Chapter 17 - Tara
Turns out the books on magic and curses are much better at the witch’s coven.
Go figure.
While I told Jasper that I’d keep working on this with or without his permission, I know that’s not exactly true.
The thing is, I am stubborn when it comes to things I care about. I am willing to put myself out there.
But when you’ve been allowed to live in a supernatural world of shifters and witches, and one of those paranormal creatures is your fake husband, you don’t exactly want to go around breaking the rules.
If it looks like I’m ‘disobeying’ Jasper, it might raise suspicions. Besides, I don’t even want to think about how his passionate pack mates would react to that.
Anyway, luckily Jasper gave in, so I don’t have to worry about that. For now, at least.
Over the past few days, I’ve been delving into my research.
They’ve even let me borrow the tapestry to cross-reference, although I have to admit that vision was the clearest thing I got.
I can still see the way those feathers scattered so elegantly in the breeze.
“Dude,” Danielle says to me. “You do know that it’s unheard of for a human to have a vision like that, let alone spark magic.”
I smile.
It’s been a long morning of research; my brain is hardly even working anymore.
“But how would you know that?”
Danielle jokingly feigns shock. “Maybe I hang out with humans that aren’t you all the time.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, really.”
“Maybe I’ve researched everything there is to know about humans. I like reading too.”
I laugh. “Oh, I don’t think that kind of stuff would be in our books. But anyway, it’s not about me, I think it’s just because there’s so much magic here, it’s inevitable that some of it will rub off on me.”
“Girl, you’re modest. Magic has a conscience, magic chooses. You don’t think any of us have tried to touch that old tapestry? The magic chose you.”
The magic chose me.
I like that.
“Anyway, how’s—"
She stops talking.
Appearing at the door of the library is Jasper.
“Oh, no way,” she laughs.
“Jasper?”
Immediately, I assume something’s wrong. Why else would he be in the witch’s library of all places?
“Don’t get too excited,” he smirks. “I’m not staying for long.”
“What happened?”
His face transforms into a smile that has me smiling too.
“Tara, I’ve come to extend you an invite.”
“Invite to what?”
“Invite to a hunt.”
***
The hunt is at night. Is there a dress code for hunts?
I text Lacey this question, to which she responds.
Yes, full-length dress and heels.
Serious answers only, please.
I opt for gym wear, and I don’t expect to be doing a lot of running per se, trying to keep up with them would be utterly useless.
But I assume that I will have to be somewhat active.
It’s a hunt.
“You ready to go?” Jasper asks me as I check out my sporty outfit in the mirror.
I jump a little.
He had to come in right when I was checking out my butt.
“Yes, ready.”
I walk ahead and gather my things.
“It looks great, by the way.”
I feel my cheeks redden. “Oh, shut up.”
We meet the rest of the crew by the border of our pack territory.
Danielle, Monroe, several other witches, and shifters from both our pack, Sawyer’s and Ellis’.
For every two shifters, there’s one witch.
I don’t recognize everyone, but there are some familiar faces, for example, Dylan, and a couple of shifters from the group who were rude to me the other day.
The ones who got reprimanded by Jasper (and me) accordingly.
I still think about the way he stood up for me. It meant a lot. It showed how much his views have changed, how open he is. The old Jasper would have never said anything like that, let alone to his own pack mates. I finally feel like I have more of a place in this pack.
It feels good.
“Everyone feeling good?” Jasper asks.
I half expect a couple of them to say something along the lines of, ‘What is the human doing here?’, but they don’t.
“Good Alpha,” they say.
“Good,” Danielle nods.
We move slowly through the woods, and luckily, as we do, my eyes begin to adjust to the dark.
It helps that the witches are carrying orbs of white glow.
“This is the hardest part,” one of the witches tells me. “It’s the most covered part of the forest. Once we go in further, the trees get skinnier and you’ll be able to see more.”
“That’s okay,” I nod. “I think I’m adjusting already.”
“Make sure to watch your step,” Dylan says. “A lot of the things that could kill you in this forest live on the floor.”
“She’ll be fine,” Danielle interjects. “She has us.”
I want to show them that they don’t need to worry about me. I’ve researched the forest area here, and I know to look out for the yellow snakes with red eyes and the blue ants with purple butts.
I know there are some other things I should be looking out for, but I’ve already forgotten what those are. I can’t be expected to know everything!
“Wait, stop!” One of the shifters toward the front of the group calls.
Jasper signals for the group to stand still.
“What is it?”
“I think I saw some feathers up there.”
He points to a tree looming nearby. How the hell could he see that?
I don’t ask.
Danielle moves toward the tree instantly, an orb of light glowing in her hand.
She holds it up to the tree.
“Tara,” the shifter says. “Is this what you saw?”
My heart skips a beat.
Did he really say my name?
They’re all looking at me, expectantly, illuminated by the various glowing orbs.
Time to shine, Tara.
“Um,” I stumble a little. “Let me take a look.”
I head over to the tree and stare up at the partially illuminated darkness. There are small white feather-looking things scattered around the base of leaves.
Do they look like what I saw?
I don’t know.
All the witches come together, forming a circle with orbs that brighten the tree.
It’s almost too much.
“Thank you,” I smile. They smile back.
“Um, well, it could be. But from what I’ve read, the source of Willow might not necessarily be what’s depicted. It’s likely more abstract.”
“Hey, is it worth a try?” One of the witches says to Jasper.
Jasper nods. “You’re right. If it’s not too much trouble? You could try destroying one of the feathers and see what happens?”
“Yeah, we can totally do that.”
“Wait,” a shifter says. “We don’t want to get it down too quickly. If it is Willow, it’s likely protected.”
“We can do a protection spell for one of you, if you want to climb up to get one?” Danielle offers.
“I’ll go,” Dylan says.
I move out of the way as he shifts. Once he’s in his wolf form, the witches cast a spell on him that fills his outline with a purple glow.
It feels good to be involved. Even though I’m human, they’re treating me like an equal.
I don’t want to smile, because, embarrassing. But I feel it inside.
Once Dylan is covered in their protective spell, he climbs up.
He does it so quickly, effortlessly scaling the tree and bringing down a white feather lodged between his teeth.
He drops it onto the forest floor, and the witches direct their orbs accordingly.
Looks more like a flower, or wool than feathers, but maybe that’s a good thing.
He shifts back.
“Well, I’m alive.”
“For now.”
The witches cast a spell, a green glow wrapping in a tornado above the substance before setting it alight.
In seconds, it’s gone.
And then silence.
Nothing happens, the witches look at Jasper, who’s frowning with concentration.
“Well,” he says. “I’m going to wager that that wasn’t it.”
“That wasn’t it,” Danielle agrees.
“Keep moving forward?”
“Yep.”
We move through the night, stopping at various spots when anyone notices anything remotely feather-like.
They ask for my input a lot.
And surprisingly, everyone is getting along. Jasper and the witches are working together; everyone is asking for my advice on things.
It warms my heart that Jasper really meant what he said. He’s changed.
We stop near a lake, the full moon reflecting off the black water.
Everyone gets out food—sandwiches, pastries, and meat.
I realize that’s the one thing I’d forgotten. Who eats at this hour? I suppose it is a ‘hunt’—everyone needs their fuel.
Danielle beckons me over to sit on her towel with her.
“Didn’t come very prepared, did you, honey?”
I laugh. “Lacey told me to bring a dress and heels.”
She tips her head back, laughing. “Oh, of course, she did.”
“Here,” one of the witches says, passing me half of a chicken sandwich.
“Oh no, I couldn’t.”
“It’s no problem, I’m not that hungry anyway.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
A couple of shifters come over and drop some fruit onto our towel. “We need your mind sharp,” one of them says.
“For spotting the feathers.”
“Exactly,” the shifter smiles. “Your most valuable asset is your brain.”
Then he shifts, leaping into the forest.
The food break lasts longer than expected, with the witches and shifters standing around talking and jumping into the lake.
I watch everyone playing, getting on as though they’d never had a long-standing tension between them in the first place.
I chew on a grape.
Who knew that the hunt could be so relaxing? So fun?
Jasper sits down beside me. He’s shirtless, fresh out of the lake, the water dripping down his smooth muscles.
He looks good, I almost forget to swallow.
I cough a little on some grape skin.
“Water?” He hands me a flask.
I take it. “Thanks.”
“You have any other ideas about what we should be looking for?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” I say thoughtfully. “But I don’t know. From what you’ve described, it seems like when it’s Willow, we’ll know.”
“Mmm.” He agrees.
I want to thank him for being a better person, for having words with the shifters—the reason I assume that they’re all on their best behavior.
I want to say all these things, but I also don’t want to ruin the moment.
Watching everyone get along like this, beneath the moonlight and stars, is perfect.
“This is nice,” I say. “I didn’t know hunts could be like this.”
“Oh yeah?” He grins. “What were you expecting?”
The way he’s looking at me is making my whole body heat up. I crave his lips, to touch his chest.
“Um,” I look away, up at the stars. “Well, I suppose I assumed you’d all just be running. That everything would be quicker with no breaks, I suppose.”
“Mm,” he nods. “We can do that if you want?”
I laugh.
“No, honestly, it can be like that when it’s just the pack, but we gotta accommodate for you all.”
I nod.
“Unless you want to go on my back?”
I raise an eyebrow. “That can’t be comfortable for you.”
He shrugs. “Hey, you’re light, wouldn’t be the first time I lifted you up.”
I swallow.
“Funny.”
“Jasper!” A witch calls from the lake; her bikini top is so small it practically looks like she’s naked. “Come join.”
He smiles. “I was just in there, too much swimming, and I’ll forget why we’re out here.”
She dips her head under the water and swims up to the edge so that she’s right in front of us.
“Oh, come on,” she whines. “Don’t you want to race? I can light up the water, you know.”
I don’t like the flirty twinkle in her eyes, and she's sticking her chest out as though we couldn’t already see her breasts.
A fire spreads in my chest.
She’s eyeing him like he’s meat.
I’m not sure if Jasper notices, or anyone else for that matter, but it’s ridiculous.
I’m right here.
“That’s pretty cool,” he says. “I’ll go back in if Tara comes?”
He’s looking at me now.
I wish he’d remember a little bit of his witch-hatred, just for a second.
“Yeah, Tara, you should come,” she says, but she’s still only looking at him.
“No,” I say lightly, pressing down my anger. “I didn’t bring a bathing suit so—"
She cuts me off. “Jasper, this is actually my first hunt too, and you’ve led it so well! You’ve made us all feel so comfortable.”
A little too comfortable, perhaps.
Sorry, who is she?
That damn twinkle is still in her eyes.
“Aw, I’m glad to hear it,” he says. “We should probably get going in the next five minutes. We have a lot of ground to cover.”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come in?”
I pretend to busy myself with something in my bag.
You have no right to be jealous.
Although technically I do. I’m his wife. Doesn’t matter if it’s real or not.
“Not me,” Jasper smiles, “but you could get some of the others.”
She nods and swims off.
As she does, she lifts her butt a little out of the water.
Ha. Smooth.
“I’ll help gather,” I say, getting up.
If I sit here any longer, I’m gonna say something. And there’s nothing I could say that I want Jasper to hear.
If he thinks I’m jealous, well, that opens up a whole can of worms I’d much rather keep closed.
As we head deeper into the forest, the water nymph witch decides she wants to walk up front next to Jasper, chatting his ear off the whole way.
I pretend not to notice.
But rather than keeping alert for signs, I’m counting the number of times she finds an excuse to touch him.
Are that many arm touches necessary?
Again, nothing I can say. I grin and bear it.
But once we’re finished, I feel my frustration spiraling.
The hunt produced nothing but some feather-adjacent-looking things that we destroyed with too much ease.
None of them was Willow, and Jasper has been too preoccupied by the many questions of that witch to check in for a while.
Once we split off from the group, he asks me if I’m okay.
“I’m fine,” I mutter, my arms crossed. “Just annoyed that we couldn’t find anything of use.”
I mean, nothing.
No clues, no shadow monsters, no weird remnants of the curse.
Just that witch who clearly has a crush on a married Alpha.
“Don’t worry about that,” he says. “That’s how the hunt goes. You have to keep trying and trying until something comes up.”
“Oh, I think something definitely came up.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” I mutter. “Let’s just get home.”