Chapter 297: Visits and Magical Scents

Vivian’s POV

"I still can’t believe you haven’t let her out yet. So what if she tossed you around and rubbed your face in the dirt a little?"

I stared at Algebra in complete disbelief, shaking my head at his logic. "Are you being serious right now? I just told you she literally tried to kill me, and this is what you say in her defense?"

He gave me a lopsided grin from behind the steering wheel. "But... did you die, though?"

I blinked at him. "Well, no, but that is hardly the point "

"Then that is really all that matters," I declared smugly, leaning back against the passenger seat as if I had just won an important debate.

Algebra shot me a look that screamed I had completely lost my mind, raising one finger pointed skyward to interrupt me.

"Uh, no. No, no, no. That is definitely not it. Are you really going to gloss over the part where she tried to jab a sharp metal fork directly into my eye and then nearly choked me to death with her own scarf?"

Fair point. Even my internal wolf gave a nod of reluctant agreement to that terrifying detail.

"She wouldn’t have gotten her hands on the fork if you hadn’t handed it to her in the first place. And as for the scarf... I mean, at least you would have gone out fashionably." I smirked at him.

He opened his mouth to argue, but then let out a grudging chuckle despite himself.

"I’ll admit, that one was kinda good," he muttered, steering the car to the left down a rough dirt road that felt more like a endless trail of potholes and jagged rocks.

"I know," I said with a broad grin.

From the moment we had gotten into the car together, Algebra had been working overtime trying to convince me that this trip was a terrible idea. Listing every single physical injury and emotionally scarring moment he had experienced at her hands was, I guess, supposed to scare me off from meeting her. But honestly? It just made me even more curious about her. She sounded utterly fascinating.

"I’m begging you to rethink this whole idea. She’s not in a good place mentally right now, and I really doubt she’d want someone completely new seeing her like this," he said, his tone laced with genuine concern for his mate.

"I’m not just barging in on her," I told him calmly. "If she takes one look at me and says I should leave, I will immediately. But after hearing how you’ve basically cut her completely off from the rest of the world "

"It’s for everyone’s safety," he cut in defensively.

" and probably forced your evil desires on the poor woman "

He snorted out loud. "If I’d done anything like that, you and I wouldn’t be having this casual conversation right now. I’d be buried six feet under by now. Zahliver would’ve been forced to find himself a brand new Beta."

I rolled my eyes at his dramatic response. The poor man was clearly worried sick about her, but that didn’t mean he had to handle everything completely alone. Plus, it was completely unacceptable that I hadn’t met my mate’s female Beta yet. That was just wrong on every level.

"Stop sulking over there. You’ll get your sweet moment eventually. Now, do you have any final warnings for me?" I asked as he finally slowed the vehicle down.

He gave me a dry look, looking aged and tired beyond his years. "Besides every single other warning I’ve already told you on the drive over, all of which you completely ignored? No, you’re all set."

I clucked my tongue at him. "So dramatic. Everything’s going to be completely fine. Try not to give yourself a stroke before we even reach the door."

When we finally pulled up in front of the small, secluded cabin tucked deep into the forest’s edge, I knew instantly that she was inside. Not just because of the heavy metal bars bolted to the wooden windows, or the way Algebra kept muttering quietly under his breath, but because of her distinct scent.

It hit my senses like an odd, distant memory. The rich smell of untouched soil warmed by morning sunlight, but there was a strange, unnatural twist to it. Faint, almost hidden beneath the surface, but sharp and bitter-sweet. Like cold metal... but with something ancient and wrong laced underneath it.

Magic.

I had never been this physically close to a real witch before. My pulse fluttered rapidly between intense curiosity and quiet unease.

At first I was afraid, I was petrified

No.

I shut my wolf’s mental singing off with a sharp internal snarl.

If you don’t stop with the dramatic movie soundtracks right now, I swear I’ll find a way to punch you without breaking my own bones.

She grumbled something back at me and flopped onto her belly in my mind, her ears twitching.

Be careful, she warned me seriously. Witches aren’t bound by the same rules as our kind.

I didn’t reply to her.

Because I knew in my heart that she was right.

And I was going to walk right up to meet one anyway.

The moment I heard my beast stir inside me, something in my body went completely still. Not in fear, just heightened alert. I trusted Algebra, I truly did, but I wasn’t naive about how the supernatural world worked. If he ever had to make a choice between protecting me or protecting his mate, I wouldn’t blame him for picking her. That was simply how the mate bond worked. I understood that completely. So I kept my steps slow and steady, my presence completely calm, just in case anything felt off. If the slightest thing set my instincts off, I would turn around and leave. I wouldn’t drag Algebra into anything messy. That was something even I could admit to myself. Better safe than sorry.

I heard a car door shut gently behind me, followed by light, familiar footsteps. Algebra. The witch inside must have felt his approach nearby, because I could sense the quiet ripple of her magical energy buzzing from inside the cabin. Curious, I tilted my head slightly to the side. I didn’t know much about how a mate bond worked between a werewolf and a witch, and in Aurora’s specific case, I suspected things might be rather unorthodox. She wasn’t exactly your average witch, after all.

This was definitely going to be an interesting afternoon.