Red

After taking a bath, I cleaned up a small spot for myself and laid down there to sleep but couldn't do so. Hours and hours passed by and I still heard nothing from Anna. My fur curled and dried itself quick with the heat in the house. And while waiting, I watched the snowflakes drift down onto the grounds outside.

I had never been to England, or even anywhere else from the States and just the views around here urged me to become a human quicker so I could enjoy the rest of my life in the arms of my love and our child.

Luciano.

It felt like years since I last saw him. I wanted to see him again before I left the States but Anna convinced me otherwise. A surprise would be much better and we were still not sure whether or not I could be restored into a human.

A strong, herbal scent attacked my nose and I stood up straight, on all fours, ready to bring down anyone passing by. The wooden door of the house creaked open and Anna walked inside, however, the scent wasn't hers, it belonged to someone else.

"Look who I have gotten!" She exclaimed with happiness while lifting her hand to the old woman behind her.

The woman lifted her head, her wrinkled, dead eyes shot at my direction and a shiver of fear spun down my spine as I took a step back. She had a bunch of curly, uncombed hair over her head, a fleshy red face, and blazing eyes. I could tell the woman was a witch and magic had sucked the life out of her.

"Who is this, Anna? I don't want be killed." I gave my sister a worried smile and she laughed in response.

"This is Cordelia Morelli. She was known as our late Gretel's mentor." Anna replied with a grin growing over her face. She glanced over at the old, almost dead woman and invited her into the house. "This is my sister, Meredith, she was a part of the werewolf prophecy and she was killed by Gretel. But the catch is, she died wearing the Stone of Lycans, therefore, her very unusual rebirth." She scratched the sides of my head and I growled at her for reminding me everything.

There was only one thing that bought complete peace to me. Gretel was dead. And there was nothing in this world that could reverse the Blood Magic I had done on her. She could never live again or see the face of earth at least.

The woman, Cordelia Morelli, walked into the house, her eyes roamed around me and every piece of furniture before she sat down on the broken couch.

"What do I get in return?" She broke her silence and asked. Her voice was thick, laced with age and evil, almost as if she was the Mother of witches.

"Whatever you want." Anna replied.

I glanced back at her with surprise. "I can't give her whatever she wants—" I tried to tell her but she shut me off.

"I just want my dear sister back."

"I'll do the spell but in return, I want both of you to work for me as you both are young witches and just what the Alpha here needs." The woman chuckled as she finished.

My muscles clenched hard and I stiffened at her response. "No! I want to go back—"

"What do you mean? For how long?" Anna shut me off again and kept her attention on the woman that had evil intentions—clearly.

"A few months, till I learn Dillon's deepest secrets and use them against him since he doesn't let me near himself." Cordelia said with a little bit of jealousy in her eyes.

"So, you want us to work for you? How exactly?"

"I'll send you both to Dillon and since he admires young witches, he'll allow you stay at his Mansion. From there, you'll work for him, dig deep into his library of secrets and get everything you can to me. Complete the task successfully and you both are free to leave." There was a moment of silence in the house before the magic busted out of the woman's hand. "Fail to please my wants and I'll turn you both into unrecognizable creatures that would never see the daylight again." The anger took in control of her quick and wickedly. Her face turned pale and the veins over her head throbbed with rage as if we had already done something.

"All right, Cordelia!" Anna took her hand. "We will do whatever you want but I'll have to ask my sister. Can I have a minute alone?" She stuttered, sounding afraid.

"Of course, sweetheart." The woman changed emotions far quicker than I could even blink.

Annabeth stood up from the couch and drew her hands away from the witch. She motioned at me and escaped into another room. I followed her behind immediately and jumped over her before she could say anything.

"What is wrong with you? That woman is literally Gretel's mother or something. I don't want this kind of trouble, never again!" I shouted at her and released my ball of anger.

"Oh, Red, stop being dramatic. She isn't her Mother, just her mentor and that was a while back." Anna tried to explain the situation but nothing crossed my mind.

"I don't care." I hissed. "I don't want Gretel part two in my life. I almost killed myself trying to kill her."

"Yes! And you're dead! Cordelia is a woman of her word. She isn't anything like Gretel. She is much stronger and wiser than her. The kind of magic we are looking for can only be found here, nowhere else." She argued back before throwing her hands over me and giving me a hard push to the ground.

"I don't care."

Anna straightened her back and wiped her palms down her clothes to get rid of the fur I had been shedding. "Would you rather prefer staying in a wolf form for the next few months or shifting back and working for Cordelia for a few months? At least you would be a human again." She asked.

"What kind of working? Do you know the man she's talking about or is this going to be some prostitution ring because I'm not going to have sex with anyone—Luciano pleased me well." I stated facts.

I rather live as a wolf than become someone's whore.

"No, of course not! Dillon is the Alpha of the pack here, he's an old man, and Cordelia was in love with him a few years back. They separated and since then she's been trying to find a way to lure him back. We just have to find a few secrets and that's literally all." She groaned, her eyes slowly closing with frustration.

"How long?"

"A month or two and then you can return back to your lovely dovely Luciano and your daughter and I can go fuck up Ben for no reason. Simple as that. Do you want a happy ever after or no?" She rolled her eyes and poked me with her finger.

"Fine. Whatever you say so."

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