Chapter 3 The Trick

Still Alpha Female Cissy's POV

We break up as soon as Xanne wakes up. We tidy up the cave and gather our belongings. Before leaving, I double-check the precious box given to me by my mother; it's securely tucked away in one of the pockets of my jeans. After taking a bath, we apply the potion once more. Although it may not provide full protection as before, it allows us to remain undetected by aggressive werewolves.

In fact, we are now considered rogues, and therefore our lives are at risk. Pack wolves hate rogues as they consider them a threat and may capture or even kill them on the spot. Moreover, we must avoid bumping into members of Crescent Moon at all costs, who knows how they will react upon discovering that high-ranking Eclipse Howlers are still alive!

We placed our belongings on a wooden cart that one of our colleagues from the restaurant had assembled for us a few months ago.

"I need additional herbs to make a more potent potion. I can only find them a few miles away from here. After we have settled into our new place, we will go search for them," Xanne proposed.

We walked for about an hour until we were close to the border of Human Town. There was a larger cave there that we had initially avoided because we wanted to be deeper in the forest to be able to walk our wolves undisturbed. However, now that we have encountered other problems, we have little choice but to live there.

After arranging our new cave, Xanne erects the mystical barrier once more. First, we want to rest for a while before searching for herbs. A couple of hours later, we walk through nature again and Xanne points out various types of botanical specimens while explaining their medicinal benefits with great fervor. Her mother was a witch who happened to be the mate of my father's beta.

My mother often told me about all the chaos their mating caused in our pack, given that werewolves generally despise witches. But the Beta was adamant about keeping his mate as he earned support from my strong and authoritative Alpha dad, whose word was law in our pack.

Witches do not feel the bond, and it took Beta Jace a lot of effort to persuade Auntie Xena. He ventured into her coven several times, braving the ridicule of other witches just to be with her. Ultimately, my Alpha father invited the warlock from Auntie Xena's coven and offered him a significant dowry consisting of land as well as an agreement for peace.

In the meantime, Auntie Xena was already smitten with the gentleman who brought her all kinds of gifts and showered her with loving lines and compliments. After some time, she willingly joined our pack with the warlock's permission, and Eclipse Howlers and the coven became allies.

The day of the mating ceremony of the Beta and the witch was exceptional. Never before had witches and werewolves enjoyed themselves in one place, the food was abundant, and alcohol flowed incessantly. My father made it as special as possible to leave a good impression on the coven. Mom always smiled when she repeatedly told me this story.

"This is it. This is the plant I need," Xanne suddenly exclaimed happily, snapping me out of my reverie. She picked many leaves and placed them in a basket, then she rubbed one until juice came out and held it in front of my nose. The scent was amazing, surpassing even the most expensive perfume humans have ever put together.

"Will this be our scent from now on? Will werewolves smell it when they encounter us?" I asked curiously.

Xanne laughed. "Correct. We will both have the same scent since we are using the same potion. However, your mate will detect the scent on you but not me, and vice versa. None of the Lycans should be able to feel their mate bond anymore as this potion is too potent," she explained. "So now all we need to do is determine which twin belongs to whom."

Xanne smiled slyly; she exuded pure joy. As someone who adores anything enigmatic and enjoys pulling pranks, my friend is bound to relish every moment of our journey to the Kingdom in accomplishing our task.

"It must work flawlessly, with no room for error. Any delay caused by our mates claiming and marking us could jeopardize the delivery of the box as we would need their permission to leave," I reminded her. "The previous potion exposed us. If they hadn't noticed us yet, we wouldn't be under this stressful situation."

Offended, Xanne stared at me. "My potion always works. It's just that we're only seventeen. Who would have thought that our mates would show up so early? And our wolves are not yet able to claim them, it is completely one-sided," she stated, slightly offended.

I grabbed her hand reassuringly. "Hey girl. That was not an accusation. My main concern is staying focused on our goal and not getting sidetracked by finding a mate," I clarified. "It's that we still were not able to raise enough money to get our car and having mates around may slow us down even more than expected. Hitchhiking could be the solution for us," I sighed dejectedly.

"Don't worry, everything will turn out okay. Now let's go back so I can get everything ready before we have to go to work. We can meet them again any time. Lycans never give up."

As we made our way back to the new cave, a piercing, ear-splitting howl shattered the silence, causing us to halt in terror. Our faces contorted with shock as we searched for the origin of this disconcerting sound. It was then that I realized our mates had come across the old cave and recognized something amiss; during their search yesterday, they found only rocks where now there stood an entrance.

We burst out laughing, feeling proud that we've outsmarted them. But we also know that we have to be more careful. They must now realize that we are using tricks, which would undoubtedly make us even more conspicuous in their eyes.

Once we have stepped through the invisible barrier, Xanne promptly sets to work on creating the new potion. I watch with interest as she explains how the mix is done and what the effects of the herbs are. When she's done, she places the mix in a jar to submerge in water for cooling.

We decide to do some household stuff before starting our evening shifts at Stan's. We have about two hours left. At that time, I expect those searching Lycans to have called it a day. If we're fortunate enough, at the very least...