CHAPTER3: CONNECTIONS

 

ELI’S POV

“How did you find me?” She asks as the door clicks shut behind us. Her arms are crossed, her gaze sharp and piercing.

I don’t answer right away. Instead, I study her—she's short, wiry, aged by something more than just time. She's clearly not afraid of me, but she's guarded and she doesn’t want me here. That much is obvious.

“You know who I am,” I say, my voice steady.

“I do,” she mutters. “But that is not the point nor the question I asked. How did you find me?"

I let out a sharp breath. Of course, she won’t make this easy. “My father, Richard, he mentioned you a lot in his journals before he died. Your name kept coming up, over and over again. You and a certain… Helena.”

Her expression doesn’t change. If she feels anything hearing my father’s name, she buries it deep.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice is sharp and dismissive. “I left that life behind for a reason and I want nothing to do with werewolves or your world.”

“I understand that,” I say, keeping my frustration in check. “But you’re the only one who might be able to help me understand what is going on and why.”

A flicker of something crosses her face—recognition, maybe even guilt, but it’s gone as quickly as it appears. She leans against a wooden table, arms still folded.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.”

I take a step closer. “You know about Gus, right?”

She doesn’t answer right away. There's a tiny pause, almost unnoticeable, before she says, “Who?”

“Please, Arachne. Let's not play dumb.” I grit my teeth. “I'm talking about Gus. The hunter. Helena's brother. The man who has spent years trying to destroy my father. The man who has been hunting me since the day he died.”

She exhales through her nose. “And?”

I narrow my eyes. “You know exactly why Gus hates my family. You were there when it all started. Helena and my father—” I shake my head. “He blamed Richard for Helena’s death, and now he has taken that rage and pointed it at me. He has a vendetta against me. You can’t tell me you don’t know anything about that.”

Her lips press together. “Yes, I know Gus. I know him well. And I know he isn’t the kind of man who listens to reason. He hated the fact that his sister was involved with a werewolf, and he is one of the reasons I left that life.”

Something about the way she says it makes the hair on my arms rise. “What do you mean by that? Can't you help me with him? Make him see the foolishness of his behavior… how stupid and unnecessary this war he wants is?”

“I don't know, Eli. If Gus was the kind of man who could be talked down, a lot of things wouldn’t have happened and our lives would have been very different from what is now.” Her tone is cryptic, as if there's something deeper beneath the words, something she isn’t saying.

I step forward, my patience wearing thin. “I need your help, Arachne.”

She laughs, dry and humorless. “With what, exactly? Do you think I can wave my hands and make Gus forget his vendetta? That's not how magic works.”

“I don’t want bloodshed.” My voice is steel. “I want to stop this before it escalates further. My pack is in danger. All packs are. I’m in danger. You were close to Helena. You were friends with my father. Can you really turn your back on me now when I need you?”

“You seem to misunderstand, young wolf. It was Helena who had dealings with your father. Not me. All I was, was her friend. And that is the only connection with your father.”

“Still… My father loved Helena and I know she loved him too. Would you turn your back against his child?”

Something flickers in her eyes. For the first time, there is a hint of hesitation. A weakness in the wall she has built between herself and this conversation. Then, finally, she exhales and says, “Fine. What exactly are you asking me for?”

“Thank you. I need—”

The door slams open before I can answer. And just like it did when I bumped into that woman, my wolf reacts instantly, the same sharp pull in my chest as before. My muscles coil, my breath catches, and then she walks in.

The same woman.

What are the chances?

“Hey, Mom. Sorry, I forgot something—”

She stops mid-sentence, her gaze locking onto mine. We stare at each other, frozen in shock, like we’ve both seen a ghost. For a second, neither of us speaks, until she finally breaks the silence.

“You,” she says, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“You,” I echo.

Arachne exhales sharply, and I don’t miss the flicker of panic in her eyes.

“Have you two met?” She asks, her voice unnaturally controlled.

The woman finally blinks, looking between Arachne and me. “Yeah, we uh… we bumped into each other earlier. Outside.”

She turns back to me, suspicion creeping into her expression. “Wait. Is this the person you were looking for? Were you looking for my mom?”

Her mom?

The sorceress has a daughter?

The realization slams into me like a punch to the gut. My head snaps toward Arachne. “She’s your daughter?”

The woman crosses her arms. “Yes. Is that a problem? Why do you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like she can't have a daughter? How do you even know her?”

My mind races. If she is Arachne’s daughter, does that mean she’s a witch? Could that be the reason my wolf is reacting to her this way? But that doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t smell like a witch. She doesn’t smell like anything I recognize.

“Does that mean you're a witch?” I ask before I can stop myself.

She looks at me like I've asked if she's an alien.

“What? A witch? Are you insane? Oh… I see. My mom just dabbles in… whatever, her little magic stuff. It’s just a hobby.”

“A hobby?” I shake my head. “You seem to be greatly mistaken. Arachne is a powerful sorceress. She comes from—”

“Enough.”

“What?” I ask, turning to Arachne, whose eyes flash with a hint of panic. Interesting.

“How can she not know that—”

Before I can finish the sentence, Arachne cuts me off sharply. “I said enough. You should leave.”

 “What?” I ask incredulously. “No. I am not done.”

“Yes, you are.” She stretches her hand toward the door. “Leave. Now.”

“Mom, why are you being rude?” The woman frowns. “He's your guest, isn’t he?”

Arachne’s expression hardens. “Mia. Go upstairs.”

Mia. Pretty name.

Fitting.

“What? No!”

“Now!” Arachne’s voice booms, sending a chill through the living room.

Mia scowls but doesn’t move.

I step forward. “Arachne, I came to you for a reason—”

“And I told you, I don’t want anything to do with you or your kind!” She snaps. “I left that life behind for s reason. Stay away from me! From us.”

She turns to Mia. “And you. I told you to take your time, didn’t I? Why are you back so early?”

Mia flinches at her tone. “I just—”

“Upstairs. Now.”

Mia glares at her but stomps off, disappearing down the hallway. Arachne turns to me, her face set in stone.

“Get out.”

“Can we at least talk?”

“No.”

“Arachne—”

“Stay away from me, Eli. Stay away from my daughter, and stay away from my life.”

And she slams the door in my face.

I stand there for a moment, jaw clenched, my pulse hammering. Jasper is still waiting outside, watching the whole thing with raised eyebrows.

“What the hell just happened?”

I exhale slowly. “I have no idea.”

But one thing is clear, Arachne is hiding something.

And now, I need to know what.