𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 "

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╰┈˚ · ° .   DAY AFTER DAY, I STARTED SEARCHING THE FOREST for my brother after school but even having little to no success other than some paw prints in the soil, I never relented. During dusk, I had started leaving huge chunks of cooked meat just at the edge of the tree line behind my house, the part where I had found the most prints, and the following day when I would've exited the house to go to school, it was always gone.

The excuse that I invented for Sam's disappearance was mono. A shitty excuse since he had a girlfriend but I had panicked when Leah, during the third day of Sam's disappearance, had confronted me about my brother's whereabouts. She was so worried that was considering going to the police. The fact was that Sam wasn't missing, he was just stuck in the form of a wolf. I was pretty sure she had not believed a word I told her so still, day after day she continued to ask me of him, even going along with the huge bullshit story that I had fed her and everyone else.

My mother seemed more and more out of it. She was skipping the few shifts that she had at the bar. Her mental health declined more with each day that Sam was gone. I could hear her at night, from the thin walls of our house, sobbing until she fell asleep. I didn't know how to help her. She had her meds and I would bring her food and help her shower. But apparently her heart and mind couldn't bear the thought of even her son, apparently, leaving too.

It had been a very stressful week in which I had to take even more shifts at work and do sparse jobs like helping younger students with their homeworks. If there was something that I loved about myself, it was my brain. Photography memory and my high IQ level really helped me with having one of the highest gpa of my school. If it wasn't for the fact that I would skip a lot of lessons I was sure It would be even higher.

My shift at The Claw, the corner store where I worked, had just started. Jared as always was in his preppy mood, never stopping spilling jokes even when customers were in. It was a great way to make me distance myself from all the shits that were happening in my life at that moment. A great distraction.

"I have to ask" The boy said with a wicked grin "Everyone wants to know and I'm probably the only one in the Rez who you tolerate."

"Who even told you that?" I scoffed a laugh looking at him with a raised eyebrow. It was true but still...

"No one. I just know it's true." he shrugged his shoulders with a glint in his eyes. "So where's your brother?"

"He is sick." I simply said with a roll of eyes continuing to draw my brother's wolf form in my sketchpad. "Mono." I have probably said that at least fifty times already.

"Alright so the rumors are true then." He said with a question look

"It's not a rumor, Jared. It's the truth. Sam has mono." I monotonously answered as I added details to the drawing.

Just as he was about to say something else, Amelia Black wheeled his father, Billy Black, in making the bell on the front door chime.

"Hello, sir." Said the Cameron boy with his signature charming smile "Amelia."

"Jared." Amelia Black was a beautiful girl. Her skin was tanned, she was slim and we were near the same height, something like 5 '4. She had hazel eyes and waist-length brown hair with highlighters. She was what I would describe as gorgeous and smart with a cocky attitude and very confident. At least from the outside. We never spoke much. She preferred the company of the various girls she would date or just her own. She was very different from her twin brother, Jacob Black.

Taking a basket that the father-daughter duo quickly filled, they made their way towards the counter ready to check.

"Is this everything?" Jared asked the two already scanning their items.

"Isn't that a bit too big for a wolf?" Billy Black said. His eyes trailing over every detail of my drawing. One of his eyebrows was raised in question but I could see that there was amusement in his eyes that spoke of infinite knowledge.

"Maybe" I said, eyeing the man carefully. He was one of the elders of our tribe. If someone knew about the legends and if they were true, Billy Black and council of elders would be the ones.

Billy Black chuckled, nodded his head at me. His daughter had already paid for their things and now with the bags on his legs, they were both ready to go.

"I hope your brother feels better soon. I heard that he got mono." He said with knowing eyes and an amused lift to his lips "I'm sure that I will see you soon, Beatrice."

It felt more like a sure thing than something said just for saying. And with that, he called after his distracted daughter ready to go, and soon the bell was chimed again signaling their exit.

"Well, that was weird." Jared said with an awkward chuckle

"Yeah, really weird."

But still, the feeling that he knew something more never went away. Not when I was walking back home. Not when I searched the forest like all evenings, not when I left another huge piece of meat for Sam on the forest ground, and not even when I fell asleep.

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╰┈˚ · ° .  I always knew that I had a problem with anger, but apparently that was not the only one. Controlling all types of emotions didn't seem to be an achievable task. It was harder than anything I had ever done before. More than a week had passed since that night, Sam was still no show, and everything that I did, even simple tasks, seemed to make my emotions skyrocket in seconds, resulting in so many things being burned and reduced to ashes that I had lost count.

Since that night, my powers slowly increased, and they became more and more unstable. It had already been a couple of days since I had gone to school and work, it was just too risky. Using the excuse of taking care of my 'sick' brother, It worked to keep me inside the house. I spent hours trying to control my newfound powers and regulate my emotions, resulting in so many items in my room now just a charred mess and scorches covering almost all the floorboards. My carpet had quickly found itself in the trash can after just a couple of days. Apparently sleeping in my bed was not an option too since I had once woken up by my blankets on fire. It had been two hard days of sleeping with just a pillow on the hard floor. My back was now killing me and I was actually considering following Sam's exemple and just hid in the forest since apparently my fire would just make it healthier in some ways.

I had started a new routine. I would train my powers for hours on end, exhausting my body and mind until I couldn't lift even a finger. The exhaustion helped with keeping myself from not waking in the middle of the night after accidentally setting my house on fire.

I stood in the middle of my backyard, a long way from what it was before the activation of my powers. If before it was filled with dead bushes and uncut grass, now it was replenished with new life.

I continued to create flames, from a small one, to ones who would enveloped my whole hand in a glove of fire. I successfully manipulated it, making the element bend to my will. I made it flow around my fingers like it was a ribbon attached to a stick, and then, I would will it to dance around my hand and then to coil itself like a snake on my arm.

Another exercise of my magic was the aiming of my fire. I had placed empty tins on a metal stool, shooting fire from my hand like a bullet from a gun trying to hit it at least once. It was harder than just controlling the flames on my skin. That would take a lot of focus and energy to not make the fire just do whatever it wanted. My aim was completely off, even after hours of attempts. Good news, nature loved my fire. So at least I didn't leave any burn messes behind. It made it healthier, growing flowers and new branches filled with green leaves even in the September.

It was one afternoon, during one of the hours of training that I was doing daily, that someone knocked on the front door of my house taking me completely by surprise. Losing my focus on my power earned me a wild and untamed flame, that fortunately, with extra concentration and while regulating my breath, I quickly made it vanish with a snap of my fingers.

I really hoped that it wasn't Leah. She had come by a lot, even to just leave broth and warm meals for Sam who was 'sick'.

I runned inside from the backdoor that entered the kitchen, and used the windows near the front door to see outside.

For sure it wasn't Leah. It was Billy Black accompanied by Harry Clearwater and Quil Ateara III also known as Old Quil. Their visit was not unexpected. I knew since the day I had seen the older Black that the council of elders would've come. I saw it in Billy's eyes, the knowledge of what was happening. And most of all, I was hoping for this. I hoped that they would have some insight and advice to deal with Sam's situation.

"Hello." I said as I opened the front door. I eyed the three men slightly weary. I couldn't help but be a bit uncomfortable with how their eyes scanned me from head to toe searching for any sign, of what, I didn't know. Maybe of my powers? Other than a slight sweat from the exhausting hours of training, I don't think there was anything different with me.

"Hello Beatrice." said Billy with a kind smile on his face

"You were right, Billy. " Old Quil said with his thin tenor voice. His eyes spoke of wisdom and history as they firmly stared in mine.

I steeled my nerves and focused back on keeping my emotions as calm as possible.

"How can I help you?" I said with a smile that everyone could see it was fake from miles away.

"I'm sure that we can help you." Harry Clearwater said, his eyes gentle and smile soft.

"I know. I was waiting for you." I said switching my eyes from Billy to Henry and Old Quil.

"Smart child." Old Quil said, keeping his eyes in a forcecull gaze.

I invited the three men inside, asking if they wanted anything, to which they replied with a shake of their heads. I walked them to the living room where Billy stayed in his wheelchair while the other two took a spot on the couch while I sat in the armchair facing them.

"Where is your brother? He shifted, didn't he?" Harry asked as his eyes roamed around the small living room.

"Yes" I huffed out a worried breath "But I don't know where he is. When he shifted, he panicked and ran into the woods. He never came back. But I know he is still around here. There are paw prints in the soils and I'm leaving food for him to eat at night and in the morning is gone soo..."

"He didn't shift back?" Asked Billy, making me shake my head "Why don't we start with how it happened?"

And so I did. I told them everything. How for days he had been on edge and then that night he just snapped. How he was shaking so badly from anger, how he ran in the woods and me after him. The shifting, the fire powers, everything. The three of them stayed in silence listening carefully to every word I said, not interrupting me once.

"The legends" I said after finishing explaining "They are true, aren't they?"

"Yes. They are all true." Old Quil said as he tapped his fingers on his legs.

"All of them?" I said with wide eyes making the three nod at me. I sighed out a breath, sparks flying from my hands. Shit. I shook my hand focusing on raining back the power and my emotion. "Sorry" I said with a sheepish smile "I'm still trying to control it."

A smile formed on Billy's lips "Don't worry. It's pretty normal in the beginning. Definitely when you are the first one. You didn't have anyone to help you."

Old Quil hummed under his breath "Fire" he said quietly "Probably the most dangerous out of all the four elements since it can easily hurt other people."

"She is the first one and unlocked the fire element. That means that water is going to be the last." Harry mumbled, it was more like he was speaking his thoughts out loud more than to any of us.

But following after Harry's train of thoughts, Billy added. "If first fire then it will be air, earth and then water"

"Do you remember the legends?" Harry asked me. I nodded my head at that. His eyes fogged slightly as he recalled the story in his head as he spoke "The descendents of Taha Aki do not shift when they reach manhood anymore, but when the gene in our blood is triggered. It senses that our enemies are near and the shift will help to protect our land and tribe. In 1930 the Cold ones arrived in Forks and so four members of our tribe triggered their shift and four women unlocked their powers."

"The pack of that time formed the treaty with the Cullens. Ephraim Black, Edmund Clearwater, Quil Ateara II and Levi Uley. But it had been an idea of the coven. Of Martha Young, Amelia Ateara, Lucy Fox and Ellen Longtree." I said remembering how the legend continued

"Yes, Martha was blessed with the gift of earth, Amelia with water, Lucy with fire and Ellen with air." Explained Billy "As each member of the pack shifted, a women of our tribe would unlock her powers. When the four witches had unlocked their elements, there was just one thing to do. Unlocking the fifth one, the Aether element, the one that would unify their coven. This is one of the only things that we know about the witches."

"Witches are loyal to the land, the tribe and pack but there are some things that are only shared between their coven." Old Quil said, a nostalgic look passing across his eyes. And now remembering, Lucy Fox, the previously fire witch, was his mother. He took out from a bag an old looking book. It was leatherbound and had five stones on the front, each of a different color. "This is a grimoire passed down from the first witch at the time of Taha Aki."

"His sister, Tayen." I whispered, still completely taken by the book.

"Yes, it's passed from one generation of witches to another." Old Quil said before extending it to me "Now it's yours. It's the time of a new coven."

My fingers trembled as I took the grimoire from his hands. It was beautiful but what took me off guard was the fire that I could feel inside the red stone. It's power calling to mine.

"As of now, you are the only one able to read it. I know that it will help you understand and control your element more. There is also a chest that I know is full of things that you will need."

"Thank you" A kind smile took their faces. I shook my head to clear the emotions and thoughts "What about Sam? What can I do to help him?"

The two elders got up from the couch "You will know" Said Harry "And when you will have your brother back, give us a call so we can talk with him too."

I nodded my head as escorted the three elders to the door

"There is just one last thing." Billy said, making them stop just outside the front door. The three looked at each other before shaking their heads. It was so quick and light that I thought I had imagined it. But I saw how Billy's smile faltered slightly. "Witches, different from the shifters, have an affinity with their element even before unlocking it. Have you ever felt it before?"

"Yes and I'm sure everyone in La Push and Forks knows. I didn't come up with the nickname The Arsonist all on my own. It's not just because I almost accidentally blew the chemistry lab last year, which by the way was not my fault, that they call me like that. Me liking fire a bit too much never passed unobserved. At least now I know that my obsession with it wasn't something to be actually worried about." I couldn't help the bit of venom that passed through my words. It wasn't the easiest topic for me to talk about.

Harry and Billy chuckled at that

"Right." Said Billy with a tight smile, "We will see you soon. Goodbye Beatrice and good luck."

"Goodbye."

That evening, after doing my new night routine of searching for Sam and leaving him his food, I walked back to my room. The grimoire was in my hand ready for me to read it. And it wasn't until the sun started to come out again that I finally fell asleep. This time, on my mattress.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

I hope you liked how I added to the plot of the elemental women and Tayen, the first witch. It was kinda hard to make everything fit, to be honest, but I love it.

In this chapter there is something that is sprinkled in there, maybe a bit of foreshadowing. I don't know how to explain it, but it will make sense later on.

I really hope that you are echoing this story so far, even if there is little to no Paul for now, but I swear he will arrive.

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Tuesday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾