, Ava. It is no coincidence the three of them haven’t been able to settle down even though they are the most sought-after bachelors for almost every omega in the Pack. They never knotted anyone for that matter. No one has managed to steal their hearts.”




The omega cautiously looked up from the hands she was snotting into. Never knotted anyone? That meant they were looking for the one who could rule by their side.




“Really?” Ava asked dubiously, wiping her face clean when the witch nodded in a verdict.




She could hardly believe what she was hearing. The Pack Leaders never knotted anyone until now, which meant they didn’t consider anyone worthy. Someone like Ava was their mate, and they didn’t even know. It was all preposterous, but somewhere deep in her soul, she allowed herself to consider the possibility.




Jade had begun to say something, but the omega was far too lost in her thoughts to catch her statement. “Sorry, what did you say?” She asked apologetically, turning off her rampant mind to focus on the witch.




She smiled at the feeble omega in understanding and repeated her words once more: “I said that I’ll be making your remedies from now on. If that’s okay with you. You don’t want others to know about your true self until you trust them with the secret, and I can understand that.”





Ava was overcome with a fresh set of tears and gratitude towards the witch. She had her reasons for hiding behind the mask of beta.





“Thank you so much for that, Jade. I would like that.” The omega finally said, following the path of her other thought because it was incessantly bringing itself forth. “Who all knows about me?” Ava asked, nervous about all these things being released to the pack members.




“No one apart from me knows about your true identity. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”




A sigh escaped her lips. The omega was worried that Jade might have let it slip. Ava cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks redden at the question swirling inside.




“There’s one more thing I want to know…how do the Pack Leaders feel about me? Will they accept me?”




Jade twisted her lips, “A Pack Leader’s thoughts and actions can never be revealed to someone like. They need their secrets, I guess. You have to wait and find out.”
***

New character alert! Tell me what you think so far. Who is Ava? A wolf or something more?