Page 34 of Rejected Alpha Mate

And I’ll hold on to that. Even if it’s just until tonight.

Chapter 11 - Donna

I’ve barely had time to wrap my head around the recent revelation, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’m ready to accept my fate as a witch.

Delilah explained it so clearly, and I know she trusts Gwen because she’s been in Gwen’s head not once, but twice. So if Gwen had a vision about me being a witch, mixing a potion, along with my healing powers from my hands that help them defeat the dark warlock, Delilah won’t question it.

Apparently, I am one of five witches who will take the dark lord down—a prophecy foretold by a different witch whom the dark lord consulted. That’s what Gwen saw in her vision, along with my face, which revealed me as the fourth witch.

That’s why Tobias was after me—it was no coincidence. The dark lord is targeting the witches linked to the same coven, who will ultimately destroy him for good if they join forces.

I trust Delilah, and I take her word for it. I’m just struggling to come to terms with what this means for me.

I never imagined myself wielding this type of power, and I was content being a shape-shifter. Even then, I’d escaped being a werewolf in adulthood by throwing myself into my studies in the human world, becoming more interested in the psychological aspects of both human nature and that of werewolves.

But me, of all people, emerging as a witch? How does it make sense? Delilah and Arianna seem to think that I’m a descendant of a witch from the Golden Tree Sisters coven. But if anyone would have been a witch, it would have been my mother.

Unless she had no idea herself….

“Are you alright, honey?” Arianna asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. I lift my head and nod slowly, offering her a sheepish half-smile.

“Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind,” I tell her earnestly, and she offers me a more encouraging smile.

“I know this is a lot for you, Donna, but Nick is running out of time. D had to be quite blunt.”

“Yeah,” Delilah says from behind us, approaching with a piece of paper she holds out toward me. “I'm really sorry, Donna.”

“I-it's fine,” I say, sighing as I take a quick look at the moon before staring at the paper I just took from Delilah. “What is this?” I ask about the strange words in a foreign language, appearing like gibberish scribbled on the lines.

“It's an incantation to begin the ritual, get your mind in the right space. Then, you'll drink this.”

Delilah passes me a vial containing the iridescent liquid from the mixture she and Arianna brewed over Nicholas's stovetop.

“Don't worry, Donna,” Arianna assures me. “Delilah will walk you through the steps, and everything will be fine.”

I gulp as I nod, and for the first time since this morning, I feel a sense of dread curdling my insides.

Fear.

That's the one thing I've been avoiding, but it's there, amid the thing I didn't want to face.

What if I can't do it?

What if this doesn't work?

I must be ambitious again to think that I can pull this off when I've only just learned that I'm a witch.

What happens to Nicholas, then?

Both Delilah and Arianna appear confident in my newfound abilities as they lead me into the backyard, where the ritual will be conducted. Nicholas is already there with the others; Dominic and Tyler stand on either side of him, while Sean and Hunter wait with claws at the ready, and Emily is on standby with her first aid kit.

A sliver of that fear trickles down my spine, settling in the pit of my belly that churns when I meet Nicholas’s eyes. His eyes are unreadable, or maybe I refuse to face the fear reflected in them by reading too deeply into the green depths—fear that comes from me. Or maybe he’s ashamed of his situation, his wrists wrapped with ropes that the others hold on to, like a prisoner in the night.

“You’ll have to remain focused, Donna,” Delilah says as she steps between Nicholas and me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Keep your mind clear. That’s the only way this will work.”

I nod slowly, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Should be easy, right?”

Delilah’s expression is more serious. “You are a witch, Donna. You’re more powerful than you know. And I will be right here, with you.”