Chapter 22: Returning home

Xavier left for home and was told he would find his mom up in her room. He proceeded to go up, hoping she would be feeling better than she was earlier in the day. He was glad when he got up the stairs and saw his mother just outside her room interacting with other people.

“I need you to go into the woods southwards, out of the veil; you’ll find a blond young man tied to a tree with vines,” Mitchell instructed. She was not strong enough to walk down here with two bodies. So she took Sage and left the formerly possessed werewolf in the woods. But she made sure she tied him so he wouldn’t wake up and leave.

“Mom!” Xavier called out, walking towards his mother with open hands. “Are you okay?” he asked, giving her a tight hug.

“Yeah, I’m great.” Mitchell couldn’t explain it, but she felt better after saving the young girl and being in touch with her spells. “I need you to send for Mrs. Devon,” she said after being released from Xavier's hug.

“Oh, she’s not in, but Valarie is available. What do you need her for?” Mrs. Devon was Valarie’s mother, who was also a witch. His mother and Valarie’s mom were close friends. However, Mitchell would never send for her friends to be called; instead, she would go to meet them.

“Just to see if she could work something out for me. Get me Valarie, then.” Xavier nodded at his mother before walking away.

In a short while, Xavier was back, and he didn't come alone. His friends had tagged along when they heard who had sent for Valarie.

When Valarie came in with the others who were in her room, Mitchell drew her to a corner and whispered into her ears.

“I don’t know if you’re familiar with a spell that unbinds connections,” Mitchell asked in hushed tones.

“Yeah, sure!” Valarie smiled, excited to be of service to the alpha's mate.

“Good, there’s a girl lying on my bed. I want you to examine her, and whatever sort of strange connection she has, I want you to sever it.” Valarie nodded her head. Although it was a complicated task, she walked up the stairs to complete the task given to her, leaving the others behind.

Mitchell didn’t want others who had come in to know that the girl might have been possessed; most of them didn’t even know that there was someone in her room, not even Xavier. She wasn’t expecting this many people to come in when she only sent for Valarie.

Mitchell watched how Xavier's friends interacted with each other with smiles on their faces, but deep down, she knew that there was a heavy weight on their shoulders, especially for her son Xavier.

Valarie, who had been upstairs for a while, came down the stairs in haste with wide eyes.

“The girl’s awake!” she announced loudly while holding her right wrist.

Immediately, Mitchell followed her back up, and Xavier, not sure about what was going on, went after his mother.

They got to Mitchell’s room and found Sage still asleep.

‘What is she doing here?’ Xavier wondered as soon as he recognized the face.

“Valarie, I thought you said she was awake,” Mitchell questioned.

“Urm, yeah, she was.” While Valarie was examining Sage to check for any odd connections as instructed by Mitchell, she didn’t know what kind of link, but she didn’t question Mitchell. When she got up and saw Sage asleep, she placed her hands on Sage's head to start her work; however, she noticed Sage’s temperature was high and decided to place some wet towels on her head.

In the process, Sage unconsciously grabbed Valarie's hand, digging her fingers into her right wrist. Sage's fingers were not as deadly as they were when she fought with the possessed werewolf, but they still did some damage to Valarie’s skin.

Valarie was startled by Sage's sudden actions and quickly ran down to inform Mitchell.

Xavier didn’t seem to understand Valarie. “How can someone fall asleep so soon?”

Valarie went ahead to explain the events that happened since she came to Mitchell, Xavier, and Ian, who had just walked in with the others behind him.

“It seems like she’s still trying to protect herself from the demon she encountered," Mitchell said.

“Demon!” everyone in the room exclaimed.

“Is she possessed?” Red asked, taking a step back towards the door. Demons were creatures that a lot of them had heard about but never seen. They’ve heard tales about the creatures, and none of them ever wished to come across them, not even by accident.

“Is she dangerous?” Edward questioned, standing on guard.

“Calm down, she isn’t.” The last thing Ian wanted was for news to go around saying his mother brought in a demon-possessed human into their territory.

“How would you know?”

“I’ve met her before; she didn’t seem like the type to hurt even a fly,” Ian explained. “Besides, she can’t be possessed; she has a crucifix on her.”

“Wake her up,” Xavier commanded. He wanted to be sure Sage was okay, but with her lying there still, he couldn't be sure.

“What! Are you out of your mind?" Valarie questioned. “I just told you she dug into my wrist with her fingers, and you want me to go close to her again.” Valarie was now conscious of Sage after hearing that she might have been possessed by a formidable creature.

“You’re a witch; you don’t have to make contact before you can wake her up.” Xavier stated.

‘You’re the only one who can abuse my powers,’ Valarie muttered under her breath as she faced Sage and whispered some spells.

After a while, Sage inhaled sharply and rose to a sitting position in one movement. She stared with wide eyes at her surroundings, trying to observe the faces around her with her blurry vision.

The voice that came after she woke up was not one she recognized. It was soothing to the ears, like the way a mother would speak to her newborn child. “Hello, dear,” Mitchell sounded.