The Truth About Witches and Wolves

It's Not About You

Dedicated to SammieMD, 'cause you're awesome Gecko!

Nathan

My body feels worn and weary. Every muscle hurts, every bit of me aches. And yet, no matter how hard I try, I don't wake up. I just remain in a sea of darkness, struggling with invisible hands to find the light. To find consciousness again.

It takes so long. Too long. Or at least, it feels like it. I honestly have no idea how long I've been here, wherever 'here' is.

Eventually, I open my eyes.

At first I'm blinded by light. Afterwards, I notice that the room is quite dim. Only lit by a small window on the opposite side of the room. Everything else is shrouded in shadow. The walls, or what I can make out of them, are cold, concrete and bare. How do I know they're cold? Because I'm sitting on the floor, heavy chains of silver around my wrists and ankles. Ok, scratch that, they may not be completely silver. Perhaps a silver alloy with some other metal? All I know is that if it were pure silver, it would hurt a lot more.

"Awake, are we?" A voice calls out from the dark abyss in front of me. Perhaps if the silver wasn't blocking my senses, I could've seen whoever it was, but with the silver, I could not.

"Who are you?" I growl. All I receive is a wicked little chuckle that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand still. And then a foot steps into the light, followed two legs and a body. That body happened to belong to a young man, perhaps a few years older than me.

"I, mutt, am Draven."

This only made me angrier. Apparently Draven had a lot of nerve. Not only did he take me away from my mate, but he also thinks it's funny to insult an already angry alpha. As a result, my wolf (not that I was holding him back) let out a deafening growl, even when in the presence of silver. Draven only laughs.

"Oooo, we are cranky. Not to worry big, bad, alpha, you'll see your mate soon enough," he pauses for a moment, allowing himself to bend over so that his eyes were level with mine. "Right before I kill her."

His words were a cold bucket of water hitting me in the face. My wolf suddenly surged forward and struggled against our restraints.

"What? Did you think this had something to do with you? Please! All I want is to kill your mate. And guess who I'm using as bait?"

This man, my wolf snarled in my head. He threatens our mate! We will tear him apart!

Agreed, I think. I don't happen to care who Draven is- but anyone who threatens my mate will meet a horrible end. That much I can guarantee.

"Oh don't get yourself so worked up about it. Think of it this way; I'll be freeing you of a bond that you never chose. Then you'd be free to be with whomever you like!"

"You think we do not want our mate?" my wolf and I hiss. "She is our everything. She is the sun in the morning and the moon at night. She is the reason our very heart beats, and if you take her away from us, we will exact our revenge!"

Our outburst had very little effect on Draven though. He merely sniffed and rolled his eyes. "And that's why I'm glad I'm only half werewolf. You full-blooded wolves are completely insane, chasing mates and true happiness and whatever else. Us hybrids however? We don't feel quite the same way. Especially when the other half of you is vampire."

I feel my eyes widen in surprise. "You're a hybrid?" I ask. I know, know, they're real, but they're extremely rare. Particularly vampire and wolf hybrids, because neither species likes one anther very much.

Draven merely looks at me like I'm stupid.

"Of course I'm a hybrid. What did you think I was? Actually- never mind. I don't want to know. Anyhow, as a vampire/werewolf hybrid I have the ability to turn into a wolf, but also the immortality of a vampire. And now, I'm going to drain the power of a with as well!" At this, he licks his lips in a way that makes me shiver with terror. He was going to drain Emma's power! But... why? He could've gone after any other witch, but instead, he went after her.

"She's important, isn't she?"

"Naturally. She's one of three powerful witches who are reborn every few generations. I had first thought that the power was within her father, so I killed him. It was after that I realised I'd killed the wrong person." At this, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "No loss other than time there. Witch blood happens to taste amazing. At first, I thought I'd gotten my calculations wrong and traced the wrong bloodline, but then I started hearing rumours of a powerful witch in the same area. And then I realised it was the old man's daughter!"

"You killed Emma's father?!"

Again, Draven rolls his eyes. "Naturally. I'm betting I scarred her for life? And seeing as how I'd done it wolf form, I'm also betting that she didn't take to you too well. Yes? Thought as much!"

Upon hearing this insult, my wolf tries to kill him, snapping his teeth at Draven, who simply walks away with a sick smile on his twisted face.

"Don't worry, Nathan. Her end will be quick. Then I will drink her blood and move on. You'll be free to go; I'll have gained untold power. It's really a win/win situation for both of us." And with that he turned around and walked out of the room.