I watch in fascination as I successfully whirl a tornado on the ground. I twirl my fingers and watch as the sand rises in the air and whirls in a perfect circle. I twirl my fingers a little faster watching as the eye of the tornado forms and the speed increases right in front of my eyes.
"That's perfect, sestra. Now control it!"
I follow my older brother's instructions and in the next minute, steadily slow down the twirling of my fingers and watch as the sand beautifully falls back on the ground.
Letting out the breath that I had been holding this entire time, I blink a few times, not really believing that I did that.
I whirled a tornado with my bare fingers and brought it down with my determination. I can't believe that I had the capability to do that.
"That was great!" praises Fenris as I get up on my legs, still trying to balance myself without showing it to anyone. I look up at Fenris as his eyes shine with pride.
He's proud of me?
"Don't be so shocked, Nikita. I can sense that you have much more potential. That was just a glimpse," he says while pointing on the ground where just a few minutes ago I had whirled a small-sized tornado. He smiles at me, his eyes showcasing the pride that he feels for me and somewhere I feel my heartbeat increasing.
My heart feels full inside my chest and I really do not understand what this feeling is.
"Confused?" asks Fenris and I feel embarrassed that he is so in tune with my emotions. I duck my head, focusing on the ground and let my hair cover my face.
"Hah! That's happiness, sestra. What you are feeling is happiness and there's no need to feel confused about it," he explains and then hesitantly keeps his hand on my head.
The last time he had kept his hand on my head, I had flinched causing him to step back and apologize. However, this time I don't flinch back. I stand there and let his touch on my head wash over me.
When he realizes that I am not scared of his touch anymore, he smiles and then pats on my head twice, scattering the hair on my head. However, that one act of his gives way to a longing inside me. The bond that forms between us makes me want more.
I want to know my brother more and I want to be that easy-going with him.
We are both looking at each other, smiling and this time I know what he's feeling. He's happy and he's relieved that I am no longer afraid of his touch or his presence around me. In return, I feel gratitude towards him for making an effort for me.
"The pleasure is all mine, my dear sister," he whispers, knowing exactly what I am feeling and then bends to drop a kiss on my head. I hold my breath for a minute but it doesn't hurt me.
It feels good. No pain. Letting out my breath, I smile at Fenris when I realize that he's been waiting for my reaction. As soon as I smile at him, he returns it with his own grin while his eyes sparkle.
He has dad's eyes and it is the same smile. Dad had smiled down at me on that day too while mother was crying, whispering about how I will be a full witch.
The sudden memory of my very first day on this planet and my parents' doom wipes off the smile on my face. Fenris notices this probably because he raises his eyebrow at me and I have learnt in the past few days that whenever Fenris raises a brow it means that he's either asking something or waiting for the other person to confess something.
Usually, that other person is Sierra who always manages to overexert herself and then gets a scolding from Fenris on that matter. Once Sierra had ventured into the human market on her own without informing Fenris. When Fenris came to know about Sierra's outing, he had been furiously waiting on the pack gates for Sierra's return.
The moment Sierra came into Fenris's view, he had picked her up and in front of all other pack members' eyes, he had carried Sierra back into their home and then proceeded to march into the bedroom where he had kept her for the whole day.
That day I had realized that females find sex pleasurable too.
It made me feel gross at the beginning but then I had learnt to tune them out of my senses and focus on their baby. That's when I had learnt to deal with the baby's magical powers. I had learnt how to build a mental barrier so that the baby wouldn't enter my mind and extract my pain.
After that, managing the baby had become quite a simple task especially considering how smart the baby is for her age. She even reacts to her name being called. Whenever anyone called or even discussed about her, the baby immediately turned her head towards the said person.
"Nikita?"
Fenris's question brings me out of my thoughts and I look at him realizing that he has been looking at me questionably for more than a minute.
But before I can answer him, we are interrupted by someone. I turn around and look at Beta Cayden, Fenris's cousin. Oh, he is my cousin too.
I tend to forget that sometimes.
"Good morning Fenris, Nikita," he greets us with a small smile on his face. I nod at him as I find smiling at people other than Fenris and Sierra a bit difficult. Years of habit won't go away in such a small time, I presume.
"Morning, Cade," greets Fenris while turning to focus all his attention on his– our cousin.
"I hope you are doing great, Nikita?" asks Cayden to which I manage a small smile. Cayden grins at me while nodding but doesn't try to engage me in a conversation knowing well now that I am not used to speaking much.
I am trying to overcome this hindrance with the help from Sierra but it will take a little more time and everyone around me fortunately is understanding enough to not shun me out of their community.
"...visit us, today," finishes Cayden and I only manage to catch the final words. Looking at the conversing duo, I wait silently not really understanding if I should leave or engage in the conversation.
As if realizing my dilemma, Fenris turns to look at me, completely facing me which makes Cayden to turn towards me as well.
That's when I feel a little more awkward.
"What?" I whisper, not really able to control myself anymore. Fenris's questioning gaze bores into my head while my gaze shifts from my brother to my cousin and then back to my brother.
"Cayden here is informing that our aunt Nora might be visiting us today as she was spotted near the river Lena," begins Fenris and I immediately tense up.
Thinking of meeting another witch is like living my nightmare. I do not know if the witch that is this aunt Nora will be like Kestrel or like my mother. I know that she's mamma's sister but then even Kestrel was once mamma's friend.
In that case, whom to really trust?
After all, every traitor was once a good friend to my family.
"If you do not want to meet her, I will send her away when she comes at the pack gates."
"She can teleport anywhere," I whisper timidly, daring to say something as the thought of meeting someone who has the magic as Kestrel scares me. I do not want to ever recall that black period of my life.
"Nikita," begins Fenris and then sighs a bit before raising his hand and pulling at his hair. "Sestra, Nora is our aunt, our mother's sister. She will never, trust me when I say this, she will never hurt even a single hair on your head. Let her meet you once. I can assure you that she's desperate to meet her sister's daughter who's rumoured to be the exact replica of her mother," says Fenris, his eyes portraying his scattered emotions.
I feel pressured suddenly. I do not want to be scared yet here I am shaking like a leaf even at the hint of meeting someone as powerful as Kestrel.
"Do not be scared. I will be with you. Sierra will be there. Cayden will be, too. I promise, we will never let anyone harm you again," he promises with such ferocity that all my fear rushes out of my mind in a whoosh.
As soon as Fenris's words fall on my ears, I feel at peace as if I wanted that confirmation from my brother.
Maybe I wanted him to verbally accept that he would choose me, his sister, before his witch relatives. And that thought gives me immense relief.
Letting the fear escape my mind, I take a deep breath before nodding and giving my confirmation to meet aunt Nora. Watching me agree to meet our witch relatives, Fenris sighs in relief and then smiles at me.
"Thank you, sestra," he whispers and then motions for me to walk towards his home. "Go home, I will be here watching over till you reach the door. Sierra's inside," he instructs and I know that he's trying to push me so that I can walk by myself without having anyone besides me.
Lately, I have realized that my brother believes that all females should know how to do and handle things on their own without anyone's aid. It is an exhilarating experience but in situations like this, I feel smothered by all these new experiences. This is exhausting!
I feel nervous not really knowing if I will be able to handle the challenges thrown at me. I am really glad to have Fenris as my brother and Sierra as a sister who doesn't at all complaint about me. I know that my presence has disturbed their privacy.
They are the leaders of this community and they hardly get time for each other. On top of that, my entry into their life has put an additional burden of responsibility on their minds.
As I make my way towards Fenris's house, I feel his gaze on me all the time, and that gives me a little bit of courage to complete this distance of a couple of miles from Fenris to his home. As soon as I reach the porch of his house, I turn around to look at him and wave slightly, watching in return as he waves at me with a huge smile on his face.
I then walk into the house and am greeted with the sight of Sierra who's feeding Selene. The baby has plastered her face in her mother's breast, sucking off the milk greedily while Sierra caresses her daughter's dark hair lovingly. When I enter the house, she looks up and then smiles at me, motioning me to sit on the sofa in front of her.
"I see you made it alone," she says as a greeting, her eyes sparkling with pride.
That's when I feel my heartbeat increasing again. It's happiness, I remember Fenris saying.
Smiling at Sierra a bit, I settle on the sofa and watch as Selene's eyes slowly start closing of their own accord. It's fascinating to watch a baby fall asleep without any care of the world.
How simple is their life! Just play, eat, sleep and repeat. I wish my life were that simple.
"She's asleep finally," whispers Sierra as she pulls out her nipple from the baby's mouth and then proceeds to cover her breast all the while holding her baby single-handedly. I envy her ability to do things so smoothly.
Was she that capable always?
"I'll just put her to bed and then we can talk," she whispers while getting up to go upstairs. I nod at her and then wait for her to come back down so that she can ask me questions and I can try answering them.
Fidgeting with the dress, courtesy of my brother and his mate, I observe the flare of the dress and the tiny studs embedded in them while twirling the frill a bit.
"Hey," whispers Sierra while taking a seat on the sofa and resting her head against the arm of the sofa. She looks exhausted.
"You are tired?" I ask taking an effort to make a conversation. I have been told that speaking doesn't require permission and if I want to live a happy life, I need to learn to speak and make a conversation. So far, I am successful in conversing with Sierra and Fenris.
I am trying to talk with Cayden but recalling the scenario of a few seconds, I know that it backfired. I couldn't even greet my cousin properly.
"Very tired. Raising a hybrid daughter is exhausting," says Sierra while chucking a bit. She finger-combs her hair and then pulls all of them into her hands and then raises the thick mass of hair above her head while turning and twirling it. She creates a bun like thing of her hair and then uses a hair tie to fix her hair on top of her head.
All the while I watch her in fascination, not really understanding how she is able to control her thick mass of hair. I cannot manage my hair and I always end up asking Sierra to help me tie my hair.
Even today, she had to fix my hair up in a bun so that they wouldn't hinder my lessons of learning new things from both Fenris and Sierra. However, I do not sense any anger from Sierra for she has to take care of me as she looks after Selene.
"...Nikita?"
My name being called pulls me out of my thoughts and I look up at Sierra to find her staring at me as if expecting an answer. Maybe she asked me a question.
"Yes?" I ask her, being clueless about her question. She sighs a bit and then smiles at me.
"Nikita, why didn't you tell me that Nora is coming to visit us? I came to know when Fenris linked me," she says and I sense her anxiety. Why is she anxious?
"Linked?" I ask, not really understanding the meaning of it.
"Mind-link. Remember, I had told you about mates being able to link with each other. In fact, any supernatural being who has a blood-bond will be able to mind-link each other," she explains and I recall her once informing me about this. I nod at her and she smiles at me a bit encouragingly.
"So... you ready to meet Nora?" she asks while putting her head in her palm while her elbow rests on her knee.
I shake my head a bit, "not really."
"I understand but Nora is a very pure witch. She'll love you like her own daughter," says Sierra while moving forward to pat my knee. I sigh in relief when her touch doesn't hurt me.
In fact, Sierra touches me randomly. A pat on the shoulder, a peck on the cheek, a push on the hips, squeezing my hand, and many other small yet powerful touches. Her random touches have made me immune to feeling any pain from her touch. Maybe because she is a female and I feel a lot more at ease when she touches me compared to when Fenris touched me.
I am truly grateful to have found such people and even more grateful for they are my blood family.
"What if she tells me to demonstrate my magic?" I ask, my voice sounding low. Sierra shakes her head and then chuckles.
"Nikita, your magic is pure like you. If she tells you to demonstrate your magic, then show the tornado that you learnt to make today," she says causing my eyes to go wide.
"You saw that?" I ask, not really knowing when she saw me. If she did then I should have felt her gaze on me. I am always alert to my surroundings and if she was looking at me, then I should have known.
"Do not panic, sister. Fenris told me," she says while pointing at her head and I relax a bit realizing that Fenris must have told her through their link.
"Okay," I mutter and sigh, preparing myself to meet this aunt of mine.
Mamma give me strength!
"Come on, Nikita. Let's go upstairs and you try to take a nap for some time," she says oblivious to the battle of my emotions inside my mind.
~~~~
I stand on the porch steps, holding onto Selene desperately while trying to control my nervousness as I wait for Fenris to return with our aunt. Fenris said that werewolves are wary of witches and that's why Nora doesn't teleport inside the pack premises as a gesture of respect.
That's why the moment Nora steps into the pack land, Fenris goes to greet her so that everyone knows that she has come on their King's request and not on her own. It helps reduce the pack's anxiety around Nora and her kids.
Sierra is sitting at the coffee table on the porch, sipping on her orange juice. She's completely relaxed while I am here holding onto Selene, making her my shield. Perhaps if I hold Selene then everyone's attention will turn to the chubby little baby instead of me and I might escape this meeting-your-aunt event of my life.
"I am glad Selene's helping you," says Sierra and I sense a little bit of sarcasm from her tone. I sigh a bit, not really affected by her words as I recall how she tried to make me feel relaxed but failed to even make me relax for a minute.
Baby Selene continues to play with my hair. When she had first seen me, she had kept staring at me for almost a whole minute. That's when I had sensed baby Selene's mind working and observing the people around her. The child has an innate ability to store information about people whom she meets for the first time and then she continues to remember them. Possibly she will remember them for the rest of her life.
Unlike me, this witch-child does not have a photographic memory. However, she's quite intelligent to remember people's faces and then identify who's the bad one out of it. She doesn't go to unknown males or unmated males who had turned out to be leery when they had seen me. They might be packmates but not all people or relatives are good.
That's when I had known that baby Selene's reactions to people's behaviour can be definitely trusted and relied upon.
I push the baby up in my arms while continuing to rock her in my arms. I have learnt that baby Selene likes being held by people. In this case, she is like a typical werewolf baby. Always, wanting people around her. She cannot stay alone for more than a minute perhaps only when she's sleeping, does she allow people to do their work.
The child makes some weird noises which I now know is her way to communicate. She flaps her hands a bit and then pats on my cheek, trying to extract my memories but I am quick enough to shield myself so that she doesn't let Wulfric's face surface to my mind.
"You are one persistent baby," I murmur so that only she can hear me. Perhaps the baby understands me because she then chuckles and blesses me with her toothless gurgle of laughter. That carefree sound makes me smile too and I feel all my stress drain out of my body as I chuckle with my niece at her shenanigans.
But my happiness doesn't stay for long when I sense people moving towards us. The scent of two unknown people along with Fenris and Cayden puts me on alert and that quick I lose my smile.
Straightening my back, I resist the urge of fleeing away from here and, stay rooted in my spot while holding on to Selene desperately.
Slowly, the group of people walks nearer making my heart beat faster with each step of theirs. I keep my eyes on Fenris since he's my only hope, giving me enough strength to bear their scrutinizing gaze. Fenris's eyes move from Sierra to mine and I sense Sierra walking towards me and then standing behind me. A hand on my shoulder is the only indication that Fenris linked something to Sierra.
How am I ever going to repay their kindness!
"You know we are here with you and those people are family," whispers Sierra in my ear, while pushing some of my strands away behind my ear. I look at her from the corner of my eyes and watch her smiling at me, encouraging me without any hesitation.
This couple doesn't even know why I am so scared of meeting the witch family yet they are standing beside me must because I am their relative. Maybe this is finally the time to live my life.
And I cannot let Kestrel's memory haunt me forever.
Seeking strength from Sierra, I resist taking a step back as our aunt Nora walks on the steps of the porch, coming to stand in front of me, bombarding me with her shrewd gaze. Unable to look away, I take in her features.
She looks different from me, maybe from my mother as well. She is wearing a black robe, but she's very fair, which makes her skin look completely in contrast with the robe. Her long black hair is almost being covered by her robe but I cannot really make out the length of her hair. It's very well hidden. Her hands stay at her sides, while her nails are painted a deep red again making her skin go in contrast with the dark colour.
She is petite but very tall giving her a very otherworldly look and as I take in her facial features, I realize that she looks like a human woman with a gothic aura. She looks very fragile as if a doll but she has a very angelic aura around her, signifying her purity.
Her deep brown eyes speak of her experience and her knowledge of life. She is old, older than I expected her to be but she's looking very young. She might be in the ending days of her prime and a lot soon, she will need an heir to take forward her legacy.
Unlike werewolves, witches have a female heir and that's why the daughters of witches are cherished as well as trained since the very beginning of their youth.
I had once heard Kestrel speaking with Xavier regarding the very same matter. She was trying to explain to Xavier that Helene was capable of taking over Kestrel's legacy but Xavier wasn't so sure. Now, I know that Xavier was true in his conclusion about Helene's capability. Helene's weakness proved to be fruitful for me so it's better if I do not dwell on those facts.
Pushing away those thoughts, I turn to look at the male standing beside Nora. He's a wizard, I am sure but he doesn't look like Nora. But he's younger, maybe a few years older than me but I presume he is Nora's son.
"Yes, I am," he whispers, making me freeze for a second and that's when I realize that he can read my mind. His presence in my mind is invisible but I strain on my mind, now, trying to detect his presence and there he is.
A tiny sliver, so small and frail that I almost missed detecting him. He entered my mind without any permission or my knowledge.
His one action sends a surge of rage burning through me and I feel something hot pulsing through my veins. The thought of being vulnerable in front of a mind-reading wizard makes me lose all of my rational thinking and I put up a shield to block him.
I literally push him out of my mind, while I raise my hand, holding Selene in one arm and blast a stream of fire through my other hand, targeting the wizard's head for daring to make me feel vulnerable.
The wizard not really aware of my next move, is caught off-guard and I relish in delight as the wizard's hair catches fire and he starts dancing in his spot, trying to put off the fire. All around me everyone runs around, trying to get water to put out the fire.
When Fenris and Sierra along with Cayden try to find something to put out the fire, I watch as the wizard runs away without sparing me any glance in search of god knows what.
All the while Aunt Nora stands in front of me, looking at me with a calm expression and then smiling a bit as baby Selene gurgles in laughter at my actions and the wizard's weird dance.
Serves him right to peek into my mind without my permission. Henceforth, no one will dare to behave with me in any way without my permission. It's a vow I made to myself and I will make sure that it is followed by everyone.
"So, you are a fire witch?" says Nora and I gasp at her melodic voice. Turning my head to look at her, I resist the urge to take a step back fearing that she did not like my retaliation towards her son or whoever he was.
When I do not reply to her question, she raises her brow and her lips quirk up a bit as if in mischief.
"Well, it's about time someone taught my son a lesson about privacy."
~~~
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