Mettle

Atasha’s Point of View

We started our journey to the Witch Mountains because Elijah told me that it was the only place where we could hide at the moment. No one would dare enter that spot, where the witches were living, thus no one would be able to find us there. Unless someone had a pressing need for their services, in which case it was even more dangerous.

“Are you certain about this, Elijah? To be completely honest, I'm a little nervous," I stated while we were trekking up the rocky path to get to the top of the mountain. It was very far from our direction, and I assumed it would take days for us to reach it.

"Who are you most afraid of?" Is it Gregory Alpha? "Or the witches?" he asked.

“I don’t know! But I heard some horrifying tales about the witches when I was still young! They can also cast a spell on you!” I threw out a scream and sounded a little spooky on my statement in an attempt to terrify him, but he merely laughed.

"Then I suppose I might ask them to cast a love spell on you,” he stated and chortled.

“What? Are you teasing me for not meeting my mate yet? You haven’t met yours yet. Look who’s talking!” I snorted out of frustration.

I stumbled as I was ready to take a giant step because my badly injured leg was hurting so horribly. Elijah moved right towards me and fell to his knees.

"Look, I've asked you several times whether I can carry you, but you've always answered no. Let me help you up this time, alright?” he urged, and I could tell he was serious, so I couldn't say no at this point in time.

He wanted to give me a piggyback ride. I always felt uneasy whenever my body was pressed up against Elijah, not because I was afraid of him, but because I kept having strange thoughts about what happened the last time we were in the forest, on that night of the full moon.

Regardless of the fact that a part of me felt something warm within, I couldn't help but break a small smile.

"What exactly is the problem, mateless? Can you tell me why you're smiling?" he inquired, chuckling.

This guy really had the ability to irritate me with ease.

"I am smiling because I'm here, stuck with you, met-les!" I spoke it and mispronounced the term mate less out of frustration that I expressed towards him.

He didn't say anything other than scratch his head, and then he flashed me a big grin on his face.

"I've come up with an idea. Let's use it as our term of endearment for now,” he said when I rode his back.

“What? Endearment?” Was he even serious?

"I only find it funny,” he added. “Or how about mettle?”

“Mettle? What does it even mean?” I asked curiously.

“It means you're my courage, my spirit. You can call me your mettle as well. That’s our endearment from now on. Isn’t it great?” he said. “You’re my mettle!”

“Is that a joke?” I was taken aback by how everything I say out of the blue became a joke for him.

"All right, my mettle. Take a deep breath. Please calm down!" In addition, he stated, "I merely find it amusing."

It occurred to me that perhaps we had given each other a label this time around, and I couldn’t help but feel the butterflies inside my stomach.

"What precisely does that imply if I'm your mettle?" I wondered curiously.

“It only implies that you are my courage, my spirit. From now on, that’s what we are going to call each other. At that point, you may call me your mettle, too, because I want to be your courage and spirit too.”

I shook my head, perplexed, and had no understanding what it meant to be each other's spirit. However, I must say that I found it adorable. It sounded delightful to my ears and I felt happy that we both had expressions that we can use to refer to one other.

My friends and I used to create nicknames for each other when I was a kid back then. I also recalled Astrid calling her mate ‘honey’ or ‘love’ at one point. My cheeks flushed, realizing that the endearment ‘mettle’ could also be used by lovers. That thought left my heart in panic, and so I yelled out of frustration.

"Hey, are you going crazy, mettle?!” Elijah scolded me, then adjusted his grip on my legs.

We resumed our journey, and talked about a lot of funny things which cleared my head. In an instance, I no longer remember how I suffered from Clarence’s hands. I couldn’t even believe that Elijah’s giving me a piggyback right now. I've always seen him in his uptight and ruthless manner.

A white witch appeared in front of us out of nowhere, which startled me.

“Elijah . . .” I called his name, scared as I looked at the witch who was staring at us with a blank expression on her face. Her entire physiques were white, from the actual skin, to her clothes, and hair. It was as if she was the Goddess of snow.

Elijah stopped for a moment and I felt how his body became alert.

"Don't be terrified of anything. I was merely stopping by to see how you were doing. It appears that you are from the East land,” she observed. "I assume you're going to need my assistance.” She tilted her head, eyes pinned on the visible injury of my leg. “I noticed that her leg has been seriously injured," she said in a way that surprised me.

I wasn’t sure why but my gut feeling told me that the white witch had become aware that I was somehow cursed based on her tone of voice. If so, did she also detect that I was a late bloomer and won’t be able to recover right soon?

“We need a pack doctor to treat her, or anyone who can help aid her injuries. Would you be able to help us?” Elijah asked the white witch desperately.

“E-Elijah, what are you doing?” I asked in terror, still afraid that there’s a presence of witch near us.

“Trust me on this, Atasha,” he said firmly.

I swallowed hard and wrapped my arms around his shoulders more tightly. The white witch then approached us and instructed us to follow her.

"Elijah, do you think we can put our faith in her?" I whispered, afraid that the white witch might be able to hear me.

"What is important is that your wounds will be treated," Elijah said as he turned his face over his shoulders. “She’s a white witch after all. White witches are naturally kinder than werewolves, even kinder than me.”

“I’m dead serious, Elijah!” I whispered through my gritted teeth.

“And so am I, mettle,” he whispered back.

We eventually arrived in a huge garden filled with exotic plants and flowers. My mouth was left half-open as I gawked at the beautiful flowers that I hadn’t encountered before. They were colorful and truly enticing. My mind wondered whether these flowers could only be grown in the witches’ territory.

"Be careful while you're walking on that side," she said, pointing in the left direction. “Those lavender-colored blooms are proven poisonous. If you come in contact with its thorns, your life will be put into harm immediately.”

“She said we have to be careful!” I told Elijah as he was walking to the left. “I still want to live, El.”

“I know. I am being careful, alright?”

"Are you a couple who ran away from your parents?” the white witch asked, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Yes, that's correct," Elijah said without any hesitation in his tone.

To my surprise, the white witch giggled like a child. "Oh, I see. I am a fan of forbidden love. Too intriguing . . .”

Elijah agreed with her. I let out a sigh, couldn’t believe that Elijah’s very comfortable with this witch who was leading our way. We traveled along a road which was filled with plants, and when we discovered a large waterfalls alongside it, the white witch came to a full halt.

The right part of the garden had a wall made of wood that was surrounded by vines of greenery. The white witch pushed it gently, and then she led us to a secret entrance.

We hiked straight upward, towards a wooden cabin nestled in the midst of lush greenery, which was our destination. When we reached the top of the hill where we were heading to, the sun had set down and we were already exhausted. She then walked us into the cabin politely.

Because the cabin appeared so modest from the outside, I was surprised when we walked through the door and into the premises. It was enormous; my entire house in the East Land was only a fraction of the size of the living room of this house. The tables, chairs, and other pieces of furniture were all made of rustic wood, and the fireplace, which was constructed of large boulders and dazzling stones, was particularly striking. A stunning mosaic of clouds in the night sky greeted me as I looked up at the high ceiling of the room.

"Wow! This is incredible!” I exclaimed, astounded as my eyes wandered around the entire place.

"Can you tell me how much this home costs?" Elijah went to the White witch to ask her that question.

"Don't worry, I'll let you use this for the time being," she replied in her calm tone of voice.

As the white witch moved towards me, I cast a sidelong glance her way.

“Come with me. I will treat your injury,” she said.

I swallowed hard but then nodded at her. She walked with me to a room, holding my hand all throughout. I then sat on the bed while she proceeded to cast a magic on me, which quickly began to cure my injuries.

My eyes widened as I watched how a certain light on her hands appeared as she motioned it to my body. In just a few seconds, I had the impression that the bruises on my face, my back, my legs, and my stomach had been well treated now.

"I’m better now!” I squealed with delight.

Elijah then placed his hand on my feet and held it there to verify whether my feet were indeed fine. I didn’t even feel any pain! I even stood up and jumped a few times. I smiled widely.

“Thank you for helping us! May I know what your name is?” Elijah inquired, his gaze drifting to the witch who stood up and walked in the distance.

“My name is Devon Celeste,” she responded.

I and Elijah also introduced ourselves, but we were hesitant to share our back stories with her, so we came up with the story that we were a couple who had fled away from our families. Though, I wasn’t sure if she bought it knowing that she was a witch, and she was indeed powerful enough not to know our real identity.

I was taken aback when her visage transformed into a young lady.

“Is that your true form?” I asked, still bewildered as this was the first time I’ve ever seen a witch who used magic and transformed in front of me.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she just stared and smiled at us.

"Can we stay here for an extended period of time? I'm willing to make a substantial payment to you. All we need is enough time to rest so that we can get to the highest part of the mountain,” Elijah stated and the desperation was visible in his tone of voice.

The Witches Mountain, which was located at the very top, was our goal. If we could live there for a while, we will be safe from the wrath of his father and other harm coming after us.

"We've heard that werewolves aren't allowed to go there," I tacked on.

Devon nodded. “The Witch Mountain is still far from here and I want to warn you that it is a deadly place for creatures like you. As soon as old witches discover that you and your companion are werewolves, they won’t hesitate to perform a spell against you.” She then glanced at me. “The only reason why I’m here and far away from them is because just like you who ran from your pack, I am also a runaway from the witch tribes. I managed to escape that place and established a new life here using my own magic, which protects me from everyone, including the werewolves and vampires,” she continued.

I felt the shivers running down my spine as I listened to her. I then turned to Elijah, waiting for him to decide whether we would still push it through. He let out a huge sigh.

“Alright, we will be staying here with you. Would that be okay?” Elijah asked.

Devon then turned his glance to Elijah. “Sure. But as soon as I sensed that there will be a threat that will come here to hunt both of you, I have no other option but to cast a spell against you to protect myself,” she said, which gave me complete anxiety.

“We’re not going to bring any trouble. Just please, don’t hurt Atasha,” Elijah stated in a serious tone.

Devon then patted Elijah’s shoulder and then she looked at me. “Look what you have here, Atasha? I’m rooting for your forbidden love. I’ll do my best to support you, fellows . . .”

What happened next made me cover my mouth in disbelief. The white witch disappeared into thin air!

“It’s a witch thing, Atasha.” Elijah chuckled.

I caught my breath, trying to calm myself as I still couldn’t believe that I’d be able to see a witch ever!

"Mettle, ready to sleep?" I came back to my senses when Elijah asked that.

I then realized that we would be sharing one bed. I gulped as soon as he took his cloak and shirt off, showing off his perfect body. He grinned and then walked to the bed and lay down on my side.

"What are you staring at, my mettle? Loving the view from there? How about you join me here?” he said in a seductive voice that sent shivers down my spine.

I sighed in defeat.

"Alright, mettle. I guess I have no choice but to sleep with you,” I said shyly as I carefully crawled up to the bed, positioned myself beside him and prayed that the night would turn out alright . . .