Trouble arrives

"Don't worry baby, there's nothing to be afraid of." Chase squeezes my hand as we walk into presumably the pack house? Or the tribe house?

I scowl, "I'm not afraid!" I pout my lips and he kisses me on the forehead.

"Sure you aren't." He looks away and all of sudden, he turns back and yells, "Boo." I scream in turn and he laughs so hard. "And so she speaks." He teases and I slap him on his arm and whine, "No! Don't ever do that again!"

Seeing the look on my face, he gives in and replies with his hands up in surrender, "Alright. Alright." The guards walk alongside us as we enter a huge door exposing long chairs that line the room and around five seats arranged at the end of the room. There are lots of doors at the top of the room, they are situated beside long window panels. The doors are clean white, while the rest of the room glints golden. I wonder why they don't use silver, it'll look so much more better. I think those white doors leads to the empire's leaders' rooms.

"We can't touch silver." Chase answers my thoughts. "Us and silver, are like vampires with garlic or fire.

"Oh. Right." I mumble and he smirks knowingly. I look towards the end of the room where three masculine men are seated at, guards are all over the place. I follow Chase's example and bow in a ninety degree angle to the leaders in front. When we are back in a standing position, it's quiet. No one speaks and I notice that Chase is staring concentratively at the man directly in front of him. The man in the middle should be the king of the empire while the other... could be a tribe elder. The one that Chase is staring at should then be the tribe leader.

I tap Chase and mouth to him in a barely audible voice, "Is it supposed to be this quiet?"

He surprises me by shaking his head. "Something is up." He mouths back.

Just then, a voice booms through the room, the floor rumbles as the King speaks, "Seems that our guests are running a little late. A hold up from beyond the borders most likely." I gulp with fear at the sudden fate that the witches are coming, what if they really are going to execute me for crossing the borders? Then again it wasn't my fault, but what if one of them receives complications within the borders, not beyond? Oh no...

That loud voiced man speaks again, "Our empire have been warned not to lay a hand on our guests, and by far, they wouldn't, lest they want to be terminated. Our guests are after all more powerful, and they should know that assaulting another empires' leader would but only lead to tragedy but war. Am I right now, Aurora, daughter of Ezra whom was forbidden to marry the vampire-witch?"

I hate how they refer to my mum, it's like she's some... criminal.

This time the man directly in front of Chase speaks, "Indeed storing a young of a triple bred is strictly discouraged, but no punishment of death will be be upheld other than the laws of imprisonment. Your empire have certainly held up well seeing how this triple bred turned out to be, but surely the betrayal of the removal of punishments cannot be ignored."

I am fuming at their disrespect towards our empire and I am so grateful when our Empress comes bursting through the door behind us. I jump a little just as the Empress screams, "Who dares mention of me and my empire without my presence? Tase, how dare you—" The Witch queen's sentence of cusses cuts midair when she sees me.

Relief sweeps across her face and the anger fades. When she sees Chase though, her expression wipes into a dark gloomy figure, it feels like she is jealous that I trust Chase now. Her whole expression creates this tense atmosphere in the room and she glares right through Chase to the man in front of Chase.

"Shame. On. You." She hisses at the man.

The man wavers not, he remains poised and replies her with a calm and composed tone, "Our child will brook the consequences of his actions. Your child may return to you. Forever." I stare at the man and for the first time, notice the resemblances he holds to Chase. The same jet black hair. Blue stripes tattooing their neck, with the only indifference in their eyes. The color of the man's eyes are a deep colored sapphire while Chase's is bright turquoise.

Then the last word of the man hits me... 'forever'... And it echoes in my head again and again... forever... forever... forever!

"Chase's witch will be permanently removed and he will be banned from the borders of the witches." At the last sentence said, Chase lashes out and yells, "No! She is my mate!" The room silences except the gasps released by the witches.

"No..." I hear the Emperor from my empire gasping in horror. "Triple breeds cannot have mates from another tribe whom which they are not born of. This is absurd!"

I realize then that everyone suddenly becomes quiet, their eyes looking worriedly at— oh no! Chase growls lowly, his wolf has taken over and I know for a fact that even Chase wouldn't want what comes next, but I doubt he can control a wolf's fury.

He lashes at one of the guards who attempts to tame him, but to the guards dismay, Cade is far too strong. Cade's jaw yanks open and he rips off the head of the guard in a blink of an eye and my tribe leaders whimper. The Empress, however, screams in shock.

Chase is head butting the other guards now and I am paralyzed from my head to my toe, staring at... the horror of my mate. The whole room looks like it's been sprinkled with blood and I see my father running up to me, his hands cups over my eyes and I realize that my mouth is hanging open. I quickly close it just as I hear the ripping of limps and the sickening crack of bones.

Out of the corner of my covered eyes, I see the Empress's eyes glowing and her body ignites into this emerald flame that blows up across the entire room, it hits everyone including the dead and injured, but leaves the witches including me, untouched.

That must've been a powerful spell, especially with its specificity.

My dad's hands are no longer covering my eyes anymore, he takes my hand and whispers gently, "We're leaving, Aurora."

Just like that, I leave as I watch Cade turn back into Chase from a distance, he is recovering from the blow, I guess. By the time his vision comes into focus, I'm gone. All I hear is the pitiful howl of my mate and I feel it, that sudden ache in my chest from the mate bond. He's heartbroken, I realize with pain, and there's nothing I can or will do.

—————

It's been a full winter without my mate and summer reaches in a week's time, days that I sit on my bed and stare at the wall in front of me. I've surprisingly grew fond of the green wall in Chase's room and I am beginning to hate the pink wall in my own room.

I draw out my wand from its cup, at my bedside, and with a flick of my wand, I create an illusion spell that makes the room look green. My mother walks in just as I am performing the spell and she too gets hit by the spell.

Now my mother looks greenish.

I blink a few times at her before bursting out in laughter. She scowls and asks, "I'm green too? Aren't I?"

"Yes mother." I reply and laugh even harder as I watch the pale green lips of my mother move as she speaks. She takes out her wand and sweeps it over her body.

Now my mother is no longer green in color.

"Brilliant." She sighs and then looks up at me and adds, "You have friends whom request your presence in the garden. After which you will proceed for dinner, alright?" I nod my head in response and climb out of bed reluctantly. It's been days that I've been so upset, it's nearly my birth day and I do not want to feel this down on the day itself.

Though I am happy that the people in the witch empire cannot read my thoughts, I am devastated by the separation of me and my mate.

My mother reads my expression and gives me a sympathetic look, "You'll get use to life without the Alpha eventually, it was wrong of him to take you away in the first place. He should've known better than to come after you and cause you so much misery." I walk to the door and she pats my head lightly before allowing me to pass.

I cannot get use to waking up with bruises on my body. I haven't told my parents, but if it worsens, I have to. I lift up my shirt slightly and stare at the bruise forming just above my waist.

What is happening?

Why is this happening?

Someone walks up to me and stutters me. "What's that you're looking at?" I look up to see Cora, my friend from witch class staring intently at my waist that have been covered up already. I wonder if she saw anything.

"Nothing." I mumble and walk past her.

"Donna and Sedona are both working on the new plants, you should help out. Me and Flora are headed to the library to read up about them, where will you head to?"

I contemplate a while and decide that is best I head to the library to sort out my mind before helping out at the garden, "The library." I tell Cora and she nods and invites me along with her.

—————

Ferns... daisies... roses...

I flip through the book, page after page until I reach Encephalartos Woodii. Then there's Nepenthes Tenax... Welwitschia... Pennantia Baylisiana... and...

I slam the book shut, desperate for a break. I stand up, surprising Flora and Cora. The both girls have matching brown hair, freckled cheeks and pretty green eyes. When they smile, to deep circles will appear on their spotted cheeks. So beautiful... I thought.

I have a mix of brown and gold hair, no freckles, no dimples. My eyes are pale green almost blue but it switches color from time to time, depending on my mood.

I walk silently to the restroom, my head deep in thought.

Most witches have brown hair, some have a mix of gold and brown while some have shining golden hair. Vampires have black or maroon hair while wolves have black or blue hair. It's pretty hard not to—

A shot of pain surge through my guts and I fall to the ground and gasp for air.

No... not again... not here...

I blink a few times but the pain remains in my stomach. I whimper just as someone rushes up to me and picks me up, but I don't see the person because my world turns completely black.

This is the second time in the week that I've passed out. The first was back in the wolves' empire.