I am stunned. The witches actually caused that horrible war he's talking about...? The most damage too? He can't mean they were the ones who killed the most people, right? It can't be... I try to process it, but I just don't understand.
"You said there were only two of them..." I mutter.
"Exactly. There were only two witches, but they were the root of everything we went through. I won't get into the details, and I don't want to push it all on the witches, but these are the facts everyone here in Silver City remembers: witches are powerful and scary. They are not human or werewolf, and we don't know that much about them. To be honest with you, we actually thought that your kind had died in that war and that we were done with witches. But you're here now. We have a new witch in town, playing with fire, and she already burned down a building before we even knew she was around. A Fire Witch in Silver City, after the earth and water ones. You're saying you feel trapped here and all, but how do you think people will react once you go out and your existence is made public?"
I... I don't know how to answer that.
I can't even begin to imagine. It's... terrifying. This whole city isn't just split between humans and werewolves. All these people are traumatized by a war that witches caused. Only two of them. If there were as many deaths as Benjamin said, and the witches were responsible for all of it... I'm probably a monster to them. They thought they were done with witches, probably ready to move on, but here I am.
On top of that, I revealed myself in the worst way possible with that big fire. I know it made the evening news for a whole building to go up in flames with one survivor...
"Don't worry," says Benjamin. "It doesn't mean all of Silver City really thinks witches are bad. At least, probably not the werewolves. There was one of them on our side, remember? It's just that we are... wary of witches. Especially the humans, who don't have much affinity with witches. The fight was mostly us against the vampires, but the humans had to participate anyway. Things are... tense, outside. You're not confined here only for people's safety, but also for your own. Until we figure things out."
He means until they can figure out what to do with me... How dangerous I really am. I take a deep breath. So far, I've barely been able to control myself when I get angry. Moreover, there is this voice in the back of my mind that comes up at unexpected times... No, I shouldn't think about it. As far as I know, it might just be my imagination, my own mind playing tricks.
I need to think of something else. I can feel some stares on my back. I probably don't have much time left to ask questions before I'm dragged back to my room. To think Benjamin, whom I just met, is the first one to explain so many things to me... I think about his words again.
"When you say until we can figure out what's going on... Who is this ‘we’, exactly?" I ask.
Benjamin chuckles and raises his hand with the cigarette toward the building behind me.
"You know this facility is called the White Hospital, right? This hospital belongs to the northern clan of werewolves in Silver City, the White Moon. That's why Bonnie and I work here, you're on werewolf territory, little witch. Your older sister made an agreement with the White Luna, for your protection."
"The White Luna? Isn't Luna the other name for the... Queen of Werewolves?" I ask, remembering what Bonnie and Kelsi taught me only a few weeks ago about the hierarchy among werewolves. "You're telling me my older sister made a pact with someone that important for my sake?"
Benjamin starts laughing, shaking his head.
"Of course she's important, but she's not almighty! Moreover, the Earth Witch, who was the good witch, was a friend of the Luna. So, of course, she's going to keep a close eye on you. She's a good friend of our family, actually."
"What's her name?"
"Selena. Selena Whitewood."
Chapter 2
"So... Selena Whitewood?" repeated Kelsi.
I nod. She is lying on her stomach on my bed and frowning next to me, her chin in her hand. After my phone call with her this morning, Kelsi had promised to come visit me right after her classes, and of course, she did. Her bag is hanging at the end of my bed, and her laptop is open in front of us.
"Have you heard of her?" I ask.
"Well, I've heard about the Lunas of Silver City, everyone here knows about the werewolves and their hierarchy, but... he didn't say anything else?"
"No... I wanted to ask more, but the nurses came back and pulled me back inside. I'm pretty sure he was given an earful too, he was called into the director's office right after that."
"Did you try asking Bonnie?"
"I haven't seen her since..."
It's almost strange, actually. It has been two days since I last saw the red-haired nurse, and she has never been absent for this long without telling me before. Did her twin telling me so many things put her in a bad position? I can't help but feel a bit bad about it. Somehow, I feel like this is my fault. What if she really got in trouble? Or does she not want to talk to me anymore because of what I know now?
"So?" I ask Kelsi again. "What do you know about that woman, Selena Whitewood?"
She sighs and sits up, shaking her head with her usual cute little pout behind her glasses.
"Not much, to be honest. I don't have any werewolf friends, so all I know is just general knowledge. You remember how werewolves obey an Alpha and his female partner, the Luna, right? Well, usually, territory is divided among several packs, each led by an Alpha couple. Since Silver City is so big, the werewolves here are split between several packs, but one of the biggest ones is the White Moon Clan, led by that woman, Selena Whitewood. She is basically the boss for all the werewolves living in the northern parts of Silver City."
"So she's still someone super important, right?" I ask.
