"Elina, stay here, keep the doors locked, and no matter what happens, do not come out." I nod; mom and grandma open the door, then hurry to the house. They disappear in the house, and I am left alone in the dark. Rrrrr, I jump as a loud growl comes from the house, followed by blood-curdling screams. That sounds like mom; fear grips me as I begin to panic.

"Mom! Gran!" I shout, grabbing the car door; I unlock it and push it open. I must find them; they are not safe. I scramble out of the car and start running but smack into something and tumble to my feet. I look up at the angry face, boy. I stare at him for a moment; Rrrrr, that sound again followed by screams. I scramble to my feet frantically and try to move past him, but he grabs my hand before I can.

                "Let go of me! "I scream, tugging my arm but can't break free. I kick his shin, but he does not budge; his grip, however, tightens.

"I have to save my mom and grandma, please," I plead with him, but he still does not release me; I cannot wait on him. We are at the Alpha's house; witches and wolves we do not mix. Why are we here? I wonder as I try to pull away again but to no avail.

"I'm sorry. "I whisper before saying the incantation that releases his hand and throws him across the lawn; he hits the grass as I run to the door, another growl sounding out, but this time no screams follow. I twist the handle frantically. Mom, grandma, where are you? The door is closed, and it does not budge. I step back, take a deep breath, and whisper another spell to open the door, but it repels, striking me; I stumble back before regaining my footing. That is right because all werewolves have their witches who protect them. I grunt, feeling the side effects of the repelled spell. The growl sounds again as I start pounding on the door.

"Mom! Mom! "I knock on the door frantically, but no one answers. As I continue to knock on the door, I feel something grab my arm again like before, only this time with more force. I whimper as he forcefully spins me to him, the boy he is up and angry. My heart pounds in my chest as he inches closer to me. I want to use another spell, but my lips will not move; I am frozen by fear as his obsidian eyes come closer. He stops before me and whispers one word. 

`"Mine."

*************

Elina

"Elina, wake up, sweetie." Mom shouts from the hallway as I sit on my bed, trying to make sense of my recurring dream.

"I'm up, mom," I reply as she enters my room.

"This is a first. Are you excited for Senior year?"

"duh, once my senior year is over, I can move out of this Podunk little town and never return."

"Why are you so excited to get away from me, my only baby." She wraps her arms around me, pulling my head into her chest. I smile into her warm embrace and mumble.

"Mom, you know it's not you, I love you, and I would never leave dad if I could." She pulls away and scowls at me

"You can leave me, but can't leave your dad, ungrateful, who carried you for nine months?"

"Of course, you did, my beautiful mother." She smiles as I continue.

"However, Dad carried on his back of 17 years. "She grabs a pillow from my bed and hits me with it making me chuckle. However, my laughter stops as I recall memories of the dream.

"Mom, I had that dream again. "I whisper; she freezes for a second before her face relaxes into a smile.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"Mom, what if I'm him m..."

"No!" She screams; she always gets like this when I bring up the possibility of being his mate.

"No, his mate was chosen when they made the treaty with the Chehalis Pack." She continues once she has calmed. I nod as I slowly stand.

"Mom, are you sure it never happened? You and grandma never took me to that house in the night." She shakes her head, adamantly.

"No, baby, it never happened; it's only a dream. Maybe you are starting to become interested in boys. I ponder this reason for a moment before rejecting it.

"That's a weird dream to have about your crush."

"So, you admit you have a crush on the future Alpha of all boys, my daughter; you're super ambitious. “My face heats up.

"I do not have a crush on him, I don't know what that dream is about, but it certainly is definitely, in no way a crush."

                "Many would say, one doth protest too much."

"Mom!!" she grins and me and tousles my messy afro hair.

"Okay, I believe you; you don't have a crush but don't worry about the dream too much, sweetie, okay, see you at breakfast." I smile at her as she leaves my room, then plop in my bed once she is gone. Recalling the dream again, Xavier and I are both around 11 years old; if I have to guess, it always begins and ends the same way, a scare, and those screams then a declaration of ownership, mine. I started having those dreams six months ago, and although mom swears they are just dreaming, I feel she isn't telling me the truth. Why else would she freak out about me being Xavier's mate? I mean, even if I were, I would probably reject him, or he would reject me.

Witches and Wolves do not mix; we are convenient allies when we both share a common goal. We are not friends, and we certainly are not lovers. I am from a long line of witches here in Chelan; my family is what you call witch royalty. The family line dates to the 18th century. Xavier is next in line to be Alpha of the Tukwila Pack. The strongest pack in the state of Washington. He will need a strong queen to serve at his side, but I do not plan to be me.

"Baby girl, are you okay?" Dad walks into the room, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, dad. "I reply, sitting up as he sits on my bed.

"Mom told me you had that dream again.” I nod.

"I know she's worried, but it will be okay."

"Even if I'm his mate?"

"Yeah, dating outside your kind isn't uncommon. Look at your mom and me."

"A witch dating a human hasn't been taboo since the 19th-century dad."

"True, but it's still frowned on." I nodded; I heard the other witches were never happy about my parents' marriage, they wanted my mother to marry a warlock, but the heart wants what it wants. Still, you cannot compare my parent's love to the forced mate pact a wolf bloodline creates. One was a choice; the other felt akin to slavery. Well, maybe not slavery, but I am not too happy about having a man picked for being by some twist of faith. My father smiles, knowing what I am thinking.

"It’ll be fine, sweetie; Xavier is a nice boy.”

“Sounds like you want him to be your son-in-law.” He laughs.

“I always want a son; an Alpha would be a great substitute.”

“Dad!” I toss my pillow at him, bouncing out of bed. I cannot think of this now; I will have to deal with it if the day comes, and I am his mate.

“I’ll get ready for school.”

“Okay, sweetie. Twenty minutes later, I make my way down the stairs, ready to tackle another annoying day at Chelan High. I say goodbye to mom, dad, and Gran, hop on my bike, and make my way to school. I park at the far end of the parking lot, pulled my helmet off, and hopped off my bike. I look at the building and groan, nine more months until I am free from this hellhole. I sigh, making my way up the steps; someone hurries past me and hits my shoulder in the process.

“Watch it, witch bitch!”

“You better watch it, wereslut!” A series of oohhs come from the crowd around us. She approaches me, slowly glaring.

“I’ll end you!” she screams.

“Try me slut, and you’ll see what this witch can do. “She jumps to me as the spell leaves my lips, she flies back and hits the grass, then springs up immediately and lunges at me. Someone grabs her, midair, Xavier. He pulls her against him while glaring at me.

“You should learn your place, witch.” I scowl at him.

“Keep your bitch on a leash, dog.” He clenches his teeth as I walk past him, so as I said earlier, wolves and witches aren’t friends. Xavier has never spoken to me unless it is to tell me about my proper place. He, however, does spend a lot of time glaring at me. I was fine with that until he began invading my dreams every night. If you do not like me, stay away from me, including my dreams, I shout mentally. Keira is his girlfriend or not; I cannot keep up because they break up every week, according to the rumor. Apparently, she cheats on him all the time, and he takes her back since she is his promised mate. What kind of sorry Alpha he will be with a mate like that. I look back, almost feeling sorry for him, but he is still glaring when our eyes meet. Well, f**k you too; I spin around immediately and step through the doors. The smell of pencil and books fill my nostril as I stroll pass classes to my locker.

“What was that about?” Cassie, one of my best friends, a witch from the Cesar family, another historical witch family in this town. She walks up to me as I make my way down the hall.

“Nothing important, “I shrug. I am not going to spend any more time thinking or talking about those two.

“Did you finish the English summer reading and assignment?” I ask as we walk through the hallways.

“Yup! You?”

“No, ugh, I hate English, can you do...”

“No,” replies before I can finish by asking her to do mine.

“Please, I’ll do your math homework for a month.”

“Nope, missy, it’s just five hundred words about love; what’s so hard about that?”

“You forget one little thing; I’ve never been in love.”

“You can write about platonic love or parental love.”

“Did you forget we have to read it before the class? Everyone else will have a romantic story, and I’ll be the only dweeb writing about my parents.” I groan as we stop at our lockers and empty our bags.

“But you’ll be the prettiest dweeb ever. “She laughs as I push her.

“Mine!” I hear Xavier’s voice crash through me, I spin around looking, but he’s nowhere in sight, great now I imagine his voice while I’m awake. Ugh, maybe mom was right; perhaps it is a crush, a subconscious crush because I am not aware of it, nor do I approve.