Chapter 34 - A blood witch!

LENA ALMOST SPOKE HER mind but, thankfully, Alaric left before she could tell him that the blood he referred to with such disdain, also ran through his own damn veins! She would have to be a lot more careful around him since that damn secret was burning to get out. At least it was warmer in her room and if she wasn’t scared that he might just take it the wrong way, she would have thanked him for making the arrangements.

Lena snuggled up in bed. She would never admit it out loud to Alaric, she might admit it to Rebecca, but she would never admit to Alaric that the fire in her room was really nice and her eyes soon drooped as she drifted off to sleep. For the first time in a while, she slept through the night without having one single nightmare. Waking the next morning, Lena was surprised to find the omega busy stoking the fire and she wondered if the girl had just come in.

“No, I was here a couple of times during the night.” The girl never looked Lena in the eye and she wondered if it was because she didn’t like her or perhaps she saw Lena the same way that Alaric did. As the blood witch whose father killed their Alpha and Luna. Lena wondered if Alaric’s people would ever see her as anything more than that, then decided to put those thoughts in the back of her mind.

She had to find a way out of this damn mate bond. Until she did that, there was no way that Alaric was going to let her go, and there was no way in hell she was staying and becoming his mate! She was just about to go in search of Rebecca when the young lady showed up in front of her door and they left for the library. Rebecca was positively bubbling as they walked through the door and she closed it behind them. All she could talk about all morning was how she wanted her own grimoire so she could write down all the spells she could do.

That reminded Lena of her own gifts that Alaric still had in his possession. The precious gifts she would have one day handed down to her daughter or son if her coven was still alive. That was when Lena decided to tell Rebecca about the ceremony and they sat down on the couch. Lena told her how incredibly beautiful the wild flowers were and how nice the food smelled on the day she came of age.

She told her how she felt when she received each gift and how much it meant to a witch to receive those specific gifts from their parents. Feeling guilty for a moment that Rebecca’s parents weren’t there anymore, Lena quickly explained that special people in a witch’s life could stand in for those people and that not all witches received family heirlooms as their gifts. She was beginning to wonder if telling the story was such a good idea when Rebecca seemed upset.

“I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Lena felt awful. She was just constantly putting her foot in it!

“No, you didn’t upset me.” Rebecca sighed as she looked out into a distance that didn’t exist. Lena asked what was upsetting her and Rebecca sighed. “We are both missing out on so much because people prefer to hate and kill rather than to love and keep the peace.” Lena was shocked. To hear such incredibly grown-up ideas coming from such a young person was shocking. Lena realized that there were grown-ups close to this little girl who could learn from her as she sighed.

“I guess it’s easier to hate than it is to love and it’s easier to kill than it is to find a way to make peace.” They sat in silence for a while captured by their own thoughts before Lena sighed and told Rebecca that she had to get back to work. When lunch time came around, they packed away their books and were just about to leave the library when Alaric showed up with a basket in hand.

“I thought the three of us could have lunch together.” His face was completely blank and Lena wondered what the hell was going on with him. Had he fallen out of bed and hit his head or something that he was suddenly being so nice towards her? Then it hit her. He was trying to be nice so she would say yes, wasn’t he? She frowned and said she would prefer to have lunch in her room, but he simply insisted and off they went.

Lena could feel all the eyes on her as they stepped out of the pack house and made their way to the beautifully kept lawn in front of the pack house. Under the biggest tree, an omega had put out a blanket and some pillows and there was a small table to one side. Lena knew it was an omega since she saw her rushing past them on her way back inside.

“Why do you treat omega’s the way you do?” She didn’t want to pick a fight, but he didn’t look happy about her question. He handed Rebecca the basket after she had sat down and held out his hand for Lena, but she didn’t take it. She just flopped down on the ground, making Rebecca laugh. Rebecca found the cupcakes first and handed Lena one.

“We don’t treat omegas any differently to anybody else.” Alaric sighed, sitting down opposite the two girls. He wasn’t actually hungry. He chose every item for their basket and while the chef was busy packing, he filled up on sandwiches and the chef was forced to make a new batch, but he was happy to see that Rebecca was digging in to the food.

“Oh, yes, you do!” Lena scoffed and Alaric was pulled back into the conversation as Lena explained what she noticed. It was as if a light had suddenly gone on in Alaric’s mind and he realized that she was right. They did treat omegas differently. He had never even noticed and he apologized to Lena.

“I guess …” He hesitated for a moment. “Well, it’s just the way things have always been, I guess. That was probably why I never actually noticed.” He shrugged, resolving to speak to Max about it. If they weren’t treating their people right, that had to be changed. Omegas were an integral part of their society. They were probably the most important, since they made sure everything was taken care of, from the pack’s laundry to their food. Their rank didn’t make them less worthy of respect, or less of a wolf.

“How’s the food?” Max told Alaric to try and keep things light, but it seemed Lena was intent on making it difficult, so he changed the subject to the only neutral thing he could think about. He was dying to know how Lena’s research was going, but it was purely so he could tell her that he told her so. He didn’t believe that she would find something that Argus didn’t. If there was a way out of this mess, Argus would have told him.

Between Rebecca’s cake-filled grin and Lena’s humming, he could only guess the food was acceptable. As soon as Rebecca was done, she looked excitedly at Lena, almost as if she was asking permission to say something, but then stopped when Lena threw her a warning look. Alaric didn’t miss the exchange and he wondered what it was about.

“Have you found any answers to our predicament yet?” Okay, so he wasn’t going to follow Max’s advice. There was clearly something going on between the two women and he wanted to know what. Lena sighed and rolled her eyes and he prodded again.

“Alaric, we have something we have to tell you, but you have to promise you won’t get angry.” Lena rolled her eyes as she gave Rebecca a quick look. His little sister was positively beaming and Alaric wondered what the hell it could be? Did they actually find something?! “Your mother was a blood witch.” Lena stayed silent while Alaric gaped at the two of them for a moment.

“NO, she wasn’t!” He exclaimed, softly growling.

“Yes, she was, and we can prove it!” Rebecca’s good mood had turned sour in the blink of an eye as she shouted at her brother and jumped up from the blanket. Rebecca rushed off before Alaric could say another word and he turned his attention to Lena. He felt split as his eyes went from where Rebecca rushed inside, back to Lena and back to where Rebecca disappeared from.

“Okay, spill!” He glared at Lena as a soft growl escaped through his lips. He was going completely against what Max told him, but now he needed answers and he was willing to go full Alpha on this one. There was no way in hell that his mother could have been a blood witch and wouldn’t stand for anybody saying it!