Witch Undecided by Debbie Cassidy

Chapter Four

Vita Pack was a community of houses built on acres of farmland. We drove past horses and cows grazing in fields, past a schoolhouse and a playground filled with children.

“How many wolves in your pack?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “A hundred in total I think, but the active pack is twenty-five strong. We patrol in units of five on rotation. The rest of the pack are civilians, and everyone has a role in the running of our community.”

“And can they leave?”

His mouth tightened slightly. “This isn’t a prison or a cult, Cora. Wolves are free to stay or go, but we’re not like other outliers and this is our home. It always has been. We always come back.”

There was something in the way he said that, a hidden meaning, but despite our connection, I didn’t know him well enough to decipher it.

I sat back and let it go for now, instead focusing on the world outside. “It’s beautiful here. I can’t see why anyone would want to leave this fresh air for the pollution of the city.”

“This is home,” he said softly.

Home. It sounded so warm and cozy. I’d had a home with Fee but then she’d found a new home with her guys. A purpose that didn’t include me, not really, no matter how much she’d said it did. But now I was here, mated to three dire wolves, and this…This was going to be my home for the next century.

When would it feel that way?

We turned off the main road onto a narrow track bordered by majestic trees, then rolled onto woodchips and leaves bordering a two-story sprawling farmhouse with a wraparound porch. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting from the Vita Pack house, but it wasn’t this gorgeous building that looked as if it belonged on the cover of a country homes magazine.

Nerves never really bothered me, but right now they were making themselves known, like, hey, you thought you had us under lockdown, right? Well, guess who was wrong?

“Leif, are you sure this is okay? Isn’t everyone in mourning?”

Leif sighed and twisted in his seat to face me. “Yes, we mourn the loss of our alpha, but we also don’t let it stop us from living. My mother was adamant she wanted to continue with her plans to introduce you to the pack. This was her responsibility as alpha female. Once it’s over, she and her mate will retreat to mourn the loss of their alpha.”

Of course, his mother would have been a breeder for Arne, not his mate. “How long has your mother been mated?”

“Fifteen years. I have four half-sisters, who you’ll get to meet, if not today then soon.”

“And do you…get on with your stepfather?”

“Leo is a good man, the perfect mate for my mother. He was always kind to me growing up.” Leif shrugged. “But I’ve always been closest to my mother.”

So, this was important. I needed to make a good impression, and why did I care if she liked me or not?

Don’t answer that.

I unlocked my door. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Leif usheredme into the house and a hallway filled with so many wonderful aromas it had my stomach doing a happy dance in anticipation. The floor was dark wood, and the walls were a neutral magnolia. There was no time to take in much more than that, because Leif took my hand and tugged me gently down the hallway.

“Just be yourself,” he said.

“Always am, so you should be more worried.”

He chuckled. “Trust me, Cora, I’m not worried about this at all.”

My heart stuttered as we entered the kitchen, cottage-style, bright, and cozy with sash windows and pretty yellow blinds, wooden countertops, and knick-knacks and plaques hanging on the wall. This room was huge and warm, bathed in sunlight streaming in from the many windows.

This room was a beating heart, filled with soft laughter and the clink of cutlery.

This wasn’t the house of mourning I’d expected. This was a happy home, and I wanted to be a part of it.

Two round tables laden with croissants, jams, hams, chicken, ribs, and fruit were set side by side, and several women sat around them drinking tea.

All eyes fixed on me.

I scanned faces, snagging on Astrid’s cool gray gaze, then focusing on warm brown eyes that had a hint of sadness about them. The deep auburn hair and the eyebrows that flicked up slightly at the ends gave her away as Leif’s mother.

“Welcome, Cora,” she said with a smile. “Please have a seat.” She indicated the spot opposite her and Astrid.

Leif pulled the chair out for me, then kissed my temple. “I’ll be back to collect you in a couple of hours.”

“See you later.” I sat and took a deep breath. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Leif’s mother said. “Call me Heather, or if you like, Mother.”

Mother? My throat tightened. I’d never called anyone mother before.

She frowned slightly. “Or not. It’s entirely up to you.”

Fuck, she thought I was offended. “No, it’s fine. I just. I don’t have a mother, so it just threw me for a moment, that’s all.”

And it felt weird admitting that fact because I was rarely thrown. Being here, amidst these witches and wolves, was proving to be an exercise in new emotions and experiences.

Heather’s brown eyes gleamed with compassion. “When did you lose her?”

I smiled thinly. Okay, here went nothing. “I never had one.”

Silence greeted my revelation and then Astrid broke it.

“Cora wasn’t born,” she said snidely. “She was created.” She arched a brow my way and sipped her tea.

Well, it looked like someone had done her research. Nice to know she cared, and yep, there were several soft gasps of shock.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was here to make friends, and the best way to do that was to be open and honest whether they liked it or not.

“That’s right.” I picked up the teapot and poured some tea into my cup, adding milk then sugar. “I’m what you call a tulpa. I was created, and I inherited my creator’s witch genes.” I sipped the tea. “I’m happy to answer any questions you have.”

There was a beat of silence and then a young girl sitting two seats away from Heather spoke.

“How were you created?” She looked genuinely curious.

Oh, this one was easy. “Well, tulpas are entities created from an individual’s will. They usually remain inside the creator’s subconscious, but my creator was so powerful her will gave me a life of my own, and a mind and will of my own. It also gave me her witch power.”

“Wow,” the young wolf said. “That’s amazing.”

“Are you real?” another wolf asked.

I picked up a croissant. “As real as any one of you. I just didn’t come to be in a conventional manner.”

“Well,” Astrid said. “It must be worrying for the coven to be dealing with an unknown entity, but then I guess desperate situations call for desperate measures and it was lucky you were available to play backup for the real potentials.”

She was making a dig, a shitty one, but still. I could let it slide and deal with her snide comments on and off, pretending they didn’t matter, or I could stomp on this now and make the status quo clear.

Ha, who was I kidding? There was never any choice for me.

I leaned forward, my gaze fixed on her. “If you want to make a dig, you need to stab harder. I have very thick skin.” I gave her a sweet smile.

She blinked sharply and then fixed a stunned look on her face. “Oh goodness. I wasn’t making a dig. I was merely making an observation.”

Heather sighed. “Astrid, please, if you plan on playing the mean girl, then own it.”

Well, well, well, it looked like Heather was my kind of gal.

While Astrid choked on a bite of croissant, Heather and I locked gazes and shared a smile.

Had I just won over Leif’s mother?

She topped up my tea and then whipped the plate of croissants away from Astrid and held it out to me. “Please, eat.”

Yeah, I think I had.

Heather ledme into the huge garden behind the house. Children ran about uncaring about the chill, playing a game of tag. The women stood about clutching mugs of fresh tea, watching the pups play.

Heather had given me a shawl to fend off the cold, but she stood beside me in only a blouse and jeans.

“Our pack has always had a strong matriarchal element,” she said. “Even with our alpha being mated to a witch, it’s important to us that the alpha’s mate integrate with us.” She gave me a sidelong glance. “Which means coming to dinners and lunches and helping out with any charity functions we organize. You won’t be called on to join our hunts, though. So don’t worry.”

“Honestly, the hunt part sounds the most exciting.” I shrugged. “I’m not much of a lunch and dinner kinda gal, but I’m happy to show up and eat.”

She grinned at me. “Yes. I know what you mean.” We strolled down the path toward slender trees stripped of their leaves by the coming winter. “Leif will make a good alpha. He’s strong and fair, but he has a soft heart. That’s where you’ll come in.” She slid another glance my way. “He tells me you want to keep your relationship platonic.”

“Yes.” I wasn’t about to explain or justify myself. “I do.”

“I can understand why, especially in light of what’s just happened with Charlotte.” She drew me to a halt with a hand to my arm. “But love comes in many forms, Cora, and fighting what’s meant to be is a losing battle.”

I didn’t agree with that. “The mating isn’t meant to be, it’s simply necessary for the seal. It’s not real. I’m not their mate.”

She smiled. “Maybe not, but that doesn’t make the love you could share any less real. The mating bond is a biological attraction to the perfect mate for breeding purposes. Love is secondary, and in your case, as you can’t breed, there is nothing but love to focus on.”

What she said made a twisted sense, but it didn’t change the fact that once that bond was removed the guys would be controlled by their need to find a wolf mate.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I think I’ll stick to my original plan. But I promise you, I’ll be a great friend to Leif. I’ll be there for him in every other way.”

She reached up and placed her palm against my cheek. “I believe you, Cora, but there will be challenges ahead.” She glanced back the way we’d come, and I followed her gaze to see Astrid standing on the porch watching us. “Astrid has a voice amongst the younger females, the contenders for Leif’s seed.”

Seed. No, don’t snicker. “She wants to stake a claim.”

“She believes she’s his mate,” Heather said.

“But wouldn’t he already know if she was?” Fuck, I hadn’t even considered this. “How come the alphas haven’t already found their mates?”

Her brows shot up. “You don’t know? Sweetheart, Leif, Tor, and Rune had their mating instinct suppressed willingly by the coven when they were children. The ceremony unlocked it. For you.” She glanced back at Astrid. “Astrid is convinced she’s Leif’s true mate and wants to bear his sons in preparation for when he’s finally free.”

Well that explained a lot, but it didn’t mean she had to be a bitch about it. This wasn’t a picnic for me either, and no, I didn’t feel sorry for her. In fact, it was Leif I felt sorry for if Astrid did end up being his mate.

Shudder.

“Don’t worry about it,” Heather said. “Once Leif’s chosen his breeding partners, the animosity will stop.”

The thought of Leif with Astrid or anyone else made my stomach ache, but I was excellent at keeping my feelings off my face when needed.

I smiled politely. “I’m sure it will. In the meantime.” I hooked my arm through hers. “Tell me about this hunt…”

She looked up at me with a wicked smile so like Leif’s it made my chest warm. “Oh, Cora, I like you. I like you a lot.”

A prickle of awareness skated up my back and I turned, knowing I’d find Leif. His crimson hair gleamed in the sunlight, and his gunmetal-blue eyes sparkled with warmth at the sight of me. He grinned, raising a hand in greeting as he strode toward us. My heart beat faster and my pulse fluttered in my throat.

Yeah, I liked Heather too, but I liked her son more.

Too much more.

Shit.