𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘌𝘕

(the cursed witch, act two)

NINA WENT TO SCHOOL TWO DAYS LATER. As she walked through the hallways, students stared at her. Teachers walking by placed gentle pats on her shoulder, sharing their condolences. She passed Jessica, and all she received was a glum look. She could tell the girl didn't know what to say.

Pushing open the door to her history class, she silently made her way to the back of the classroom before sitting down at her regular desk. Her eyes drifted down to the wood that she scribbled on most days and sighed.

A hand on her shoulder made her flinch. Looking up, she breathed out. "Morning, Sir."

Mr. Erikson stood beside her with a concerned look. "You shouldn't be here, Nina."

Nina looked away from him and back at her desk. "This is school. Of course I should be here. If I'm not, I'll fail."

"Nina, I will personally make sure you don't fail any of your classes, even if I have to break into the records department. You should not be here."

"Didn't take you for a criminal, Sir." Her voice held no emotion.

"Only when needed," He reassured, sitting down at the desk beside her so that he was at eye level. "Why are you here?"

Nina looked at him for a minute. A rough and uneven breath escaped her lungs. "I can't go home."

"Where do you plan on living, then?"

"My car," She answered honestly. "I did it before–I was a baby, but, same thing. I can park in the school parking lot under the willows, so I'll be hidden."

His blue eyes pierced into hers. A moment of recognition flooded through her, but she pushed it away.

"You can't live in a car, Nina. It's not good for you."

Nina tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a cry. "Come on, Mr. Erikson. Don't act like you care. You're just here for a paycheck. I'm pretty sure this is above your paygrade."

"You're right. I don't get paid enough for this," He nodded. The door of the classroom opened and someone walked in. "But she isn't getting paid."

The witch glanced up slightly. It was Bella.

Mr. Erikson stood up and, as he passed the brunette, he paused. "She's all yours. Take her somewhere that isn't here, please?"

Bella nodded. "I'll take her to my place."

Nina didn't remember leaving the school, nor did she remember arriving at the Swan residence.

"Neens?" Bella's soft voice woke her out of her conscious coma.

The witch hummed, not taking her eyes off of the football game that was playing soundlessly from the small flatscreen.

"Do you want something to eat?"

Nina shook her head.

"When was the last time you ate something?"

"Three days, I think." The last meal she had was the one Natalie had made her.

Bella sighed, watching her with a concerned look before moving into the kitchen. She quickly pulled together a few things before rushing them into the living room. She sat two plates of food on the coffee table before setting one on the witch's lap.

"Eat. Now."

Nina didn't argue. The sight of food had made her hunger much more prominent than it had been.

She ate everything that Bella had given her in a short period of time, practically wolfing it down, forcing it into her mouth. She was starving.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nina side-eyed her.

"Alright, then. Would you rather come with me and investigate why Jacob still hasn't called?"

Nina shrugged. Bella took that as a yes.

"Get your coat on–Wait, no. Go pee first. We aren't stopping on the side of a road somewhere."

Ten minutes later, Nina was sitting with her knees to her chest in Bella's passenger seat. The Swan had blatantly refused to drive Nina's car, insisting she wouldn't want to accidentally drive it into a stop sign, which ended with them leaving it at the school.

Bella drove in the opposite direction of the witch's home, making a mental note to keep clear of the house for the time being. She took the longer route, having to go around the block and up a few side streets to get to the main highway.

Nina stared out the window at the forests that passed them. With the limited speed of Bella's truck, she could see through the trees somewhat clearly.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked softly.

The heater in the truck was blasting, and Nina focused on how it made her eyes dry. For once, she was grateful for the annoying feeling.

"Victoria," Nina replied, her eyes not leaving the forest. "She's going to be coming soon."

"Victoria? As in... James?" Bella questioned, remembering when Nina had informed her of what had happened last spring.

"Mhm. It was Laurant... their other coven member that came and... you know."

"Why are they after you?"

"Because of Edward." His name didn't hurt as much to say. It was easier compared to her newest pain. "They want revenge. Edward killed James, who was Victoria's mate... And since I am Edward's mate, rejected or not, they want to kill me too."

Bella breathed out in shock.

"Is Laurant..."

"He's dead. I think. I'm not sure if it was me that did it or if it was... There was something in the woods, Bella. Do you remember what Angela said? About the bear?"

"The one that scared her and Eric from going on a picnic?"

"Yeah. I think I saw it. It dragged his body off into the woods." Nina paused. "And then I heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"Someone said to take me to Sam's place. And then when I woke up, Sam was in the room with me."

"Sam Uley?"

Nina nodded.

She had a theory. Well, it was more solidified now than before. The bear... Was not a bear. Nor was it a wolf.

"I think that's why Jacob hasn't been calling me back," Bella spoke suddenly, as she herself put pieces together. "I think Sam got to him. He said something to me. He said he was scared, and that Sam kept giving him this look..."

Nina stared out at the trees. Her memory was jumbled. She couldn't remember everything from the meadow. She had blocked out parts of it.

She remembered something, however. Her eyes widened. The person that had been carrying her out of the meadow...

It had been Jacob.

Nina watched silently, leaning against the hood of Bella's truck as the brunette forced her way into the Black's home, pushing past Billy. She focused on everything but the elephant that was slowly clouding her mind from the loneliness.

The cool breeze was the first she focused on, then as she got used to it, she focused on the uncomfortable shoes she had chosen to wear. Before long, she had focused on a few dozen thoughts before she found herself yearning for a new one, only to come up empty.

She pursed her lips together tightly, her chin trembling slightly as hot tears pricked her eyes. Her face was red, she could tell by how hot she felt. Something caused by how hard she was suppressing her tears, how hard she was working to not let them fall.

She didn't even realize she wasn't breathing.

The wind turned, moving to blow toward the west. Its strong gusts worked at drying her eyes. For once, she was grateful for having the wind blow directly into her face.

A hand on her shoulder made her look up.

"Oh. Hey, Embry."

His hair was different. It was cut short. He was also shirtless, oddly enough.

"It's minus 6," She told him. "You should put some clothes on."

He glanced down at her attire. "You're not much better. That sweater looks pretty thin."

She shrugged. "It's fine. I'm feeling really warm right now, anyway."

In her peripheral vision, she saw him move to stand beside her, leaning his back against the truck's metal. "Same."

He held out his hand in front of her. Nina looked at him for a moment before she lifted hers to touch him.

They were the same temperature.

Her brows furrowed.

Memories were slowly coming back to her. She remembered, over half a year ago, when Sam found her in the woods. He was the same burning temperature.

Then the story Jacob told her, not the one about the... vampires, the one about the wolves. Then what her... her mother told her. Her father was a hybrid. She remembered the term. A werewolf and a vampire.

Werewolves existed, and it was possible she could be one.

The heat in her fingertips covered her body. Before, it used to stay mostly in her hands, where her magic wanted to go.

"We're the same temperature," She muttered, her fingertips hesitating.

"We are," He replied.

"And so is Sam... And Jake... And Quil..."

Embry nodded.

"You're a–" Before Nina could say the word, a loud noise sounded from behind her. She turned quickly,

"Holy shit," She muttered at the sight.

"Guess the wolf's out of the bag," Embry shrugged. "And you were so close to guessing it yourself."

Nina's eyes were wide, and her body froze.

She hadn't even noticed Bella running out into the field. She had been so focused on Embry; she didn't hear the sound of the door slamming.

The witch didn't know how to react. Bella was on the ground, sharing a similar expression to the witch. In front of her, a wolf stalked toward her and behind the wolf stood Sam, Jared and Quil. 

"Fuck, Bella–" Nina went to react, about to go into a sprint toward the human only for her forearms to be grabbed in an iron grip.

"Let me go, Embry!" She yelled, fighting his grip.

Embry didn't answer, nor did he comply. Nina continued to struggle in his hands until she stopped.

She heard someone else shout Bella's name. Then they came into view, running over the small creek with ease. Nina realized it was Jacob. And as he jumped higher than she had ever seen any regular person, his clothing turned to shreds as he himself turned into a wolf.

Jacob, or rather a large brown wolf, stood in front of Bella now, growling loudly at the other wolf.

"Paul," She realized in shock.

"Yup," Embry sighed. "Always a bit of a firecracker, that one."

He glanced down at her. "Can I let you go? You aren't going to run away and do something stupid?"

Nina thought it over for a moment. "Maybe hold me back a little longer. Just until the wolves get away from the fragile human."

"Fair enough." He nodded, keeping his ironclad grip on her arms.

The two wolves, Jacob and Paul–Nina, felt crazy thinking that–fought in a crazed matter, teeth clashing and growls escaping them as they tackled one another. It wasn't till they reached the forest, cracking a boat in half along the way, that Embry let go of Nina.

"There we go," He muttered. "Hey, at least you know our secret now. We're even."

Nina didn't answer. She walked quickly over the small bridge before going to Bella's side.

"Bells?" She asked, kneeling down to be eye-level with the human.

She flinched before she opened her eyes and saw Nina. "Oh. Hey, Neens."

"Hi, honey. You wanna get up?"

"Oh. Yeah."

Bella was in shock, clearly.

"That was crazy," She muttered. "Did you see that? That was like something out of the vampire diaries."

Nina tried to smile, but it was hardly much of anything. "Yeah. You got your own Tyler Lockwood."

Bella's face scrunched up. "Tyler? Ew."

The witch held out her hands to which the human grabbed and let her help her stand. Nina glanced back and saw Embry now at Sam and Jared's side.

"Your life is really fucking weird," Bella muttered.

Nina sighed, seeing the three men staring at her. "Yeah." She turned her head back to Bella. "Really fucking weird is a good way to describe it."

"Hey. Take Bella and Nina back to Emily's place," She heard Sam tell Embry and Jared behind her. "Quil and I will deal with the dramatics."

Nina looked back and saw Sam and Quil running into the forest. Jared and Embry were walking toward them now. Jared was laughing.

"Guess the wolf's out of the bag–"

"Already used that line, man."

Jared looked at Embry. "Always stealing my lines. Come on, man, you gotta let me have it one time!"

"Maybe if you weren't so slow all the time, you could actually use it."

"Hey!"

"Guys?" Nina called. "We've already witnessed one wolf fight. I don't want to see another one."

"Shoot," Embry muttered. "Forgot about you for a second."

Jared hit his arm. "Never say that to a woman, dumbass. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

Jared drove Bella's truck down the familiar roads till they reached Emily and Sam's home. Nina was stuck in the middle of him and Bella while Embry sat in the pickup.

When the truck stopped, they both leaped out, yipping as they did so.

Bella rolled down the window. "Hey, I think we should go back and see if Jacob's okay."

"I hope Paul sinks some teeth into him. Serves him right," Embry laughed.

"No way! Jacob's a natural. You see him phase on the fly? I got five, says Paul doesn't touch him."

Embry glanced back at the two girls, both still in the truck. "Come on, ladies. We won't bite."

Jared chuckled. "Speak for yourself."

Nina stayed silent as she got out of the truck, pausing to wait for Bella. She waited patiently for the human to gather her thoughts before getting out herself.

Before Bella could get inside the house, Embry stopped her. "Hey, about Emily, Sam's fiance. Don't stare. It bugs Sam."

"Why would I stare?" Bella asked, but Embry walked away.

Nina nudged her toward the house. She wasn't breathing again. As they walked into the house, Bella first, then Nina, a familiar gaze caught them.

"Who's this?" Emily asked, her eyes on Bella, not yet seeing Nina, who stood behind the human.

"Bella Swan," Jared told her, shrugging. Apparently, she'd been a topic of conversation before. "Who else?"

"Hmm," Emily smiled. "So, you're Jacob's girl."

"So you're... Sam's girl," Bella replied.

Nina glanced over Bella's shoulder and saw Emily placing a plate of muffins on the table. Jared went to grab one, only for his hand to be caught by the woman.

"Save some for your brothers." She nudged their shoulders. "And ladies first."—she glanced at Bella—"Muffin?"

"Sure. Thanks," Bella spoke softly, walking further into the house, leaving Nina still at the door.

Emily was facing the other way, putting away the dishes she had cleaned moments before. "Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order."

"Um, he didn't say anything to me," Bella said awkwardly, hoping Jacob wouldn't be in trouble because of her.

"That's a wolf thing," Embry told her. "Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want 'em or not. Oh, and check it out. We can hear each other's thoughts–"

"Would you shut up? These are trade secrets."

Nina leaned against the door, her eyes watching silently. Emily's kitchen was a friendly place, bright with white cupboards and pale wooden floorboards. On the little round table, a cracked blue-and white china pitcher was overflowing with wildflowers. Embry and Jared seemed entirely at ease.

Emily turned around then. Her eyes scanned the room before they fell onto the doorway. A small, yet concerned smile rose on her lips.

She walked over, leaving the two boys to discuss their wolfy secrets with Bella.

"Hi, honey."

Nina looked up from her shoes. "Hey."

"How are you holding up?" Emily asked, her hand moving up to grasp the teenager's shoulder, brushing her hair out of the way.

"Fine," Nina lied.

She felt herself being led out of the house, just onto the porch that wrapped around the front of the house. Nina leaned against the wood railing and stared out at the surrounding forest.

"You want to say that without lying?"

Nina picked at her fingernails. "I don't want to offend you, Emily, but I really don't feel like talking."

"That's alright," Emily reassured her. "We do... have to talk about one thing."

The witch glanced up, confusedly. "What would that be?"

"Do you know when the next full moon is?"

"Just because I'm a witch doesn't mean I know the moon phases..." Nina paused. "But yes. It's eleven days from now. Why does that matter?"

Emily's fingers gently ran through Nina's hair, trailing through the long locks. It had grown in the last few months.

"You're going to need to prepare yourself. Something is going to happen to you."

Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean? Something bad? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm going through the worst of the worst right now."

"Not something bad," Emily spoke quickly, hearing the nervous crack in Nina's voice. "But it's not something that will be easy."

"Emily... Just spit it out, okay? I can take it—whatever it is, I will deal with it."

The woman stared at her for a moment. She only looked away when she heard a crack in the woods.

"Sam," She spoke warmly.

Nina glanced over. Sam was walking toward them with Jacob and Paul trailing behind them, laughing as they lightly punched each other's shoulders. Quil was slightly further behind them, rolling his eyes at the pair while rubbing his neck. 

The boys smiled at her before walking inside, leaving Sam to stand at the two-step stairs that led up to the porch. His eyes landed on Nina before they trailed over to Emily's.

"Can you show her?" Emily asked him.

"Of course," Sam nodded, holding out his hand for Nina to grab. "Come on, kid."

Nina grabbed it slowly, unsurely glancing back at Emily only to see the woman nod before walking back into the house, saying something about getting lunch started.

"What is this place?" Nina asked after more than a few minutes of walking. They had stopped in front of a building, much more sturdy than Emily's house.

"This was your father's," Sam revealed. He pulled on the thick steel door. It screeched as he yanked it open, making Nina cower from the loud noise.

"You knew my dad?"

"Somewhat. My mother knew him better."

He held open the door for her, letting her walk inside first. Behind her, she heard him flip a light switch.

She gasped softly when the room filled with light. There were scratch marks lining the walls, along with chains drilled into the cement. It wasn't that that made her gasp. It was that she had already seen the room. She had seen it in many of her dreams, the cruelest of nightmares that she had experienced.

Nina glanced back at him in shock. "This was my dad's?"

Sam nodded.

"But... Why would he do that to himself? I saw Jacob turn. He didn't... He just turned– This doesn't make any sense."

"Your father was a different kind of wolf, Nina. He was not a Quileute. He was something else. I wasn't old enough at the time to know much. This is really all that my mother has told me."

"Why would he need a room like this?" She hesitantly grasped a set of chains. They were heavy and bulky in her hand. "Chains like these?" One chain loop was the size of her fist.

"When your father turned, it was not like us. It wasn't a three second deal. It wasn't a leap like what Jacob did earlier today." He breathed out slowly. "It was a four-hour experience. Every full moon, every month."

"Four hours?" Nina breathed out. "Was it... Was it painful?"

"Excruciating," Sam replied honestly. "Every bone in his body broke. From his fingers all the way down to his toes."

Nina couldn't take her eyes off of the chains. "Let me guess. I have to deal with that in a few days?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Why?"

"Like I said, your family line of wolves is different from ours. We turn from being exposed to vampires. You turn from... killing one."

Nina couldn't hold back a flinch at the memory. So, she had killed him.

"Why the chains?" She asked after a long minute.

"You won't have much control. Your father... he didn't have this room the first time he turned and when he did turn... he killed fifteen hikers without choice. The flurry of new emotions clouded his mind and took over. The anger of being different, the exhaustion from the pain, the fear and terror of not knowing what was happening to him."

"Great," Nina sighed. "So, I'm going to turn into a psychopath." She chewed on her bottom lip. "That's exactly what I needed."

"I know this is a terrible time, Nina. But this can be something good. You will gain control over it. It will take time but... one day it will be the most incredible experience for you."

"How long does that take exactly?"

She had already calculated it. She had 14 years left. The spell she had used on Laurent was dark magic. Dark magic always costed something, even with regular witches.

"It took him a year before he had full control. But he was also alone in this, Nina. The last generation never turned, as there were no vampires to trigger them. He had no guidance. You do. We will all help you through this."

Her eyes moved up and her finger trailed along the scratch marks imprinted into the hard, cold wall.

"Tylenol isn't going to help me this time, is it?"

"No."

"What's going to happen to me? To my witch side?"

Sam shrugged. He was leaning against the wall adjacent to her now. "Your father turned into a vampire when he was 26. A year after you were born. He came back here, that's how I know."

"He was here?"

"Mhm. Not for long. Just a couple of months. He disappeared not long after that. But when he turned into a vampire, his wolf side stayed present. He was able to change at will in only a matter of minutes."

"So there's a chance my magic will stay?" She asked hopefully. Her magic was the last thing connecting her to Natalie.

"There's a possibility, yes. But you also have to be prepared that you might lose it."

Nina sighed desperately. There was a chance she was going to lose the last thing that made her... her.

"I have eleven days..." She thought out loud. "What can I do to prepare myself?"