There are so many questions running through my mind as I walk along the lawns with Gran.
I'm having trouble finding the right first question to ask. As if by asking the right one first will bring all the pieces of this prophecy together for me.
Gran sees my struggle and suggests to me, "Perhaps we should start from the beginning?"
I look into her violet orbs and simply nod. She already seems to know me well.
"Alright, well I suppose the beginning would really be with our ancestor Lucia."
"But I thought our ancestor was Beatrix? That's what mom said, that the vamp Hybrid was looking for a descendant of Beatrix."
"Technically, yes. But she was the daughter of Lucia. Her mother was the first witch of our family."
She goes on to say, "Lucia had two daughters, her first was Beatrix. She was born from her first marriage to a warlock named Simon Turner.
When Beatrix was only 3 years old, her father was killed while hunting. Lucia was obviously devastated, she mourned her husband for 3 years."
The thought of losing Erik in the same way leaves me with an inexplicable ache. I could not imagine what my life would be like without him.
Hearing of Lucia's loss breaks something deep within my soul, but I can't quite put it into words. It feels like her loss is somehow mine as well.
"Lucia met another man while mourning Simon. His name was Nicholas Beckett. She was his mate."
My thoughts of Lucia's grief quickly become consumed by the mention of her being mated. "She was mated to a werewolf?"
"Yes, she was. And she had her second daughter, Annabel."
There was that name again. Annabel. Each time I hear it I feel a deep sadness and pang in my heart. She and I are bound as one soul, there is no denying that.
"Nicholas and Lucia were very happy together, happier than Lucia thought possible with the loss of Simon in her heart. Their daughters were very close despite the age difference between them.
I'm sure your mother has told you that all witches have an affinity over one of the four elements. Annabel was born a Hybrid and was blessed with power over the air. Beatrix was given the ability over fire."
My stomach begins to drop as Gran mentions fire. I can feel a pull beneath my skin that calls out to me. Fire. It's my power.
"Gran, how do we know what my affinity is?", I may already know the answer deep down, but I have to hear her say it.
She tilts her head at my question, a look of gentle love fills her eyes.
"Why don't we have a seat? This is going to take a while."
I walk us to the gazebo that is near the back of the lawn and take a seat on the bench inside. Gran takes her seat next to me.
She takes a deep breath before continuing, "My dear Enya, you know as well as I what your power is."
"Please, Gran. Just say it."
"It's fire, my dear.", my heart stops at her confirmation. She reaches her hands out to mine and grasps them. I can't bring myself to say anything else.
Tears start to stream down my cheeks, stinging my eyes like acid rain. How am I supposed to deal with all of this?
She wipes away a few tears from my face as she tells me more.
"Beatrix and Annabel were inseparable. With Beatrix being 7 years older than her sister, she taught her all the magic she knew.
By the time she was 20 she was married and left their home with her husband, Edmond Godfrey. He was a warlock too. They went on to have 2 children of their own. Astrid and Philip.
Annabel doted on her sister's children, especially Astrid. She spent so much time at her sister's home she practically lived there.
But when Annabel turned 19, she met her mate. His name was Henry Ashdown."
Henry…
The name echoed in my mind as I saw a flash of a man's face. He was beautiful, his blond hair was shaggy and unkempt, but it suited him.
His eyes were of an amber shade, they seemed otherworldly. His smile was sweet and gentle, for a moment I had the desire to know what his lips felt like against mine.
As soon as his face came to me, it was gone. With it the feeling of wanting to kiss him. Guilt filled me as my thoughts went to Erik. He is my mate, why would I ever feel like kissing someone else?
"Tell me more Gran.", I need to know the rest.
"Henry was born a warlock, his family was prestigious in the magical community. He met Annabel at the age of 21. They were marked and mated within a few months of knowing each other."
"Wait, wouldn't that make him a Tribrid or something?", it doesn't make any sense.
When a human is marked they are blessed with a wolf. Everyone knows that. Mom and Aunt Ally are proof enough.
"Well, that's the thing. In the early days, Hybrids were born, not made. When a human or a warlock were mated to a wolf, they were not blessed with one of their own. They remained as they were."
"Then why are they now? I don't understand.", my head is spinning from all the information. I don't know how to keep up.
"That I do not know. Perhaps the Goddess saw it as cruel to not bless both mates with a wolf and chose to do so after a few centuries. Many non-werewolf mates lost their lives due to their vulnerabilities.
Technically Henry did not become a Hybrid until he was 23 when a vampire turned him against his will. There aren't many stories of why Henry was turned.
Some say he was turned as revenge for his family's past sins. They were prestigious, but at times ruthless."
Hearing the fact that Henry was turned against his will has a strange affect on my heart. I feel a slight pain deep within me that I cannot make sense of.
"What happened when he returned to Annabel?", the pain in my voice was evident.
"I'm not totally sure. The stories passed down don't speak of that. What we do know is that when they did reunite, Henry turned Annabel. She is the only recorded Tribrid that ever existed.
Henry could not face the fact that he was now immortal. He would remain as he was the day he was turned. Annabel would age, grow old and die. Leaving Henry to face eternity alone.
Long ago it was forbidden by the Goddess for a werewolf to be made vampire. Their bloodlust would be too great; they would not be able to resist their urges as well as their makers.
The craving of blood would darken their vision, they would not see who they drank from, only that they needed their blood. Henry defied the Goddess' law and turned her.
He thought their love was strong enough that Annabel would be able to control her urges, to not become a monster. But he was wrong."
As Gran tells me about Annabel's bloodlust and Henry's attempts at confining her, I have flashes in my mind of the suffering Annabel felt. The agony at what she had become.
She was insatiable, the hunger burned in her throat every single day, it could never be quenched. The flashes in my mind felt like lightning striking me.
Each fragment told a different piece of the story.
The chains that Henry placed her in when she became pure beast, the tears shed by both of them as he begged her to calm down, the rage from her when she was unable to feed.
The last image that came to me was of Annabel breaking out of her chains. The next words out of Gran's mouth pulled me back to my reality.
"Annabel broke out from the chains that Henry had placed her in. She attacked him and he was subdued enough that she was able to escape.
There was no other place she could think to go, so she made her way to Beatrix and Edmond's home."
A tear escaped my eye that I had not noticed was forming. It was as if the pain of my past life was catching up to my present.
Annabel's torment at what she had done left a black mark on my soul.
The deep scars of the lives she destroyed have always been with me. The need to be the best Zeta of our pack, the drive to never fail and exceed the expectations in my life were all a part of it.
I have always felt the need to prove myself, not only to my family and my pack, but to the Moon Goddess. Every night I would gaze at the Moon and pledge my loyalty to her. I would be her willing servant, I would make her proud of me.
Making amends for my past life has been a part of who I have always been.
I hear Gran's words as she confirms my worst fears, "When Annabel reached the Godfrey farm, her sister and niece were not home. They had gone into town to sell some herbs and crops, while Edmond and young Philip stayed behind.
When Edmond opened the door he initially welcomed her into their home, but he quickly saw that she was not as she once was. She was overcome with the need for blood and swiftly drained Edmond.
The burn was still not satisfied, and when young Philip entered the room, she could not stop herself. She drank every last drop. He was only 4.
Once she drained Philip the bloodlust cleared from her vision and she saw what she had done. She killed the family of her sister, she truly felt like a monster."
The tears have begun to free flow, the despair in my soul is slowly constricting my lungs. I feel like the very fabric of my soul is being ripped apart.
Gran's words somehow still reach me, "Beatrix returned home and found Annabel inconsolable as she held Philip's body. She ran to Edmond hoping that he had been spared, but when she learned that Annabel had killed him too, her anguish turned to rage.
All witches' powers are connected to their emotions. Beatrix was, of course, the same. Her ability over fire had the potential of being quite unstable. As she confronted Annabel for what she had done, her sister begged her to end her life.
Annabel did not want to live with the sins that she had committed. She could not continue to be the monster that Henry turned her into. Beatrix's pain consumed her and the fire within her veins ignited their home.
Astrid had been in the barn putting their horses away when the house burst into flames. As she ran to the house, she saw her mother crawling away from the rubble. Their lives were all changed that day, and so were the lives of all witches."
I try to clear the haze from my mind and ask her, "What do you mean all witches?"
"When Beatrix used her magic to kill Annabel, the Moon Goddess vowed to not bestow the affinity of fire to another witch. For the last 514 years, no witch in the world has been blessed with fire.
It was a warning to all magical creatures to never abuse their powers. Even though Annabel had begged for Beatrix to end her suffering, a witch is never to use their magic against another witch.
When Henry learned of what happened to Annabel he hunted Beatrix. He could not see that it was his action of turning her that led to her death. He swore revenge upon our family."
"And that is where the prophecy comes in?", the questions that have been plaguing me seem to have been answered. All but this one.
"In a sense, yes. You see, Beatrix was able to cloak herself and Astrid from Henry. But that did not stop him from hunting down witch after witch in search of them. After about 20 years of looking for them he came upon an oracle.
He was hoping that the oracle would be able to reveal Beatrix and Astrid's location, but she told him of the prophecy instead. Her words to him were:
The one you truly seek shall be reborn. The snow white wolf shall bear the marking of the flames. The Godfrey line will produce the Hybrid again. Her soul shall make amends to our Great Mother. Her salvation will be your destruction."
Hearing the words of the prophecy made everything that much more real. 'The Godfrey line will produce the Hybrid again.' This is what my mother tried to prevent.
In over 500 years no other witch in our family had been mated to a wolf. This destiny was meant for me.
My salvation, Annabel's salvation, would only come once I kill Henry.