CHAPTER 5. Hide and seek

BEATRICE POV

I shut the door quietly behind me, exhaling a long breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I did it. I told her finally. Closing my eyes, leaning on the wall next to her door, I let my tears fall. She doesn’t deserve this... she deserves to have a beautiful, happy and fulfilled life...not tainted by my mistakes.

‘You didn’t do anything wrong!!’

‘Maybe I did, I don’t know anymore..., maybe I could’ve paid more attention to Susanne and her feelings…maybe I would’ve seen her pain...’

‘Humph...pain! She is a pain in the ass!!’ says Lotus, clearly pissed off. ‘I know it’s hard, Josie is my pup too! So... crying time is over, get your shit together, we have to find a solution, and fast!’

I know she is like this because she disagreed from the beginning of our plan to hide this fact, and not involve Josie. Lukas and I, we thought that in all these years, we will come up with something and Josie will never need to find out...she would just live her life like a normal kid, enjoying her teenager years. I know she is smart, sometimes in a weird kind of way, but that is one of her talents. But again, Fate has other plans. She knows now, and it was one of the hardest things I had to do. Watching her pain-filled eyes when I told her that she could not meet her mate in person, it was heart-breaking. I know she doesn’t admit it, but she longs for her mate... who doesn’t?

Lotus is right. I cannot go on the same depression path. Not again. Lukas helped me a lot in the first 3 years after the birth of the triplets, when my depression and anxiety were on top of the mountain. The fear that I still experience whenever I realize that I cannot properly protect my baby in front of all the dangers in the world, and especially this one…which appears more and more to be inevitable.

‘You know, that I can hear your thoughts, right?’

‘Yes dear, I’m sorry, let’s do this!’ I tell her, opening my eyes, trying to find courage to move and while Lotus envelopes me in a coat of hope and determination. Thank you, Goddess, for pairing me with her, she is way stronger than I am.

‘You are, too! You’ll see.’ she adds more like murmuring to herself.

I wonder sometimes if she knows more than she lets out.

As I’m approaching Lukas’s office, I hear whispers down the hall, and as Lotus senses my need to hear what they are saying, she lends me her enhanced hearing.

“I tell you; she is not fit to rule this pack! She’s cursed! I heard the Alpha and Luna whispering last night in the kitchen, while I was bringing the clean clothes from the laundry... “

“Hey, don’t say that! Josephine will be a good Alpha; she is smart and hard-working!” said the other voice

“She is weak and nerdy! Those are not qualities for a ruler!” protested the angry voice.

I couldn’t help myself anymore and a menacing growl emanated from my chest, as I approached the two Omegas that were cleaning an empty guestroom.

“How dare you say that about your future Alpha?! How dare you speak like that about my daughter???! “

“I’m sorry, Luna, I didn’t think that...”

“That’s the problem, you didn’t think!!!” I snapped. “You are to respect your leaders, as you yourself are treated with fairness and respect!! You can voice your concern regarding our future leader in a civil way through an audience, or through your higher ranks, such as the Beta or the Gamma of the Pack!” I state displeased with the whole situation. Once a rumor is on the run, a lot more will follow.

“What’s happening here??” comes the determined voice of my husband. “Are you alright??” he asks me, when he spots my infuriated mood and my clenched fists.

“I will be alright.  Right after I change Diana’s assignments as our employee”. Right then, the omega that didn’t know her place, stiffened when she heard that I knew her by name. I know each and every member of our pack, with their backstories. Diana was never the one to hide her opinions about life itself, meanwhile she appeared to be respectful towards us. I will keep an eye on her from now on, even from a distance. “You will be assigned to work at the social Centre as cleaning staff. Starting today!!”

“Yes, Luna” she said, showing her neck in submission. I walked in Lukas’s office as the 2 girls left the floor. Lukas was watching me intently.

“What happened? I know you can handle it yourself, I want to know what to expect from now on”

“Expect some challenging rumors. Those girls were just saying how Josie isn’t fit to rule this pack, because she is cursed.” I felt so much anger towards this situation. Pack members must have faith that their rulers have their best interest, and will protect them while keeping  justice and showing compassion. Now it’s not a time for fear to be instilled in the souls of many. Distrust creates fear and  fear creates…well, monsters.

“How did they know about the curse?? We are the only ones that know about this, and your father..” Lukas asked with a frown on his face.

“Diane heard us last night. I don’t know where she was hiding, or if it was by accident, but she was eavesdropping, thus she heard bits of what we we’re talking about…” I am not sure if sending her to the social Centre is a good idea, but I don’t want to have her around here anymore. I will notify the guards there to keep an eye on her, and also, I will tell Felipe to watch her in fulfilling her duties, in case somethings feels amiss.

“Is it safe to let her wander with that kind of information? I will command her vefore she leaves, not to tell anyone again what she heard. And her friend as well.”

His eyes blazed, and I knew he was already mind-linking Mrs. Clark to let her know that after Diana packs her things, to head upstairs in his office alongside Miriam, the other Omega she was gossiping with.

“It is done, she will come here in 15 minutes” he said with a calmer voice, wrapping his muscular arms around my waist, pulling me in his arms, as he buries his nose in my neck from behind. I lean on him, trying to relax… Something I find hard to do, having so many worries for the day to come…

“Let me have a look again in my mothers’ journal, please. Maybe I overlooked something…” I say, again trying to find places to look for a solution.

“Although we’ve been already through it at least 23 times since we found it, maybe 24^th is with some luck” he says trying to ease up the mood. “So... let’s see” he adds, just as he touches 5 seconds the baby crib painted in our family portrait, given to us by my father short after the triplets we’re born. Lukas added a sensor there which enables a fake bookcase to lean down slightly, just to notice the user on which book should he or she press more to unlock the mini-vault we have hidden here in his office. Every time the mechanism chooses randomly a different book, a wall of switches being hidden behind the bookshelves, just in case someone spots the book trick.

After he presses on the side of the leaned book, a small opening under Lukas’s desk reveals itself, in the middle of it being a carved symbol of a moon with tendrils of flames surrounding it. He then takes his wedding ring, places it so that the ring would top over the moon, and then a small door underneath the massive wooden desk opens, showing something wrapped in an old cloth. Seems to be a drastic measure to keep something so lame like a journal inside a tight secured system…but the information inside in the wrong hands…could destroy as all.

We found my mother’s journal a couple of years ago, actually, my father found it. He could not open it being locked by my mother’s magic…and he insisted that I have it. Initially I thought that I was better off without something so personal from her…my resentment towards her abandon was still a part of me. And then Lukas reminded me that maybe we could find something useful to end the curse… and I took it.

I didn’t know how to open it until one day when I was inspecting it to find some hidden buttons or mechanism to unlock it, my nose started bleeding all of a sudden, and a drop of blood fell on the corner of the book. Then the book itself started to glow, and my mother’s witch symbol appeared on the cover, and when I tried to open the journal then, it opened without any resistance. Seems like someone out there was watching and made it obvious for me on how could I open this. Selene…Hecate…who knows…

I started reading all the spells that she gathered in her lifetime, all the important events of the coven, all the participants with their backgrounds until the 3^rd generation back, all the curses she invented in detail, all the potions, and a part of hidden history of magic which she discovered through insights…dangerous information. But I found nothing to help me rescue my daughter…

‘Alpha, Luna!!!’ comes a panicked voice through the mind-link. ‘Diane is gone! I cannot find her, it’s like she vanished!!! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I should’ve stayed with her to pack her things!!’ mind-links Mrs. Clark, sounding extremely worried.