The truth

Atasha’s Point of View

My feet went completely stiff. Devon and her mother had a moment. We were both waiting patiently for our turn to speak with the Highest Priestess, and I could feel my whole body shaking.

"Please don't forget about me, Claudette, and Devon," I muttered to myself.

At the time, we were only serving as an audience for them. Even Elijah, one of the strongest werewolves that I knew, couldn't do much at this moment but wait for our turn to speak up. Until that moment, we remained silent. I didn’t want to sully their good mood by interfering.

"Devon, you have matured into a lovely lady!" Diva commented that while caressing Devon's gorgeous face.

Devon was absolutely stunning, and her mother, Diva, had an uncanny similarity to Devon's eyes, nose, and lips, which I thought was fascinating. However, with her yellowish jagged teeth, Diva, on the other hand, appeared to be curiously menacing. She was also a bit skinnier, and despite the fact that her skin looked like snakeskin and her hair was grayish, I had the impression that she and Devon shared a similar vibe. It was a strong and confident aura that I had observed in Veronica and Astrid before.

"I've been looking for you for a long time. I was aware that I had assisted you in establishing your own world, but it appears that you have improved it and were able to conceal it in the midst of the forest. Even my helper was unable to detect it, and I thought that you may already be leading a peaceful life; therefore, I refrained from bothering you any further." Diva explained, in a raspy voice.

"Highest Priestess Diva, since your daughter is already here, would you prefer to transfer your obligations to Devon?" Claudette asked the Highest Priestess curiously.

Diva did not hesitate to shake her head.

"I would like Devon to make a decision of her own," she expressed. That completely caught me off guard.

Claudette was equally taken away by the situation. "However, Devon is the only suited witch who can step in to fill your shoes after you decide to step down."

Diva then turned to look at Claudette. "I only want to be a mother to Devon from this point forward," she said.

The words she uttered made me want to tear up for Devon at that very moment. Devon should consider herself fortunate to have had a mother like Diva. Diva seemed to have a good heart for her daughter, despite the fact that I disagreed with some of their actions as witches.

When I looked at Elijah, I could see that he was as stunned as I was by what he had heard.

"Diva can teach Alpha Gregory and other werewolves a thing or two about how to be a better parent."

"I'd like you to make a decision about whether or not you want to live with me. I don't want to put any pressure on you." Devon had tears in her eyes after hearing what her mother had said.

Claudette was disturbed by what Priestess Diva had said, though. I could see by the look on her face that she really wanted Devon to be the next Highest Priestess.

"Claudette, I know that this isn’t the right time to talk about this, but I'd like you to take on the role of my mother for a while. Does that sound possible?" Devon made a remark, and Claudette was taken aback.

"I'm not deserving of being chosen for this role," she said to Devon.

"Devon is right. I will train you to be the next highest priestess, Claudette," Diva uttered. "I want to retire to the forest, particularly to the wooden cabin that I built with my daughter."

Claudette suddenly fell silent and just lowered her head, as if she had nothing to say. I noticed that Diva was disturbed when she realized that I and Elijah were standing far apart from them.

"What is your name? What path did you take to get up here?" Diva let out a screech.

Because I was so shocked, I stepped behind Elijah for cover.

"Devon and I were good friends. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Highest Priestess Diva. My name is Elijah Montreal, and this is my mate, Atasha Greene, with whom I am in a relationship," Elijah expressed his thoughts. "We came from werewolf territory, and to cut a long story short, we require your assistance in order to remove the curse that had been placed on my partner, Atasha."

I was shocked that Elijah made such bold statements to the Highest Priestess. I could have sworn that my heart raced so fast that it seemed to want to break my ribcage already.

"We have werewolves who were able to get up here? We need to kill them!" The other witches, who were sitting on the chairs in front of the altar, butted in, suggesting death for me and Elijah after hearing that we came from werewolf territory.

"Please leave us alone for a bit and do anything else. I will take care of these intruders," Diva remarked as she commanded her witches.

Even though I couldn't see their features clearly, I could feel their sideways glances at us as they rose to their feet, doing what they were instructed by Diva to do, which was to leave us alone for a moment. I felt that at any moment we could be dead because of those deadly stares. It gave me a feeling of unease.

"Mother, those are my acquaintances. They aided me in seeing my situation and instilling confidence in me to seek you out. The ones who brought me here are Elijah and Atasha. They met Claudette and convinced me to go here." Devon explained it to her with kindness in her tone.

After hearing it from her daughter, I noticed that Diva's face became a little more calm.

"Atasha and Elijah, please come here. I'd like to express my gratitude since you brought my daughter here," Diva intoned in her deep tone of voice.

"You heard the Highest Priestess's request. Please come closer to her," Claudette remarked.

Afterward, Elijah began heading towards the altar, and I gently followed him, holding his arm in the process.

As we approached the altar, Devon turned to her mother, Diva, and said, "Kindly cure Atasha, mother."

Diva then glanced at me.

"She requires your assistance in order to be released from her curse. She wishes to transform into a werewolf. Isn't that right?" Devon added, then turned to look at me.

I was a little scared at the time, but I managed to say it out loud. "Highest Priestess Diva, I feel I've already seen you before in the past. Please try to recall if you cursed a kid from the old abandoned church in the Silver Moon territory, as I believe that I got the curse from that place when I was a child."

Diva did not speak and only narrowed her eyes at me. I swallowed so hard and looked at her bravely.

"And if it was really you, I would also like to inquire whether it is possible for you to also tell me who it was who approached you and requested you to cast a spell on me..." I muttered as I took a big breath, my hands trembling severely at the time.

"Oh, that was you. That’s why you look so familiar. Do you really want to know?" she said.

I inhaled sharply. My heart raced so fast as I looked at her. I simply gave a nod, and at this point, there was someone close to me just showing in my mind.

"The one who requested for me to cast a spell on you is none other than your twin sister, Astrid. If I remember the name correctly, Diva stated.

Astrid's smiling back at me suddenly showed up in my mind.

No way…

Astrid would never do something like that to me. She couldn’t…