Page 11 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

“The fifth witch in my vision was unclear,” Gwen adds, then nods at Donna.

With her hand pressed protectively on her ripe belly, she glances at Nicholas before she takes over.

“I had a vision last night, and I saw the fifth witch’s face,” she states, her eyes turning to Emily, and I’m the one who freezes.

I stop dead in my tracks because somehow, I’d crawled closer to Emily, and now I’m just a few inches away from where she stands beside the window. My heart slows down, and I turn my face slowly toward her, just in time for Donna to say, “I saw Emily. She’s our fifth witch.”

My eyes widen with shock, but my surprise is mostly because Emily doesn’t even flinch when her name is called. But as soon as the shock subsides, it’s taken over by a sense of sheer protectiveness, like a warrior going into battle to protect his queen.

It comes in gentle waves, syncing with my pulse when my heart reprises its steady beat. I see Emily’s cheek being painted with color—blush pink—then the corner of her mouth lifts with a smile.

A smile that reaches her eyes.

For the first time in years, I see her blue eyes light up with passion and fire, glowing like sapphire crystals under the natural light of a full moon.

She steps forward, her spine straightening as she folds her arms behind her.

Then, she grimaces shyly, her blush deepening.

“I have something to tell you guys…” she says, biting her bottom lip as she takes a look around the room.

She’s captured everyone’s attention, and the room becomes silent enough to hear a pin drop. She blinks a few times before she continues, “I already knew. Well, I suspected that I am. A witch, I mean,” she mutters nervously, but the smile doesn’t leave her eyes. “It was the night we fought Morganna, and Donna and Nick were rushed to Wells. I’d been treating Donna, and that’s when I felt tingling in my hands.”

A synchronized gasp fills the room as the witches rush across toward Emily to embrace her. I stay frozen where I am, watching her being welcomed into the sisterhood of the Golden Tree Sisters.

While my chest fills with pride, I’m still stunned that Emily isn’t surprised by the revelation, and she had a suspicion already. As if speaking the question in my mind, Delilah asks Emily, “You knew all this time? Why didn’t you tell us?”

Emily shrugs. “I wanted to be sure first, before I said anything. And I wanted to have something solid to go by if I came to you guys and said I thought I was a witch.”

Donna giggles. “I think my vision was solid enough.”

“Yeah,” Emily agrees with a tentative nod. “But still, my powers haven’t been showing up as fast as I’d like. It needs to come so we can take down the dark lord. That’s why I had to perform the ritual last night.”

Ritual?

So she was performing some secretive ritual she didn’t want me to know about.

“Ritual?” Arianna asks, echoing my thoughts, to which Emily nods.

“Please forgive me for being so sneaky about it, but I really wanted to be sure that I actually had magic before telling you guys about it. That’s why, when Delphine showed you your grandmother’s book, I sneaked a peek at it and found a ritual to unlock my powers.”

“That’s so sneaky,” Gwen says, then grins. “But I love it!”

“So, did the ritual work?” Delilah asks as she takes Emily’s hand and leads her to the couch.

Emily glances over her shoulder at me, then shivers. “I don’t know. I just performed it last night, and I was…” her voice tapers off as she turns back to Delilah. “I was interrupted.”

“I had no idea you were performing a ritual to unlock your gifts, Em,” I say in defense, raising my hands in a show of surrender, and everyone turns to me. “I thought it was…some kind of medicine.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Arianna assures me, then turns back to Emily. “All that matters is that it worked.”

Emily hangs her head to stare at her palms. “I don’t think it did,” she murmurs disappointedly. “Well, not as quickly as I was hoping it would.”

“Donna’s grandmother’s book, you said?” Delilah asks, nodding at Gwen, who sifts through the pile of books they’d brought along that lies heaped on the coffee table now.

“Maybe we can perform the ritual together this time,” Delilah suggests as Gwen passes her the old leather-bound journal.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Emily concedes, and Delilah goes through the book, searching for the particular ritual.