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Willow POV The world comes back into view, and I stare into my mother's eyes. I want to scream at her for keeping this message from me all this time. I deserved to know my birth mother loved me. But when I see Mother's eyes swimming with tears, I don't have the heart to yell. I know she didn't withhold this memory from me to hurt me. She was just trying to protect me. "I am sorry I kept this memory from you for so long," my Mother says. "I was waiting for the right time to show you. I just didn't know when that time would be." Even though I know my mother had the best intentions, it doesn't make it hurt any less. "Thank you for finally showing me," I manage to say. "But I think I need some time to myself." The slight smile my mother was struggling to keep on her face falls. "I understand," she says. Placing a kiss on the top of my head, my mother silently walks back to the farmhouse. I watch her walk away and see Osiris waiting for us both on the porch. My mother wh
Faris POV The mound of paperwork on my desk seems to be never-ending now that I am doing the work of both the Alpha and the Beta. I knew I shouldn't have let Chad go on the mission to kill Willow, but he was so intent on being the one who ended her life that there was no stopping him. She had embarrassed him one too many times on the training field. Now, questions about his whereabouts are being raised. But it isn't just his death I am having to cover up. The idiot took Lauren with him. Even though she wasn't well-liked, people are still wondering where she has been. Eventually, I will have to come up with some excuse as to why they are gone. I know Chad's mate had to feel his death through the mate bond, but if she cares he is gone, she hasn't let me know. I pull the top paper off of the stack and look at it. It is another Lycan City company asking for a bailout. Ever since my father died, companies have been going under left and right. I can't produce Chow fast enou
Willow POV "Again," my mother shouts from across the room, and I have a flashback to when I was fifteen and my father started training me to fight. He was relentless, and my mother is proving to be the same. "Why are we doing this again?" I ask breathlessly. "We have been at it for hours." "What is the point of having powers if you don't know how to use them correctly?" My mother says. "I do know how to use them," I huff. "You know how to use them in a time of anger and destruction," my mother corrects me. "That is what is leading you into the dark. You need to learn to use them in the light." "There is no need for me to create fire unless there is anger and destruction," I moan in return. "Until we find the witch that placed these runes on your back, you need to learn how to control your magic so you don't slip farther into darkness," my mother informs me. "I believe that we can do this together." "I think we both know who put these runes on my back," I frown, thinking
Willow POV My anger bubbles to the surface again as Osiris shakes his head 'no.' "Celeste wouldn't do that," he says in disbelief. "She has been a loyal friend." I push Osiris away from me and try not to lose my temper again. "I have told you what I have seen," I snap at him. "She has been giving Faris readings as well. She has been letting him run Chow through her business. She is playing both sides." "I trust her," Osiris yells at me. "She must have her reasons for helping Faris." My fingers flicker with flames as Osiris talks. It feels like he is choosing her over me. Jealousy courses through my veins, making my anger even worse. 'You don't want to hurt your mate,' the voice inside my head tells me. 'You need to calm your emotions.' "Shut up!" I scream aloud at the voice in my mind. I place my hands over my ears and drop to the ground in a panic. Osiris is talking to me, the voice inside my mind is talking, and there is no reprieve from the noise. Osiris plac
Willow POV In an instant, I am standing outside of the little cottage in the middle of the forest. Petra is on the front porch sweeping; she must have seen me coming. I wait until the world stops shaking under my feet before I stomp toward the cottage. Petra doesn't raise her head to look at me as I climb the few stairs onto her front porch. "I know why you are here," she says as she continues to sweep the porch. I stand in her way, refusing to let her sweep around me to the left or the right. "If you know why I am here, then why don't we get started?" I ask, not knowing what the process of removing runes is. "I cannot help you," Petra says, still not looking at me. "I know who you are?" I say, hoping to sway her decision. "I know everything about my past." "Then you know the reason why I cannot remove the runes from your back," Petra says as she sets the broom against the doorway and tries to disappear into the cottage. I grab her by the hand and pull her back. I
Osiris POV It has been a long afternoon. Hunting down all of the parents of the children who saw Willow's meltdown was a chore. Many of the children were still crying as I spoke with their parents, and they are claiming to be scared of their Luna. There is one family left to visit, and that is of the little girl who has looked up to Willow from the moment she stepped into this pack. I knock on their door, and a frail older woman opens it. I had forgotten that Liz was adopted. Her parents were killed in one of the raids by the Lycan King. They had fought and died bravely by my side, leaving Liz on her own at just two years old. An older couple who had not been able to have children of their own took Liz in immediately and treated her as their own. But now, as I look at the woman standing in front of me, I worry that Liz will be left to fend for herself again. "Alpha," the older woman says. "What do I owe the pleasure?" "Hello, Gretchen," I say softly. "I need to discus
Osiris POV Ella and I pull up to Petra's cottage. Much to my surprise, Petra is not on the front porch sweeping like she usually is when someone comes to visit. Walking to the car's passenger side, I help Ella from her seat and walk arm and arm with her to the cottage. Ella pauses just beyond the first step of the porch. She cocks her head to the side curiously and snickers to herself. "I am not welcome here," Ella smirks. "What do you mean?" I ask in confusion. "Wards," Ella says as she lifts her hands up to the air and pulls them back quickly as if she has been electrocuted. "What does Ward have to do with you not being welcome?" I am beyond confused. "Not Ward," Ella busts out in laughter. "Wards, magical barriers to keep those out that are not welcome." I stand on the top step and study Ella closely. She cannot come any closer to the cottage than what she is right now. It is like there is an invisible wall keeping her off the porch. Ella holds up her hands, b
Unknown POV The sound of arguing brings me to my senses. I don't know how long I have been in the void between this world of the living and the realm of the dead, but it feels like an eternity. I stretch my arms lazily to my sides and yawn loudly. The dark tendrils of the void lap at my skin. They are like slimy tentacles determined to suck what is left of my mortality from my fading body. They tease me with their hushed voices. "Do you think we should tell her?" The tendrils laugh. "Tell me what," I groan. I am growing tired of the constant bickering of the tendrils. "There is an opening," a tendril hisses. "An opening between this realm and the living." My eyes fly open, and I sit up. I pace the cabin floor that mirrors one in the earthly domain. I try to understand what the tendrils mean. Reaching out with my magic, I look for any holes that might lead me back to the world, but after spending decades in the void, my magic is not what it used to be. I lower my