118 Chapter 117: For a special girl

The heat of the sun had decreased as evening approached. A slightly cool wind passed through, rustling the leaves of the huge shade trees, which surrounded the place. Two lone people stood in the deserted area of the town, now overgrown with wild bushes and vines snaking through the abandoned buildings. Zack looked around once again, making sure that no one had spotted them coming in. They had left the couple's cottage an hour ago, searching for the perfect place to do the rest of the job. 

If it hadn't been for the fire message that Aileen had received from Irina, they wouldn't have even found this part of the town. It made him miss using a phone. Unlike in the Island with his pack, here, he didn't share a pack bond with his friends or even Elize's friends. In situations like this, it was hence hard to exchange information or even keep in touch with people. Although he shared a bond with Elize, they couldn't communicate through it from a long distance, although he could feel her life essence. That was barely enough to keep him sane, at least for a few days. But it would have been better if they had some means of communication or the other. Now that they were out of the Island, it was only a natural thing to do, Zack thought absentmindedly.       

"Would you mind helping me Alpha? Or are you going to keep staring off into space like that?" Aileen's irritated remark brought him back to reality.

He quickly bent down next to the old woman and lifted off a huge slab of concrete that covered the small water body. He peered into the well, which was filled halfway through with freshwater that smelled like wet earth. Zack turned back to the witch, a sudden thought flashing in his head. When they had left the couple, they two were still unconscious. He could see from their heartbeats that everything was functioning fine in their body except for a slight fluctuation in the woman's pulse for a second. Although he trusted Aileen to have done her job, he was still rather worried about the two for some reason. 

"You sure that they'll be okay?" He asked, looking into the witch's eyes.

"They'll be fine," Aileen replied without looking at him. Her eyes were scrutinizing the contents of the well as she continued, "Not only will they forget about Ivan, but they'll also conceive a child soon. A life for a life. That's the least that I could do for the couple."

The witch turned to him with a tight smile. "Would you be a nice pup and hand me the potion from my bag?" She asked, pointing towards a worn out satchel kept right beside his feet.

"Are you going to hand it over or not?" Aileen asked, extending her hand towards him.

He quickly handed it over to the old woman with a sigh. If she was not Elize's family then he wouldn't have had to deal with this attitude, he thought to himself grudgingly. 

"And this potion works?" Zack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Do you doubt my abilities Alpha?" The witch asked with a smirk. 

"No! Of course not." Zack quickly denied with an awkward smile. "I was just asking out of curiosity."

Aileen chuckled, hearing his answer. Loosening the jar's lid, she slowly poured the liquid into the well, murmuring something under her breath. He watched in awe as the water started whirling, swallowing the contents of the jar within seconds. For a moment, the color of the water changed, followed by a sweet scent of roses emanating from its depths. This particular well was the only water body that had underground channels connected to all other water sources of the town. Hence, pouring an enchanted potion into it was their best strategy at making the people forget all traces of the boy's existence. The sweet scent disappeared as soon as the witch stopped chanting. Tossing the jar into the bag, she turned towards him. 

"It is done." Aileen said with a proud smile. "By tomorrow everyone in town will forget about the boy. You made sure to erase all documents related to him right?" She asked, casting a doubtful glance at him. 

"Yes, I did that yesterday," Zack said, nodding. 

"Good. You managed to do at least that much." The witch said, patting the side of his arm.

"Uh..." Zack looked at the woman with a confused expression.

Was that a compliment? Did the head witch approve of him now? He wondered.

"Since my job here is over, I think I'll get going." She said, looking around. 

Zack hesitated before asking the one question that he wanted to. Elize had been avoiding the old woman for some time now. It seemed to weigh on her mind a lot at times. Knowing how much the head witch meant to his mate, he had planned many times that he'd do something about it. 

"Why don't you come back to the academy with me? You should visit Elize." He suggested.

Aileen shook her head. "I believe that she wouldn't be too pleased, to see me there." She said with a shrug.

"I-" Zack didn't know how to reply to that. 

Although even he knew that what the woman said was the truth, he wished that Elize would mend her ties with her relative. If not for anyone else's sake, at least for her own peace of mind.

"It's okay Alpha. I don't need your sympathy. When it's time, I'll help her understand." Aileen said with a kind smile.

Zack's heart warmed at the expression. It was most probably the first time that the woman had even looked at him with kindness. Now that he thought about it, the witch looked quite worn out. Her hair, which was always perfectly combed back in a neat bun was now loosely tied with small strands sticking out from here and there. Her usually straight back was now bent with exhaustion. 

"If you say so." He said, looking at the woman with sympathy.

The two started walking away from the place, the cool evening breeze flowing against them. They walked in silence until they were back in the narrow alley that connected this place to the rest of the town. 

"How is she nowadays? Is she getting along well with everyone?" Aileen asked, suddenly stopping to turn towards him with a sad expression. 

"Well, she seems to be well adjusted to the place. I think it was a well-needed change of atmosphere." Zack replied

"Hmmm. Take care of her Alpha." She said with a tight smile, "She and Alex are the only family that I have left." 

"I'll take care of her. Please don't worry about it." He said, hoping to reassure the old woman.

Aileen nodded. "Goodbye, Zachariah." She said, stepping away from him. The head witch sprinkled something around herself with shaky hands, murmuring under her breath.

"Take care, Aileen," Zack whispered, as the woman's figure slowly blurred out into the blinding light that enveloped the space around her.

---

Zack wandered around the place for a while more. The sun had already set, and the streets were busy in the small town. As he walked through the bustling street, his eyes searched for a particular shop that he had noted earlier on. At that time, he was too busy to check it out. Now that his job was done, he was free to search for it. Spotting the small shop at the corner of the street, he walked towards it with a smile. He entered the place, pushing the door open. An old man was sitting at the counter.

"Welcome to our humble shop, young man. What would you like to buy?" The man asked, leaning towards him.

"I'd like to see your finest rings please," He said, looking around the well-lit place with a huge smile.

There were so many pieces of jewelry displayed inside glass boxes in the shop. The particular place had grabbed his attention the moment that he had spotted it the other day. There was something about the place that reminded him of a phrase that his father used to tell him- that the rarest of gems were always hidden in places like these. He was right, Zack thought as his gaze swept over the delicate pieces on display. 

"Is it for a special girl sir?" The shopkeeper asked, taking out a few boxes from inside a cupboard. 

"Yes. The most special of them all." Zack replied with a happy sigh.

"I have the perfect collection for you." The man replied, pushing a small box towards him.