Crimson Witch Novels & Stories

She looked out over the wolves who had come to witness her crowning, seeing faces she knew and faces she did not, seeing hope and fear and love and uncertainty. I am not the Luna you expected, she continued. I am not the gentle mate who stands quietly at her Alpha's side. I am not the traditional leader who follows paths worn smooth by generations before. I am something else entirely. She paused, letting her words settle. I am the Crimson heir. I carry three thousand years of power in my blood. I have fought and bled and nearly died for every wolf in this valley. And I will continue to fight, to bleed, to die if necessary, for the future we build together.

I say holding a finger up to my lips, to tell Crimson to be silent. “I think you should come home, Tawny. It’s not safe for you in Cambiador.” I’m confused, a little shocked but mostly pissed, “Why the change of heart Hunji?” “I don’t trust Crimson. What he is.” “And what do you think he is?” Nobody outside of Cambiador, except Tolba, knew what Crimson was. Unless word had spread that quickly. “He’s a Skinwalker. A shifter that can change forms. Chakor has been posing as Tobias here in the Kodiak Kingdom as well as in Riocht.” Hunji begins to explain.

I pick it up and run my fingers over the hard moon sigil pressed on the cover. “Interesting...” I mutter, opening to the first page. It simply lists: Goddess, Lycans, Witches, Bloodlines, and Hybrids. My pulse quickens. I flip through the pages, ignoring the ones that have been torn out clean. The writing is cramped and old-fashioned, talking about cursed beings. “The Crimson-born are not of the pack, nor of the coven. They are independent and choose where they wish to go. Forged in the silence between the first howl, the Goddess’s tears, and the first spell. With their pale skin comes eyes deeper than the stain of blood.”

The brand glows red in the fire, waiting. Tears already burning my eyes. He walks around the bed slow. His eyes never leave me. “Tonight you stop being Volkov,” he says. His voice is calm and cruel. “Tonight you wear my name on your skin forever. Inside your thigh. Where only I will see. Where only I will touch.” I shake my head hard. “No. Please. No.” My voice cracks. As my tears fall hot. He pulls the iron from the fire. The wolf crest glows bright red. He kneels between my open legs. The heat reaches my skin before the metal does. He brings it close, I smell hot iron so I scream before it touches.

"Tell me all you know of Amara." Thalia begins to explain, her voice steady and filled with conviction. "Amara is unique, King Badan. I believe she is a hybrid—half wolf or lycan, mixed with witch's blood. If my suspicions are correct, she is the last descendant of the Crimson pack, making her royalty. It seems that she was bound as a baby to hide the immense power she holds within, and her counterpart was bound to never surface."

Death draws me towards it like we have been attached with an unbreakable string. Maybe it's just a superpower in which I get the last chance to save the person in front of me or maybe it’s a curse. Particularly a Crimson curse, as I like to call it. Through the years the number of deaths I have seen is greater than my age. You would think that death doesn't affect me anymore. You are right to think that because that is what I had thought until 5 days ago.

"Do not speak. The magic is still waking up inside you. It will hurt if you fight it." Pain exploded in my back where the wings had come out. I gasped and grabbed onto the warrior holding me. My vision went in and out. One second I saw the red moon. The next I saw nothing but darkness and moving shadows. "Why are you helping me?" I managed to ask between breaths. "Because you are the one we have waited for," the warrior said. His voice was calm but urgent. "The Forbidden Witch. The one who carries the old blood. Now hold on. This next part will not be gentle."

The chain behind me extending to allow the motion. The woman floated towards me and stopped a few inches from me. I recognized her as a sorcerous not by her appearance, but rather her ora. She was dressed all in black with a cape covering most of her face. All I could see were her eyes, which were glowing green. "What is your name, witch?" She asked me. I refused to answer. I only glared at her. She came closer and grabbed me by my hair, forcing my eyes to hers she peered into them as if she were looking directly into my soul. She released me. "I see." She said. "Tell me Mandalynn are you with child?"

It was nothing like my Lyra. My head swam as Xio stirred. He was demanding, needing. My eyes scanned the crowd of witches, searching, until I saw her. She was standing at the back of the group, nearly hidden by a taller witch. She was small and delicate, with long, dark hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Her eyes where the color of Zircon. They immediately locked with mine, and a look of utter shock flashed across her face before she quickly looked away.