Coming back

Druida 

25 years in the future

“Are you completely sure about this?” I roll my eyes. He has been asking this question about a million times already. 

“I would not be doing this if I was not completely sure, would I?” He shakes his head. I know he is worried about me, but I have to do this if I want a shot at a different future. I need to change the past. And if I want to change it, I need to get to it.

“What if he finds out and sends people after you?” I roll my eyes again, looking around the corner to see if someone is coming. This is my packhouse as well, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

“I will deal with that if it happens, but I doubt it. He has his head so far up his ass these days he will not know anything before it’s too late anyway.” Misha shakes his head at me again. 

“You are seriously something else entirely.” I look at him, walking down the corridor to my room. 

“I want my family back, Misha, is that so bad?” He shrugs. 

“I don’t think so, but there are other ways to do that without risking your life and mine.” I raise an eyebrow as we get into my room and I lock the door. Misha is my best and only friend. He is the only one who didn’t just blindly follow my brother when he became an evil asshat. 

“So, it’s actually your own skin you are worried about and not me?!” I ask, smirking. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. 

“You know I also worry about you a fuckton, M.” He says, sitting down on the side of my bed. I giggle. 

“I know. Sorry.” He shakes his head in exasperation. 

“I just don’t know if this is the right way to do this?!” I sigh. I need to do this and he knows it. He knows how much I want everything to go back to the way it was when I was little. I am finally old enough to do something openly about everything, and I’ll be damned if my brother will win. 

The dream haunts me still. I know it’ll keep haunting me until the day I have fulfilled the reason I came back. 

I wrap myself up in a blanket and walk outside directly from my room. The cold fall air caressing my face. I close my eyes and picture Misha’s smiling face. I wonder what happened to him, or if he managed to leave the pack before my brother got his hand on him?! 

When we lost our father it was a hard blow on the pack, but then we lost our mother just a few months later in an ambush and my eldest brother went crazy with grief, and he became evil, even if he did hide it very well in the beginning. I was 4 at the time, he was around 6, and we had to grow up with a Council steward, who was a pompous idiot, almost ruining our pack, before my brother took over at 18 and even that was a fight because the man liked the power he had been entrusted with so much. My brother killed him, and said he died in a rogue attack, but I know better. I turned 22 the day I cast the spell to go back in time. 

I have lived with the knowledge of what happened to my parents and my pack, and how he has been an asshole to everyone, slaughtering packs for not following him and his wars against rogues willingly long enough. I am not going to do it anymore. I know what I have to do. I have to save our parents from death and make sure they live, so our future has a chance of being bright and happy.

I just hope I can do what I came here to do without compromising myself, my family or anyone important to me and our pack. 

The day is quiet and slow for the most part. I keep thinking about my dream and Misha. I hope he is alright wherever he is. It’s into the late afternoon when the summon comes. 

I walk down the hall to the wing of the packhouse where the bedrooms are. Silvan has requested my presence. Freya comes walking the other way with a huge smile on her pretty face.

“There you are. Where are you going?” She asks brightly and I roll my eyes. 

“His Highness has summoned me.” I tell her, and she snickers. 

“Well, he is on a direct warpath today. I’m just coming from Jess’s room and he was just in there. He knows about the mark removal. Do you know how?” I do know how because I was the one who told him, but she doesn’t need to know that. 

“Mark removal? That's impossible, Freya. Don’t even joke with such things. One would die if they even tried to trifle with such magic.” I tell her sternly. She is unaware that I know everything about it, and she got her information from me. I made sure she would fall over my little piece of information and dive right into it. Freya looks satisfied. She has the Sight, and she knows when lesser witches or other supernaturals lie to her, but I am not a lesser witch or supernatural. 

“No, I found a way, but Jess is refusing to tell him, so please keep this between us.” I raise an eyebrow. 

“You know I would never betray our confidentiality.” I say, and her shoulders relax slightly. “So, where are you going in such a hurry?” She looks back over her shoulders. 

“Silvan has decided to send Abast, Neo and Gillian to attack Blackmoon and see how strong they really are. Jess is going to warn them.” She whispers, and I raise my eyebrow again. This is an interesting piece of information. Why would she be interested in warning Maddie and Liam, when we all know her end goal is to kill Maddie and mate with Liam? Maybe she is actually afraid Liam will be killed in this attack because he is an Alpha who is going to do anything to protect his family. 

“Well, that sounds interesting. How are you going to contact them?” Freya’s smile widened. 

“I have my methods, dear one.” She says, patting my shoulder and then she’s off again. I close my eyes for a moment, reaching out to one of my spies in the forest area around here and tell them to follow Freya when she shows herself. 

Then I walk to the bedroom that used to house both Silvan and Jessica. Tywin happens to walk by at this very second, and I beg the Goddess for patience. 

“Ah! Are you going to knock some sense into that idiot bloodsucker?” He asks with a cruel sense of humor, and I just stare at him. Of everyone here, Tywin is by far the most dangerous person. He has nothing to lose anymore. Not after his son was executed for his involvement in the attack on Blackmoon. 

“No, but you are of course welcome to come with me and try yourself?” I tell him gracefully. He laughs, a sound that is empty and without humor or warmth. Everything he ever lived for is dead or taken from him. I would have felt sorry if I didn’t know all the insane and cruel things he did to his pack members and family.

“Good one. No I won’t, but I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the little piece of pretty meat he has in there.” His eyes have a manic gleam now. I shake my head, knock and head inside with his insane cold laughter following me. Silvan is not in the room when I enter, but Missy is. 

“Did you want something?” She asks sullenly. I smile sweetly at her. She is fun and a challenge to be around. I enjoy playing games with her. 

She has tried so many times to get Silvan on her side by telling him I am jealous of her or want to hurt her or something else, but he knows that’s not even remotely true. One of her first days here she tripped herself and said I did it when Silvan came running in to tend to her! I rolled my eyes, touched Silvan’s arm and showed him mentally what really happened. He scolded her in front of me. Oh the glory! She soon learned that I am not Jessica, and she will not be rid of me.  

“Silvan requested my presence in here, so I am waiting for him.” I tell her, sitting down in one of the chairs. Her scowl deepens. 

“He knows I want to be alone after I lost his baby.” She says shrilly. I just give her a vast look. 

“You were clever in blaming Jessica for your foolishness, child, but do not think I don’t know what really happened. And if you try that again I will tell Silvan.” Her eyes widened in fright. 

“You know nothing.” She yells, her arms covering her stomach. 

“That child was not Silvan’s, and you got rid of it before he could know. Oh I know what you did, Missy. I am not telling him, but you should be careful because someone else might. The affair between you and Neo is not such a well kept secret afterall. He has been ordered  to attack Blackmoon, and the odds of him coming back are not good.” She pales considerably. 

“No.” She whispers. My eyes soften, and suddenly all I feel for the girl is pity and sadness. 

“You love him.” I state quietly. She nods. 

“He’s my mate, but we can’t be together because Silvan outranks him and wants me for himself. We’ve been.. I mean.. Can you help us?” This took a turn I had not foreseen. Mates. Well I’ll be damned. 

“He loves you?” She nods. 

“I will help you, but you need to be patient for a while longer. And you need to trust me, Missy. I cannot help either of you if you don’t.” She nods again, tears stinging her eyes. A rapt knock on the door snaps us out of our conversation. Neo pokes his head in, his eyes immediately find Missy, and they soften before hardening.

“Excuse me, Druida, I thought..” I raise my hand. Druida is a name most of the people here have given me because they don’t know my name or what I am. They think I am a witch which is not quite wrong but not correct either. It is a name of respect and means Wise One. 

“We are fine in here, Neo. Missy has told me everything. Your secret is safe with me. I will help you both.” He nods curtly, as Silvan’s voice echoes from the hallway. 

“Neo, looking for me?” Neo turns to salute his superior. 

“No, I had a question for Druida, and she kindly answered it for me, Sir. Sorry I had no idea she would be in your room.” Silvan laughs, walking in and dragging poor Neo with him. 

“You came!” He says to me, and I raise an eyebrow, crossing my arms. 

“Why on the earth should I not?” I ask, and he gives me a look. 

“Jess says she knows nothing of the method to get rid of the mark. But she gave me this.” He turns his head, and Missy gasps. Neo hisses. I roll my eyes. 

“You need to stop provoking her, Silvan. And of course she would say that, but Freya just confirmed it to me, so she knows.” Silvan nods. I look at the dressing on the wound. Someone clearly cleaned it up for him. 

“I thought so. Can you heal this?” I shake my head. 

“Even I have limits to my powers, and I do not have healing in me. But I can make a salve for it?” He doesn’t need to know that my healing abilities are quite strong and well trained. I could heal it in a second, but why help him so easily, when I have this great opportunity to make some allies and gather information?! 

He nods and waves his hand for me to go. “I’ll need Neo to help me get some of the ingredients.” Silvan’s eyes glow as he stares at me, and enough is enough. I release some of the power I am hiding, making him submit to me in an instant, falling to his knees. 

“You will never try anything of the sorts ever again, Silvan. You might be elected leader of this hellhole, but I am not someone you want to challenge because you will end up on the dead side of that. Am I clear?” I tell him calmly, but making no room for discussion. His eyes goes wide. As are the eyes of Missy and Neo. They all know I am powerful, but neither of them even remotely know the full extent of my powers.  

“What are you?” He asks, but I am already on my way out the door. 

“An ally if you want it, but I can leave if you don’t trust me anymore.” I say over my shoulder, stopping in the doorway with Neo hot on my heel. Silvan throws his hands up in surrender. 

“I’ll unlock this secret one day, Druida. Along with your real name.” He says, and I send him my brightest smile. 

“No you won’t, but have fun trying. Come on Neo, I need you to get some ingredients for me so his Highness does not end up with a rotten silver wound on his face.” 

When we are back in my workshop, I close the door and push Neo down into a chair. I stare at him for a second. 

“There’s a cabin about two hours walk west of here. You go there and give her this envelope. She will give you a basket of the ingredients I need.” I tell him. He narrows his eyes.

“Why do I have a feeling there’s more to this?” I raise my eyebrow with a sly smile before pushing him out the door.

“Because you are a bright mind, Neo. Don’t waste it on mindless thinking when you have me for that.” He rolls his eyes with a small smile. 

“You are a mystery that keeps giving, Druida. I’ll be back later.”  

Yes, this game just became more dangerous for sure, but I am going to do whatever I can to keep my family safe from those who want to harm them.

I will not stand by and watch them get killed. Not this time. I came back for a reason, and this is it. I’ll play this out. I have to.