Chapter Text
Addison knows that this is not normal. But then, is any part of her life normal anymore? Her best friends are zombies and werewolves, but she doesn't quite know what she is. She's fairly certain that normal went out the window a long time ago. Which is why these visitors don't surprise her much.
Pep rallies are usually very routine. Apparently these people did not get the memo. Because a moment before, lightning had struck down from the perfectly clear sky, red smoke dispersing around the four people standing and observing them in the middle of the gym. They are artfully styled, fair skinned and beautiful. There are three girls, and one boy. Two girls are dark haired, making their deeply colored eyes pop and sparkle. The last girl, and the lanky boy are both white haired, like Addison herself.
The visitors are draped in various colored cloaks. One of the dark haired girls approaches her, a smile across her lips.
"There you are darling. We've been looking for you since our MDS picked up your signal last night. Thank goodness we found you- I can't travel like that much longer. You wouldn't believe how much lightning travel dries out your skin. I-"
Addison didn't want to be rude, but this girl didn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The boy sighed, setting a hand on her shoulder. It seemed to bring her back to the here and now.
"Thanks Wiz. I needed that. Terribly sorry my dear. I've forgotten my manners. I'm Willow. This is my brother Wylder. Wiz for short. My sisters back there are Whitley and Wynona. Whitley is the darker, brooding one."
The aforementioned girl tossed what looked like a rock at her sister, who held up two fingers. It stopped in midair, and Whitley huffed.
"I do not brood!"
Willow just shook her head. Addison's head was spinning.
"Okay. But . . . what are you doing here?"
Wiz set a hand on her shoulder before she could speak, and she deferred to him, stepping back over to her sisters to engage in a quiet conversation.
"To put it simply, we're here for you. Our MDS, short for Magic Detection System, short range GPS for no-mags, pinpointed you late last night. We're witches. We came to find you to invite you to join our coven."
Addison, who was running on about four hours of sleep, two game fuels and three coffees just blinked at him a few times.
" . . . Seems legit."
~~~~~
A soft sigh left Whitley as she wandered the forest. Her siblings were all showing Addison around their home. The translocation spell hadn't gone exactly as planned, but everything was still intact. The buildings of the compound were still in the same symbol as always, a geek omega symbol. They had shot down from the sky after they'd been hit by who knew what. It had brought them down in the woods beside Seabrook instead of floating above the town itself.
Still, it was a nice change for her bed to be on the ground. She had been the one to alert everyone to the MDS alert. Of course, Willow and Wiz being the oldest had to come in and take over everything. Not that she cared. She didn't want to be around her family tonight anyways.
A soft sigh left the witch, and she froze for a moment. In the shadow of the stand of trees not ten feet from her, there's a boy. But not a boy. In his artfully messy dark hair, there is one white streak. His canines are abnormally long, there is purple paint on his cheek, and his nails are too long to be called anything but claws. A were then.
But it is his eyes that draw her attention more than anything. They are dark any mysterious, and she can feel more than see the amused quality in them. But why could she feel him? Whitley was no empath, that much she knew. It certainly wasn't her presenting power. It wasn't even in her scope! That was Wylder's area of expertise. So what was going on?
Her question was answered when, a moment later, a bright red thread shot from his chest in her direction. She braced for impact, but it never came. It just felt like she'd been wrapped up in a large blanket. Safe and warm.
The boy- Wyatt if she remembered correctly (Addison had introduced the wolf alpha Willa and pointed out her brother (who had been walking away) that afternoon as she showed them around Seabrook high)- sighed. She knew it shouldn't bother her that he looked so disappointed as he walked her way, but it sent a pang through her chest. Drawing herself up to her full height (which is still a head shorter than him), she narrowed her eyes.
"What was that?"
He noticed the way she was standing, and adjusted his posture as well, rising to the unspoken challenge. The barest glimmer of a laugh passed through his expression. She was quite small, but he knew that the smaller threats were often the more dangerous.
"That, little spell caster, was an imprint."
Her brain stalled for about two seconds, before she collected herself and mentally pulled up everything she knew of weres. Specifically werewolves. Imprinting was the process in which a wolf mating outside the pack was able to get to know their mate before they claimed them. The bond was unbreakable, and soul deep. The more she thought it through, the more she couldn't help but smile. As her expression changed, Wyatt found himself staring at the way her big blue eyes sparkled. He told himself it was the imprint, ignoring it. When he addressed her, his tone a bit more gravelly, she shivered.
"What's that look for?"
Her expression didn't change, and seemed to think for a moment, before her mood clearly changed. She sighed softly. Her tone was resigned as she spoke.
"It doesn't matter. You don't want me."
He felt his inner wolf growl in discontent at her unhappiness. Then he registered her words. It gave him a small spark of hope. Maybe he could find what his parents had after all. Even if she wasn't a wolf.
"But . . . you want me?"
She shivered again, cheeks turning pink as she looked down at her feet.
"As I said. It doesn't matter. Before you find out another way and accuse me of hiding it, my coven has a way of breaking an imprint. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to, but . . . "
"But what?"
She wants to . . . break the imprint? Just the thought sends a spike of pain through his chest. But if he were free of this imprint, he really could pursue Addison. He found that the idea didn't make him nearly as excited as he assumed it would. It confused him, but he ignored that in favor of focusing on his would-be mate.
"But I hope you don't. I'll respect whatever you choose, but I want to try . . . Please. All I'm asking for is a chance to see if we're good for each other. If the imprint happened because this- as sudden as it seems- is good for us. I just . . . witches are solitary creatures. We spend our whole lives honing our presenting powers and branching out, never reaching out to anyone. My family are all so caught up in their pursuit of more that they don't see. The 'more' that they're looking for will never fill the void left by their lack of connection. They shut out the rest of the world, and it's what they'll try to teach Addison. It's what they tried to teach me . . . I don't want to be like that. I'm going to do what I can to be like that. And I'm not asking you to help me. I'm just asking that if this is what was meant to happen . . . that you'll help me keep her safe. Keep us both from becoming like them."
Wyatt was suitably surprised by her. He'd never heard much about witches, and honestly, he'd been rather sure they were made up. To hear it laid out this way- that they were so hungry for power that they lacked human connection. It made him want to help her. It made him want her. She was everything he didn't know he needed. And everything he wanted. She was honest and protective, even of a girl she barely knew. She was ready to change what she didn't think was right. She was going to put herself at risk to protect someone she already cared about, despite barely knowing her. She was willing to respect his decisions, even if they hurt her. Even if his decision was to leave her all alone in this situation. Even if his decision could get her hurt or worse.
" . . . Your name is Whitley, right?"
She nodded her head, and he moved towards her, until he was standing close enough to touch her. Close enough to reach out and push hair the color of gleaming obsidian behind an ear pierced with four stones in different colors.
"Well then . . . Whitley, I'd be happy to go through the imprint period with you. If we're not meant to be, we'll break the imprint when it's over. But if we are . . . we'll mate."
She swallowed thickly, and he had the urge to kiss her neck. He pushed the thought aside, knowing it was just the imprint giving him urges to claim her now. That if he started, his inner wolf would not permit him to stop. Not until she was his.
"Then . . . I'm glad to be able to do this with you. And I'm glad for your help . . . Wyatt. Thank you."
It was the first time he'd heard her say his name, and it sent white hot desire lancing through him. Her knowing smile made her eyes gleam mischievously, and it was his turn to gulp, rubbing at the back of his neck. If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn't going to be able to hold back . . . Was it bad that he really wanted her to?
Well, she didn't need to know just yet.