Witches (The Order)

Witches (The Order)

Christi Venter · Completed · 177.5k Words

926
Hot
1.2k
Views
254
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Witches (The Order) is a Dark Fantasy Novel for Young Adults.

Magic, Spirits, Angels, Demons, Familiars, Witch Hunters, Mythical Creatures, Realms, Dimensions, Past Lives and more. This World is full of it.

Spitfire Merianna is a young girl with an adorable twin sister Nelia. Tragically they have to find a way to survive in a world that they hadn't really known of before. A rogue healer finds the two girls and takes them to The Order, a place filled with magic, wonder, combat, creatures and kooky people that would look more at home in asylums rather than inter-dimensional castles for witches.
In between learning new skills and carving a place for themselves in The Order. Sinister strings are being pulled in the shadows outside of their protected space.
Merianna's bounties and curiosity take her closer to secrets she would have been better off never knowing...

Chapter 1

Merianna

"Run!!!"

My mother's scream of terror reverberated through the small wood and stone house. The house that was now splattered with my father's blood. Scratched inside and out by inhuman talons.

I watched from underneath the dining table, staring in horror through the thin tablecloth as my father had been ripped off of his feet by the big, black monstrous figure.

It had hit me into a wall when it first barged in with inhuman speed and ferociousness. From there I had fallen and then crawled underneath the table where I am now frozen in horrified terror.

Warm almost scorching hot blood had sprayed everywhere... the walls, floor, wooden furniture, my face and hands... as my mother had screamed with her sword in hand while my father howled in agony when he was ripped apart.

Thump. Thump. My father's body hit the floorboards, first his legs, then his upper body as the creature opened its inhuman maw in a satisfied snarl. My father's eyes were open, glassy and staring straight at me, blood dribbling out of his still screaming mouth.

"RUN!!!" My mother screamed again. Her eyes wide with terror, pleading for me to escape. Her face was splattered with blood too, her black hair escaping from her lengthy braid, sweat beading on her face, mingling with the blood. My ribs burned with agony, agony that at first, I couldn't place.

A screech rang through the house, so loud that I was sure that it could have been heard all the way to the mountains in the east. A screech unlike any bear's, unlike any beast's, had seared itself into my ears, reverberating in my bones. It's inky black skin glistened sickly in the twilight, it's jagged teeth were exposed in a groaning hiss of bloodlust, it's eyes only saw my mother as a source of more blood to take, a source of more screaming and fear. This creature was only here for sport, there was no other reason as to why it was here. It was just in the mood to shed some blood, and we were the first victims that were in its path.

As the creature advanced, playing with my mother, a gleeful light shone in its sickly eyes. Its jagged jaws stretched in a terrifying joke of a grin that mocked my Mother’s attempts at killing it.

She tried to fight as best she could, she parried, dodged, slashed, but once the creature got tired of playing, it raised its grotesque claws, and with one vicious swipe from the beast, it broke right through her weapon, and…

I ran.

I didn't have my slippers or coat as I ran. The roar of the creature followed me through the tall trees and thick underbrush making my bare feet fly along the dry earth in a mad rush to get away. The setting evening sun's rays were playing through the leaves in an array of colours against the vibrant greens of the forest making everything explode with life.

If this were any other day, or any other time, if the shrieks of the monster weren't ringing around in my head, my father's dead screaming face fried into my brain, and my mother's tortured screams clawing in my eardrums pressing me onward into the deepest recesses of the forest. I would have enjoyed watching the light play along in the last dregs of the day as I usually did with my father close to the river's edge.

My bare feet got cut on stones, roots and thorns, my hands were scraped and bleeding along with my elbows and knees from all the times I fell, tripped and had to scramble up again just to go even deeper into parts of the forest that I had never been to. My arms and face were scratched by high brambles that I had to tumble through to get even farther. The left side of my chest burned with agony, rattled with every shuddering breath I took.

Even after my legs didn't want to run anymore and felt like stones, I still kept on moving in a daze. All that I could still see in front of me was the image of my parents being picked off one by one, their blood decorating the floor and walls of the home I was born in, the shrieks and roars of the creature, it's breath searing my nose with the smell of rotting flesh in the sun, always running a continuous loop in the back of my mind.

I walked, and kept on walking and stumbling. I had no idea how much time had passed since I ran away, the mottled light and darkness that filtered through the forest all just blurred together. I didn't know where I was going, I didn't really care about where I was going. Only that I was going forward, but once the light was coming out again my legs were wobbling and aching so much that it felt like they were being stabbed by millions of needles. My stomach felt like it was eating itself from the inside out. The cuts and scrapes I got were burning, hot, red and swelling, my ribs were unbearably tender to the touch, almost ripping screams out of me with every step I took now.

I stumbled along until I saw a boulder, almost looking like a table or chair in the middle of a small clearing, the morning sun shining down on it like a beam of light through the open treetops. I went over to it and sat down. Suddenly everything came crashing down at once, and I started crying, ignoring all my aches and pains I cried.

I cried for my mother and father, I cried for them so hard that I was sure that they would hear me and come to find me and take me home where everything was fine again. I was certain that all of this was one great big nightmare. A nightmare that I had trouble waking up from...

I was so tired and crying so hard that I hadn’t noticed that someone was close by until I heard something behind me. A rustling of bushes in the forest.

I whipped around so fast I almost fell off of the boulder. At first a shot of fear ran through me, thinking that the creature was back, that somehow it followed me through the woods until I was too tired and drained to do anything else other than wait for death.

I didn't see inky black skin, or smell the stench of rotting breath, instead a young man came through the bushes and looked at me, his face a mask of laughing relief. He was a human, not an animal or a monster. I was so relieved that I sank down to my knees on the damp ground and fell onto my side. I was spent. I didn't even have enough energy left to take a deep breath.

His hair was long and dark, he had a slight beard which made him look dishevelled, but yet his eyes were grey and sparkling with intelligence and curiosity. I suddenly had the urge to warn him as best I could, that my mumma and phupa were gone, that something ate them up and it might be close by. That it might be tracking me.

But nothing would come out of my mouth, it didn't even want to do anything other than open and close my lips.

Right then, I finally felt somewhat safe again, my eyes were slits as he slowly moved closer. The heat of the morning sun was gently beating down on me with a comforting heat. Someone had found me, that's all that mattered.

That was all that mattered right?

It should have been, but something was nagging at my foggy mind. Trying to pull me back from unconsciousness, but in the end, my body won the battle and darkness enveloped my vision.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

BROKEN TRUST

BROKEN TRUST

7k Views · Completed · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.

Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.

Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Darkness (Book 4 in the Gods' Saga)

6.2k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
Isolde’s life was full of love and joy. She was set to be High priestess of the makkari, but everything changed in a single night when she lost everything at the hands of someone she thought she could trust.

For centuries, she has been on the run, helping the supernatural community under the cloak of anonymity while she works to clear her name and save the very people after her from destruction.

Enemies are closing in, but an unexpected complication befalls her when she realises she’s been fated to someone who wants her species exterminated. After all, an evil chance seldom comes alone.

A Queen Among Darkness is the 4th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series in order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Generation Coming Soon)
Cursed Fates

Cursed Fates

1.6k Views · Ongoing · Taylor Ashcraft
Charlotte Sinclair was murdered at the hands of her abusive boyfriend. After dying, she wakes up in the body of another. She pieces together information from her first day as Aribella Voss, realizing that she's been reincarnated into a book she knew all too well. The only problem: She was fated to die in this story as well. She sets out on a mission to ensure that doesn't happen, but when she begins changing important parts of the story, she also changes the plot of the story she knew. Without the upper hand, Aribella no longer has idea what lies in her future.
Human Capture (Up North #2)

Human Capture (Up North #2)

1.6k Views · Ongoing · eenboterham
She was a ghost in the trees. Now, she is a prisoner of the pack.

Raised in a starving settlement choked by a vast, unforgiving forest, Lara learned early that survival has a price. To keep her family alive, she became a master hunter—agile, silent, and deadly with an array of mismatched blades. But the forest has eyes, and one evening, the shadows dragged her away.

Nine months later, Lara breaks free from a concrete dungeon, only to find herself stranded in the lawless, rogue-infested wilds of Avers Land alongside four captured werewolf girls. Seeking refuge in the neighboring territory of Illyen, she expects to find a way back to her human life. Instead, she is brought face-to-face with Alpha Rowan, the terrifying, ruthless ruler of the frozen North.

One look into Lara’s eyes, and the Alpha’s world shatters. His eyes turn an absolute shade of black. The bond is undeniable. She is his fated mate.

But a human cannot survive the brutal political landscape of the North, and Rowan openly rejects the bond, dragging her onto a warship bound for a kingdom that views her as a fragile liability. Trapped between a mate who refuses to love her and a court of monsters waiting for her to break, Lara must use every hunter's instinct she possesses. Because in the realm of wolves, a human must either grow claws of her own—or perish in the snow.
The Spy Who Left

The Spy Who Left

1.5k Views · Completed · Orion Vale
"She's naive. A pretty little socialite who got lucky marrying above her station."
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
Tango with the Alpha's Heart

Tango with the Alpha's Heart

30.6k Views · Completed · judels.lalita
“Who is she?” I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes.
“He met her at the Alpha training camp,” he said. “She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice.”
My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks.
Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna.


Emily became the laughingstock of the pack on her 18th birthday and never expected the Alpha's son to be her mate.
After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that her mate has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, she disappears from the pack.
Now, five years later, Emily is a respected high-ranking warrior in King Alpha’s army.
When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate.
Will her mate figure out it is her?
Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
Tempted By The Enemy

Tempted By The Enemy

4k Views · Completed · rituparna darolia
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every is in a dilemma. Her close friend, Sienna, is marrying billionaire, Lucas Donnelly who, along with his brothers, happens to be her older brother, Alex's sworn enemy.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

2.6m Views · Ongoing · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
The Princess's Revenge

The Princess's Revenge

63.3k Views · Completed · Xena Kessler
Two nations are at war. Valencia's pack is massacred by Alpha Marcus, and she is enslaved by him. When he dies, she is to be buried alive with him as a sacrifice.

Alpha Logan is an illegitimate son whose mother disappeared when he was 10 years old. He grew up suffering from humiliation and lacking maternal love.

Alpha Logan saves Valencia at Marcus's funeral, which seems to be destined by fate—part of the Moon Goddess's grand plan.

As Valencia accidentally discovers prophecies in Logan's mother's diary that seem to be related to her, the truth gradually surfaces. Valencia appears to be merely a tool in a princess's revenge plot. How will Logan and Valencia navigate their path amid the national war and pack politics?
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.8m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Wearing Her Face, Claiming His Bed

Wearing Her Face, Claiming His Bed

1.6k Views · Ongoing · M. Ember
Ten years ago, Alastair buried the girl he loved.

What he never knew was that she survived.

After a fire destroyed her family, Fionna lost everything—her face, her name, and the life she once dreamed of. Now, after years of hiding behind a surgically altered identity, she returns to the Scottish mafia heir's mansion as nothing more than a maid.

He doesn't recognize her.

Instead, he drags her into his bed because she reminds him of the dead girl he can never forget.

Every kiss is meant for someone else.

Every cruel word cuts deeper because she knows the truth he doesn't.

While Alastair prepares to marry the perfect mafia princess, Fionna secretly searches for the people who murdered her family. But the closer she gets to revenge, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Because the fire that stole her past...

was never an accident.

And when Alastair finally discovers the woman he's been loving and destroying is the very girl he mourned for ten years—

who will survive the truth?
The Dark Witch & The Alpha Book 2

The Dark Witch & The Alpha Book 2

1.1k Views · Ongoing · Kassy Rae Wall
Pythia comes from a long line of dark witches, she killed her mother for her reckless behavior and becomes the queen of the dark witches and teamed up with the Great White Witch and the vampire queen to fight in the battle to keep the balance in all the different worlds, she meets her mate, Tye in the great battle. Tye is the great white witches brother and a alpha. Together they will embark on a battle to correct the elders and take a step forward to peace among the dark witches, the road is long especially when they find out Pythias true royalty line. When realms collide and the moon goddess has to step in and not only aid because of the new found threat but to tell the secrets she has helped keep hidden for many years, Pythia is forced to train harder, work harder and plan for the absolute unexpected but, as she learns her true powers she starts to realize that she can handle anything that may threaten her and her family.
The vampire queen (Ambrosia) and Pythia will become close and discover the true origins of their pasts. They rely on each other when their mates are not around. New family is discovered and it is time they all come together to face one of the toughest moments in the dark witches history.