27. Kirsten

After packing my bags, I flopped face down on the bed, wanting nothing more than to pass out and spend the night in a dreamless sleep. After only five minutes, I knew that wasn't going to happen. Too many thoughts battled in my mind. Rather than lie there while sleep eluded me, I put on a robe and went outside to look at the garden.

The little patch of herbs and flowers reflected the moonlight back at me. The plants were nearly three times the size they should have been this early, some already blooming—a testament to the magic that flowed through me. It was both a blessing and a curse. Maybe it would have been better if I'd never found out about it all. My life had been easier without all this magic. All this drama. Wolves, witches, love, heartbreak, stalkers. None of it would have happened if I hadn't come to the cabin.

Was I running away? Or was I simply ending something that never should have started in the first place? I couldn't fathom staying here, not after what had happened. How could I walk through town when everyone had looked at me with such disdain and mistrust?

No, I was making the right decision. I'd leave, then talk to Harley about putting the cabin up for sale. I'd sorted most of Nana's things. All the items I wanted to keep were boxed up. Anything left behind? The next owner could have it. Their problem, not mine.

I could feel the tingle of my green magic reaching toward the plants even though I was still several feet away. What other types of magic might I discover? If I truly was an eclectic witch like Tinsley said, the possibilities were endless. Along with that power came the enhanced lifespan.

I sighed. Would I ever find love? How did you explain to a human that you would remain young and healthy while they slowly withered and died? Before coming back to Crestwood, I'd thought my life was complicated. A deadbeat father I had to take care of, a grandmother who had died from cancer, a stressful job? All of it paled in comparison to what awaited me now.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose, crackling with magical energy. I closed my eyes, knowing what it meant. A signal to who was approaching. My heart cracked, but my irritation tamped that down as Jace burst from the forest in his wolf form.

"Kirsten?" he said.

My magic buzzed and hummed at the sound of his voice, pulling me toward him, and I gritted my teeth.

"Can we talk?"

The night's events had left me reeling, upset beyond belief, but since I was leaving, it would be fine to let him have a final word. He couldn't hurt me any more than he already had.

"Go on, then," I said, keeping my back to him. "Say what you need to say."

"I'll never be able to apologize enough," he said. "It was terrible. I was terrible. The way my pack treated you was unacceptable. I'm so sorry for leaving you hanging like that. I never should have let my anger at Stephanie and Eren overcome my biggest responsibility—you. I'm supposed to protect you, stand up for you, stay by your side, and I fucked that up. I swear to whatever gods there might be that I will never do that again."

Finally, I turned to look at him.

"The pack knows what you mean to me," he continued. "I made damn sure of that. As long as I live, I'll never let anyone question what we have again. I won't let anyone disrespect you again. On that, I stake my life."

His face was creased with emotion that couldn't be faked. This was a man who was begging for his life. I gave him a slow nod and gestured toward the cabin.

"Come inside."

A smile cracked through the anguish on his face, relief flaring in his eyes. I didn't return the smile as I strode inside, the sound of his footsteps following.

In the living room, Jace skidded to a stop, seeing my packed bags and boxes by the door.

"Are, uh…" His voice was gravelly and tight, and he cleared his throat. "Are you going somewhere?"

The question was innocent enough, but we both already knew the answer to that. Instead of answering him, I walked to the counter, dug into my purse, and pulled out the potion. Holding it out in my palm, I turned back to him.

"I meant to give this to you a couple days ago." I shrugged helplessly. "But a lot has happened. So, here you go."

"What's this?" he asked, reaching forward.

My God, his hands are trembling, I thought. "It's what I was working on in St. Louis. Remember when you called me, freaking out? The magic that drained me? This is it. A cure for your curse. You can finally have what you've always wanted. Freedom."

Jace was shaking his head as he stared down at the purple liquid in the vial. "You made a cure?" he asked, looking dumbfounded.

"Yes."

The confused look transformed into something that I could only call hurt. Shock and betrayal.

"Why?" he asked. "I don't need this anymore. Why would you make this, unless…" he trailed off, his brows slowly knitting into a scowl.

Jace clenched his jaw, the muscles under his cheeks rippling, then he turned and slung the vial into the wall. A tiny pop and glass tinkled to the ground, thick purple rivulets slowly oozing down the wall.

"What the hell, Jace?"

"I don't want a fucking cure! Why would I want a cure for something that ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me? I don't believe that loving you is part of the curse. I believe your theory. That we were always meant to be together. I don't want anyone else. Ever. You're just too angry to see that."

I stared at the dripping potion, and a storm seethed up out of the recesses of my heart.

"I worked hard on that, Jace," I said, pointing at the wall. "You have no idea what that cost me. The amount of energy I drained out of myself to create it."

"I didn't ask for that!"

"Yes, you fucking did! The first thing you said was that you wanted help in lifting the curse."

He put his hands on the sides of his head like he was trying to keep his skull from exploding. "Yes, I know, but that was before I saw the truth."

"What truth?" I hissed, unable to stop myself. The anger was too hot inside me. "That you could use me as a tool? For more than just your curse? Was that what all this was? To get a witch for your precious little pack?"

"You know that's not true," Jace said, pointing a shaking finger at me. "You're just saying shit to piss me off now. You're doing all you can to push me away."

"I don't need to push you away. You did that all on your own. Keep talking, Jace, and maybe you'll push this over the edge. Once we do that, there's no coming back."

"What's to come back from?" he asked, throwing his hands up. "You made that cure because at the back of your mind, you were just waiting for what we have to crash and burn. This whole time, you never really allowed yourself to believe in us. You had one foot out the door from the very beginning." He turned abruptly and stalked toward the door. "I can't stand here and listen to this." He looked me in the eye, one hand on the doorknob. "I want you to remember that what I felt was real. It always will be. Even if you run away, that won't change. Maybe one day, you'll see that."

He walked out, slamming the door behind him as he did. All I could do was stare at the door, processing what had gone down. Finally, with a weary sigh, I turned and walked to one of the kitchen cabinets. Inside, the second of the two vials sat, still intact.

I'd put it in here after I'd packed up my things, afraid that all the jostling would break it. With great care, I took the vial down and wrapped it in a few tissues. In Nana's coat closet, I found a few dusty old gift boxes. One of them, about three times the size of a ring box, was perfect. Tucking more tissues in the bottom, I laid the vial atop those, then closed the box.

Jace was angry now, maybe even heartbroken, but soon he'd get over me. With time, he'd understand that the two of us would never have worked out. Not in a hundred years, and not in a thousand. There was too much holding us apart, making a life together an impossibility. When that time came and he could see the truth, he'd thank me for saving this cure. For giving him a true way out. It would all be okay once he made peace with the fact that fate had been wrong.