Marie felt annoyed after speaking with Sargon.
She never thought of herself as a jealous person but something about Sargon made her feel things she never felt before. She couldn't let that cloud her judgement though.
Sargon had a kingdom to run and issues to fix. She had no business feeling jealous over him doing his job. Besides, he didn't have to tell her that he was going to see the Princess. He seemed honest and innocent in his efforts.
Ultimately, if it's Marie he wanted, he would do what is necessary to gain her trust. She would not make it difficult, but she also would not be naïve.
He is a very powerful, attractive man. He is probably desired by many. She thought.
Marie quickly forced the thoughts out of her mind. She would drive herself crazy thinking about the possibilities.
She decided to wait until Sargon called her to give her the updates and take it from there.
After going back and forth in her mind and sometimes talking out loud to herself, she realized she had arrived. She drove up the slightly bumpy dirt road to Beth's home.
Beth was first on Marie's list. She was the closest friend Marie had when things went out of control in the coven. They had maintained a good friendship since then.
Beth was a strong witch but not as strong as Marie. She often scolded Marie for not practicing as much as she should have.
"A witch as powerful as you should never sit on her powers. You could change the world." She often told Marie. Marie never paid her any mind. She wanted to enjoy her simple life.
She walked up to the old, yet cute wooden home and knocked on the front door. The home was decorated with gardens on either side of it. Marie could smell cinnamon emanating from the windows.
"Who is there?" Beth's voice rang out.
"It's your favorite person in the whole world!" Marie sang.
Beth scoffed. "I wonder who the hell that could be." She said as she opened the door with a wooden spoon covered with batter and rolled her eyes.
Beth was slightly taller than Marie with curly, bright red hair and green eyes, with freckles over her nose and cheeks. She was very pretty and mild tempered. Except when it came to Marie.
Marie knew how to push her buttons. They had been friends for so long, it didn't matter though. Beth loved Marie regardless.
Marie threw her hands around Beth, giving her a huge hug.
"Easy there. You will make me drop this spoon of pure goodness."
"What are you making? It smells so good." Marie asked curiously.
"Ha! It's a secret."
"Whatever. It's a beauty spell, isn't it?" Marie asked.
"I really can't stand you, Marie. How can you tell?"
"I am a witch darling." Marie smiled.
"Yeah, a witch that refuses to maximize her abilities." Beth said as she went back to stirring her batter.
"Well, maybe that is about to change." Marie said as she pulled out a kitchen chair from the small round table and sat down.
"How so? You have never been interested in your power. What changed?"
"Well, I met someone."
'Wait, all these years I have been yelling at you to work on your powers and you meet some guy and all of a sudden you want to be madam supreme witch of the century?" Beth said with a cocked brow.
"I will have you know that it's not just some dude. I met the Alpha." Marie stood up and dipped her finger in the batter Beth was mixing. Beth instinctively slapped Marie's hand with her spoon.
"You met Alpha Sargon?"
Marie nodded her head with a smile.
"What is he like? I heard he is devilishly handsome and intimidating." Beth said wide-eyed.
"He is definitely handsome and strong and sweet, not so much intimidating though. At least he is not intimidating to me. Then again, I am not easily intimidated." Marie said confidently with one finger on her lip as she gazed upward.
"So, are you two dating or something?" Beth asked.
"Well, I am not so sure. I am actually helping him with a problem that he is having."
"Oh, so he is just using you for his benefit. He has his own personal little witch." Beth said as she turned back to her batter.
She pulled out a cupcake tin and carefully spooned the mixture into each empty space without spilling a drop.
"He isn't using me. He offered me a lot to save his friend. He seems genuine."
"Well, what happened to his friend?"
"His friend's daughter was in the forest playing around and she was ambushed by rogues. Her father came to her rescue and ended up nearly dying. The wounds were not normal wounds. It seemed like a witch cast a spell, so when the rogue bit him, the spell infected him through his wounds."
"What kind of spell do you think it was?" Beth took off her mitts as the two of them sat at her kitchen table.
"It is a spell that attacks the wolf and human separately. Right now, his friend is alive, but his wolf must remain asleep, or his wolf will die painfully. It was the only spell that I could think of that would allow him to live long enough to get back his wolf." Marie said, licking the batter off the back of her hand after getting clapped with Beth's spoon.
"Oh, you are already the most beautiful witch I have ever seen. You do not need my beauty spell. Stop eating raw batter, Marie!"
"But it tastes so good!" Marie giggled.
"That spell sounds familiar, Marie. It is like dying twice, basically. You were able to keep the human alive and well and put the wolf to sleep. He will lose his wolf permanently if the spell isn't broken. That was a good move, Marie. I am impressed. Imagine what you could do if you practiced like you are supposed to."
Marie crossed her legs and leaned back into the wooden chair ignoring Beth's comment.
"So, who do you think would cast a spell that would destroy a werewolf in such a way." Marie asked, as she and Beth looked at each other.
"Sybil!" They said in unison.
"That is exactly who popped into my head when I first saw the wounds on the Alpha's friend."
"That is her magic, Marie. She is the only one I have heard of using it. Since she has been around so long, no one has been able to mimic it. Sybil is like an ancient and she hates werewolves."
"I know. That is why I am so nervous. I have never had to use my magic against someone so powerful. I don't think I can handle it alone."
"Marie, if you did what I told you to do, you would be able to handle any witch. Now you're going to drag me with you to help take down the most powerful witch we both know. You need to find your confidence. Tell me how this is fair to me. Oh my gosh!"
Beth took her thumb and forefinger and rubbed her eyebrows together, exhaling deeply.
"So, what is the plan, Marie?"
"Well, I was hoping that you would come along with me, and we can get at least one more witch we can trust to help."
"The only way that will work is if you accept your freaking magic and really use it. You will have to take some time to get yourself together. Sybil is no joke, Marie."
"I know. I will do what I can, but we need to move quickly. I don't know how long the spell I cast on the Alpha's friend will last, and I don't want him to lose his wolf. He has a beautiful family to protect."
"I understand that, but you can just walk up to Sybil and be like, hey, can you break the spell you put on my boyfriend's buddy? It will not end well. And who do you propose to be our third?"
"First of all, he is not my boyfriend. Secondly, what about Isabel? She was always nice."
"Did you kiss him? I need to know." Beth asked suddenly.
Marie twiddled her fingers, rolled her eyes, and looked away.
"Ha! He's your boyfriend, madam!" Beth said boldly. "I mean, look at yourself. Do you think any man would be able to resist you if you were interested in him? My friend is the Alpha's girlfriend!" Beth said as Marie blushed.
"Shhh, someone might hear you, Beth."
"Someone like who, Marie? We are in the middle of nowhere and this is too exciting for me to stay quiet."
"Anyway, let's stay focused, Beth."
"Alright, fine! Isabel is weak. I am not sure she will be much help."
"I am out of options if not her, Beth. I don't trust the rest of our old coven. My mother didn't either."
"Your mother couldn't trust herself, Marie." Beth said as she covered her mouth, realizing she shouldn't have said that.
"I am sorry, Marie."
"No. It's ok. I am over it, Beth. It was a long time ago. I am not a child anymore. Let's not talk about it and just move on."
"Agreed." Beth said.
"Ok, I guess we have to roll with what we have. Let's go find Isabel."
"You better wait until after I eat my cake. I have been waiting for this all morning. I need a pick me up."
Marie rolled her eyes. "Only if I get one too."
"Fine! Whatever." Beth replied.