29. Jax

29

Jax

Dirk and I both raced to the same spot. I pulled Anna away just as the heartbreaking notes of anguish erupted from her, and her father pulled away the invisible figure of her memory.

"Wolves are not meant to be nulls," the Crone spat. "She's not strong enough to handle the responsibility. Put her out of her misery and save us all."

The walls began to crack around us, and I pulled Anna up and held her. There was nothing that I could say to her now that she would listen to, but I could hold her and whisper that she was loved and protected and so strong. I said these words over and over again as the den began to crumble around us.

None of the people from her memories reacted, so this wasn't the memory. This was Anna, working through her pain. Stroking her hair, I let her bury her head in my chest as she trembled. When the shaking stopped, I still didn't let her go, but she popped her head up. "What happened? Did the shadows take us?" she asked tiredly.

"Not this time. I think you took us." I kissed the top of her head. We were now standing in the forest next to a small creek bed. The skies over us were night, but there was no telling how much time had passed. "Which is good. Either you're finding your control over your own mind or…"

"I'm breaking it to pieces?" she echoed.

"If that's the fact, don't worry. I'll put you back together. So, the Crone is definitely on my hit list when we return."

"You can't kill her."

"Watch me," I said cheerfully before I framed her face with my hands. "She is wrong about you, Anna. She's a jealous bitch that you have both a wolf and magic, and I know that is what makes you so damn strong. If she hasn't figured out just how strong you are by now, then she will."

"The witch who is now the Mother heard her. Do you think one of them told Lunessa?"

"I doubt it. If they did, Lunessa doesn't seem to believe them. Not after all the help she's given us, although I will say this. If she wanted to get rid of both of us at the same time, trapping us both in your mind is definitely a way to do it."

When her eyes widened, I tried to grin. "Kidding."

"That's not a funny joke. You could be right."

Footsteps behind us jerked our attention away, and we both turned. Dirk walked up the river, one hand out, like he was holding Anna's. Stopping by the water, he knelt down. "Wash your hands, Anna, and don't go wandering off."

He looked down for another second before he smiled sadly. "I know baby, but you can't be Andrea anymore. Think of Anna like a nickname. Maybe it'll grow on you. If not, we can think of another name when we move again, okay?"

"So fucking weird," Anna muttered. "I still can't see Katherine. I guess her image works a little differently."

Dirk walked a few steps from Anna, and his whole face changed. "I cannot believe what you are suggesting. You want to bind her magic? You've spent all this time telling everyone how special she is, and now one old hag tells you she's dangerous, and you want to rip away half of her? Why don't you just take her wolf away too while you're at it!"

"Listen to him," Anna whispered. "He's defending me. What the hell happened that turned him so against me? That turned him into the man who would cut me with a dagger dipped in wolfsbane just so I'd always have scars?"

"I don't care. I don't care how he started. He spent more time being a monster to you than being a good father. I don't regret killing him."

Jerking her head up, she smiled. "I don't regret you killing him either. I hope you know that. This doesn't change what he became. All the pain and damage that he inflicted."

"She is exactly who she is meant to be," Dirk continued. "I won't let you take that from her. We can protect her, Katherine. My wolf and your magic. Together, nothing will get to her. You just have to trust me. Trust us."

He jerks his head up suddenly and sniffs. "Come on. We need to keep moving and find some shelter soon so I can hunt. I know you're tired of being out here, but we don't have a choice."

As he walked off, the dark fog started to leach out from the trees. Anna sighed. "I guess I'm not in control of this one. Well, we know that he lost that argument. Katherine still binds my magic and…Dirk kills the Mother witch. So the Maiden from my memories becomes the Mother, and auditions open up for the Maiden. Do you think this is when Lunessa becomes the Maiden?"

I shook my head. "No. She said she'd only joined the coven a short while before you escaped to them. So either someone else became the Maiden and left or died, or they stayed two witches for a few years. That probably makes more sense given the secret they'd just discovered."

"Me," Anna said flatly. "They've had years to plan what to do about me. We have to assume that they have a plan for if I retrieve my memories. Your whole pack is going to be in danger from the most powerful witches on the mountain."

"If they endanger the pack, they'll be breaking an alliance that would have wolves hunting them for the rest of their lives," I growled. "And my pack will stand for you. Fuck, I wish we were home so you could see how everything has changed. I want you home where you're safe and protected. And back in my fucking bed again."

She smiled a little at the last statement and leaned up. I kissed her gently, not because I thought she was fragile and breakable, but because I suspected she needed gentleness in such a harsh world. Her own mind was breaking her apart. I was here to make sure she held it together.

The fog began to circle us. "No wolf. No magic. I guess it's on to the next memory."

"I'm going to be right there by your side." I held her against me as the fog swirled around us like a funnel. It didn't hurt or sting, and when it cleared, it was still night, but we were no longer in the forest.

At least, I didn't think we were. It was pitch black. Somewhere around us, someone was softly crying, and I could hear breathing. Movement. Footsteps.

A match struck and flared to life. It danced in the air, and the light grew when it lit up a lantern. The glass swung haphazardly from the person holding it and practically fell onto the table as the man growled with rage.

"Shit," Anna whispered. "How can we already be here?"

I glanced around the room. It didn't look all that familiar to me, but something tugged at my memories. It was still so damn dark. "Where are we?"

"How could you do this," a voice growled in the dark. Dirk. "How could you fucking do this to me? To her? To us!"

Anna jerked against me in fear, and the whole room lit up. Not from the sun or from the light, but I suspected, from her. We were in a small cabin of some sort. It was sparse. There was a mattress on the ground and a table by the door.

And Katherine, tied up in the corner, where Dirk stared down at her. This was one memory that apparently Katherine decided to be here for because Anna and I could both see her.

My hold on Anna tightened. "Is this..."

"Where I grew up," she said bitterly. "Home, sweet, home."