Chapter 21 - A WITCH'S POTION

If silence was a human, it would have gotten tired at the rate by which it was been summoned by the Triga's family of the Wind Winder pack. It cloaked the room deeply for the second time in the chilly September night.

Jan could be seen opening her mouth in a bid to talk, then closing it again. She didn't really know what to say or how to say what was on her mind. Staring her husband wide-eyed, she hoped fervently that what she had just heard from her daughter was false. But then Maya doesn't lie with things like this. She thought.

"Jan.." Arnold called out to his wife, slowly; but received no response.

And so unable to bear the distraught look on his mate's face, he dropped his mug on the side table, and walked up to her. Staring at her softly, he tried taking her hands into his but she pushed it away immediately, not hesitating for a moment. Rather, she took some steps back and sat on the cushion nearest to the wall.

"Jan.." He called again, his cold, almost dark blue eyes softening. He never liked his mate to be in a foul mood. But he knew that he did it this time; he had annoyed her. She had never been in support of patronizing witches. She thought, and of course she was right, that witches were too cunning and unpredictable. They could demand something unbelievable for their services.

"What did you just say?" She said, her eyes blank of any emotion. But you could see from the slight shaking of her hands that she was angry, then scared. The witches weren't to toy with.

Arnold paused for a while, still standing. He didn't know how to go about this matter. He had known that his mate would be mad when she found out that he paid a visit to the a witch. Well, he hadn't been far from the truth. Should I kneel down while making this plea? He thought; forgetting momentarily that their daughter stood by the next pillar watching the scene that was unfolding.

"Arnold, I asked a question. When and why, did you visit a witch?" Jan asked, getting pissed off at her mate's silence. She couldn't believe that he would have anything to do with a witch after what had happened in the last pack war. It was disastrous. She didn't want to think of it.

"Last week." He answered. "You already know the why. I was left with no choice." He finally replied.

And seeing his mate sigh tiredly, throwing her head back while resting gingerly on the sofa, he knew that she got the whole point. Their pack's grounds would be confiscated , their members enslaved if he didn't do the needful.

" Okay.." Jan said, rubbing her forehead tiredly. She wished things were different for them.

She jerked her head up speedily from its resting posture on the nob of the sofa, as a thought drove its way into her mind.

"Which of the potions?" She asked, hoping that he wouldn't mention the one whose name has dropped in her mind.

Arnold was nervous, for the first time in years. He hadn't budgeted that she would inquire further into the potions. He had hoped that she would stop when she heard of the involvement of the witches. She would get madder now. He thought, knowing that he couldn't lie to her. She would find out if he did.

"Arnold…" Jan called slowly, her hands visibly shaking now.

" It is the panjyo.. the panjyo potion." He said, fearing the worse.

The deep silence threatened to blanket the room for the third time, if not for the sound of a shuffling feet, coming from the western angle of the room. It was Maya. She had been watching the scene, and couldn't take it again. She had to leave. Her stomach was at the risk of being twisted out. She had willfully shuffled her feet to attract their attention; and knowing her father, she knew that he would ask her to go away. She was right.

"Maya.. what are you still doing here?" Arnold asked, his dark blue eyes getting cold again. He had forgotten that his daughter had been there.

" I thought…." She tried saying, but was cut off sharply by him

"Leave." He commanded.

"Yes sir." She said, and scampered out of the room happily.

Walking fast through the hallway, skipping at some point, Maya found her way into the kitchen. She went straight to the cupboard where her mother usually kept food for her, especially when she was out of the pack grounds on an errand or mission. She took out the food and put it in the microwave, waiting for it to warm up.

As she waited for it to warm up, she contemplated on the heated discussion that has gone on between her parents, especially the issue of the panjyo potion. From the reactions of her mother, she knew that the potion wasn't a good one; but she couldn't tell why it was so. She hoped that the potion wouldn't affect her life span or her dim her opportunities of finding a mate. Surely, Dad couldn't be that cruel and desperate. She thought.

The issue of being a mateless brought out a heavy sigh from Maya. She was twenty now, but she hasn't found her mate. Did I offend the moon goddess? She thought. A thought that has always been her daily companion since she turned 18.

The ding from the microwave alerted Maya that her food was all warmed up. She stood up from the side stool which always was near the counter, and turned off the microwave. Taking her meal which consisted of spaghetti and meatballs out of the efficient machine, she took a spoon from the rack and started eating; hurriedly. She needed to have a few hours of sleep; the pack training tomorrow morning was by 5am. The time now should be around 12am. She guessed.

Dropping her plate into the sink, Maya stood up tiredly and trudged her way out of the kitchen; going towards her room. Getting to her room, she turned the knob of her door to step in; only to hear her mother's voice in her head.

"Maya, come back to the study now." She said.

Maya huffed in heavily, turned away from her so inviting room, and plodded her way towards her father's study. On reaching there, she found her parents in the same position as she had left them, except that her mother looked resigned. She wondered what she had agreed to that made her look so forlorn.

"What is the name of the human?" Her father asked, intercepting her thoughts; not even waiting for her to step fully into the room.

"Her name is Emma.." She said.