Chapter 16: The Green-eyed Witch

My mouth falls open and I blink while she just pours tea like it’s the most normal thing in the world. She knows that I can’t remember the past year, but does she know why?

“What’s going on, Messiah?” I ask, putting my face in my hands. “I was beginning to think that maybe I’ve lost my mind.”

She laughs and hands me a cup of tea. “I don’t know for sure what happened to you, but I do know that you might be twenty physically, but you’re still that nineteen-year-old girlat heart who used to let people walk all over you.”

“How?” I shake my head, putting the tea on the table. “Did I lose my memories of the last year?”

“Not exactly,” she says slowly, as if trying to figure out how to tell me something bigger.

“I hate riddles,” I mutter with a frown.

“Okay.” She shifts in her chair. “I believe that you…” She points at me. “Haven’t lived the past year. I think that nineteen-year-old you, this you, travelled into this future and into twenty-year-old you’s body, after a traumatic experience.”

I blink. That sounds nuts. There’s no such thing as time travel. She must be more coo-coo than I am.

“I could feel it when I sensed you being cornered by the vampires,” she continues. “The energy surrounding you. You’re the nineteen-year-old, but there are still parts of the twenty-year-old inside you. You’ll gradually gain her memories. That’s if you don’t go back to your time.”

‘Oh, Moon Goddess, have we all gone crazy?’ Momo mutters with a dramatic eye-roll that almost makes me laugh.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I say, glaring at Messiah.

“I know.” She nods and sips her tea. “But it’s true.”

“So I really go crazy at twenty?” I narrow my eyebrows.

She bursts out laughing and almost spills the tea. She puts the cup down and laughs into her hand. I just watch her, completely dumbfounded, cause what the actual fucker. She’s gotten stronger and crazier at the same time.

She tries to pull herself together and speak, but fails.

“Can you just be serious for a second?” I murmur, but it makes her laugh even harder.

What did I ever do to deserve this?

I wait as she slowly regains her marbles.

“Yes,” she whispers with a sniffle. “Technically, you didn’t. You just kept mumbling on and on about a fire that no one else remembers, but other than that, you were completely sane.”

That’s reassuring. At least I wasn’t bat-shit crazy.

“Was there a fire?” I ask and hold my breath, cause if she tells me there was no fire, I’m gonna lose my shit.

She shakes her head and fights a laugh. “I don’t remember a fire, but I think there was.”

I sigh. My hands suddenly feel cold even though it’s warm, but I decide against reaching for the tea.

I look at her. “Why? Why did you believe me, or why do you believe me?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. You strongly believed that it happened, and whenever I touched you, I could see just how strongly you felt like it was a real memory and not a nightmare.”

I clear my throat and lean forward. “I had another memory earlier. Someone dragged me out of that fire, a dark-haired woman with green eyes. She said that no one should ever remember, including myself.”

The amusement disappears from her face. Her eyes stay on mine, and something about the way she goes completely still makes the back of my neck prickle.

“Dark hair and green eyes?” she repeats quietly.

I nod, watching her carefully. “Yes. Why?”

She slowly puts her cup down without taking a sip. “Did she say anything else?”

My eyebrows pull together. “She said I’d heal eventually. Then she told me no one would remember what happened. Not even me. That’s all.”

Messiah's face tightens, and she looks away for a second. I see her throat work as she swallows then look back at me.

“Billie, green-eyed witches aren't exactly known for good intentions.”

I stare at her. “She’s a witch?”

“Now I 100% believe there was a fire.” She nods once. “Some witches have green eyes naturally, but there are certain bloodlines where it's more than a physical trait. They're associated with dark magic and vampires. And they can alter memory on a massive scale.”

I bite my inner cheek as my mouth goes dry. A witch who can alter memories on a massive scale. Why would anyone need to do that to our pack, to me?

I glance toward the exit leading into the living room, listening the twins playing with the nurse. I don’t know if any of this has anything to do with me, or if it’s generally a pack thing, but my first instinct is to protect them against all odds.

“What about Trojan?” I ask, looking back at Messiah. “And the twins?”

Her eyes soften, and I notice some pity there. “What about them?”

I clear my throat uncomfortably, trying really hard not to smile. “How did Trojan and I happen?”

She laughs a little and shakes her head. “You both said you were drunk, then you just decided to go with it because of the kids. I don’t know. I didn’t pry, it feels wrong when it’s not a matter of pack security."