The Witch & The Wolf

Chapter 6

As the Alpha left Sapphira she turned back around hoping to find Mason. Sadly, however, he had already disappeared in the crowd. She sighed as she sipped her drink, opting to simply observe everyone in the room. 

She could tell, both by scent and by looks, that the majority of the creatures present were werewolves, as she expected. As for the others present, it was a mix. Some she could place, elves, fairies, the occasional vampire, but others were unknown to her. She smiled as she thought about that the others might think about her. Chances were they couldn't place her at all. 

A laugh could be heard from the other side of the room and so Sapphira's gaze fell upon a tall young woman, wearing a long blue gown. By looks alone, Sapphira could tell exactly what she was, a werewolf. It had been her height, strong body, tan skin and gorgeous facial features, ones that made up a true wolf. 

She watched as the young woman laughed and talked with two men, also wolves. The three of them seemed to have a great time as they enjoyed the party. Sapphira smiled as she took another sip of her drink, her attention drifting away from the three wolves. 

Her eyes drifted around the room once more before they settled upon the man of the hour. Alpha Luke stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by a fair number of guests, all of whom seemed to have a good time. That is all of them except the Alpha himself. 

Instead of smiling, talking and laughing, the Alpha's face was rather neutral. The corners of his mouth only curled up very slightly and very occasionally. 

All in all, it was very clear that the birthday boy was not having a good time, something that struck her as odd. Why wouldn't such a proud man enjoy an event were he would be the centre of attention? 

"Staring at my brother now?" 

Startled by the feminine voice coming from behind her Sapphira jumped ever so slightly. As she turned around she noted that the blue dressed goddess was standing right behind there. 

"I'm sorry?" Sapphira said. 

"Well, I just noticed you staring at me." The woman said with a smirk on her face, "And now you're staring at my brother over there." She added pointing at the Alpha. 

Sapphira smiled "You've caught me," She held op her hands. 

"It's alright," The woman in blue said, "I don't mind, I consider it flattering." 

"I'm Sapphira," Sapphira said, extending her hand for the woman to shake. 

"Ah," The woman smiled, taking her hand, "The witch... I'm Angelica, his sister." She pointed at the Alpha as she let go of Sapphira's hand. 

"I figured." Sapphira said, glancing at the Alpha for a moment, "How did you know I'm a witch?" Sapphira asked, turning her attention back to Angelica.

"Mason isn't exactly the quiet type." She said smiling. "It's interesting though, I've never seen a witch in the flesh before. You're a lot less scary than I expected, and a lot prettier too." 

Sapphira chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment.

"As you should." Angelica said, "Your glass is empty, I'll get you a new one." 

Sapphira was about to protest when Angelica grabbed the empty glass from her hand and placed it upon the tray of a waiter passing by. "Get me a new one please." She said to the man, placing her hand upon his arm for a moment. 

Yes ma'am." The man nodded as he walked away. Somewhat stunned by this interaction Sapphira simply watched it happen before her. 

Angelica turned back to Sapphira, "So... Are you enjoying the party? Or are you scared of being in the wolf his den?" She said, a smirk growing on her face. 

Sapphira chuckled, "So far so good I guess... And you guys are a lot less scary up close than I thought you'd be." 

"Is that so?" Angelica said putting her hands on her sides in mock offence.

"Yes, but you're just as gorgeous as I knew you guys to be," Sapphira added with a wink, making Angelica laugh. 

"Why thank you." She said, the smile still present on her face, "I must say you're blending in quite well. Are those contacts?" 

"No," Sapphira said as the waiter returned and handed her a glass of champagne. She thanked him before turning back to Angelica. "It's a spell, they're brown for the evening."

"Can you change them at will?" 

"Normally I can," Sapphira said taking a sip of her drink. 

"What do you mean by you normally can?" Angelica said with a raised eyebrow. 

"Well..." Sapphira said nudging her head towards the Alpha, "Your brother here wanted to make sure I didn't use any magic, so I drunk a potion that would weaken my abilities so to say for the night." 

"Wait so you're powerless right now?"

"Don't get any ideas," Sapphira replied holding up a finger jokingly. "But no not really, I'd say nearly powerless, I still have a little bit left. But without my wand, it's not as easy." 

Surprise crossed Angelica's face, "You actually have a wand? Is it necessary for using magic?"

"That's a bit more difficult to explain... The short version is that the wand helps harness the magic and make it more focused. So for underage witches, it can be difficult to perform magic without a wand as their magic is all over the place. But once you're 21 the magic is more stable and stronger without the wand, so it's not necessary, but easier." 

Angelica nodded, "I did not know that..." She said as her eyebrows furrowed, "So you guys become of age at 21? Isn't that quite old?" 

"I don't think so... I mean I know it's typically 18 years old but I guys every creature is different in that regard," Sapphira replied. 

Angelica sighed, "True, we become of age at 16." 

"That sounds young." Sapphira said a bit surprised, "Does that mean you're an adult?"

"Eh, not really..." Angelica said shaking her head, "It means you can find your mate and that your wolf is sort of full-grown." She added with air quotations. 

"Mate?" Sapphira asked confused, "What is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Mate as in soulmate, your other half you know," Angelica replied. 

"You can meet your soulmate at 16 years old?" Sapphira said even more surprised. 

"It is possible, but it doesn't happen often. Take my big brother of there, at 27 he's still throwing these parties to find his." Angelica said chuckling. 

"Wait this party is to find his mate?" 

"Yeah, it's sort of a tradition. Every year on his birthday an unmated Alpha will invite nearly every unmated girl, that is of age, to his party in the hopes of finding his true love. I mean it clearly doesn't always work, but the parties are kind of fun."