Decebel, Fane, and Costin watched as the four vehicles, packed beyond capacity, headed down the mountain.
Decebel felt a chill run through him as the temperature seemed to drop unnaturally. He glanced in the direction of the burning mansion. His brow furrowed as he remembered how he had watched the fire engulf and devour the structure.
Definitely not natural, he thought.
"Sorin." Decebel called to his pack mate. "You're older than I am." Sorin nodded in agreement. "What do you know of dark magic?"
Sorin's face paled as he looked just to the right of his Beta's eyes, so not to challenge him.
"It comes from witches." Sorin voice was strained.
"I thought those were just tales," Decebel commented, remembering the stories other pack mates would share. It was a lot like telling ghost stories, only the ghosts were witches who could curse you to have three eyeballs or no tongue.
"There is always some truth in fables," Sorin told him.
Costin and Fane were now listening intently.
"Why do you want to know about witches and dark magic?" Fane asked Decebel.
"There was something behind that fire. I could feel it, like oil running over my skin. It was greasy and thick."
Fane nodded. "I agree that something was in the air. Something evil."
"There hasn't been a documented witch in centuries." Sorin was shaking his head. "And even when there were witches, it was – is – forbidden for packs to employ them or seek out their help."
"Well, it's pretty obvious that Thad isn't really into obeying pack law. He did attempt to kill our Alpha and my mate, after all," Decebel ground out.
The wolves waiting for the vehicles to return huddled with their pack mates, seeking comfort from one another. Decebel felt the chill again. Something was wrong.
Something was coming.
"I want Vasile's spawn crushed into nothing." Thad paced in the woods a mile behind the burning mansion. "Just a pup and he's found his mate. I've been waiting centuries!"
Thad turned to look at the woman who was holding her hands toward the fire, muttering under her breath. Desdemona – or Mona, for short – was an extremely powerful witch. A witch that his pack had employed for several centuries. She was the epitome of evil. Even her name—Desdemona—meant “of the devil,” testified to the darkness of her soul. Thad watched and waited as she continued to bring the mansion to the ground.
Suddenly she dropped her arms and turned to face him, piercing him with her eyes, one blue, one black – both filled with malice. She had long hair, black as night with one strip of white near her face. Aside from the freaky eyes, she was a beautiful woman – a beautiful woman who would cut your heart out and feed it to the wolves if you crossed her.
"I've told you before, Thad, I cannot kill from a distance without the lifeblood of the one you want dead." She sounded exasperated, as if talking to an annoying child.
"What can you do to him? Surely a witch four centuries old can do something," Thad taunted.
"Watch yourself, wolf," Mona hissed. "I work for you, but I will not be disrespected."
"My apologies." Thad bowed his head and knew his words and posture had placated her.
"So you're pissed because he has a mate at such a young age?" she asked.
"Pissed is putting it mildly. If you can't kill him, take her away from him."
Mona walked a slow circle around Thad, arms folded across her chest as she flipped through the curses in her mind. Thad watched as a grin – so wicked it could cause demons from hell to cower – spread across her evil, albeit beautiful, face.
"I have just the curse to take care of our little wolf pup." Mona rubbed her hands together as her eyes began to glow," Nutrea uitat, cherished forgotten, a curse that will remove his treasured memories and return him to the worst day he's ever lived through."
"What if the worst day he's ever lived through was while he was with the half-breed?" Thad questioned.
"She is his most treasured memory. She will be wiped from his mind because she trumps everything. So with her gone, his mind will return to a time before he met his mate that was horrific for him," Mona explained, but the tone of her voice made it clear that she didn't like having to do so.
"Now, I need you to keep silent." She glared at Thad until he raised his arms in surrender and stepped back, leaning up against a tree.