Avina allowed herself to be pulled behind Devin since he seemed to have encountered witches before. Though she took a small step to the side so that she could still see what was going on. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brian grabbing Violet by the arm and pushing her up the stairs while the witch still had her back turned. Unashamedly terrified, Keil followed the little vampire up the stairs in order to hide as well. Brian then stood at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed. Avina looked back at the red-haired woman just as she turned around and Brian claimed that she was the Marrok’s mate. Since when did the Marrok have a mate? And why didn’t all wolves know that their ultimate leader was mated to a witch?

Jessie gestured to the windows and the eyes carved into them. “These things? I have been around longer than they have.” She ran her thumb over one of the eyes and left a bright red burn mark appeared across the symbol. “They do not affect me. It was a nice try though.” Jessie turned around and laughed at the two less bodies in the room.

“Trying to protect your own?” She asked with a shake of her head. “Not to worry, I am only here for Avina and Devin. You can go hide too, Brian.” Brian growled at her as his eyes started to shift colors.

“Don’t Brian.” Avina warned, she wasn’t sure what they were up against and out right attacking was not going to help.

“Yes, Brian, don’t. I could snap your neck before you made two steps.” Jessie looked back at Avina and Devin and smiled. “Awe! Look, Romeo is trying to protect his little Juliet.” She pointed her finger at Devin and he instantly lifted into the air only to land roughly against the wall only to be pinned there.

“Devin!” Avina started to run towards him but Brian grabbed her arm to stop her. “Devin!” She called again even though she didn’t try to pull away. “Let him go!”

“I will, in a minute but first I have to tell him a secret.” Jessie leaned into whisper in Devin’s ear even though she knew Avina could hear her clearly. “Let me let you in on a little secret, Romeo. In the end, you die.” She said with a laugh. “And you do not need to protect Avina. A mother would never hurt her only daughter.”

“What are you talking about?” Avina cried. “I buried my mother before I turned into a werewolf!” Avina looked over at Brian who was looking between the witch and Avina.

“Did your mother have your bright red hair, Avina? Or did you get it from your father?” Jessie asked.

“Neither, but..” Avina looked down at her hair then back at Jessie.

“That’s right, you come from a long line of powerful witches. If only you had allowed your body to naturally change into a wolf, my darling.” Avina could feel herself sliding across the floor with no control of her own movement. “If that fiancé of yours had never bite you, you would have been a fantastic off breed! A witch naturally turned into a werewolf, you would have been the best of both of us!”

Avina tried to pull her head away from the woman’s hand that was resting on her cheek but she found that she couldn’t move. “How could I have been a natural wolf? All of us are bitten that is the only way!” She said with little conviction. She had a feeling she knew who Jessie thought her father was.

“Put it together little one. How could you be a natural born wolf?”

Avina looked over at Devin who was still being held against the wall with magic. She couldn’t say it out loud. It was impossible. There was no way this crazy woman in front of her was her mother! And there was no way that the…. She stopped herself before she could finish that thought.

“Avina, think about it. You were one of the only women who ever survived the change! That is because you were born to be who you are. And why do you think you were able to work your way through your pack? What woman do you know that has as much dominance in her blood as you do? You inherited your strength and will from your father, and you fierce personality from me. The perfect offspring!”

Avina screamed and pushed herself out of the other red-headed woman’s magic. She stumbled back breathing hard. “Let him go!” She growled as she pointed at Devin. He fell to the floor with a flick of the witch’s hand. Avina ran over to him and kneeled down beside him. “Are you okay?” She asked softly.

Devin cursed himself in his head as Jessie rubbed her thumb over the symbol leaving a red burn over it. He had never thought of the idea that a witches age would throw off the effect. Still he stood in front of Avina trying to protect her, the best he could. He knew there wasn't much he could do without getting close to Jessie and Devin knew that as soon as he moved she would know what he was doing and attack before she could get to her. So instead he stood in front of her, hoping that if the witch did attack, he would take most of the pain.

Devin's eyes looked towards the stairs as she mentioned protecting the others. Despite the fact that he and Brice didn't get off on a good start, he was happy that Avina stopped him from attacking. He had seen what witches could do, but clearly Avina hadn't. He truly didn't want her to see it first hand, he wished the eye would have worked so she wouldn't have to see it either. Devin didn't have time to react before Jessie pointed a finger at him, before he was picked up into the air and thrown roughly against the wall. The magic that pinned him there felt like a ton of bricks sitting on his chest holding him in place, the pain making him have to stop breathing to ease it. Although it wasn't the first time he had been pinned to the wall by a witch, the feeling wasn't something one could get used too.

His eyes looked from Avina who had been screaming his name afraid, to Jessie as she leaned up to whisper in his ear loudly, her words would have made him shiver down his spine. His eyes looked at Avina again for a moment, because actually in the end both Romeo and Juliet die. “Why don’t you let me go lass, and we’ll see what is faster. Me or your magic.” He whispered softly back in her ear, eyes turning red and voice gravely trying to charm his way loose. Before she said something about Avina being her daughter, even he hadn’t been expecting her to say something like that, the look of shock appearing on his face before he could even hide it. If it had been anyone else she was talking about he likely would have made some kind of sarcastic comment, but at the moment unlike Avina he was actually speechless.

Devin watched quietly to the conversion between the two red heads frowning. Because now that he was looking for it they did look like they could be mother and daughter. Which meant that Avina could have been a witch, and for a moment Devin couldn’t help but feel discussed by the idea that he had drank hag blood. Until he reminded himself that it was Avina, and in that case it wouldn’t have mattered to him.

He let out a hiss as Jessie pulled Avina over to her, struggling against the magic that held him to the wall. It didn’t matter to him that Jessie might have been Avina’s mother, or that she seemed almost happy maybe proud way she was talking to her. The witch was still using her magic against his wolf, he needed to be able to protect her! If he could just get away from this wall! His closed tightly using all of his strength trying to break the hold. So while he was listening to the conversion between the two of them, and actually glad to hear that Avina wasn’t a hag because she had been bitten, he hadn’t seen her looking over to him.

Her scream was so loud that it likely could be heard from the outside, if he wasn’t held still Devin would have likely even flinched at the sound, his eyes shoot open to see her stumble back, a look of panic in his eyes. What had the witch done? Did she do something to hurt Avina? Cast a spell on her? It didn’t even enter his mind that she pulled out of Jessie’s magic, it wasn’t something he had seen done before. His body hit the wooden floor roughly as the witch flicked her wrist letting him go as Avina had growled for her to, making him groan a bit, breath coming out quickly even enough he didn’t need it. Not only from the impact of the floor but the pressure disappearing from the magic, even his arms and legs felt a bit weaker from struggling uselessly against the magic.

He couldn’t help flinch a bit as he heard Avina run up to him, Devin’s eyes looking up at her as she knelt beside him asking if he was okay. Oh sure he had only just been pinned against the wall by some crazy hag that was her mother, he was just wonderful! His eyes softened a bit as he nodded looking back down at the floor. “I’m fine, that isn’t the first time.” Devin answered softly as he started to pull himself slowly off of the floor. His eyes looking up as Jessie left, good he didn’t want that discussing witch in his house! The smell of her magic smelling up his home!

Once the witch had left and he had pushed himself up off the ground, his eyes looked up the stairs Brice was still standing at the bottom of before muttering thanks. Even if he didn’t like Brice, he had protected his youngling by forcing her upstairs. His eyes then went to Avina, his hand going to her face where Jessie had hold Avina with her magic, his fingers over her cheek softly as if afraid that even her touch had hurt her.

”Are you okay? Did she hurt you?’ He asked before removing his hand when she said she wasn’t, seeing Violet come down the stairs and stand behind Brice wanting to come back down. “ What are we going to do Avina?” He whispered softly so that only she would be able to hear the panic in his voice, because for the first time, he had no idea what they were going to do.