David has always had an.. interesting life. His mother was a witch and his father, a werewolf. Of course, no one would ever see anything bad about that, but most witches were very full of themselves and deemed any non-witch beneath them.

They didn't like the idea of muddling their blood with other species. Some covens even went as far as pairing up young witches with a fated. Boding them once they were of age. Of course, the practice was banned by the "great council" eons ago, but no one has ever really seen them. The talk of how powerful they were still made them wary, keeping it a dark secret and perfectly hidden. The reason he knew about these illegal pairings was that his mother had once been apart of one of those rare covens.

Witches didn't have mates like the shapeshifters, unless they were mated to one. When they had found out that his mom was pregnant with him they were less than pleased, and when they were told after that she had mated with a shifter, they didn't hesitate to kick them to the curb.

His dad's pack was more than happy to welcome a witch into their pack. Having a witch made them all the more powerful and raised them higher on the list of strong packs. His mom, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled.

Just as a witch usually was, she was prideful. She was a stern woman, with a glare that could make even the largest men cower in fear. Deep down he knew his mom loved him and he her, but he could see how much giving up her coven had hurt her. She hadn't talked to her younger sister since she was forced to leave, and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

She pushed him. Every day they would train till he could hardly stand. She wanted him to be strong, to prove to the coven just how much of a mistake they had made to kick them out. Whenever they trained she could feel his magic and she knew that he would be one of the most powerful witches and that caused her to push harder.

He knew it all came out of love. She wanted to push him towards his potential and be like other witches, better than the other witches. But sometimes he wondered if she remembered that he wasn't all witch.

Growing up in a pack was also an experience. He was never allowed to play with the other pups since he didn't have the strength nor a wolf form. He was also sure that they were afraid of him and his mother.

In school was no better. Growing up alienated from all the other kids in the pack, he didn't hang out with them at school. And all of the witches that attended all seemed to have sticks shoved so far up their asses he was surprised they could walk. They would look at him as if he was nothing but a disgusting piece of gum stuck to the bottoms of their shoes.

He didn't fit in with the werewolves, and he didn't fit in with the witches.

But it wasn't all bad. He had two amazing people in his life, Naomi and Bryce. He met Bryce when he was in second grade and they had added Naomi into their ragtag group back in fourth. Those three were inseparable and David trusted them with his life, and soon, with his secret.

The looks on their faces when he had told them, was something he would never forget. It was the beginning of their first year in high school and he felt that it was long overdue.

"Come on man, just spill it already." Bryce tried to sound upbeat but you could hear the concern in his voice, "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as Naomi's taste in music." Naomi punched him in the arm, glaring at him. Her features softened when she saw how nervous David looked, "What Bryce means to say is that we will always love you no matter what it is. You can trust us."

He let out a shaky breath, "I..I'm a witch."

".........."

"Come on man, seriously, what is it."

"I'm a witch." He said more clearly.

Bryce hadn't believed him at all. He burst out laughing and continued to ask David for the real reason he had called them over. Naomi didn't say anything, but the way she was staring at him, he might as well have been in a straight jacket telling her that pigs could fly.

When he finally got tired of Bryces' smart ass comments and Naomi's skeptical look, he decided to show them. He chanted a few words and the things in his room began to float off the ground, including Bryce. Bryce began to scream and curse while Naomi just flat out fainted.

They were now in their fourth year. The restraints of his powers had come undone. At the age of sixteen, witches could summon their familiars and learned what their core power was. Like all witches, his familiar was a raven, his name is Gin, and his core power was the elemental of fire.

Before the age of sixteen, he was only able to do a few magic tricks and make beginner level brews and potions, but now that the block was gone and he had his familiar, the hardest part of being a witch was just beginning.

He was seventeen now, almost eighteen, but still found it extremely hard to control his power. No matter how hard he trained and how hard his mom pushed him, he wasn't able to make a measly fireball before it got out of hand and turned into a full-on forest fire. The fire always broke through his mom's barrier and on multiple occasions had it gotten very close to burning down the packhouse.

It was Friday, and since he woke up that morning he has had the worst headache he has ever had. It pulsed in his skull and had him stopping to remember how to breathe. He wasn't able to focus in any of his classes and the nurse had given him some pain killers but that seemed to only make it worse.

By the end of the day, he had broken out into a cold sweat and felt nauseous. He nearly cried in relief when the last bell rang and started on his way home. The pain was so immense that he didn't notice the people who had been following him.

Patrick, a witch from his mom's old coven called out to him, "Hey, David! Wait up, we wanna talk to you!" David grit his teeth in agitation but kept walking, pretending he hadn't heard anything. He clenched his eyes shut when a hand was placed on his shoulder and turned him around, "Hey! Didn't you hear me calling?"

"What do you want Patrick." David pushed his hand off of his shoulder and tried not to wince in pain.

"Hey, you don't need to be like that." he chuckled. "Hey, I have an idea, why don't we have a little competition?" The people who began to surround David started to snicker.

"No, I'm going home. If you want to battle, battle one of your friends."

"Aw come on just one battle. Just a little friendly competition. I'll tell you what, you win and we'll leave you alone, but if I win you owe me a favor. Scouts honor." he said as he raised his right hand and drew an 'x' over his heart using his index finger.

"I don't have time for this, go find someone else to bother Patrick." He turned to leave but a blast of air hit him hard in the chest and knocked him right off his feet, knocking the air out of him. "All I'm asking for is one battle, David. The least you can do is not act like your better than us. Your mom is one of the strongest witches in this state, so let's see if you compare."

"I bet he's just too chicken shit to get his ass beat." A kid said from behind him.

"I don't want to fight."

The wind picked up. David tried to get up again when he saw that Patrick crafted a blade made of wind. Another blast of air knocked him down, "What's a matter, David? Is a little wind too much for you?" The blade was as sharp and as thin as paper. Since it was made of air it didn't have ANY resistance, nor did it weigh the wielder down.

David rolled on his hands and knees and began breathing harshly. The headache he had all day was now torturous and he began to scream because the pain was too much. He wasn't able to think clearly. All he could do was hope that the pain would go away. He wished that the pressure in his skull would be released. And that's exactly what happened.

Fire began to spread all around him. It began to get larger and larger, spreading up and out with a vengeance. All the teens in the field began to panic. They tried everything, from spells, protection potions, concealment bubbles, and their own core magics, but nothing was able to stop the angry flames. The trees had caught on fire, blocking all of the teens in with no way to escape.

"Stop fucking fanning the flames, Patrick! You're making it worse!"

"David stop!"

"Stop David! If you don't we're all going to fucking die!"

"We're sorry ok! Is that what you want to hear?! We're sorry!"

"David, please! Stop! We're sorry!"

David could barely hear their muffled cries; they sounded so far away. His whole body burned and his brain felt like goo. The pressure he had felt was no longer in his mind but now engulfing him; pushing his body down to the earth.

He raised his head and saw through his blurry vision all the teen witches trying desperately to put out the flames. He saw Partick looking his way while doing all that he could to keep the flames from touching them, calling out to him. He tried to focus, to call the flames back. He swallowed the bile that rose up as the pressure began to pile up in his head again, but that only pushed him to try even harder.

It felt like he had hardly made a difference. The fire was still loud and proud and the searing headache was back at full force.

All of a sudden, a cold had was placed on the center of his back. He let out a sigh of relief as everything became calm. He could no longer hear the roaring flames. The pain he felt was gone, and the cold hand on his back cooled down his heated skin. He began to get sleepy as the cold hand started to rub soothing circles.

"David, I know you're tired but I need you to stay awake for a little bit longer. Can you stay awake for me, please?" David nodded his head, "Very good. Now, I want you to find your center and see the fire from within, can you do that?" David nodded his head again and tried to do what he was asked.

He had done this before. His mom always told him to imagine his small flame and then make it grow and shrink in his mind, but it was never just a small flame, it had always been like a large campfire and he could do nothing but make bigger. No matter how hard he tried he could never snuff it out.

"You're not trying to snuff it out, David. It will always burn inside of you. Don't imagine it in your mind, feel it in your core. See it from within."

He felt it. It was large and pulsing with power. He whimpered and moved away from it.

Kai had the forest around them in a containment bubble. Although he could put out the flames himself, he needed David to do it. It would only be beneficial for him. When David shied away from his core, the flames around them got a bit bigger.

"It's ok David, I'm right here. It won't hurt you, it's apart of you. I promise you, you're safe, just focus on my voice. Now, do you think you can try again?"

David hesitantly nodded once again. He saw and felt the flames again but this time he didn't back down. "Good, David. Now, breathe and relax your mind and body. As you breathe, focus on calming the flames. Imagine them gradually getting smaller, and smaller.

With every breath, he felt lighter and felt as the flames began to fade. When it was finally a small flicker of fire he let out a sigh. He finally opened his eyes and looked up to see a glowing young man with bright green eyes.

"Well done, David. I knew you could do it." The man smiled at him and he happily returned it. He did it. He actually did it!

"Rest."

He didn't need to be told twice as he let his whole weight fall onto the man with cold hands. he fell asleep with the smile still on his face.

He had calmed the flames.