Chapter 12: The Witch's Bargain
Everyone looked at the note that Kael found written in blood. It was clear that Rowan would die faster if they got closer.
"Who would do this?" Liana whispered as she touched her chain with the crescent moon on it.
Talia took the note and smelled it. Her eyes got bigger. "It smells like... Celeste."
"Impossible," Jace said, but his voice didn't sound sure.
Rowan groaned out of the blue, and black veins started to pulse across his face. He started breathing less deeply again.
"We're running out of time," Elder Mira said. "The blood ritual bought us hours, not days."
Kael punched the wall, cracking the stone. "There must be something we can do!"
Talia's eyes lit up. "Wait! The wandering witch - Willow. She goes through the western woods this time of year. She's known for breaking spells!"
Elder Mira frowned. "Willow is unreliable. Her magic comes with a price."
"I don't care what it costs," Liana said, standing tall. "I'll pay it."
"We'll all pay it," Kael added, shocking everyone. They wrapped Rowan in blankets while Jace scouted ahead.
The darkness outside had increased, making the forest feel alive with shadows. Every sound - branches breaking, leaves rustling - made them jump.
"Stay close," Kael directed, carrying his brother. "Darius might have scouts."
They moved through the forest like ghosts, following Talia who tracked the smell of herbs and magic. After an hour, they spotted a dim purple light between the trees. A small wagon stood in a clearing, painted with strange symbols that matched the ones on Liana's arm.
Smoke curled from a chimney pipe, smelling of burnt sage and something sweeter.
"That's her," Talia whispered.
Before they could approach, the wagon door swung open. A woman with silver-streaked black hair stepped out. Her eyes - one blue, one green - scanned them with ancient knowledge.
"I've been expecting you," she said, her voice like honey over grit. "Bring the cursed one inside."
The inside of the wagon was bigger than it looked. Shelves crammed with bottles, bones, and diamonds lined the walls. Hanging plants formed a canopy overhead.
A fire burned in a small stove, making dancing shadows. "Lay him there," Willow pointed to a bed of soft furs.
The witch examined Rowan, her misaligned eyes following the black lines across his skin. She touched his face and jerked back. "This is old magic," she hissed.
"Blood magic, bound with hatred."
"Can you break it?" Kael asked. Willow tilted her head, studying them all.
"Perhaps. But first, tell me how the last Luna's son became cursed, how a silver-marked girl walks among wolves, and why three brothers all smell of the same mate."
They shared their story while Willow mixed brews. Her face clouded when they mentioned Celeste.
"The Beta's daughter," Willow muttered. "My blood kin."
The room went quiet. "You're related to Celeste?" Liana gasped.
"Her grandmother's cousin," Willow nodded. "Our family has always been close to power... sometimes too close." She approached Rowan again.
"This curse is tied to all of you. It feeds on the bond you're building. Someone wants to force a choice - one brother or none."
"Celeste," Jace growled. "Perhaps."
Willow's eyes locked on Liana. "I can heal him temporarily, but there's a price."
"Name it," Liana said without doubt.
"A drop of blood from each triplet, freely given, and..." she pointed to Liana's hair, "a lock of silver-marked hair from the Moon Priestess's daughter."
Kael stepped forward. "How do we know we can trust you?"
Willow smiled, showing pointed teeth. "You don't. But he'll be dead by morning without my help."
One by one, the brothers offered their blood into a small wooden bowl. Then Willow cut a lock of Liana's hair, which glinted with silver in the firelight.
"Now, girl," Willow said to Liana. "You must hold his heart while I work. Your link will anchor him."
Liana put her hand on Rowan's chest, feeling his faint heartbeat.
Willow mixed their gifts with herbs and strange powders, chanting in an ancient language. The mixture burst into blue flames. As Willow poured it down Rowan's throat, Liana felt a pull inside her head, like being dragged underwater.
Suddenly, she wasn't in the car anymore. She stood in a house she'd never seen before. A beautiful woman with Liana's eyes rocked a baby. The door burst open, and a younger Darius entered, his face full of love, not hate.
"Arina, please," he begged. "Run away with me. They'll kill you if they learn the baby's lineage."
"I can't, Darius," Arina - Liana's mother - said. "My heart belongs to another."
Darius's face twisted. "The Alpha's brother? He'll never claim you or the child!"
"That's my choice to make."
Darius reached for the baby - for Liana - but Arina pulled away. His eyes blazed with rage.
There was a fight, blood splattered the wall, and Arina fell... Liana gasped, returning to the present. Tears streamed down her face.
"What did you see?" Willow asked quietly.
"My mother... Darius loved her, but he killed her when she refused him," Liana whispered.
"Blood memory," Willow nodded. "The past lives in your veins."
Under their hands, the black veins on Rowan's skin faded. His breathing deepened. His eyes fluttered open, clear and green again. "Liana?" he croaked.
She sobbed with relief, squeezing his hand. Kael and Jace crowded close, touching their brother's shoulders.
"The curse is dormant, not broken," Willow warned. "It will return unless the true bond forms before the next full moon."
"What's the true bond?" Jace asked.
"The heart knows," Willow answered cryptically. "But beware - Celeste has tapped into dark magic. She thinks herself the rightful Luna, and jealousy makes her dangerous."
Kael helped Rowan sit up. "We should return to the pack."
"Not yet," Willow said sharply. "There's something else."
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a similar crescent moon necklace to Liana's.
"This belonged to your mother," she said, placing it in Liana's hand. "She gave it to me for protection, knowing I'd meet you someday. Inside is the truth of your lineage - and the key to saving the boys."
As dawn approached, they prepared to leave. Willow stopped Liana at the door.
"Choose wisely, silver eyes," she whispered. "The blood bond needs balance. One heart must love deeper than the others."
Outside, as they helped Rowan walk, Liana opened the locket. Inside was a tiny scroll with words written in the same silver lines that marked her skin.
Before she could read it, a howl pierced the air. "Rogues!" Kael shouted, pulling Liana close.
Shadows moved between trees. Red eyes glowed in the darkness.
"Run!" Jace yelled. As they raced through the forest, Rowan suddenly clutched his chest. The black lines began creeping back, faster than before.
"The curse!" Liana cried. "It's returning already!" Behind them, a laugh echoed through the woods - familiar, feminine, and cold as ice.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Celeste's voice taunts from the shadows. "The witch may be my blood, but I am something much more powerful now."
The paper in Liana's hand suddenly burned with silver fire, illuminating words she somehow understood:
"Only one true mate exists among three brothers. Choose wrong, and all will die."