Chapter 4 - The Witch’s Tea Party

Brandon’s POV

The Giraffe building loomed in front of us. “Luke, which floor and apartment is it?” I asked, urgency creeping into my voice.

The night had drained me, and my muscles were protesting with every step.

“Ugh, damn, it’s the 13th floor!” Luke replied, stifling a laugh.

“Are you kidding me? Let’s go—hurry up and open the elevator!”

I glared at the note plastered on the elevator wall: Out of Order.

“What the hell…!” was all that escaped my lips.

“Want me to carry the lady?” Luke smirked.

“Hell no! Now, move your ass!” I growled, shifting the girl in my arms for a better grip.

“Boys, boys! Calm down, puppies. Let’s take the stairs together,” Oracle Walda chimed in, her voice dripping with amusement.

“And Luke, you must carry me. I’m several hundred years old—I can’t run up the stairs like you young folks.”

Her smirk was so damn satisfying that I couldn’t help but laugh at Luke’s misfortune.

At least tonight, both of our backs and legs would be in agony!

Luke pushed the apartment door open after setting Walda down. “Ouch, my back!” she feigned, clutching her side dramatically.

“Walda, if you’re going to mess with my beta, at least try to sound a little more convincing,” I said, rolling my eyes.

She was a funny old lady—more than I’d expected.

Not that I’d had much interaction with her before, except when my grandpa brought me around for special pack matters when I was a kid.

“Well, I had to sound convincing, didn’t I? Luke, how did I do? A perfect performance?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

Luke, still massaging his aching legs and back, chuckled. “I’ll give you a standing ovation, Walda. You almost had me for a second!”

He smiled, shaking his head. “But you can’t fool me. Your back’s fine you didn’t even walk!”

Walda grinned wider. “I know, I just wanted to tick you off a little.”

I glanced around the apartment, frowning. “Uh, the place is empty?” I raised an eyebrow, my arms starting to protest from carrying the girl.

“Oh dear, she doesn’t even have a couch or dining table! Look, her suitcase is unopened. She must have just arrived,” Walda said, placing her hands on her cheeks in concern. Despite her antics, she really did seem worried about the girl.

Luke sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I’ll handle this.”

He dialed quickly. “Hey, Mark? Yeah, can you bring the boys and the moving truck? I also need some furniture. Got anything good from the shop?”

He paused, listening. “Great. It’s a girl. No, not my girl—it’s Alpha Brandon’s. Yeah… no, I don’t know what she likes. Bring Amanda or someone; she’ll know what girls like.”

He nodded, wrapping up the call.

“All done!” Luke announced, sounding proud.

“Good boy!” I praised him with a grin.

“Douchebag. What, you wanna throw me a bone or something as a reward?” Luke shot back.

I laughed. “My arms are kind of busy, otherwise I would.”

“I just can’t!” Luke said, looking both offended and amused. I knew he was practically drooling for a bone it was way past dinnertime.

“So, Brandon, who’s this girl you suddenly fancy? What does she even do? What’s her name?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I blinked, probably looking like an idiot. “Uh… I don’t know. Check her ID?”

Luke rummaged through her velvet evening clutch again. “Got it! Her name is… Beatrice!”

“…And what does she do?” I asked hesitantly.

Luke inspected a folded map he pulled out. “It’s a map of a campus and Berlin city.”

“Which school?” I pressed.

Luke’s expression turned incredulous. “Brandon, you won’t believe this. She goes to Konsthaus Morgenlicht! The only school in Berlin that allows both vampires and werewolves. A compromise since the Blood Moon Pact in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell after the cold war”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Konsthaus Morgenlicht? Seriously?” That school was a damn minefield.

”I mean since our wolf territory is all of Eastern Berlin, why the hell are Vampires crossing so long into our borders when they should be residing in the West. It shouldn’t even be possible!” I said feeling exhausted.

”Yeah, the supernatural ceasefire has been working smoothly for so long. It’s so fishy” Luke answered me.

Why did it have to be there? Konsthaus Morgenlicht was a minefield—dangerous for someone like her.

And her friend? The other blonde? Were they both tied to this attack? I needed answers fast.

Luke’s expression darkened. “Guess what, she attends there too. But this can’t just be random. There has to be more to this attack.”

“You’re absolutely right, Alpha Brandon,” Walda chimed in, her voice calm yet filled with wisdom, like an ancient tree whispering in a storm.

”An old witch like me, along with the warlock Erasmus Bluthexer, oversees the truce to ensure it’s honored. This worries me deeply,” Walda chimed in, her expression clouded with concern.

“Would you all like your readings now?” she added with a grin and changed the subject, like this was some kind of game to her.

“Why do I have to get a reading? I don’t want to know my future,” I said, shaking my head. I hated that kind of witchcraft.

“Oh, but you must,” she said with an amused smile. “A fine young pup like you shouldn’t ignore fate. Why do you think I was in the wrong neighborhood? Don’t tell me you thought that was a coincidence too.”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she turned to Luke. “And you won’t escape either.”

“Walda!” I groaned. “I didn’t come here for some fortune-telling event!” I met her gaze, trying to challenge her, but she didn’t even flinch.

Her eyes narrowed with a playful glint. “Tsk, tsk, Alpha Brandon. Acting like a schoolboy, I see. Nobody escapes my readings. But don’t worry—I’ll wait until the team arrives. Then we’ll have a little tea party, and they can have their readings too!”

Luke burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. “Walda, you’re way too good at jokes!”

Before I could retort, the doorbell chimed. In barged the other pack memebers Mark, Amanda, Jake and Paul.

“Luke!” Mark growled, panting heavily.

“Why didn’t you warn us the elevator was out of order?! I’m going to kill you for this—thirteenth floor, are you kidding me?”

Marc slumped over, catching his breath as the group wrestled the blue couch through the door.

“Big bad wolves whining about stairs like spoiled pups!” Wanda teased, her laughter echoing through the room.

“Welcome to the tea party!”

The group stood frozen, stunned into silence. The Witch-Oracle Walda of the Berliner Dome was here.

What kind of spectacle had they walked into?

“What tea party?” Amanda asked softly, her fiery red hair catching the room’s dim light. Her freckles seemed to deepen with her puzzled expression.

Her green eyes blinked in surprise as she scanned the empty room filled only with people.

Then her gaze landed on me, still holding Beatrice.

“…And who is that, Brandon?” she asked, her voice tinged with not only curiosity but suspicion and jelousy.

”For heaven’s sake, don’t stand there like fools! Your alpha’s arms are about to give out! Drag the couch over here the girl needs treatment!” Walda commanded, her voice now sharp with authority.

I couldn’t argue.

My arms felt like lead, weighed down by both guilt and the physical strain.

Her faint, shallow breaths stirred my wolf instincts into overdrive - We had to act fast!