HSDWM, a fanfiction

Chapter 24

There were three people sitting on the porch, two men and one woman. They waved at us and Markus quickened his pace to greet them.

"We helped ourselves to your tea," one of the men said as Markus ascended the stairs.

"Did you make enough for everyone," he asked.

"Of course, we were just waiting for you," the woman said. She smiled at us, saying, "I'm Clara and this is David and Glen." They looked up and waved as they brought the other two chairs over from by the porch swing.

Markus introduced us and we all sat around the coffee table, this time drinking hot tea.

Clara was already sitting on the loveseat and Glen sat beside her while David perched on the railing beside them, so Xavier and I each took one of the chairs, with Xavier sitting between Jenna and I.

Clara and Glen both appeared close with age to Markus, while David appeared to be in his middle years. Clara had beautiful long silver hair she wore in a single thick braid down her back, while Glen's hair was white and loose, just past his shoulders.

"Markus gave us a rundown of what we'll be doing, reversing an imprint," Clara said, "It's a straightforward spell, and tonight will be a perfect time to cast it, the absence of the moon will add potency to the spell." She looked at each of us in turn, "Now, who is imprinted on whom?"

"My wolf imprinted on Ash," Raven said gesturing toward me with his thumb.

"And this lovely young lady would be your mate," David smiled at Jenna, eliciting low growls from both Raven and Alpha Xavier.

Jenna preened under the attention of so many males, smirking at me.

I looked down at my tea.

"Oho, I see what you were saying last night, Markus," David said with a nod.

"Interesting," Glen said as he and Clara studied each of us in turn.

"When can you do the spell and get this over with," Raven asked.

"We'll start getting set up at dusk and begin the spell at midnight," Clara said. "We'll require Raven and both young ladies to complete the spell."

"How long will it take," Alpha Xavier asked.

"It will depend on how strong the imprint is," Glen answered. "For a weak one I would suspect it won't take more than an hour, and for a strong one it could take much longer."

"Is there anything we need to do to prepare," Raven asked.

"Ah, wolves, always ready to rush headlong into everything," David laughed.

"Oh, David, cut them some slack. It's obvious this has been quite an uncomfortable ordeal for them all," Clara said.

"It's about time for lunch," Markus said.

"Ah, we brought lunch," Clara said as she got to her feet. She looked at me sweetly and said, "Excuse me, dear. Glen and I will need to get through."

I was sitting on the edge of the porch, right by the stairs, and I was in the way of them entering the house. I stood up and moved my chair back by the swing.

Markus roped Jenna, Raven and Xavier into helping him add leaves and chairs to the dining table, and the witches followed them inside.

I stayed on the porch for a few moments to enjoy the peace of being by myself before I followed them in. I guess I took a little longer than I imagined because Alpha Xavier was at the door waiting for me.

"Are you okay," he asked as I entered the house.

I nodded, "It's just a bit much and I needed a moment by myself."

He nodded and walked with me to the dining room.

*****

At lunch my mind was too occupied with my thoughts to focus on eating much. Quite a lot of information had been imparted to us since we arrived at Markus' and I'd had a second, though much smaller, emotional outburst.

Alpha Xavier noticed I was only picking at my plate and gently nudged my elbow a few times. I managed a few bites but my heart just wasn't in it.

After lunch we all went back outside. I followed, and sat with everyone, but my mind kept me from really engaging in the conversations.

I was aware the three witches had spoken of how covens weren't much different from pack territories during lunch. And Markus had spoken a bit of his life on the council before he was forced to step down. And right now Alpha Xavier, Jenna, and Raven were telling stories of their childhood together.

I felt like a distant intruder, observing through a fishbowl.

"And when did you meet Ash," one of the male witches suddenly asked.

"Um, she moved to my pack sometime around third grade," Alpha Xavier answered. He laced his fingers across his chest, bumping my arm in the process.

"Oh, that's rare, isn't it. You wolves are attached to your territories," Carla said, "why did you move, Ash?"

"Oh, um, my father died."

Stunned silence immediately followed my answer. I glanced at everyone's faces and realized I'd singlehandedly killed a mood.

I didn't mean to. It's not my fault that particular question had been asked. What was I supposed to do? Lie?

"Oh," Carla said, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry your father died. That must have been hard for you."

"It happened a long time ago," I shrugged.

"I bet he took his own life rather than have to deal with her," Jenna muttered.

"Jenna," Raven and Alpha Xavier both hissed.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes muttering under her breath.

"He died in a rogue attack."