Chapter 12: Vincent's Mate

I'm standing in front of the house that Tia had made in an instant with my mouth wide open. I would never have imagined that a house would be built with a finger flick.

"Babe?" Erik asked, and I shook myself to come back to reality.

Tia entered the house, followed by my brother. Vincent looks so docile in front of Tia while Tia tries her best to ignore my brother. I facepalmed when I saw how my brother acted.

The house is beautiful, and you can feel that it's warm and cozy. We all sat down. Erik and I sat side by side while Tia was sitting in front of us. Vincent sat down beside Tia, but she moved to a single couch beside me. When Vincent saw Tia move, he pouted at Tia and tried to suppress my laughter. Tia sighed at Vincent's reaction and then faced us.

"So, what can I do to you?" Tia asked.

"We are preparing for war against a pack of rogues, and we want to recruit you to our pack to face Merlin," Erik said, showing his authority as an Alpha.

"Straight to the point, are we?" Tia smirked at Erik. I squeezed Erik's hand and smiled at Tia.

"Before we start talking about that, can I ask you a question, Ms. Tia?" I asked. I've been curious ever since I read the book about witches.

"You can ask if you drop the formalities. Besides, we have the same age." Tia replied while wiggling her eyebrows. Erik, who was sipping tea, choked at what Tia said. I giggled at her playfulness of Tia. I hope that she will agree to join us in the pack. I'm sure we would be good friends, or should I say, sisters?

"Okay then, I've read the book about your clan's history and your fight with Merlin, the evil witch," I asked and sipped at the tea she had served us.

"You don't know? Oh, maybe it was not mentioned in the book," Tia said and touched her chin, saying that she was thinking something. "I'll tell you, and there's no harm in the telling," She added and stood up. She took something from a book and gave it to me. It was a picture of two young girls, so I can say that the other girl was Tia.

"She's my sister, and the book you read is full of wrong information," Tia said and looked at us. After looking at us, she sighed. "Witches and Warlocks are not like werewolves who are part of a pack. We live individually and with families, but most of us live alone. Until my father united all the witches, we lived as if we were a pack. My father searched for our kind and welcomed them into our family until we grew and became a clan. The moon goddess accepted the clan and gave my father the authority to lead our kind" Tia stopped her telling her story to sip on the tea.

The story Tia is telling us right now is not the same as the book. The story was not mentioned, and Tia said the book contained the wrong information. Tia cleared her throat, and I focused on hearing what she said. "Witches can't produce more than one child, but because we have one domain and the blessing bestowed upon us by the moon goddess, that limit vanished, so my sister was born. She left the clan when she came of age and returned with a group of witches and warlocks. She challenged the authority of my father. Before my father died at war, he passed the authority to me, and I challenged and defeated Merlin." She stopped and finished her tea.

"What do you think happened to Merlin? Is she already evil when she was with the clan?" I asked.

"No one is born evil, luna," Tia replied and stood to walk towards the window. "Our kind has a demon inside of us. We may live alone, but not anyone can cope with the loneliness. When we can't defeat the demon, we will become the demon itself. She was so happy when she left and couldn't contain her excitement to travel. Ever since she was born, she has been surrounded by us. Maybe along the way, my sister grew tired and became lonely that she let the demon take over her. Those who succumbed to darkness can't be saved; their only salvation would be death." Tia said, looking far away from the window. You can feel the sadness in her voice.

"How did you defeat your demon?" Vincent asked, worry evident in his eyes. "I didn't," Tia replied.

"That means there's a chance for you to," Vincent said, panicking, but Tia raised her hand to stop Vincent from talking. Tia removed her coat, and we saw some dark lines on her arms. Seeing her body, Vincent instantly rose from his seat.

Seeing our shocked faces, Tia smirked and wore her coat again. "I lived for almost a thousand years. My parents died before me, my clan was murdered, I met my mates, and even one of them was a vampire but died in the end. I have been seeing and experiencing deaths. Do you honestly think my demon won't grow stronger?"

Vincent swallowed, and I realized that I was crying. I know what Tia felt when her clan and parents died, and I know and understand what it feels like to experience it over and over again. I may have killed myself because I know I can't stand the sadness.

Erik comforted me until I calmed myself down. I looked at Tia, and she smiled at me. You can see in her eyes the pain that she is feeling. I asked, and I couldn't think of a better question. No more words came out of my mouth, only the question, "How can you?"

"I didn't forget the love that those who died left to me, and I couldn't. Their love was my strength, and it was the only reason for me to go on."

I was about to cry again when Erik held my hand and squeezed it. He looked at me and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes to calm myself, stood in my seat, and walked toward Tia until I was standing in front of her. I held both hands and looked straight into her eyes.

"Come with us, Tia. I'm not asking you to come because of the war; I'm asking you to come and give my pack a chance to be your family and home." I said, looking into her dark blue eyes.

Tia sighed and looked at Vincent. When my brother locked eyes with Tia, his eyes grew big, like he understood something.

"I was about to reject you guys when I saw you were shouting at the barrier, but I didn't think that I would meet my 100th mate. It will take only a bother to me if I reject him."

"So you'll come?"

"100th?!"

"How old are you?"

The three of us simultaneously asked Tia a question. And I hit Vincent and Erik's shoulders. "That's what you guys are curious about?!" I scolded them. Vincent scratched his head, and Erik pouted at me. I rolled my eyes at them. Boys

Tia laughed out loud, holding her stomach. "You guys are interesting. I'll come with you," Tia said after calming herself. She wiped her happy tears and looked at us, smiling. "And I'll help you in the war," She said, looking confident.

We are about to leave when we hear Tia calling Vincent. "By the way, can you not be like that?" Tia said, pointing her finger at Erik. "I don't like werewolves' possessiveness with their mates."

Erik and I looked at each other dumbfounded at Tia's request to Vincent. My brother squinted his eyes while holding his nose, and I closed my mouth to suppress my laughter. Vincent was trying his best not to argue with Tia.

Tia saw my brother's reaction and looked at me. She winked and walked towards the door, leaving us behind. I shook my head, smiling, and followed Tia outside the house. When all of us were outside, Tia flicked her finger, and the house vanished. Once again, I was stunned at what happened. I looked at my companions only to see they didn't care what had happened.

"Am I the only one?" I asked, raising both of my hands. Erik and Vincent looked at each other, then looked at me. They both nodded at me and turned their back on me. I rolled my eyes at them and shook my head in disbelief.

Tia, standing beside me, patted my back like she was comforting me. I facepalmed and thought,

This journey back home would be the end of me.