Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten
DAMIEN's POV

"a witch?" I questioned the boy, alarmed by the boy's words.

"yes, Alpha. A witch." 

"a witch." I murmured to myself. Considering the night I had , the dream, I suppose the pack's witch arrival should not be a coincidence.

"ask them to let her in. I don't think she would be here if it were no importance."

"yes, alpha." the boy said and ran off to go ask the men at the gate to let her in, while I walked back to the house. I had looked forward to having breakfast with Jasmine. But with Margaret's arrival, I suppose it would have to wait.

"Damien." Jasmine said in a tone that I could have sworn sounded like excitement, and I found myself looking at her curiously.

"Jasmine." I said and took in the sight of her. She looked like she had slept well enough, despite her midnight rendezvous, "how are you?"

"good. I'm good, just heading over for breakfast. But, you seem like you are going in a different direction." she asked, and tilted her head. I had come to realize that I liked it when she made that move.

"well, I suppose I should feel a bit flattered that you've taken the time to block me this way. But no, I will not be having breakfast right now, as I have a mater to attend to. "

"you won't join m- us for breakfast?" she asked, and I thought she sounded a bit disappointed at the fact. Strange, I was under the conviction that she found me to be a pain.

"No, this is really important. But, you go right ahead and have breakfast. I'll definitely join you guys tomorrow." I said and watched as she slowly nodded.

"it's okay." she said, and suddenly brightened, "you go on right ahead, I'm sure Liam will  be up to it."

" I'm not sure of that, seeing as I'll be needing my beta for this activity."

Her brows slowly drew together and she looked at me with a questioning gaze, "should I be worried?

"why ? That I need my beta? I shouldn't think so."

"hmm." she said, and folded her arms, "alright then. Goodluck with everything." she said, and turned away without another word.

I headed straight for Liam's room and found him still sleeping,

"it would be a fine good time to wake up, Liam." I said, and drew open the curtains.

"damn it, Damien." he said in reaction to all that bright creeping in.

"rise and shine." I drawled, and waited till he steered again, "you need to get up, Liam. Margaret is here, and my instincts tell me it has something to do with last night."

That did the trick, because he opened his eyes right up.

"what did you just say?"

"that our pack witch is here. And something tells me that he hasn't come to bear good news."

"you think it has something to do with last night?"

"I absolutely think so, Liam. I really do."

Liam took no time in freshening up and we met Margaret in the garden, where she liked these meetings to be the most. She said it made her feel connected to the earth, so that , no matter what the matter at hand really was, she could always remain grounded. Plus, she loved the smell of the flowers.

"Margaret." I said when I spotted her. She had her head raised skyward, her eyes closed as she all but seemed to take in the world around her. She looked rested, at peace, not like someone who had bad news to bring.

"ah, Damien, Liam." she said, opening her mismatched eyes. I don't mean that rudely. Margaret did have mismatched eyes. One of them was brown, while the other was green and she was the least bit insecure about them. If anything, she loved them, and enjoyed how uncomfortable they made people.

"Margaret, good to see you. Although, we didn't know you would be coming around, we would have properly prepared for you"

She waved away Liam's comment, "don't worry about it. Just come have your seats. We have rather much to discuss."

"I suppose we do." I said and turned to Liam, who simply shrugged.

"I take it you had a nightmare last night." Margeret said, diving right into the heart of the matter. Trust Margeret to never try to mince words.

"yeah." I replied, and rubbed at my forehead as I remembered, "felt like I was being burned form within, still felt all that burning even when Liam woke me up. Did you feel it too?" I asked and she nodded.

"you must have woken up feeling very helpless, because that tugged mw right out of sleep."

"helpless doesn't even start to explain how I felt." I said, thinking back to the damned dream. I felt like I was being killed by all that fire. No, helpless wasn't enough to describe it.

"and how do you feel now?" she asked softly, and I shrugged.

"I know it happened, but I don't feel like it happened, if that makes sense." she nodded softly.

"that makes a lot of sense. And the girl?" Margeret asked and I rose a brow.

"is there anything that get past you?" I asked, and the corner of her lips turned upward.

"not much." she said, and fixed me with a gentle gaze, "tell me about it, though."

I shrugged and thought over to the moment with her at midnight. I had been restless, and in as much as I would have usually passed up the idea of tailing her, I could not seem to shake off the desire to do so.

"couple of minutes passed before I felt even a little bit myself after waking up. But even then, I still felt hot and uncomfortable. Liam had to open up the windows, but regardless of all of the night wind coming in, I still felt the effects of the dream. Liam slept, but I couldn't go back to sleep. Didn't want to, to be honest. Then her I heard her-"

"heard her?" Liam questioned, interrupting me, and I nodded.

"she got hungry at night."

"cute." Liam responded and I shook my head.

"so, I heard her and in as much as I didn't want to go to her, I did." I wasn't sure if this information was needed, but I felt like I needed to give it. Like it was vital somehow. "And then I did, and when I did, after the conversation we had, I found that I felt somewhat better. More than somewhat, I felt a whole lot better. And then, I was able to sleep. I even woke up singing a tune. I must sound fanciful." I finished and shook my head, but Margaret smiled.

"fanciful is one way to put it. Damien, do you need me to remind you that she is indeed your mate?"

"No, not at all. I am very aware of who Jasmine is to me. I just… didn't expect all that, you know?" Margaret nodded slowly.

"I was worried. Unlike you, I couldn't find any sleep from the moment I woke up. We woke up." she sighed and looked skyward and sighed again, "I burned some sages and said some spells, but alas, there isn’t anything like the healing power of your mate. I came her with some sense of urgency, needing to make sure that you were okay, and alas, you are far more better than I had expected. It's why you need to mark that woman as soon as possible. Does she know?"

"I thought there wasn't anything that got passed you?"

"I don't meddle in private business. So tell me." 

I nodded slowly, "she knows. I didn’t think it would be fair to not give her all of the information. At least, enough of it to know what she's about. Not sure she understands the weight of it all. But she knows. She definitely knows."

"so what is her reason for getting it with you, if she knows what is at stake?"

"in as much as I'd like to say, she does it because she knows what it at stake, but I told her I'd take care of her, seeing as she has enemies of her own."

"hmm, do you think there could be love between you both eventually?" I did not expect that question, and it caught me off guard. But what caught me even more off guard was the fact that I found myself giving it a second thought, and then I quickly shook my head.

"I try not to think about that." I said, and told myself it had better remain that way for the longest time.

Because, marrying Jasmine, marking her and making her my luna was one thing. But the idea of falling in love with her was a risk that I didn't think was ever willing to take.