Chapter 96
Mystery Person POV:
I hummed a broken tune as I made my way through the woods. This was my favorite part, walking alone in the most dangerous place at ungodly hours of the night.
Having power of any sorts came with some sort of invisibility that others couldn’t comprehend. I felt on top of the world. No one could see me if I didn’t want them to, or talk to me, or touch me.
It was lonely here for sure, especially since the form I had decided to take was one that wasn’t very appreciated within this particular community but I would be damned if I let it deter me. I was this close to my goal, very very close and then it would be all worth it.
Every pain, every suffering, the patience, the fails, every tears, frustration, every single thing that I went through to begin this process and see it through till this time would be worth it.
There was a time where I had been uncertain about how long it would take to finally bring my plans to fruition, there was a time where it didn’t look like it would ever be possible. Then I had moved to counting the weeks, days and now…
There was only a few hours left. In a couple of hours, this pack would be hit by something so strong, even their king would not be able to save them, even the strongest of men that this pack have ever produced would bow before it. I would finally have that thing that I have always wanted, I would finally win.
I continued my journey deep within the woods, not minding one bit that the rough ground and fallen branches were scraping against my bare feet, not minding the branches that I couldn’t see, wiping me straight in the face. Those things didn’t matter right now.
Finally, I found it.
The one thing that had the power to complete my ritual. The one thing that I needed to take my plans to the next stage.
Kneeling, I carefully picked it out of its place where it had been hidden and tucked among other herbs that would help disguise it to the people who didn’t know exactly what they were looking for, or to the people who knew but were not patient enough to search.
It wasn’t called a rare herb for nothing.
Once I successfully plucked it out, I wrapped it in the linen that had been tucked around my waist and continued my journey. I had one hour to bring this to her or it would be useless.
And I would be damned if I let this process get ruined because of a singular, little but most important bit.
I stalked forward, hurrying in my steps. The night was getting darker, proof that the morning was coming.
It was still pretty interesting to me that the night was the darkest just before the light came. It was at this point of the night that the hunters gave up, this was the point where everyone was at their weakest and in their deepest sleep but this was also the shortest part of the night.
It took only a snap and it will all be over. Light would chase away the dread, the prey, the weakness. This was the most crucial part of the night, a part that if one didn’t seize when they had the opportunity, everything they ever worked for could go to hell.
I could see the light coming from the cottage up ahead of me and I hurried towards it. I had spent enough time already and I needed to complete this process before morning came, before my big day!
It took everything in me to not be able to squeal into the night. I was so close to finalizing it all that I could taste victory on the very tip of my tongue.
But I wasn’t naive, neither was I foolish. I learnt patience at an early age but I also learnt something else. I learnt to never count my chicks before they hatched. Never ended well for anyone.
I pushed open the wooden door. Darkness greeted me and it was at this point that I hated not being a werewolf. A sharper sense of vision, hearing and scent might have gone a long way in helping me accomplish my mission.
I blindly reached for the walls hoping to find a switch and when I did, I flipped it on, sighing in relief, when bright light flooded the room.
“You’re late.” The woman that had been sitting in the dark said, making me jump a little.
“Well try searching for these in the dark and then making your way through really dark woods and let’s see how fast you make it.” I said, rolling my eyes when she smiled one of her very creepy smiles, exposing her yellow, rotting teeth.
If I had a choice, she would be the last person I would choose to work with. Being a selfish person myself made me very wary of other selfish people.
She was helping me now because she had something to benefit, the moment that she had nothing more to gain or that she could gain a lot more from a better source, then she was switching sides so fast, it would almost be as if she were never with me.
That was something to fear.
I passed the linen that held the herb with her and sat criss cross apple sauce in front of her. Watching carefully as she began making the evil concoction before me.
It was very interesting to know that every item in the world, no matter how healthy or good or pleasant they were, could be used for something bad, unpleasant, evil and unhealthy if mixed with the wrong things or if pruned to a certain stage.
I continued to watch as more and more things were added to the mix and the clear color of the mixture that we had started with began to change into something else, darker and darker the liquid became until it was time to put the final ingredient that would seal my fate, his fate and her fate.
The woman paused mid air and just continued to watch the space in front of her, almost as if she had been sucked into a trance.
“Hey? Are you okay? We don’t have time for this meditation or whatever it is you’re doing. Morning is coming and this needs to be finished by then.” I said, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.
For all I cared, she could drop dead after she was done helping me but for now she needed to snap out of whatever thing she was into.
She drop the bottle in front of her and carefully placed the herb back onto the linen before looking straight at me.
Is she kidding me?
“Are you sure about this? What you’re about to do? Do you even understand the consequences of your actions? Do you understand that you can’t undo whatever it is that you’re about to do and that this dark magic will stay with you and yours forever?”
“What the? Listen to me old hag, I’m only here because you’re my best bet right now. I paid you in full and very very handsomely for what you’re about to do, so please can we carry on with it and you can lecture me after the process is completed?” I said, my tone raising a bit in frustration.
“One thing is for sure. You will pay with your life, for what you’re about to do. It is not worth the risk. Everything that you’ve done to get so far, never has and never will be worth the risk. You will never find true satisfaction or happiness in all of these, but that can be savaged if you at least change your mind about going through with this act.”
I paused at her words, not to think through it and consider it, I was too far gone for any of that now, but to consider my success rate if I were to kill her and complete the potion myself. Because it seemed that she was losing her benefits to me at this point.
“Are you willing to change your mind? It’s not too late. I could definitely cook you something that would separate your soul from her body and that will be it, you can go on to live a happy and normal life once you can forgive yourself for your horrendous acts and then you can move on.” She tried to convince me again.
I looked towards the window and I could see the sky clearing up. Slowly but definitely very steadily. After years of working so hard to get to this point and this bitch was about to ruin it for me.
“If day break comes and this potion is not complete, and I’m not ready to begin the next phase of this plan thanks to you and whatever has come over you right now, best believe you will be the one paying with your life.” I said in the most sinister tone I could muster.
The woman didn’t flinch, neither did she blink, she only continued to give me a blank stare. Eventually she clicked her tongue in understanding and pick up the bottle along with the herb and then completed the last of it all.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
She picked up another bottle to the side and poured a little quantity of whatever she had mixed in the first bottle into it and then covering it up she handed me the first bottle first.
“Take this one. There’s a bathroom just by the end of this hallway. Add it into your bathing water and cleanse yourself. Make your intentions known to the universe as you bath. Do it as some sort of prayer. This will not only help to completely wash off the scent of death hanging around you but it will also give you a much more desirable scent and also in the eyes of the one that you desire, he shall no longer see you as dead but as very alive and true. Come out with no clothes and as soon as you’re done bathing, I have to finish off the process.” She instructed.
I accepted the bottle with a splitting smile on my face and made my way for the bathroom. Doing as the woman had instructed, as the water washed my body and flowed, it felt as if it were peeling off the old layer of my skin and replacing them with new ones.
I had never felt comfortable in this body since I began using it, especially since the stink of death refused to leave it. But now, as I washed with this concoction, I felt brand new. Alive. It felt like my soul could finally bond and connect with the body and there was nothing more beautiful than that.
Once I was done bathing, I rushed out of the bathroom and into the small living area where the woman was waiting on her feet.
“Lay here.” She instructed and when I did, she knelt beside me.
With a bottle of oil in her hands she began massaging it into my skin, whispering some words as she went. I couldn’t hear any of the things that she said but they sounded like a prayer and I embraced it.
Once she finished, she handed over the bottle of the potion she had created.
“Make sure that before you use this, you must have made eye contact with him. He must have seen you and recognized you for who you are. Then for whatever reason, no one else should have a taste of this potion, not even yourself. It must be taken by him alone whom it was made for.” She said and I nodded in understanding.
“What about his mate? What do I do about her now?” I asked and the woman let out another one of her creepy smiles.
“Absolutely nothing. Once he is yours, he will take care of her himself. You have no job here to do or worry yourself about any of it.”
The sound of that pleased me the most. I could feel myself shaking from the excitement.
“You can go put on your clothes now.” The woman said and I turned around to head into the bathroom.
Once I dressed up and exited the bathroom, it was to find the older woman laying dead on the floor with blood still pouring from her mouth. There was a note in her hand and I moved closer to pick it up.
Dear Estel,
You will eventually pay with your life. You might succeed with your plan but you would never go very far. No one messes with what the Goddess has blessed. I know that when it goes south, you will try to find me again to help you fix it. I don’t want you to have that option and so I’m taking it away from you. My time here is done anyway.
Remember as long as he doesn’t drink the potion then it’s never too late to change your mind.
I squeezed the note and threw it at her body. She just saved me the work of having to kill her myself. I didn’t need her advice for anything. I didn’t come so far to be stopped by something as petty as this.
Clutching the bottle in my hand, I made my way out of the house and into the morning light.
It was time to crash a Luna’s Ceremony.