𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦, 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘴? "

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

╰┈˚ · ° .  IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE Jared had shifted and Amelia had unlocked her element, and the pack and coven, even if slowly, were starting to grow. Apparently, Jared's parents had been made aware of the situation by the elder council even before the boy had shifted. It was actually a relief since he, like the rest of us, had skipped two weeks of school. For the two new members, it was for learning and controlling their new abilities with Sam and I help, not like more practice for us two wasn't welcomed anyway.

The four of us, with the addition of Maddison Swan, now honorary member of the pack, were in the backyard of the Uley's house. Sam and Jared had just come back from patrol. They had created shifts to make it easier, sometimes doing alone and sometimes together. As the days passed, Jared had completely accepted his new self, and it was a relief that Amelia never had that problem in the first place.

The air witch was starting to get a hold on her powers a lot better, now, during practice, she was trying to use a controlled gust of wind to knock away an empty can that stood as target farther away. While me, on the other hand, I was trying to get my fire to not burn things or people. It was a necessary pass before I could use it as a method of protection.

Trying to control the warmth of my flames was not very easy. Sam and Jared had both volunteered as test subjects for my experiment. The alpha had said that it was good training for both shifters too, trying to control their anger that would of course rise with getting burned over and over again. Even if my fire couldn't do much damage to them anyway, the surface level burns caused by it were still a sign that I had to work much more.

Over the past two weeks, our backyards started to look more like an enchanted forest than anything else. Our magic fed nature, making everything more brilliant and healthy and magical.

"Shit!" Jared angrily shouted as once again my flame burned him.

"Sorry." I said for what was probably the 100th time already in the last couple of days. The word had started to lose its meaning to be honest.

"It's okay." The beta said as his skin quickly healed and his emotion leveled out again "You are getting better though. It is starting to burn me a lot later than usual."

"Yes!" Amelia shouted happily as the can fell from the stool while it was still standing. "I did it!"

"Good job, Mia!" Maddison said with a huge smile. "You are both getting better at handling this!"

"Yup, this morning I didn't wake up with things in my room floating either." I said with a smirk looking at the air witch. She had stayed over for the time being since, even if her father was aware of the situation, her twin brother wasn't.

"True." Mia winked.

"You too are getting better Jared. You are controlling your shift pretty good." Sam added, making the said boy grin widely.

"Pretty good? I'm fantastic at it." Jared said with a scoff.

"Definitely better than you when you first shifted." I told my brother with a teasing smirk as snickers and snorts fell from the others, which he rolled his eyes at. The story of Sam's two weeks in the woods had become pretty soon a sort of inside joke.

Jared and Sam, were both in only jeans shorts as their high temperature didn't bother them from the cold. Their left shoulders marked with the same pack tattoo. We had done the ritual just the day after he had shifted, Amelia leaving me to do it since it was clear that I was the artist between the two of us. She insisted even after I told her that she didn't need to have artistic talent to do it, it was like a trance and the magic guided your hand. Still, she didn't want to do it, only adding her magical essence to both marks. Around the new witch's neck, now there was her amulet. A triangle with a line that divided it towards the top. The air symbol. To finish the ritual, Jared had placed the necklace around her neck, now both of us never took it off our neck. It just felt weird and wrong to do it.

"That means... that we can go back to school." Sam stated.

Groans echoed in the backyards at the declaration.

"You know, you are very much wrong. I'm totally not in control. We should wait another week. Maybe even a month." Jared tried, but his alpha only glared at him knowing that he was just spilling bullshit to not go back.

"Monday we are all going back to school. I have to graduate this year and I practically ignored my girlfriend for the past two weeks, again. So yes, we all are going to school."

I grimaced at the mention of his girlfriend. Leah had even called me a few times because of it. Of course, Sam had not disappeared completely like before but still, he had been distant. He actually had been distant and had been lying to her since he shifted, and that was causing serious relationship trouble between the two.

"Yes, Sam is right. We need to go back to our lives. To live normally." Mia said sternly, a serious look crossing her face.

"You are just saying that because you haven't fuck anyone in three weeks." I said, earning a glare from the girl who used her air power to send a gust of wind towards me making my hair fly all around my head messily. "You know I'm right, Mia." I said, trying to tame my now unruly hair.

Giggling, Maddi helped me, getting in on the joke "Don't tease her. She is horny and frustrated."

Jared and I started to laugh at the girl's words turning towards Amelia with a wide grin.

"You three are assholes." Mia said trying to sound angry but the corner of her lips were twitching slightly upwards giving away her true emotions. And plus, I could feel the amusement dipping off of her. "Say something to them, Sam!" She then turned towards my brother.

"Children" Sam shook his head ignoring the witch

"Shut up, old man." Mia grumbled back.

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  Monday morning came too soon. Jared and Amelia had gone home Sunday night for the first time in two weeks. I had talked with the witch last night before bed, she had told me about the fight she had with her twin, Jacob. How he wanted to know where she had been and why she had disappeared... and it almost ended with Amelia stealing Jacob's oxygen out of his lungs. Fortunately, the air elementalist had gained a lot more control on her magic.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked, in his hands still a half eaten cookie baked by Maddison the day prior.

"I am" I said, sliding the leather jacket on. We exited the house and quickly entered the truck. "Are we passing by the Clearwater's to pick up Leah?" I asked cautiously

Sam clenched his jaw as his fists clenched around the steering wheel. "No." He said trying to calm himself down by taking deep and controlled breaths.

I decided to turn on the radio, closing the conversation with him since it was a hard topic for him. Sam really loved Leah, and all these lies were definitely not good for their relationship. He hated that he was hurting her.

We soon arrived at school. Amelia and Jared waiting together near the boy's car laughing, had already created a bit of crowd and gossip from what I could see. Before two weeks ago, I don't think those two had ever talked outside from when the girl had come to The Claw.

Climbing out of the truck, we made our way to them.

"For fuck sakes, I know that today is going to be hell." I grubles as soon as we were all together.

"Good morning to you too, bestie. Always a ray of sunshine." Jared exclaimed with a grin. His arm wrapped around my shoulder, which I shoved it off quickly.

"Let's just go inside." Sam said as grumpy as I was.

It was definitely a different sight from every other day. We had all skipped two weeks of school and now we walked together inside acting like we had been friends for our entire life. Which,weirdly, felt exactly like that in some way. It was easy to be myself with them.

Amelia Black was one to not have any friends. She usually passed from one hookup to another, not caring about having any friendship. Jared was friendly with the entire school, but he never had a real group of friends before. Sam had never had very good friends, only acquaintances and of course, Leah, his girlfriend. Me, on the other hand, the only person I ever talked in this school with was my brother and sometimes Jared.

So of course, people, apart from me and Sam, that had never been close to anyone, and not between each other, was a strange thing to see first thing on Monday morning.

Eyes followed us as we walked, making Amelia glare harshly at everyone who met her icy stare. "Alright, Mia. Let's go." I said, turning the girl's shoulder and directing her towards her locker, that actually was very near to mine. "See you later boys."

"Why are they staring? What are we, a circus?" Amelia snarky asked not caring about her loud tone and if anyone overheard her. She was sweet like that.

"It's probably because we never even spoke before, and now here I am, stopping you from murdering anyone."

"Still don't like it." She murmured while opening her locker.

"Yeah well, think about your next conquest. Girls, women... I'm sure that will calm your anger down." I said with a wink before leaving the now smirking witch to her own self.

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  Lunch rolled around, my usual empty table now filled with other two people. Sam had texted us that he was not going to be there too, as he was trying to talk with his girlfriend, trying to save his relationship that was literally falling apart.

"Who do you think will shift next?" Jared asked as he inhaled his plate of fries.

"Jacob?" I proposed.

"Probably," Amelia nodded. "Is it weird that I would like for Maddison to be a witch?" She asked

"No it's not Mia. But she doesn't have Quileute blood, you know that it can't be her." I explained

"That does not mean she is not part of the pack though." Jared grinned "An honorary member."

I matched his grin with one of my own before it quickly went away as I catched the eye of a particularly annoying person.

"What?" Mia asked confused, sensing my change of mood. Following where my eyes, her confusion only increased "Why is Paul Lahore glaring at you?"

I snapped my head towards her as Jared started to laugh loudly. "Did you just call him Lahore?" I asked amusedly.

"Uh, yes." She said as if it was just a matter of fact "That boy is worse than me and that is saying a lot. I don't know what is worse, his anger or his horniness."

"Oh my god. That is-" I could finish my phrase as I joined Jared into a laugh.

"At least he is hot." Amielia continued

"Aren't you a lesbian?" Jared asked, confused.

"Of course I am." Mia answered with an offended look on her face and a scoff "But I can admit when some of the other gender is actually good looking, you know?"

"Am I hot then?" Jared asked with a mischievous look

"What you are is dumb." She deadpanned.

Again, I laughed, now, at the offended look on the Cameron boy's face, who continued to stay that way until the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch.

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  "Are we going in the right direction?"

"Does it look like I know Mia?" I questioned my friend. "The grimoire only said to follow your instinct and let your magic lead you." I said frustratedly, actually suppressing a groan.

"Well, to me it looks like we are going nowhere and we are probably just losing ourselves in the middle of the forest." Amelia answered, completely stopping walking.

We were in the middle of the woods trying to find the place that was mentioned in the grimoire and various times in the journals. It should be a place only able to be seen by The Coven. A safe place where to do magic and spells. A secret place. Our sacred place. Only problem... it was never mentioned the location, just that we will find it with our magic.

"Okay, this is not working." I said

"You think?" Sarcastically added the air witch. I rolled my eyes at her opening the grimoire and the page dedicated to the place.

"Let your magic lead you to it." I read out loud. "Yes but how?!" I was getting more frustrated by the second.

"Alright, let's try to take a breath before you incinerate our grimoire." Amelia spoke, taking the book from my hands that started to tingle. "It should be the same thing we do with our elements right? We follow our instinct, that is how we managed to somewhat control them."

I nodded my head and we both closed our eyes. I took a deep breath, controlling my breathing pattern and heart rate. And then, I felt the core of my magic coming alive as sparks formed in my hand, the wind started to blow stronger. Following my instinct I opened my eyes to look at my hand. A flame appeared in my palm and as many times before, I lost myself in the warmth and colors of it. It lifted itself in the air and in trance, floating away making me start to follow it. I didn't even notice how Amelia was following her own element as our hands intertwined together.

I didn't even know how much time passed, how much time we walked, but soon, a small clearing surrounded by trees was in front of us. In the center there was a big rounded rock, the surface flat and towards the edges, four symbols were carved. The four elements. Probably each one carved where the element cardinal direction was. And in the middle, a five pointed star was carved. A pentagram, a representation of the elements with the addition of the Aether.

"We found it." I stated as my lips curled into a genuine smile.

"Yes, we did." Amelia smirked at me running towards where the air symbol was carved at east.

I followed after her sitting in the grass in front of the fire sign. South. Those two symbols matching the necklaces around our necks.

"Now we can do this spell." Grinning excitedly, Amelia started to take out from the bag the things we had prepared for doing it.

"I'll do the salt circle while you prepare the altar for the spell." I said, getting up once again after the girl had nodded her agreement.

I took the salt bag that we had carried with us. Slowly walking in a circle around the altar imagining in my mind a bubble of protection, I covered the ground with the salt until I ended up once again where I had started. I took my seat at the fire station deciding to help Mia with setting up the altar.

"If we are going to use this place more, we should probably buy some of those pillows where you sit." Amelia commented as she continued to add herbs around the altar.

I grinned at her "Should we match the color with our elemental one too?" I asked with amusement as I helped her now adding the crystals

The air witch scoffed at me "Of course." She said while shaking her head

It took us a little bit more time to prepare everything for the spell. We read it another time carefully, just to be sure, before we placed the grimoire back in the bag.

"Ready?" I asked Amelia

Giving me a secure nod she answered "Ready."

We brought our hands forward where they hovered above the pentagram in the stone making sure that they were touching. And then we started the spell. Words in old Quileute language falling from our lips, the wind began to blow harsher, the flame of the candle rising as more power was fueled into the spell. We asked for the knowledge of the thirds. For the third shifter, and third witch.

And as the spell began to work, our eyes blanked and a vision of two faces was shown in our minds. A girl and a boy.

With gasps, we left each other's hands, ending the spell. Our first spell. We were both panting for breath, slightly drained of energy.

"Did you see them?" I asked as I scrubbed my eyes trying to get rid of the weird feeling in them.

"Yup."

"Do you know the girl?"

"No." Amelia shook her head "But we definitely know who the third to shift will be."

I groaned, my head falling in my hands as his name slipped from my lips like a curse "Paul Lahote."

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

The sacred place in the middle of the woods was inspired by The Craft. I love that movie!!

Yes, I'm sorry to disappoint you guys who thought that Maddison was another witch, but she doesn't have Quileute blood, so...

I hope you are liking the dynamics between the group. Sam is like the dad, with his three children. Mia is the big sister with her two little siblings. Maddi is somewhat like the funny aunt in my mind.

It's almost time for Paul!! We still have two chapters left of this act. I'm sorry to say that he will not shift in this first act, but I swear he is coming!

Some exciting new characters in the next chapter!!

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

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾