Witches of Witch Mountain

Elijah had a keen eye for detail, and he was the first to notice when I had a few minor cuts, as well as when he realized that the scars were healing much more quickly than they had been previously. In comparison to when we initially met inside the cage while I was held captive in their territory, this was the only time I was aware of it. My little injuries on my cheek and feet had vanished in the blink of an eye, proving that I was healing more quickly than I thought possible.

“Impossible,” I muttered as I took a closer look at my wounds that had healed in just a matter of seconds. I looked at Elijah, who was sitting next to me on a massive rock.

“Let’s give it another shot,” Elijah suggested and smiled at me. “Let’s get this ball rolling, mate!”

I shook my head and could not suppress the smile escaping my lips as the way Elijah cheered me made me feel the warmth inside. The butterflies in my stomach were whirling around and were crying out of happiness because he was too determined to help me. No wonder why I kept falling in love with him every single day.

I got to my feet and huffed out loud. I looked up at the top of the mountain and reminded myself that I could climb it no matter how hard the process got. I won’t disappoint myself or Elijah!

We did a minute of stretching and then went back to our position. As planned, we would try it out again, but this time with my eyes blindfolded.

“You don’t need to be scared. Use your senses, Atasha. Focus on the goal. I will be climbing just below you,” Elijah advised right after he put on the blindfold on my eyes.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and reminded myself that there was no reason for me to worry nor be afraid for as long as my mate was with me, guiding me all the way. We did not waste more time and started climbing the mountain again.

I used my enhanced senses in order to become more comfortable with this new found ability I had, my mind’s eye. In every stride I took, I felt a strong sense of self-confidence and courage. I was aware that Elijah was following me and keeping a close eye on my every action. It did give me a sense of security, knowing that he would be there to aid me if the worst thing happened.

Our souls appeared to be bound by such a strong force that whenever I spoke through my head, he was quick to respond effectively. Having said that, I realized that even though the wolf inside of me was not yet fully awake, somehow it was helping me grow stronger. At the same time, I had also grown emotionally connected to Elijah, up to the point that the notion of losing him would break my soul.

I was picturing myself surrounded by massive boulders and trees, which I imagined to be real. The picture became more distinct, and I used my bare hands to grasp onto rocks that I believed were both sturdy and safe enough to allow me to advance my body towards the pinnacle of this mountain's summit.

My breath had become one with the surrounding environment. It used to be quite difficult to breathe since the air was becoming thinner. Nevertheless, with each push of my willpower, I was able to take a deep breath in and exhale it properly without any difficulty.

My mental image was transformed into one in which I was ascending up a ladder that would lead me to a sea of clouds. Once at the top of the ladder, there would be a magnificent garden that I would see. It looked like a log cottage with flowers and trees around it. It provided me with an unexpected burst of motivation to accelerate my ascent and I became more anxious to reach the summit of the ladder. While climbing the ladder with my hands, I noticed some sharp edges where the palm of my hand had brushed against them. I didn't mind because they were healing much faster than I expected within minutes of the contact. I assumed there were rocks with sharp edges that were causing pain to my hands.

I was taken aback when my blindfold was removed and we discovered that we had already arrived at the summit.

"Was that it? I wasn't even aware of the passing of time,” I made a comment as I stared at Elijah.

"Atasha, it had been over four hours since we began our second effort to climb here,” he responded.

My eyes widened upon hearing his statement. I looked at my hands. My mouth dropped open when I saw that they were covered with bruises, fast closing, and the scars were also healing on their own.

"Atasha, you have such a unique spirit. No one could have predicted that you'd be this good,” Elijah added as he tapped my shoulder.

My heart skipped a beat, seeing that Elijah was too proud of me, and I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

My improved talents allowed me to simply envision the surroundings at one point, but the next thing I remembered was seeing a ladder leading me up to a gorgeous garden, which I had previously imagined.

I went back to reality when Elijah grabbed my hand. He pulled me and we took cover behind a large boulder. I was about to question him why we were hiding, but then when I looked over in the same direction he was looking, I saw people wearing black and green cloaks. My eyes widened as they looked very terrifying. I pulled closer to him, and I lowered my head as much as possible, as I didn’t want to risk being seen by them.

“They are witches from the Witch Mountain,” Elijah whispered to me.

“What?” I checked over my shoulder to meet his gaze. “What are they doing here?”

What happened next made me impressed. They descended using their magical broomsticks, and they glided down the mountain without breaking a sweat.

"Did you happen to see that? I am amazed at how they succeeded to descend this mountain so smoothly using their broomsticks and glide through the air!" I screamed out loud, astounded.

“Atasha, lower down your voice,” he said, hushing me.

“I am sorry,” I then whispered, realizing how loud I became for a brief moment. "I'm curious as to why they went down and where they are going."

I waited for Elijah to speak his mind but he did not make any comment. With his furrowed brows, he only said, “We need to go down and return to the cabin. We need to tell Devon about this as soon as possible. She might have the answer to your curiosity.”

We waited until the witches were as far away from us as possible before heading down to the bottom of the mountain. We began trekking back to the cabin, and we sprinted as fast as we could. We were drained when we arrived at the cabin, but still managed to immediately search for Devon, but she was nowhere to be seen for some reason. We waited for her to show up during dinner, but even though it was already past midnight, there was no sign of her.

In the meantime, I was sitting here on the couch anticipating her arrival, and the thought of her getting into trouble because of those witches that we had seen earlier was hovering in the back of my mind. That thought prompted me to shake my head and palm my face.

"Devon, where have you vanished?"

It was then that I felt something warm in my shoulder.

"Take a sip and loosen up for a while," Elijah remarked as he handed me a cup of hot tea. "She'll be alright. Perhaps she became overburdened and didn't have time to visit us here.” Elijah went into detail, and it all made sense.

Devon did not pay us a visit for several days that we were home. I took a deep breath and took a sip from my cup of tea.

"This is really good!" I exclaimed. I realized that it was my first taste of the tea that Elijah had made for me. That thought made me feel giddy inside.

“It was made with love. I poured my heart and soul into making it especially for you,” he stated, flashing a broad grin at me.

"Oh, so that is your secret formula?" I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head but could not suppress my smile. "Well, I have to say that all of the meals you have prepared for me have been amazing so far.”

He joined me on the couch. “To be quite honest, I have no talent in preparing meals at all."

My forehead creased, and I gave him a questioning look.

“Is that for real?"

"Yes, I only learned how to cook when I first arrived in this place. It's almost as if something within me was freed after taking a bath in the sacred falls. My sense of taste was enhanced, which made my ability in preparing meals quite easy," he explained.

"Wow, so your abilities are now helping you in becoming a fantastic cook!" I burst out giggling with pure delight.

While the two of us were seated on the couch, he then gave me a sideways glance, "Especially now that I have someone that inspires me to make a good meal, which is none other than you, it has become a lot easier . . ."

I felt the warmth engulfing my heart and I noticed that my face had become warmer.

He was right. I realized that I was no longer alone in this life. I had someone who would watch out for me, help me to become better, prepare delicious food and make love to me whenever we want . . . the last thought made my heart beat race.

Before, the thought of sleeping alone for the rest of my life made me feel such sorrow, but I gradually accepted it, thinking that no one would ever love me given that I was cursed. But now, finding myself in the company of a handsome werewolf who would defend me at all costs, provided a burst of energy within me. I pushed myself to my feet and sat on his lap for comfort. I then wrapped my arms around him. I stared at him for a moment and then leaned down to give him a warm kiss on his lips.

“Pinch me. I want to see if I am dreaming right now,” I muttered under my breath, releasing his lips and gazing at his eyes intently.

"No, you're not dreaming, mate. This is a reality that has happened for both of us. You're with me right now. I am your mate, and I promise nothing will ever be able to separate us," he added, then claimed my lips.

The next morning, I woke up, recalling that we had made love in the living room last night. The thought of Elijah kissing every bit of me last night made my cheeks flush, and I palmed my face, thinking about how I had evolved over time to become more sexually attracted to him with each kiss. However, I realized that it was me who had initiated the first move.

I let out a huge sigh with the fact that we were more cautious and didn't break the couch like what happened last time at the table. It was a good thing. I didn’t want to cause more trouble for Devon. I pushed myself to my feet as I walked outside the cabin to breathe some fresh morning air.

I was stretching my arms when I noticed Devon walking down the pathway towards the cabin.

My eyes widened but then I felt a surge of of relief through, as it only meant that she had not encountered any danger yesterday. I ran towards her and gave her a big hug, as if welcoming her into our secret garden.