The Debriefing.

Winter's POV

"Explain."

I stare at my mother.

She stares right back.

The problem isn't that I don't know what she's asking.

The problem is that I know exactly what she's asking.

The room feels entirely too warm all of a sudden.

I look toward the window.

The window offers no assistance.

I look at the fireplace.

The fireplace is equally useless.

When I glance back, Mother is still waiting.

Patiently.

Terrifyingly.

"That's a very broad request."

"It isn't."

"It is."

"It really isn't."

I sigh dramatically.

She remains unmoved.

I survived two assassination attempts and somehow this conversation is still the one I'm afraid of.

Mother folds her hands neatly in her lap.

"Winter."

I groan.

"Fine."

The word comes out reluctantly.

Painfully.

Like I'm being forced to confess a crime.

Which, considering the circumstances, might not be entirely inaccurate.

I shift against the pillows and try to figure out where to begin.

Unfortunately, there is no good place to begin.

The entire situation is a disaster.

A complicated disaster.

A diplomatic disaster.

A romantic disaster.

Possibly a supernatural disaster.

So naturally it happened to me.

"It started after the lightning strike." I begin our conversation in our natural tongue, out of reflex, and our of fear of eavesdroppers.

Mother nods for me to continue.

"Derrick. He's calm, so patient and treats me differently from how anyone else has ever treated me. He treats me like I'm a person capable of my own ideas, interests and mind, and it makes my heart swell. He shows up at the right moment and says things that will have you thinking for hours. He touches like he talks, without any hurry and full of adoration. He would have been the perfect mate if-"

"If?" She asks in our language.

I bite my lip. Might as well get this one out of the bag as well.

"If Keon wasn't my mate."

Mother's jaw falls open. And stays that way for nearly a minute.

"Mo-"

"Keon is your mate?!" She looks across the room as if checking for eavesdroppers. "Like actual soulmate?! How on earth did that even happen!"

I hold her softly, "Mom, you're yelling, bring your voice down."

She eyes me. "Don't you dare try to shush me. Since when? How long? Who else knows? Does your sister know?"

Shit.

"Mother I need you to calm down. We haven't gotten to telling anyone actually. You're the first person to hear of this so shush." I imitate a shush sound.

She chuckles. "Yeah right. You don't have to actually. With the way you smell, I think everyone can tell."

My face flames up in embarrassment.

"Mom-" I groan, trying to cover my face with the nearest pillow.

She laughs. "What? You're going to rub in his scent even more if you do that by the way."

The pillow drops from my arm. Dammit.

She laughs again but uses her magic to sit me up. "Come on, you haven't finished explaining yourself."

"So Keon is your soul mate? Like actually your soulmate?"

I nod slowly.

"I don't believe it." She says in disbelief. "Where's the mark then? I thought it was supposed to be on the neck?"

The mark on my back seems to grow alive at her words.

Yeah. I kind of forgot about that.

I shake my head. "Sometimes, but not always. It's on my back."

I turn around and pull the shirt up so she can have a look.

I don't hear a word from her for almost a minute.

"Mo-"

"It's marvelous." She says in awe. I sense her finger reaching to trace it but she pauses. "Can I?"

I nod.

I feel her fingers before she speaks. "The mark yeah, isn't it supposed to be just one? Or did using one of the relics at the ceremony make it appear like this?"

I shake my head, switching to our ancient language out of paranoia. "Nah, Keon marked me, that's why there are two marks."

She gasps.

"When?"

I swallow.

"The night before the mating."

She gasps again.

"But how?"

I take a deep breath, not particularly excited to revisit the memory of that day.

"I was upset about the mating and went on a run to calm myself when our paths crossed."

"But if I remember correctly, that night was a Blood Moon."

I go quiet before replying quietly. "Yeah. Sorry."

"But Winter you know how dangerous it is to step outside during a Blood Moon? You could've been hurt..or worse. What if it wasn't Keon that you stumbled across?"

I go quiet. I'd since come to terms with myself for breaking one of the sacred rules ingrained into all witches since childhood. I just needed to go out that night. For goodness sakes I was being basically sacrificed for my then foolish father's obsession. And everyone just expected me to take it cause it was the right thing to do.

She eventually picks up the conversation again after an uncomfortable silence. "So Keon had marked you even before the staff was used."

I nod again.

"How is it possible that you have two different, separate bonds and nothing's happened to you?"

"I'm guessing part of it is Derrick hasn't had the time to use our bond and it's laying dormant so it's kind of like I just have one? There have been some diplomatic issues with the vampires and he's been shuffling between here and there for a while now."

"So what you're saying is that you have Derrick's bond but it hasn't been activated yet so it's not taking it's full effect?"

I nod. Yeah. Something like that.

She doesn't seem to understand this and honestly neither do I.

I shrug.

She exhales, and I can sense her exhaustion for me. She pulls down the shirt, getting her eyeful of the oddity on my back.

"Tell me about the Alpha."

I nod, facing her.

"After the lighting strike, as he carried me out of the chapel, I passed out. When I woke up again, I was in his room, and he was calling me his little witch and saying the moon bound us together, standing up for me when the high council and the rest of the witches wanted me for interrogation, and after I was getting mistreated after the first attack. Whenever he's not here he's all I can think about."

My mind goes back to those times, and how I'd fight the feelings bubbling up everytime we were together.

I sigh. "He protected me and made me feel safe. When some wolves treated me with hostility he'd punish them against my will and soon everyone stopped bothering me." I briefly remembered the whispers and hushed voices whenever I passed the halls. The maid and her desire for Derrick.

I shake my head trying to clear my mind. Mother looks on with curiosity.

"So oddly, instead of him to continue with that kind of intensity he suddenly withdrew." Mother looks surprised. "

I pause.

"He was difficult."

One of her eyebrows rises.

"Difficult?"

"Insufferable."

"That's a stronger word."

"It fits."

A faint smile tugs at her lips.

I point accusingly.

"Don't encourage him."

"I haven't said anything."

"You were thinking it."

"I was."

I sigh.

Traitor.

"It was my fault to be honest but I didn't expect him to actually listen to me. I got upset with him and asked him to trust me or not come to me at all. Then he avoided me for half a month but I saw his shadows behind me when he thought I didn't see him and felt his gaze on me while I was distracted."

"Ouuu the drama!"

"Mother. Stop it."

She laughs. I join her.

I continue.

"All that stopped after I got attacked. Council meetings became more frequent after that. Security changed. Keon started taking over more responsibilities because everyone was worried about another attack."

"My point is that I was around him more than I expected. Then Derrick came back."

Something shifts in Mother's expression.

Interest.

Ah.

Now we were getting somewhere.