Chapter Eleven

                                 Mason's POV

      Mason watched as the supposed dead prince disappeared from view after kissing his mate. He had watched as she openly grieved for the prince after she heard the news. It surprised him that she actually had emotions running through her veins. She had acted like someone without emotions for the past week since he has known her. She was different from her usual self. The day before that, her sister didn't come to school. He couldn't be bothered if she didn't because she wasn't his mate. Instead, he was excited that he would get to see Alee the next day. But the next day brought with it a moody Minty. 

       Emily and Randy has testified to this. She didn't listen while she was in class. Her eyes were always outside the building like someone who had lost something so precious. Those were signs of mate deprivation. Apparently, Minty has found her mate and she, like Alee, is avoiding him. 

What is it with these twins and avoiding their mates?

      After Randy and Emily witnessed her kissing the new kid, we concluded that Minty and Alee's scent must have been mixed up somehow that the new kid had thought that Alee was his mate. It didn't make sense, Mason thought to himself. Every individual has an individual scent that is peculiar to them, which makes it easy to identify one's mate. He was angry, not only that he couldn't figure out how the twins work but that cold Minty had a lot of emotions stored up within her but nice Alee hasn't one drop of emotion within her. 

       Today, Alee was as sad as Minty, which confused him. She never looked in his direction to confirm whether he was there like a sad mate would do. Instead, she kept on staring at the teacher without blinking. He watched her carefully. He noticed when she caught up with the rumor. He saw her when she answered her phone but no matter how curious he was, he tried not to eavesdrop. She was devastated after that phone call and he followed her when she ran off. He saw her enter the girl's bathroom but he didn't make any move to follow her.

      After a while, when he thought that she would need him, he opened the door to the bathroom and peeped in. There stood the dead prince and his mate locked in a passionate kiss. He was confused and furious. 

Why would she do that?

     His wolf hadn't said anything and that alone frustrated him. She had stood there, drying her tears and looking at herself in the mirror. For a while, Mason wondered why he had to hide from his own mate. 

Shouldn't he confront her like a true alpha? 

     He hid himself in time before she saw him when she turned around. He hid in a corner adjacent to the girl's bathroom as Alee passed him. Her scent hit him full force and he gave a low growl which of course Alee doesn't hear. He heard about it from Emily and Randy.

     Apparently, Alee and Minty are the only werewolves with hearing problems. Her scent was in the air mixed with some citrus smell he always assumed came from her perfume. He felt like a coward as he inhaled her scent. All he could do is inhale it and remember it. His wolf would disappear whenever he goes to school and reappear whenever he comes home. It drove him mad. While at school, he gets frustrated by Alee's refusal to acknowledge him and at home, his wolf will howl and growl because his mate had left him unattended. If his wolf wanted his mate, he should come out and play instead of running off whenever Alee appears.

     Suddenly, his wolf reappeared and asked,

“What is that smell?” 

“Adolf? Where have you been?” Mason asked him as he walked down the hallway.

“What's that smell?” he repeated his previous question.

“Alee's scent. What did you think it was?” Mason asked in frustration.

“There's a smell that accompanies it. That fruity scent.” he said.

      Mason remembered the citrus smell that usually accompanies his mate's scent. He hated that scent. It always made him sneeze and usually gives him an odd negative feeling. Suddenly, he stopped walking. The pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly. The twins were the only werewolves that cannot hear from afar. Neither of the twins can be found in one place at the same time and after school, they are usually nowhere to be found. Why haven't he thought of that possibility?

     If Alee and Minty were the same person, it could only mean one thing. The citrus scent that always accompanied his mate's scent is the true scent of whoever the girl he's been stalking is. 

     He didn't remember Minty's scent because he never paid attention to her. He decided to wait until the next day. His wolf quarreled with him on his decision. 

“Why?” he asked, “You could drag her into a closet and question her there. Why are you waiting?”

“Because that witch will run off if she finds out that we know her dirty little secret and she'll take our mate from us. We should be patient and catch her by surprise.” he replied.

     The next day, he followed Minty around trying to take in her scent. She noticed him but she pretended like she didn't. She's back to normal. Maybe the kiss with the dead prince might have something to do with it. For her to conjure a dead prince in the middle of a girl's bathroom means that she's a powerful witch with necromancy spells in handy. He was fortunate enough to detect that citrus smell as to identify that she wasn't his. The only problem is Minty's scent doesn't smell like citrus.

       It's a whole different scent and he couldn't detect any citrus from it. He wouldn't be surprised. She must have used someone else's scent and covered hers. He refused to be taken down. He knew that he could only detect his mate's scent because she used it when she goes by the name Alee. He needs to enlist the help of a witch, if he wants to defeat a powerful witch like her.

     Mary lives in the mountains where she would never come in contact with humans after losing her human mate to a bank robbery gone wrong. He had met her when his wolf was shot by a wolf hunter with wolf's bane. He had killed the hunter but the wolf's bane was spreading quickly through his system. She saved him only because his wolf whined all evening. He took the trail he used last time. She concealed herself within a mist that reveals anyone's worst nightmare when inhaled.

“Mary!” he shouted.

      He knew she knew his voice and if he shouted loud enough, she would let him in. After a minute of shouting, the mist cleared up revealing a wooden cabin. On the front porch sat Mary with a deep frown on her face. 

“Mr. Alpha, to what do I owe this bellowing voice of yours in my humble abode?”

“Mary, how are you?” he said.

       His wolf gave a big yap within him. The woman had saved his life but his wolf was more grateful to her than he was.

“Forget the pleasantries. What do you want?” she asked.

“I have found my mate.” he said.

“Glories to the heavens. Why should I care?” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“A witch has her.” he said.

      For a while, the witch looked thoughtful before she said,

“And you need my help, why?”

“I haven't seen her since I caught her scent. The witch uses her scent at school. I only caught it because I noticed something off about it.”

“A witch who goes to school?” she asked.

“Yes. She avoided me from the start maybe because she knew. She claims that they are a twin. They have this schedule that they adhere to. One comes to school today. Then, the other would come the next day.” he said.

“Really? Interesting.”

“She's powerful. She was able to conjure the dead prince just a few hours after he died.”

      Mary raised her eyebrows and exclaimed,

“A powerful witch that goes to school and yet you were able to detect an off scent from one of her creations? Maybe she's not so powerful after all.”

“What can I do to get my mate?” he asked.

“The spell's pretty simple. Just get a personal belonging of hers like a lock of her hair or a piece of her fingernails.” she said, swinging her legs from the porch.

“That's all? It's surprisingly easy.” he said.

“It's possible that she's neither of her creations but if she is, then, it would be easy. Witches use creations to cover up for them. She could be one of them but I have my doubts.” she said.

“I will get you something to work with.” he said.

     With that, he left her turf. The next day, he cornered Alee on her way to class from the library. She furrowed her eyebrows and eyed him.

“What's your problem?” she said.

      It was easy to fall for her heavenly scent, stare into her eyes and wish that she wouldn't be a fake but he snapped out of it. He pretended like he wanted to kiss her neck but he held one of her red silky locks and cut it with his claws.

“Hey! What is wrong with you?” she screamed when she saw her hair on the floor.

      He quickly hid the ones he had and said, halfheartedly,

“Sorry. I wanted a souvenir. It didn't work like I wanted.” 

“Well alpha, I'm not sweeping that. You should do it yourself.” she said before she walked away.

However, did he think that she was his mate? She sounded like a pompous tomboy, he thought.

       He left the school compound and took a trip to the mountains. When he got to Mary's turf, the mist was cleared and she stood over a cauldron, turning the substance in it with a big wooden spoon. 

“Her hair.” she said.

       He quickly gave it to her. She took the hair and stared at it. 

“Red hair...” she said, “Red is cute but I don't sense any powerful spell from this hair. Are you sure you got the right one?”

      For a minute, Mason was afraid that he took one from her doppelganger but he knew that he got the correct one. If it turns out wrong, then he would follow the witch wherever she goes.

“Affirmative.” he said.

      She added the lock of hair. Nothing happened at first as Mary stared at it. Then, a small mist built up above the cauldron showing a large familiar house that he has passed so many times. It showed the path leading to the house from the school.

“Damn it!” he screamed.

“Mellow down with the words. Your witch is not that powerful after all like I pointed out. She's still a novice, only a few spells under her belt. If you find her, you should direct her to me. I would like to teach a new pupil. It's been so long.” she said.

“She's not my witch. I should go. Thank you for all the help. If you need anything, contact me. I will help you.” he said.

“Get me that new pupil. That's all I want.” she said.