Word Count: 1758

~Meara

The rain doesn't let up as we follow the witch through the forest.

I rub at my throat, scowling at her back. She nearly killed me and now I'm supposed to trust her. Any moment now the ground may give out from under me and I may be sent into a pit full of snakes.

"What's your name?" Sire asks her.

"Kimsa," she says after a long moment of silence. "My home is this way."

She presses through the brush, not minding the branches that swing back at up from behind her. I want to hate her, because my throat is still raw, but I'm choosing to trust her in hopes she has the information that we need.

"Thank you for speaking with us," Sire exclaims, watching her. He doesn't trust her either.

For a girl who looks far younger than most witches I know, she has a lot of power. She must come from a powerful bloodline, especially since she has been able to nullify Sire's transportation magic in this bubble of sorts.

"I'm only doing this as a way to end the curse," she mutters, shaking her head slightly.

"So you do know something."

"I don't just know something, I can confirm exactly how to end the curse," she tells Sire sharply, increasing her pace to the point I'm worried I can't keep up, that I'm about to get left behind in this forest.

"How do you know?"

All of a sudden the distance between trees starts to lengthen before we emerge out from the forest line and into a pasture. At the centre, an old but stable looking home sits, taunting me.

"Ancestors," Kimsa explains, giving Sire a hard look. "Mine put you in that tomb."

To her credit, she doesn't seem afraid to tell him that, even knowing the extent of his power. Sire doesn't so much as flinch at that information, which is surprising. For him, it didn't feel like long ago that he was cursed, but for Kimsa and I, it was centuries ago.

"And now you're willing to help?" Sire asks sceptically.

Even if I'm mad at him right now, I'm grateful that he is putting away his anger to focus on ending this curse.

"The death of these people is on my hands as much as it's on yours," Kimsa says lowly, walking us toward her home.

I can hear the burden she carries, and has carried since the curse was unleashed. I know it so intimately because I too feel it.

Sire frowns at her. "It's not."

"It is, see, because I know how to end it. If I choose not to tell you, then I implicate myself," she explains, opening her front door, gesturing us inside.

I waste no time, desperately wanting out of this rain.

Her home is large and spacious inside, smelling like fresh linen and eucalyptus. Most importantly, it's dry.

"Why didn't you come and try find me sooner?" Sire questions, shaking a hand through his wet hair as he looks around the space.

Kimsa brushes past us. "My magic isn't that extensive."

She rushes to the fireplace, immediately kneeling beside it. I shuck off my soaking wet cloak, shivering. We've been trekking through that rain for hours, my skin having been made soft from it, now rubbed raw from the fabric of my clothing.

"Your place is lovely," I tell her, watching her stuff some wood into the fireplace before reaching for her matches.

She doesn't have to worry, Sire merely glances in it's direction and the wood catches alight. She jumps back a little before casting her gaze to him. She swallows uncomfortably, standing.

"Sit, quickly," she orders, pointing to the small round dining table in the centre of the room.

We oblige her, pulling out our chairs before slipping into them.

"I need evidence of your ancestors," Sire demands.

She sighs, gets up and disappears into an adjoining room. When she returns, she has three books, a few pieces of paper and an old ring. She dumps it onto the table in front of Sire.

"Here." She falls back into her chair. "This is their original magic, and this is how they amplified it to curse you. That ring has their original emblem, and those letters show how the head witch called to her clan to join the fight against you."

Nothing shifts in his expression as he turns the ring over, before moving on to the letters, taking his time to read them. My mouth falls open a little. These are ancient relics, something Hazel would go crazy over.

"Interesting," he murmurs, turning his attention to the book. He flips it open, and sure enough, written in the witches language, is what must be an accumulation of spells that no one should have their hands on except an ancestor of one of those witches.

Kimsa is most definitely telling the truth.

"You probably think I should burn it, so it can't be done again," she murmurs, staring at the book, a wistful look in her eyes.

Sire shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Alpha Carran has access to witches with similar power. Keep your history."

"Now is the part where I tell you about how to end the curse," she muses, looking between the two of us.

I stiffen. I'm afraid she is going to tell us that one of us has to die, that the bond must be served. Or maybe we have to fight some ancient creature that dwells in some cave in the middle of nowhere.

"What is it?" I ask warily.

"I heard you arguing, so perhaps this is now going to please you." She raises a dark brow at us.

I sigh through my nose. "Just tell us."

She chews on her lower lip, narrowing her pale blue eyes. She seems apprehensive about sharing this information with us, like we may be offended by it.

"You must become aligned," she says carefully.

I frown. "What does that mean?"

I glance at Sire to see he isn't nearly as confused as I am. His eyes are slightly wide and he's stiffened to the point where it looks like it hurts.

"It is a term witches use. You must have a holy ceremony at the sacred site, and each step must be done according to our lore. No one but witches usually align, and it's for love, always." Kimsa tells us.

Actually, she tells me, because it's clear Sire knows exactly what this is.

An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach.

"Why?"

"You wolves have mates, you don't have ceremonies, but us witches do," she says. "My ancestors likely added this additional step thinking there is no way you would accidentally do it."

My head falls into my hands. "What are the consequences of this ceremony?"

"According to witches, it binds a pair forever. It will have certain effects on Sire's magic, and you will carry this with you both forever. When you are apart, you will notice it, and you will feel a connection beyond your mate bond that is rather overwhelming." She rubs the back of her neck, suddenly unable to meet either of our gaze.

"I doubt they expected their own ancestor to reveal their secret," Sire exclaims gruffly.

"No, but times change. I don't believe in needless death," she mutters flippantly.

As much as she is playing this off, she is doing the right thing. Some witches can be stubborn, according to Hazel, so the fact that she has changed the entrenched belief her forebears once shared is quite incredible.

"Where is this sacred site?" I ask, trying to bring the conversation back to the point.

"Hazel can take you to it," Kimsa tells me. She takes a stray piece of paper and scribbles something on it. "It needs a witch to access it. Give her this. She will understand."

Whatever she has written, I can't read it. It's in an entirely different language.

"What are the steps?" I ask the question to Sire because he doesn't look at me, but it's Kimsa that responds.

"You must step onto the dais and drink from the ancient pond together. Then, you must exchange vows in our language, drink a small amount of each other's blood and..." she breaks off, grimacing a little.

"And what?" I push, trying not to gag at the thought of having to taste blood.

"The ceremony will not be complete until you have come together in the most intimate of fashions. The magic will then be sealed, and it will spread across the land, killing the curse," she says quickly, practically all in one breath.

I wilt in my seat, realising what that means. "Oh great."

I look back at Sire, who is finally staring at me. There is a cold, quiet darkness shimmering in his eyes as he contemplates the meaning of Kimsa's words.

We have to sleep together, essentially. That is how we seal the alignment forever.

I can't tell what is worse...Doing that, or being connected to him even more intimately than a mate bond forever.

"It must either be between the ancient Alpha and his mate, or his mate and whoever the reigning Alpha is," Kimsa adds quickly before pressing her lips together.

"What?" Sire growls.

My mouth falls open a little. "You're joking."

"This was written into the curse they chanted, although I doubt they intended it how we interpret it," she explains.

"What do you mean?" Sire demands, his anger growing with every passing moment.

She leans forward, flipping the book open. She draws her finger down to the bottom, where she points a line out to him.

"They would have assumed you would emerge from the tomb and take back your Pack immediately. They were not fools, they assumed you would rule again, and so they wrote into the curse mention of the Alpha, which at the moment, is not you," she tells him tightly.

Sire shakes his head, jutting up from his chair. "It doesn't matter. I'm still her mate, and it counts."

Kimsa looks at me as I remain quiet.

"Yes. It does," she breathes.

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"...I've never had an orgasm before!" I blurt out, backing away a few steps.

He sits up, dark hair ruffled and messy from the fingers I ran through it. His eyes, once wide, slowly darken.

"You what?" He breathes.

~Midika 💜🐼