Rules of the coven

Melissa and I got up and left the room. As we went downstairs, I noticed that Aisha was still missing, but the others were there, sitting on the couch and listening to Matthew's performance. Five more people were here, too. The two men and two women I noticed alongside Melissa while I was being introduced were sitting a bit further away, chatting with each other.

Another person was sitting on the couch with the other skinwalkers, a fairly tall middle-aged man. My mother, still in Kate's skin, was leaning on his shoulder and holding his hand. He immediately stood up and approached us as soon as he noticed our presence, with my mother following him. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint where I saw him before.

He smiled and raised his hand, offering a handshake. "Edward, I assume. I am Oliver. I apologise for my tardiness, but some of my obligations prevented me from arriving earlier. I am pleased to welcome you into our family."

I hesitantly shook his hand. "T-thank you."

The skin Oliver was using was a bit shorter than my original self, but still so much taller than Elise. It felt awkward to be towered by everyone around me, even Melissa was almost a head taller than me. Elise was used to it, but I wasn't yet.

"I heard a lot about you from Aga and Ashley. I know that you are quite an idealistic child, but I sincerely hope that you'll learn to understand our way of living and accept us given time."

I looked down. "I don't think I'll be able to accept toying with innocent people's lives like this."

Minh chimed in. "Is it toying, though? It is our nature to blend in with humans. I know that Aga wore your current skin multiple times, but all she did was act the way Elise would. She told you our rules, right? We want to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, so we tend to act like the original owners of the skins we wear when in public, especially if it is not a skin we plan to keep for long."

Oliver nodded and continued. "If you intend to make a skin your main one, you are generally allowed to change some things you may dislike about it, as long as you can think of credible reasons for these changes. Like what Aga did with Patricia. But if you do make changes, you need to be certain that this is the life you want to keep in the long term."

"It's... far too soon for me to think about this..."

"It's never too soon, my child." My mother replied. "There's no point trying to cling onto your humanity when you're no longer human."

The doorbell rang and Minh got up. Meanwhile, after my stomach growled a second time, Melissa and I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. It was fairly late, so I decided to go for a simple and light meal. We settled for some pasta with butter and a steak. Melissa insisted that I let her do it for me while I rested, so I went back to see what was happening in the living room.

There, I saw Minh standing in front of a group of nine people. Two women and one man who seemed to be the same age as Melissa and Minh's skin, a man and a woman who seemed to be around my age, two middle-aged women and two middle-aged men. The man close to my age seemed familiar too...

"Now, listen up. Our coven welcomed a new skinwalker today, Edward." Minh said, his tone far more authoritarian as he pointed at me. "You will obey him if he seeks your help as long as it's not detrimental to the coven and its members. But always remember who your real masters are."

The nine people in front of him knelt and spoke almost at the same time. "You, mistress Aga, and master Oliver."

The way they acted was very strange, they seemed... far too enthusiastic.

"Good." Minh grinned at this display before approaching two members of this group. "Viola, Luke, since we're all here, would you be so kind as to follow me to the guest room upstairs~?"

Luke?

What Minh said made me realise why this man seemed familiar... He was one of the bullies I often butted heads with in high-school. And Viola was his girlfriend at the time.

"What's happening? Why are Luke and Viola here?"

"Oh, that? They hurt Ashley a lot, not only in high-school, but even when they started college, when you weren't there to protect her anymore." Minh replied with a sadistic grin as he caressed Luke's face. "So, after I converted Ashley into a skinwalker, I turned them into obedient slaves. That's what they deserved~"

"Huh? How?"

Minh freed his spines and snickered. "Thanks to an ability of mine~ I can easily make humans absolutely obedient. Apart from Luke, Viola, and Clara, the humans here are those who joined us out of greed or fear. And those aren't good motivations in our eyes. Greedy and fearful people are prone to betraying our coven should the opportunity arise. So I just make sure it cannot happen."

I gave a worrying glance at Melissa, who was still busy cooking in the kitchen. "Did you..."

Before I could finish my question, Minh replied. "Oh no, Melissa, Kate, Anthony, and Irina are here of their own volition. The only thing I did was prevent them from ever spilling the beans should they get interrogated or tortured. I have a soft spot for sweet, innocent people like Melissa, I don't like using my abilities on them." Minh then smirked, giving his chest a squeeze while doing so. "I do love dominating bullies and bitches, though, like the one I'm wearing. Yumi was a stuck-up cunt who only cared for her grades and who belittled those she deemed inferior. She even dared to insult poor Melissa, and I couldn't let that slide, so she became my latest acquisition. Now she's my loyal **** and my new favourite skin~"

"I see..."

I believed Minh to simply be a quirky, lustful skinwalker, but what I just learnt suddenly made him appear a lot more dangerous in my eyes. I remembered Dahlia mentioning something about evolutions, and this ability to seemingly brainwash humans was most likely Minh's evolution. I really had to stay in this coven's good grace and keep them away from Claire...

"E-Edward. The food is ready..." Melissa timidly said as she came closer.

"Thanks, Melissa." I replied, trying to regain my calm.

I went to sit at the table in the kitchen and started to eat. It was a simple dish, but cooked to perfection. Matthew's piano still resonated within the house as I ate, he was extremely passionate and talented, it seemed.

"Would you like me to do something else?" Melissa asked, standing next to me.

I smiled at her. "Not really, thank you for the meal, it is very good."

She blushed slightly at my praise. "I-it wasn't much. I can cook much better meals..."

"I'm looking forward to it, then."

My mother and Oliver approached me as soon as I was done eating.

"What do you think of this coven so far, Edward?" Oliver asked.

"It's... very different from what I first imagined. I don't really know what to think of it for now, to be honest."

"Did you imagine a den full of monsters with dozens of skins hanging on the walls, perhaps?" He replied, chuckling.

"Kinda, yeah..." I admitted.

"Some skinwalker groups are like that, but mainly those who fully succumbed to their greed. We stay reasonable and rarely keep more than a handful of skins at any time."

"Speaking of skin." My mother said. "What do you intend to do with Elise?"

"What do I intend to do? I'll restore her, obviously." I replied.

She smiled smugly. "If that's the case, would you mind giving me her soul and skin?"

"Why?"

"After some thinking, I decided that she would be my new main skin. I grew quite fond of her, and it'll be a nice change of pace to not be in a position of power for once." My mother said plainly.

"You what? No! I won't let you have her! She deserves to live her own life!" I replied, surprised and angered.

My mother's smile became more cunning as she stared at me. "We're facing quite the conundrum, then, hmm? I do really want her skin... but I am willing to let you keep her if you make her your main skin."

"What?"

She grinned. "The fact that I spoiled you a bit since yesterday might have gotten over your head. If you try to restore her, she'll be mine one way or another. But you can always live her life yourself to make sure she's happy and fulfilled, if you don't trust me to do that. Now tell me, will you give her to me? Or will you embrace her life yourself?"

I just stared at my mother in shock as I processed what she said. I had to either become Elise, or let her life be in the hand of my mother? How was I supposed to choose? Both options were wrong on so many levels...