My Brother’s Mate
Chapter 23

Hiroen's

POV

The day after the man with the icy blue eyes came to visit the coven, I look for Haley. I replace her by the well getting water. "Haley." I say.

"What are you doing here Hiroen?" She asks as she is pulling the pail out of the water.

"Haley, are you mad at me?" She stops pulling the pail up and takes a deep breath.

"No I'm not mad at you. I'm worried about my sisters. And about you." She turns to me and takes my hand.

"I don't want anything to happen to any of you."she adds.

"But I still don't understand the danger." I say.

"Have you heard the prophecy yet?" Haley asks me in hushed tones.

"No, Miranda avoids it when I bring it up." Haley looks around to see if anyone is within ear shot.

"Miranda doesn't want you to go looking for trouble. She claims it is her duty to help you, but I know she is afraid. She fears for her coven and for your life."

"What is the prophecy?" I ask impatient.

"I will tell you, but you must promise not to tell her I told you. And you must promise to stay safe." Haley's eyes narrow at me waiting for me to agree. "Fine, just tell me."

"Long ago, an Oracle saw a girl from the three magical lines, witch, were, and vampire. She will be born into this world under secret. Her blood will hold the power to end the world." Haley says. "That's it?" I expected more.

"No! I was pausing for effect. The Oracle said the girl will bring with her a Great War, Great fire, and Great death. She is a warning to the end. The people who believe that are called the Blood of the Pure." "Anything else?"

"Yes. The prophecy has another translation which we believe is the true translation. That the girl is not the end of the world, but the beginning. We're called the Dawn of the Tribrid. There is also a group of people that believe her blood holds the magical power of all three. They have given themselves the name of Blood Seekers. Everyone is divided into one of these three groups."

"Everyone?" I ask.

"As strange as it sounds, yes. Even if they don't know it. I mean you lived by the rule of no mating with witches so there would be no tribrid." That is true.

"How do you know you believe the right translation? What if the other one is correct?" I ask.

"The prophecy has been around a very long time, back then the word for ending and beginning were very similar."

"We trust our leader. Do you feel like a mistake?" She asks.

"Of course not."

"Do you feel you are evil?" She asks.

"No, but what if I have a child or grandchild. I don't want to think they could be evil, but I don't know."

"What if you were around long enough to replace out?"

"That's a long time to be alive. Is that even possible?"

"With a talisman it is." Haley says.

"Can you show me?"

"I can. We'll need to make a talisman and you will need to keep it with you always. I will get a few other witches to help, it will need to be a powerful one. Find what you want to use as one." Haley says before heading back to the coven. What could I use as a talisman? I look around and replace a green stone. I'll hold on to this for now. My whole way back to the coven house I don't replace anything else.

Later that evening Haley comes to replace me.

"Hiroen!" She shouts.

"Why are you shouting!"

"Because I'm excited. Tomorrow Miranda is going out into the woods to collect some herbs. We'll make your talisman then. What did you replace?" I hold out my green stone. Haley inspects it.

"Great, I'll just fix it up for you for tomorrow." Haley takes it and leaves.

The next day Miranda and a few other witches go out into the forest to collect herbs. Haley and I make our way to the ceremony stone. We are met by 3 other witches in the coven. Haley pulls a ring from her pocket.

"I made it a ring so you can wear it." The green stone is the large face of the ring.

"You ready for this?" Haley asks.

"Yes." We all gather around the stone and join hands and close our eyes.

"translatione navitas"

"translatione navitas"

"translatione navitas" I open my eyes and the ring is glowing. I can already feel my connection to the ring.

"There, now you have a talisman powerful enough to age you slowly. Miranda has a necklace that does the same thing." Haley takes my hand and drags me back to the house. She scans the book shelf for what she is looking for and pulls it out. "Why are we doing this without Miranda?" I ask.

"It's not that we are doing this without her, it's not a secret you can tell her. I just wanted to do it with us. Me and you. My magic is in your ring too, so I can always replace you." Haley's fingers touched my ring and trailed down my fingers. I look into Haley's eyes. "Am I interrupting?" I turn my head to see Miranda standing in the doorway. Haley shifts away from me slightly.

"Um no, we were just practicing magic. I made a new talisman." I hold my ring out.

"It's very powerful. Did you help him Haley?"

"Yes" Haley replies.

"Haley, can I see you out side? Then you can get on with whatever magic you were getting into." Haley follows Miranda outside, her eyes not leaving the floor, they close the door behind them. I rush over to the door and press my ear up but I don't hear anything. They must have walked away from the door. I rush out the back door and walk along the side of the house. I peek around and see them standing by the ceremony stone. I can just make out a hint of what they are saying. I press my back up against the house and close my eyes. I focus on my hearing. There words start to come through.

"And what do you think will come of this Haley?"

"Nothing happened."

"You are getting too attached. I will have one of the other sisters finish Hiroen's training."

"No!"

"Haley I am doing this for you. What do you think will happen when he replaces a mate?"

"I.. I don't know."

"He will choose his mate. He is a wolf Haley. He does not get a choice."

"But what if he did choose? What if he never replaces a mate."

"We can not mess with the bloodline Haley. What ever is to happen will. I am not trying to hurt you. But you can not hold out for something that may never happen. And he would not do something to hurt you. He has a destiny, and we can not get in the way of it." "And what spell were you even doing?" Miranda asks.

"An age spell. He's worried about the safety of his lineage. He wants to be around to protect them."

"An age spell. That's a difficult spell. Do you need help with it?" Miranda asks.

"No, I think we got it."

"Alright. But Haley, just keep your distance." I open my eyes. I sneak back into the house and sit down in a chair at the table while I wait for Haley and Miranda to come in. I bring the book over to me that Haley had given me with the spell in it. I was reading over the spell when Haley walks back in.

"So are you ready for the spell?" She asks.

"What was that about?" I want to see if she will tell me the truth.

"She just wanted to make sure we weren't getting in over our heads." Very cryptic.

"Yeah I'm ready for the spell." Haley and I perform the spell. For the rest of the night Haley keeps her distance from me.

The next day is my last full day in the coven. I have learned so much, from everyone, especially Haley. But last night I had time to think about what Miranda had said. If my mate does come along, I would pick her. The mate bond is powerful, and picked by the moon Goddess herself. I think Haley took her advise too, because she kept her distance from me all day. I tried to stay busy with another witch learning more complex things with potions. I went to sleep fully packed and ready to get back to my pack.

The next morning my father and mother came to pick me up. I hug them both when they get out of the car.

"Glad to see you in one piece." My father jokes.

"We missed you so much. Two months is too long." My mother says as she hugs me.

"Thank you for taking care of our son Miranda." My father says.

"I would give my life to help the Bloodline." Miranda and Haley were standing on her porch. Haley had her eyes lowered to the ground.

Two years later

I stand on the porch of Miranda's house and watch as the coven casts spell after spell to try and protect me. Where is Miranda? Suddenly I see her make her way to the ceremony stone. I need to help her, but this stupid shield on the house keeps everything from entering and exiting.

"Let me help!" I scream, but no one notices. Once Miranda makes it to the stone, she starts chanting something. The other sisters of the coven join in on the chanting.

"Hiroen, I always loved you. I know I wasn't suppose to, it just sort of happened." Haley said in my mind. The sisters of the coven circle Miranda and join hands. A bright light started illuminating from the rock. The light brightens Haley's face as she looks over at me. The white glow from the light makes her look like an angle.

"Goodbye Hiroen." I hear her say.

"NO!" I scream. The stone breaks in half with a loud creaking sound, like ice shifting on a frozen lake. The light flashes brighter and a blast radiates from the center. I cover my eyes from the blinding light. Once the light dies down I look up. Nothing is left. The silence is unsettling. Haley is gone, along with the other sisters. The two other houses are completely flattened. All the Pure's were gone too. The only thing I see is Miranda on the ground next to the broken stone. I put my hand up to see if the shield is still there. My hand moves freely pass the barrier we're the shield was. I rush over to Miranda's side. I roll her over. She is still breathing and her eyes flutter open.

"Miranda, where is everyone? What happened?" Her eyes weakly look around.

"They are dead." She whispers and shuts her eyes.