The fearsome one

The fearsome one
SERENA'S POV

The rising coven of witches chose to live in the woods of all places in the pack. It didn’t bother me that the environment wasn’t so conducive, it was their choice.

Alpha Bernard stood next to me. His arms were folded and fear was written all over him. He couldn’t even pretend to be fearless, and I wouldn’t blame him.

Dean and Alpha Basil stood next to each other, facing Alpha Bernard and me. About ten steps away from us was a small hut surrounded by extremely tall trees.

“I’m starting to think that we made a mistake honoring their invitation,” Alpha Bernard broke the silence. It could be because they still hadn’t shown up in our faces.

“To be honest, I feel the same way,” I muttered.

“Why did you say that?” Dean asked me.

After I arrived here, I realized it was nothing but a sheer waste of time. Regardless of what they had to say to us, Dean and I would still take revenge on them for killing our parents.

Settling with them wasn’t an option and maybe we should have just made that clear. I wasn’t thinking straight when I said it was cool for us to be here.

I didn’t provide an answer to Dean’s question because I didn’t think talking to him about it here was a wise thing to do. I had my reasons.

“Are you sure they know we are here already?” curiosity made me ask. It had been minutes since we had been standing in one spot and no one had shown up.

“You were here when we howled to inform them about our presence,” Alpha Basil remarked.

He and Dean did howl when we got here. We got howls in return, and it came from the hut. We all assumed that was their way of saying they got our message.

“I think we should howl again, we don’t have all day,” Alpha Bernard cooed.

“Go ahead and do that for the second time,” Alpha Basil replied.

It was so glaring that the Alpha twins were no longer best friends like they used to be. They didn’t support each other on the little and not-so-little things anymore.

Dean’s eyes and mine locked for a second. I could tell just by staring at his face that he had something bothering him. I just hoped it didn’t have to do with Willow.

“Come in,” a voice roared. I looked in the direction it came from, and my eyes landed on a maiden.

She remained standing in front of the hut and didn’t think to acknowledge the presence of the Alpha twins. They seemed okay with her disrespecting them like that.

Alpha Basil led the way while Dean followed. Alpha Bernard walked right by my side, and I didn’t ask him to do that. I was sure to be careful while taking steps.

“That’s alright,” the maiden said.

Everyone paused. Her eyes said so many words that I didn’t need to be told she was a member of the rising coven of witches. She must possess dark powers already.

“The Witch Queen only sent for someone, not the four of you.”

We had gotten closer to her when she spoke. I was only told by the Alpha twins that the Witch Queen sent for us. I wasn’t told she sent for only one person and the rest of us were mere escorts.

One of the Alpha twins was in the right position to go inside the hut to have a conversation with the Witch Queen. The rest of us would wait here for him.

“Who is going?” Dean questioned.

“I will,” Alpha Basil responded. I liked that he was fearless and wasn’t scared of doing this on his own.

One after the other, Alpha Basil stared at our faces, and I understood why he did that. It might be the last time he would set his eyes on every one of us.

History would never forget him if he died on behalf of the pack citizens. The Witch Queen might decide to use his blood for the atonement of the pack.

“What exactly do you think the pack citizens did to the rising coven of witches?” curiosity led me to ask Aria.

“Stop!” the maiden screamed. She startled me by doing that.

“What is the problem?” Alpha Basil roared, not minding that she belonged to the werewolves we came here to see.

“You can’t go in,” she said to his face.

“Why?”

“The Witch Queen doesn’t want to see him,” she responded.

“She wants to see you then,” I told Alpha Bernard.

“That can’t be,” he muttered.

Who could have thought the almighty Alpha Bernard was a coward? He was scared to face the Witch Queen when his brother was willing to face her.

“Who do you expect to go see her?” I put it to him.

He didn’t have a response for me, and I didn’t bother to press for one. The maiden remained standing by the door of the hut, and her eyes were on me.

“I hope this isn’t what I’m thinking,” I muttered.

“Does the Witch Queen want to see me instead?” I asked the maiden. I spoke in a tone that was high.

“Yes, it is you she needs,” she didn’t hesitate to respond.

“This can’t be, I’m not the Alpha of the pack,” I announced.

Alpha Bernard held my hand. I hoped he did that to show he was on my side and not to hand me over to the maiden who refused to stop staring at me.

“One of the Alphas or both of them can go in, not my sister,” Dean mentioned.

“It’s either her or nobody.”

The maiden went back into the hut after she spoke. She didn’t even give me the chance to make her understand that she might be making a mistake.

“Let’s head back to the mansion,” Alpha Bernard said.

“We aren’t doing that. We’ve come a long way just to give up now,” his brother protested.

“Didn’t you hear what the maiden had to say?”

“She asked that Serena shows up before the Witch Queen and have a word or two with her. How hard is that?” Alpha Basil replied to his twin.

Dean went from standing next to Alpha Basil to standing right beside me. He did that to let Alpha Basil know that he wasn’t in support of what he was saying.

There must be a reason why the Witch Queen demanded to see me. I had gotten curious. Alpha Basil raised his eyebrows, and if he could have his way, I would be in the hut already.

“I’ll do this.”

“No, you won’t,” Dean raised his voice at me.

“What’s there to worry about? The three of you are here with me. I’m sure she won’t even attempt to hurt me.”

“She’s right. We’ll remain by the door, and if she spends more than twenty minutes in there, we’ll barge in,” Alpha Bernard cooed. He let go of my hand after he spoke. I had assumed he wouldn’t allow me to go.

“Are you sure about this? You don’t have to do this.”

“I’ll be fine unless she casts a spell on me,” I jibed.

The moon goddess would have to help me on this one. I was about to set eyes on my parents’ killer. I needed her help or I might attack the Witch Queen.

I was supposed to have a peaceful conversation with the one who made me an orphan. I stepped into the hut and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

The interior was nothing like I pictured. It was as beautiful as the mansion and, in fact, more beautiful than the mansion. The Witch Queen sure had eyes for beautiful things.

“Welcome Serena, the special one whose wolf broke out at a very early age,” my ears caught.

I paused and looked around. I was in the living room and hadn’t set my eyes on who spoke those words. I expected to see weird items being hung on the wall, but I saw none.

“I’d like to make this as fast as possible. I have other things to do.”

The voice was a feminine one, so I guessed the speaker was the Witch Queen. I couldn’t comprehend why she decided not to show her face.

“To put an end to the killings going on in the pack, you will have to kill one of the Alpha Kings,” she dropped as a shocker.

“Why would I want to do that?” I put myself together on time and asked.

“His blood will be used as an appeasement for the crime that was committed. You have to be the killer.”

I didn’t think asking about the crime was the right thing to do. I remained silent because I needed time to process what my ears had just caught.