Chapter Two: Skeptical

The pottage made her mouth water with the first spoon, mainly because she hadn't had much to eat since she left her home. After several spoons, she stole a glance at the woman seated in front of her, silently watching her eat.

"You are quite hungry."

She nodded. Something was still a bit confusing for her. For a start, why did she feel oddly comfortable around this woman?

"I haven't had any good food since the day before yesterday."

"It took you two days to get here," Aaliyah stated knowingly.

"I got lost a few times even though I didn't know where I was headed." With another spoon, she shifted the empty bowl aside. "Thank you," Tasha said to her.

"I know you have so many questions, so I'll spare you one." Aaliyah told her, getting comfortable in her chair.

Tasha hesitated before asking, "how is it possible that you know me when we haven't even met before?" Weary of the woman's answer, she leaned back slightly on her chair.

"I am a woman of magic, Tasha. I haven't known you for long but I've dreamt about you several times. I was the little voice always in your head, urging you to leave there."

"Why?" Tasha had to ask. "I was fine there."

"You didn't belong there. You are different, you belong to our world, not humans, and you are a living proof yourself." Aaliyah said to her.

"That's the thing I don't want to be. I want to be normal like everyone else," Tasha said.

"But you can't be. It's your fate that you can never be normal. The sooner you accept it,the better for you." Aaliyah said to her. Taking the bowl from the table, she went to place it someplace else where the other dirty dishes were.

"It's time you saw the real world for what it is. I brought you here so you can learn all you have to to fulfill your destiny."

"What destiny?" Tasha asked, slightly frustrated.

"A great one. When you accept it, the rest becomes nothing but easy," Aaliyah said.

---

"The Alpha is injured?" Gamma Logan asked as he walked at a pace similar to his Luna's. They were in a hurry.

"No, it's Luca, he fell victim of Wisdom's pack attack." Aisha said. They finally got to the room which they were directed to. Without wasting any time, she intruded.

"Where's my son?"

"Aisha," The alpha caught her right on time before she got to her son. "You shouldn't be here!" Alpha Scott said.

"I want to see my son, let me see my son!" She yelled. When Scott didn't let her move another inch, she turned to him. "Scott, please let me see him," but Scott continued to whisk her away from the scene, keeping her in his hold all along.

"Scott," she finally whispered against his chest. "Please don't let him die." Sounding vulnerable, Scott's face softened. The last time he had seen her this broken was the time she lost her sister, Danica.

"He. Will. Not. Die," Scott firmly said. "Listen to me-"

"No-"

"Aisha!" He shook her shoulders, bringing her teary attention back to him. "Our son will live, I promise you."

The door to the room they had just come out of opened once more. Coming out of the room was Luca on a bed as they rolled him towards the surgery room.

When Aisha saw the state her son was in, she buried her face in her mate's chest and cried loudly. The Alpha's grip tightened on her arms. He wanted to lose it there and there, but he had to be Aisha's hope. He willed himself to stay strong too. He needed to be strong, for his pack and mate and most especially, for Luca.

---

Tasha found Aaliyah again, where they were seated previously. The cottage was a small one, so finding her was not hard at all. A basket filled with tiny bottles sat on the ground next to her. She sealed the one she held with it's cover.

"Did you rest well?"

"Yes, I did. What's with the bottles?"

"These potions, I make them and deliver them every two weeks. There's a village nearby, that's where I come from. I have to get these to them on time." Aaliyah said to her.

"What are they for?"

"Mostly healing potions. When the villagers suffer from some kind of sickness. I'm not always there to heal them and so this helps." Lifting her hand slightly and slowing in circular motion.

"Zen ituen rena," the contents of the bottle began to light up golden.

"How did you do that?"

"It's Farne language," Aaliyah said. "Farne is known mainly for its power to heal. You have magic because Farne's blood runs in you."

"Long ago, about three centuries now, Farne was a nation on its own, filled with witches and wizards more powerful than one could ever imagine." Aaliyah started. "Not until they became corrupted with vices. Killing one another just so they can take the title of one of the seven. The seven are the great rulers of the world and they bow to the Eros only." She picked up another bottle, and doing what she did to the other, she placed it into the basket.

"Eros?" Tasha frowned.

"The creator of all mankind," Aaliyah said, reading her mind.

"There was a woman, Maidlyn by name, whose husband was killed because of greed for the title that her husband had rightfully earned. It was the greatest of all titles. She cursed Farne and its generation for allowing the Sacred oath of Farne to be disrupted. After that, Farne never remained the same. The fountain that never ran out of water and was known for its healing power, dried out. Many people died, only a few remained scattered around the earth."

"That means you are three centuries old?" Tasha asked with her brows raised.

"No, I'm not. We don't easily age but we do. My great great grandparents witnessed that period and so did my great grand parents, but my parents and i didn't." Aaliyah said.

"I have to get this to Aisle now. You can come with me if you like." Referring to the basket of potions, she began loading it into a bag.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. If I did mind, I wouldn't be asking you. It's not like you'll remain here forever," Aaliyah said before turning to walk away.

"Why? Are you going to send me away?" Tasha followed her steps hurriedly.

"Honestly," they both paused and Aaliyah turned to look at her. "You know that you do not belong here. It's best you go to a place with people who you can be friends with." With that, Aaliyah continued her steps into her cottage.

Tasha stood for awhile. Her mind took a turn at how things were turning out. She didn't even know she had been waiting for quite a while.

Farne? She had the blood of Farnes? This was new to her, everything was new to her, but like Aaliyah said, she belonged here and she wanted to know so much about her life.

---

Aisha walked up to her husband. "How is he now?" All he could do was sigh and shake his head, signaling a no. Luca was not okay.

"The doctors managed to stop his bleeding but the silver stopped the healing process for a while," Scott said to her.

"But he is supposed to heal," Aisha said to him.

Alpha Scott looked away, avoiding her eyes. It was then she knew something was wrong. He was not telling her everything, there was more.

"Tell me, Scott. You promised not to hide anything from me." She pressured him, but Scott shook his head, meaningfully hiding his teary vision. "Huh, you shouldn't be doing this to me, he's my son too, okay?"

Alpha Scott hugged her to calm her up in case she decided to throw a fit. "The knife was poisoned Aisha,"

Her hands went limp against his back but he didn't release his hold on her. "Aisha, he might not survive it."

"I can't lose him, Scott. If anything happens to him, I don't think I can bear it." Aisha said to her mate.

"I know Aisha, he's all we have. I cannot stand the thought of losing him too. Seeing him unconscious even, keeps my wolf on the edge," Scott said.

"I want them all to pay," Aisha said. At first, she was unsure if that statement actually came from her. A frown came upon her face when Scott released his hold on her. His eyes pierced hers, trying to know if his hearing was intact.

The woman who would always do everything in her power to stop him from being violent is urging him to slaughter?

"I want them all to die!" She pronounced. Instead of saying anything, he hugged her fiercely when he saw her eyes swell up with tears. "Will you do that for me?" She asked, holding onto his shirt as if her life depended on it.

"Your wish is my command, my love."

---