"Explain," I say when we're all seated.
"As I said, I'm a witch, and I'm here to help you enter vampire territory," Ekaterina says.
"I got that part, but I don't understand why you would help us. If anything, you shouldn't want to help the werewolf King's mate find her mother."
"I know a normal witch won't, but I'm not just any witch. I'm a witch who is alive because of the werewolf King."
"Tell me how that's possible."
"I saved her from near-death," Theo says, being vague.
"Really? You saved a witch?" I ask, surprised he did. His Mom hated witches, so I assumed she must've passed down her hatred before she died.
"It's surprising, right?" Ekaterina says, smiling.
"Yes, it's shocking given that his mother is the reason witches and werewolves everywhere don't get along."
"Yes, but Theodore doesn't hate witches. Or he didn't when he met me."
"So, he hates witches, but he doesn't hate you? You just called him by his name. You two must be really close."
"Yes, we are," Ekaterina says, smiling at Theo , and he returns the smile.
"Are you lovers?" I ask, seeing the way he smiled at her and needing to know.
"No, we aren't. I could never date Theodore ," Ekaterina says.
"What's wrong with Theo ? Not good enough for you?" I say, coming to Theo 's defense, not caring that I'm even drifting from the topic at hand.
"I didn't mean it that way. I see Theodore as a brother."
"How is that possible?"
"I'll tell you the story of how we met so that you can understand everything," she offers.
"That would really be helpful," I say, grateful.
"I was on the run because my queen wanted to kill me for my special abilities. While running for my life, I stumbled into werewolf territory. By then, Theo 's mother was dead, and werewolves and witches were full on enemies. But Theodore didn't care. All he saw was a little girl barely alive, and he wanted to save her. So he did. That's why I'm forever in debt to him."
"Wow! That's amazing." I don't have words to describe how shocked I am by what Theo did. If he could be so kind as to save a witch, I wonder why he can't be nice to me.
"I understand how you feel. Since we've cleared that up, I can explain how I'm going to help you enter vampire territory."
"Please," Theo says.
"Like werewolves, vampires can smell other species. I'm going to create a spell to make you look and smell like vampires."
"Wow, you can do that?" I know witches can do a lot of things, but I didn't think they could do that.
"Yes, with one little problem. The spell only lasts for six hours."
"I don't think that'll be a problem. We should be out of vampire territory by then."
"Actually, we won't," Theo says.
"Why?" I ask. I don't see why six hours won't be enough every day to search for Mom inside vampire territory.
"We're not going in directly. We have to go in unnoticed. It'll take us about half a day before we enter vampire territory. Then we can talk of searching the city inside," Theo replies.
"Really? Half a day? Why do we have to go that way? Won't Ekaterina's spell be enough to make us look and smell like vampires so we can go in unnoticed?"
"My spell is good but not perfect. It's safer to do things this way and be as cautious as you can," she says.
"Oh, I understand."
I want to find Mom, but at the same time, I don't want to die doing it.
***
A few days later, all three of us set out for vampire territory. We packed enough to last us a few days in case we take longer.
"Did you pack everything you need?" Theo asks, adjusting his bag on his back. We're about to leave the cabin.
"Yes, and you?"
"I did. Ekaterina, we're ready," Theo says.
"May the Gods be with us," Ekaterina says. She closes her eyes and starts speaking a foreign language.
She draws water out from a water bottle, chanting words while keeping the water dancing in the air. The color of the water changes the more she chants. The minute her eyes become blue as the sea, she splashes the water on Theo and me. The water spreads everywhere on our bodies, and our skin starts to become pale. I quickly pull out my phone to look at myself.
"I really look like a vampire," I say, touching the pale and dead-looking skin on my face.
"I made you look like a vampire, as I said I would," Ekaterina says smiling, looking proud of the spell she casted.
"You also smell like one," Theo growls. Even looking like a vampire, he still can't pretend he is one.
"You too." It's the same awful smell I detected the day I was attacked.
"Let's go," Ekaterina says, walking out of the cabin. She's leading the way.
***
I don't know how many hours we've walked, but I'm exhausted. The sun is setting, and we haven't arrived in vampire territory yet. We set off in the morning and traveled all day. I feel like we're walking in circles.
"Ekaterina are you sure we're going the right way?" I ask, resting on a rock to calm down my breathing. I feel like I'm climbing a hill. I'm exhausted from walking.
"We should be, but I'm starting to think we might be lost," she says, clearly embarrassed.
"Really? You think? Or we are?" Theo snaps.
"Hey, don't take that tone with me. It's been ages since I went into vampire territory," Ekaterina snaps back.
"If you didn't remember the way, why did you say you did?"
"I thought I did, but it seems I have forgotten."
"Wonderful. It looks like it is going to rain soon, too," Theo says, looking at the sky.
"Please stop arguing. It won't help our situation. If it's going to rain, we need to find shelter," I say, checking the weather on my phone that's about to die.
"There should be a cave not far from here, up that way," Ekaterina says, pointing up ahead.
"Are you sure?" Theo asks, sarcastically.
"I'm not sure, but there are a lot of caves in the vampire territory. Even if it's not exactly there, I'm sure we'll find one soon."
"That's true," Theo concedes.
"Why are you certain we'll find a cave?" I ask, finding it a bit strange how sure they are.
"Vampires stay close to areas with caves because they need them if they stay out past dawn. They need them for shelter until it becomes dark again," Ekaterina replies.
"Oh, that's smart."
"Yes, it is. Stand up. We need to keep walking if we want to find shelter before the rain starts," Theo says.
"Can we take a little break? I'm hungry and tired," I pleaded.
"We all are. But we need to keep moving, so get up," he demands.
"Alright," I say, heaving a sigh.
"Forgive Theodore for his rudeness. It's the queen's fault," Ekaterina says, walking beside me.
"Your queen's fault? What does the queen of witches have to do with the King of werewolves being rude to his mate?" I ask, confused.
Ekaterina is about to answer, but Theo cuts her off.
"Ekaterina, I think it's best you hold your tongue and not say things that aren't meant to be said," he warns her.
"Sorry, I forget. It won't happen again," Ekaterina apologizes.
"What is it you don't want me to know?" I ask Theo directly.
"Like you said. I don't want you to know. It means I'm not going to tell you," he says.
"Why, what are you hiding from me, Theo ?" I ask, and Theo is about to reply to me when the sky suddenly opens up.
"It's not supposed to start raining for another hour," Theo says, irritated.
"Yeah, I wonder why it started now," I say, using my hand to shield me from the rain.
"It happens sometimes. Don't worry, I have us covered," Ekaterina says, and like the first time, she casts a spell. She starts saying words known only to her.
The rain stops pouring on me. I look up and notice Ekaterina has created a bubble-like thing above our heads, similar to a big umbrella. It prevents the rain from falling on us.
"You wow me every time you cast a spell," I say.
"I know," she says, smiling.
Ekaterina moves the bubble as we walk until we find a cave to take shelter.
Inside, the cave is dark. I'm about to bring out my phone to switch on the flashlight when Ekaterina takes care of our darkness problem. She creates a ball of fire above her hand. It lights up the cave enough for us to walk inside properly. While walking into the cave, I notice her hair is shining. She's a redhead, so her hair stands out, but it seems more than natural.
"Your hair is glowing," I say.
"That happens when I cast fire spells."
"That's cool."
"So you say, but others don't believe so."
"How can someone say glowing hair isn't cool?"
"I'm not talking about my hair glowing. I'm talking about being capable of casting fire spells."
"I'm confused. Aren't spells just spells?" I don't understand why she keeps specifying fire spells.
"No. every witch is born with one of the four elements, and she can only cast spells with that element."
"Four elements?"
"Water, earth, air, and fire. I was born with two elements, fire, and water. It's the reason I almost lost my life."
"Why?"
"My queen was worried I would grow up and become too powerful and overthrow her. She had people sent to kill me at the age of ten, so that'd never happen. I'd only just discovered I was gifted with the two elements."
"You were ten when Theo saved your life."
"Yes, I was."
"And you were barely alive when he found you."
"Yes."
"Why would someone harm a ten-year-old child?" I ask, thinking about the horrors she must have faced at a young age.
"I don't know, but enough about my sad past. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"There isn't much to say about me," I say and give her a very brief history of my life.
Getting to the middle of the cave, Ekaterina creates a fire on the ground with wood that's already piled. It hasn't been long since someone visited here. Ekaterina and I walk away from Theo to take off our wet clothes and change into dry ones. It's a good thing we carried extra.
We walk back to Theo once we're done, but he's still changing. He's drying himself. I watch as his back muscles flex as he squeezes the water out of his shirt. He turns around to use the light to clean his body. He uses a little handkerchief to wipe and I wish more than anything I was that handkerchief trailing along his abs.
"Anastasia , stop it. I can smell you," Theo , says ruining my fantasy.
Sometimes I hate that werewolves can smell arousal. I'm getting caught by Theo every time I feel hot for him. It's not fair, and I've never smelled arousal on Theo . It didn't seem fair.
"Sorry, it's the mate bond."
"I don't care, stop it," he says, putting on a dry shirt.
"Okay."
"You say okay, but I doubt you can stop," Ekaterina says.
"You doubt what?" I ask, embarrassed. Was she talking about my arousal?
"I doubt the mate bond has anything to do with you wanting to have sex with Theo ."
"Of course, it does," I protest.
"The mate bond might have something to do with why you'll always be drawn to Theo . But if it wasn't there, you'd still want to jump Theo 's bones."
"No, I wouldn't."
"You don't have to lie to me. I can see the lust in your eyes. It has nothing to do with the mate bond," she says before walking away from me and closer to the fire.
As she walks away, I wonder if she's right. Maybe it's not the mate bond that's arousing me, I could just be attracted to him. But, if I have feelings for Theo without the mate bond playing a factor, it could only mean I'm starting to have feelings for Theo , and I don't want to believe that.