Page 46 of Protected By the Wolf

The invitation threw me a little. I was unprepared for this request and felt more than disappointed that my visitors weren’t Bruno. “I haven’t explored much back there.”

“And why would you?” Piya said.

“Because she’s a witch,” Mod said. She rolled her eyes, and just like before, I got the feeling that Mod did not like me. “Exploring the grove might help us find the white flower that’s rumored to win this war.”

“Mod! We’ve been over this,” Trixie said. “Lira is new to our world. Miti asked us to slowly introduce her to magic, powers, and visions, not dump the war on her!”

Mod just stared back at her with a blank face.

Piya sighed. “There’s no hocus pocus involved. We’re just going to show you a place that witches learn about when they’re kids. It’s nothing dangerous, I promise.”

But I couldn’t take my eyes off Mod. It was as if she knew I was going to back out of the offer because she said, “Look, there’s nothing sinister about being a witch, Lira. I get really upset about the stereotype of witches being evil.” She gave Trixie and Piya a pointed look as she added, “And the white flower is rumored to only show up for those who can see visions. And since you can . . .” Mod held up her hand to show me she had no ill intentions.

Trixie glared at her. “Ignore Mod, Lira. We’re not asking you to find anything, I promise. We just want to show you some of your family history.”

I looked at the three of them, all staring at me with different levels of hopefulness. In the end, curiosity won. I went back in to grab my jacket before following them outside and down a path I hadn’t noticed before.

“As you can imagine, when this land was maintained, you could see for miles from here,” Trixie said.

“There’s that much land associated with this property?” I asked, feeling silly that I didn’t already know.

“Yes,” Mod said, and I could feel her rolling her eyes at me again.

Thankfully, Trixie ignored her and continued, “It’s been in your family for generations.”

“Charli told me. I’ve read a bunch of books on my family too.”

“Then you should know this already,” Mod said, walking a bit faster so we all had to trot to keep up.

“But she hasn’t experienced what she’s read,” Trixie said, sounding annoyed. “If you’d like to go home, Mod, feel free. No one made you join this party.”

Mod just glared at her and kept walking.

Trixie and Piya exchanged a look, but when Trixie looked back at me, she was all smiles. “There’s a spot on your land that is super special to witches, Lira.”

That piqued my interest, and I walked a bit faster to keep up. “What makes it special?”

“You’ll see,” Piya said, smiling.

I followed them far into the trees, dodging branches and cutting away bushes to create a path until Mod groaned when a second batch of snow fell on her head. “You know, if we’re supposed to be introducing her to witchery, then we should show her what witches can do.”

“We don’t want to overwhelm her,” Piya said.

This time Mod made the biggest eye roll of them all. “She can’t learn if she doesn’t experience. That’s what you said to me, right?” Mod pointed at Trixie and waited.

Trixie nodded and sighed. “Yes, there is an easier way to clear all this brush.”

“About time,” Mod said.

Piya stood back with me while Trixie and Mod held up their hands, and next thing I knew, the snow was melting and the bushes, brambles, and branches were all moving as if someone was pushing them aside. Then their fingers closed into fists, and the debris shrunk until it fit into a bag Trixie had taken out of her jacket.

“We can use these items for potions later. Don’t want to let it go to waste,” Trixie said.

In front of me was a cleared path big enough to fit a food truck. I stared in awe at what had just happened. “That was amazing,” I breathed.

“Welcome to being a witch,” Trixie said, giving my arm a squeeze before walking down the path.

This time, I had no desire to hold back. I followed them deeper into the woods until we reached a clearing. It was circular in nature and surrounded by trees that were taller than any I’d ever seen before, even redwoods.

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