The Taste of Seduction

"Of course… not as strong as you though," she replied, her mother shaking her head to disagree.

"You have woken me up from a deep slumber," she said first, her smile never leaving her face. "Then that means something… somehow, you learned how to use your magic."

As she noticed that they were not alone, she looked at the two men, Atlas and Marcus, standing behind her. As their eyes met, the men smiled at Meredith\'s mother as a greeting, Gwen looking at her daughter to ask about them.

"And they are?"

"Oh!" Meredith playfully rolled her eyes at herself as she realized that she did not introduce the two to her. "Sorry… I almost forgot." She turned to them and pointed at each man as she said their names. "This one\'s Atlas, and the other is Marcus. My friends."

Atlas was about to react when he was introduced as a friend, making Marcus stifle his laughter as he did not expect his reaction.

"Atlas and Marcus." Gwen addressed to them, reaching out her hand to give them a handshake to politely introduce herself. "I guess you know… but I\'m Gwen, Meredith\'s mother."

"Nice to meet you," Atlas said, shaking her hand.

"Glad to meet you," Marcus greeted as well, Gwen now looking at her daughter.

"So you\'re like me… friends with a werewolf and a vampire."

The three looked at each other and then back at her as they were slightly surprised that she was able to tell their kind without them even telling her.

"You know that Atlas is a werewolf and Marcus is a vampire?"

"Oh, of course, dear," Gwen answered, arching a brow at her. "It\'s in your blood, too. Your dad is both. Of course, I could tell as much," she added, the three smiling at her as they found Gwen more amusing.

As silence befell them for three seconds, the most powerful witch knew that the trio weren\'t here without a reason. She then looked at her daughter once again, recalling what she last remembered and then asked her a question.

"The last time I know… I asked Austin for help to look for your father, Luscious. It was during the war," she started, her facial expression turning into something serious. "And… did you meet your father?"

Meredith\'s expression turned sad. She then shook her head to say no, the smile on her mother\'s face disappearing.

"What do you mean, Meredith?" she asked, a sense of urgency on the tone of her voice. "What\'s going on?"

"Well…" she let out a sigh. "You wouldn\'t like it, mother… once you know especially what Austin did," she added, Gwen taking a deep breath and released it slowly.

There was silence once more, Meredith and the two men waiting for her to speak again as they knew that she is about to say something.

"We are in his palace… judging by my reading of the energies around the area, he is not around and his helpers… are under a spell." Alarmed, she looked at Meredith, demanding for an answer. "Meredith, dear… what\'s going on?"

The three looked at each other once more. As Atlas and Marcus gestured Meredith to tell her mother everything, they knew that it was her who had the right to tell her everything and not them. She let out another sigh, answering her mother\'s question and shocked her.

"I don\'t know where to start… but he stole the Book of Spells… and says that he wants to control the four continents."

"What!?" Gwen exclaimed in horror, her hand running through her hair. "How is that possible? I made sure to keep the book protected and hidden with the help of Levi…" she mumbled, enough for the three to hear.

"I\'m sorry, mother," she apologized, further explaining what had happened. "We were looking for the Book of Spells because we wanted to break my soul tie with Marcus. And then I asked Austin for help into teaching me how to use spells since I felt bad that we are great, yet, I, a descendant, isn\'t."

"Oh, Meredith…" Gwen shook her head to disagree, looking at her daughter. "Do not look down on yourself."

"And so—" Meredith continued, ignoring her mother\'s comfort. "—as he was teaching me, he kept asking me details about the four crystals if it\'s in the book and I answered him because I trusted him… then—"

She found it difficult to continue the story. With her holding back, her lips turning into a thin line, tears pooled in her eyes. She knew that the book was passed down in their family and that it was treasure. It was something that needed to be kept and protected.

Yet, it was stolen from her.

She looked at Gwen. With tears escaping from her eyes, she continued talking to her and telling the story despite it being difficult for her to do so.

"Austin stole it from me, mother… I\'m sorry," she continued, her voice almost breaking. "I didn\'t know his intentions until he told me that he loves you and he purposely helped us so he could gain our trust and get what he wants. He is seeking for revenge and control because you chose father, and not him."

"Meredith…"

Understanding that her daughter is finding it difficult to explain to her in full detail, she approached her and held her hand, Meredith not understanding what she meant.

"Let me see."

Meredith furrowed her brows, confused. However, she finally got what her mother meant the moment their hands touched, the most powerful witch skimming over her memories so she could see it with her own eyes and understand what had happened so far while she slept.

Gwen was able to further grasp the dire situation that had happened, and was able to predict what is soon to come by seeing her daughter\'s memory with just a touch of her hand.