Chapter 217

Olivia

I felt my stomach twist around itself. Or rather, I felt something twist around my stomach, writhing its way up around my heart.

The serpent. Dread. A bad omen.

“How… How did you know?” I asked.

The witch chuckled, a sound like metal being raked over hot coals. Suddenly, the damp tea leaves stuck to the bottom of my cup were far too pungent, nauseating. I set the cup down with a clatter.

“I knew all along,” she said, swirling her own unfinished tea in her cup. “When you came here to restore your friend’s hand, I knew. And I could sense it tonight; you’ve been waiting to ask. You’ve been… nervous.”

She was right. Entirely right.

The air was thick and cloying inside the witch’s hut, heavy with the scent of burning herbs and aged wood. Each shift in our seats made the floorboards creak. The house felt as though it was shuddering beneath our movements, as though it had gained legs and was carrying us away, deeper into the forest.

The dim glow from the candles cast eerie shadows on the walls, making the whole place look like a scene straight out of a nightmarish fairy tale.

“You knew?” My voice quivered as I spoke, the revelation that the witch had always known about my dormant wolf unsettling me.

The witch, an older woman with deep-set eyes and a crown of silver hair, chuckled softly. Her fingers, gnarled and twisted from age, danced over a set of bones laid out on the table. “Of course I knew. You cannot hide such power, even if it is sleeping.”

Nathan, ever my rock, squeezed my hand reassuringly beneath the table. “Why didn’t you say anything before? If you knew, why couldn’t you have helped Olivia the last time we were here?”

She raised an eyebrow, her gaze sharp.

“Not everything needs to be spoken aloud, especially when the time isn’t right. And last time, it wasn’t right. She wasn’t ready. But now, the stars have aligned, and your paths have crossed mine once again. It is time. So, I’ll ask you again, Olivia: do you want your wolf’s spell lifted?”

I swallowed hard, feeling as though a vise was tightening around my heart. The sense of dread remained in my belly, but I had to hear the witch out. If she truly could lift the spell holding my wolf back, then maybe… maybe it would change the course of everything.

“I...I want the spell lifted,” I said, my voice so low it was hardly more than a whisper. “I need to be whole again, to feel my wolf within me.”

The witch’s eyes twinkled, a hint of mischief in them. “Oh, I can help you. But everything comes at a price.”

“And what price is that?” Nathan’s voice was wary, a hint of protectiveness clear in his tone. “If it’s money you’re after, we’ll pay you however much you want. If you want gems, I’ll bring you those, too.”

The witch chuckled, creating that grating sound again. It made me wince; I knew that she wasn’t after money or gems. Not for this.

“No, dear boy,” she hummed, drumming her gnarled fingers on the table. “Not money. Not stones.”

“What is it, then?” I asked, feeling my tension beginning to bubble to the surface, no longer able to be contained. “What do you want?”

Her gaze slid to me, and her smile sent shivers down my spine. “Your daughter. I wish to take her under my wing, teach her the ways of the arcane. She will make a fine young witch.”

My heart felt like it had dropped into my stomach. Anger bubbled up, and I shot to my feet. “You want me to trade Aurora for the return of my wolf?”

She nodded slowly, studying me intently as though completely unperturbed by my outburst. “Yes, that’s the deal,” she said. “Your wolf for your daughter. Your daughter for your son.”

Nathan’s growl echoed in the room, his wolf clearly disturbed. “You can’t seriously expect us to give you our child,” he said, a wry, disbelieving chuckle echoing in the back of his throat. “We came here to save our son—and you expect us to give you our daughter in exchange?”

The witch merely shrugged. “She possesses a power that’s rare, even among those of us attuned to the arcane. With proper training, she could surpass even me.”

The room seemed to close in around me. How could I even consider this? I glanced at Nathan, searching his eyes for answers. But all I found was the same desperation and disbelief I felt.

“You want to rip our family apart?” My voice trembled with emotion. “After everything we’ve been through? I came here for help, not to be blackmailed.”

The witch leaned forward, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. “Blackmail is such a strong word, dearie. I’m merely offering a trade.”

Nathan’s eyes flashed with anger. “You know damn well that’s not a fair trade. This is preposterous.”

She looked between the two of us, her eyes softening just a touch. “Life isn’t always fair, young wolf. Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for the greater good.”

“The greater good.” Nathan scoffed. “It seems that’s all everyone talks about—but I don’t think any of you actually care about the greater good. You care about yourselves. Your own twisted interests.”

“Perhaps,” the witch purred, taking another sip of her tea. “The line between the two often blurs.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions within me. “And if I refuse?” I asked.

The witch sighed, her gaze drifting to the flickering candles. “Then you’ll continue living half a life, always wondering what could have been. And as for your daughter, her powers will remain dormant, never reaching their full potential. She’ll grow to resent you, just as you resent your father now for putting that spell on you to begin with. Your son will likely be taken, too.”

The weight of the decision pressed down on me. My mind raced, trying to find another solution, another way out. But the witch seemed to be holding all the cards in this scenario.

“Why would we ever trust you?” Nathan's voice was filled with doubt. “I’ve heard the stories—”

“Ah, yes, the stories,” the witch interjected. “Hags eating little children whole. Cooking them into pies, perhaps. Selling them to the fae in exchange for power, youth, beauty. But I assure you, that wouldn’t happen with your dear little girl; I would raise her as my own. I’d nurture her power. She would live a life of luxury here, knowing that her parents did the right thing.”

I scoffed, looking around at the haphazard little hut. “Luxury? Here?” I asked. “You’re a liar. She needs to be with us—her family.”

The witch’s gaze snapped back to me, her eyes piercing. “You have my word,” she said. “I have no interest in causing harm. I only wish to pass on my knowledge, to ensure that the arcane arts don’t die with me.”

I looked down, my heart heavy with the weight of the impossible decision before me. I thought of Aurora, her bright eyes and infectious laughter. Could I really give her up? Even for the return of a part of me that had been lost for so long?

But the witch’s voice cut through my thoughts, cold and sure. “Besides,” she said, “once you discover what your wolf truly is, the legacy she holds, you’ll realize the magnitude of what you’re giving up. You’ll want to pay the price, no matter how steep.”

The room went silent, her words hanging in the air like a heavy fog, and I felt more lost than ever before.