Chapter 298: The Witch of the Cabin

Vivian’s POV

Algebra stepped in front of me and opened the heavy wooden door with extreme caution, casting a quick, sharp warning glance back over his shoulder at me as he called out into the dim cabin.

"You’ve brought friends," came a bored, feminine voice from deeper inside the room. It sounded low, smooth, and deeply amused, like she already knew far more about why we were standing on her doorstep than we did.

Peeking around Algebra’s broad shoulder, I couldn’t help but stop and stare in sheer awe.

There she was.

Seated elegantly on the plush velvet couch in the center of the living room, her long legs crossed gracefully like she owned every single inch of the space, was a woman who made the ordinary word witch feel far too small to describe her. Her wild, wavy dark hair looked like pure black ink trailing down her back all the way to deep black tips. Even while sitting completely still, her slender figure spoke of impressive height and natural grace. Her face was heart-shaped but striking and sharp, every single feature carved with perfection, like a powerful spell brought to life. And her eyes dark, endlessly alert, and assessing were fixed directly on me with a mischievous glint. Her head tilted slightly to the side, her long fingers tapping thoughtfully against her knee.

"Or one," she hummed softly, narrowing her sharp gaze as if I were some complex puzzle she was already halfway through solving in her head.

Her dark eyes flicked over to Algebra for a split second, then traveled right back to me. And then something subtle changed in the air. It was faint, but unmistakable. Her guarded expression softened, and for a quiet breath, her sharp black eyes lightened up, a warm brown hue bleeding through the dark surface. Her defensive posture shifted, like she had suddenly realized something very important about who I was. She blinked at me, much slower this time, looking almost surprised by my presence.

"Uh... hi," I said, my voice coming out a little uneven, but completely genuine. There was something deeply fascinating about her that I truly wanted to understand. "I’m "

"What he holds close to his heart," she murmured softly before I could even finish speaking my own name. Her voice suddenly sounded distant, almost as if she were standing somewhere else entirely in her mind. She squinted her brown eyes at me, as if she were trying to see right through my skin, not just looking at me. It felt like she was looking at a vision, not a living person standing in front of her.

"Vivian," I said anyway, feeling a little unsettled by her stare. What on earth did she mean by that phrase? My inner beast leaned forward curiously inside me, surprisingly calm and intrigued. She clearly wanted a better look at the female in front of us, so I relaxed and let her take in the scene right alongside me.

"Ah, yes. Vivian. Zahliver’s mate." Her voice sounded much clearer now as she uncrossed her long legs and rose smoothly to her full height.

She was tall. Really, truly tall. She wore a flowing navy-blue dress that dipped at various artistic angles along the bottom hem, parting gently at her knees to reveal long, pale legs. The thin straps wrapped around her neck framed her bare, delicate shoulders, and a lacy, tattered shawl hung loosely over her arms like a stylish afterthought. She was completely barefoot, and rings of every imaginable shape, size, and metal adorned almost every single one of her fingers. But her pale neck was entirely bare no magical charms, no protective talismans hanging from a chain.

She looked exactly like what you would expect a real witch to look like in stories: wild and elegant, soft on the surface but deeply dangerous underneath. There was something about her whole aura that felt ancient, powerful... and oddly magnetic to be around. It was the kind of energy where some quiet part of you wanted to walk closer to her, even if every single survival instinct in your body was screaming at you to keep your distance.

And here I was, standing right in her living room, wondering which part of me was going to win the argument.

Beside me, Albericus visibly stiffened at the sudden movement of his mate. Even from my spot standing just behind his shoulder, I could feel the intense inner tug-of-war he was actively fighting inside his chest. It was written all over his rigid stance he was completely unsure whether he should shield me from her power or take a step forward toward her. Protect me, or calm her down. The pure tension rolled off his body in heavy waves.

To help ease the heavy pressure on him, and maybe tilt the odds in my favor just a little bit, I took a step out from behind his back and spoke up loudly. It was definitely better to get this out into the open right now, just in case everything spiraled out of control. And besides, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to earn some quick goodwill from a powerful woman who looked like she could easily turn me into a chew toy if she felt like it. I personally called it smart strategy, not cowardice.

"I just wanted to say thank you," I blurted out, my voice cutting cleanly through the quiet room and halting her mid-step. She paused right where she was standing, her eyes flickering with sudden confusion.

I raised my left hand into the air to show her the sparkling engagement ring, the polished metal catching the warm light in the cabin.

Understanding settled smoothly across her sharp features as she gave me a slow, quiet nod, though there was still a faint flicker of something else a deep internal struggle, maybe clouding her expression beneath the surface.

"Yeah," I went on, trying my best to keep my tone light-hearted and friendly, "now I don’t have to worry about the ring falling apart on me or one of the gems coming loose. So seriously, thank you so much for that spell. I would have been completely heartbroken if it broke just because I had to deck someone."

I truly meant every word of it, too. That ring had quickly become important to me in ways I hadn’t really expected when Zahliver first slipped it onto my finger.

Before the silence could get awkward between us, I started to pivot the conversation, but Albericus barely managed to get a single word out of his mouth before she cut him off, flashing him a strained, toothy smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"Relax, Berry," she said with a soft sigh, clearly sensing his overwhelming protectiveness over both of us. "I’ve got a much better grip on my things now. Honestly, I really wish we could have met under completely different circumstances, back when I wasn’t..." Her dark eyes met mine for the briefest, rawest moment, completely full of deep guilt and self-awareness. "...like this. But I am not going to do anything reckless to her."

It probably shouldn’t have been the main detail I latched onto in that emotional moment, but one specific word stood out to my ears above everything else.

Berry.

I blinked up at Albericus in total surprise. Oh. She had a sweet, cute little nickname for him. That was... actually kind of adorable for a big guy like him.

No one remembers his actual name except her, my wolf snickered happily in my mind. Mates are really something else, aren’t they?

I glanced up at his face just in time to catch the sudden flicker of raw, deep emotion washing through his green eyes. The bright color in them darkened with unspoken pain and devotion. His mouth parted slightly like he was about to say something back to her, but instead of speaking, he simply gave her a subtle, understanding nod. He took a deliberate step away from me, physically showing his mate that he trusted her completely.

And it worked like a charm.