Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

brIAR

S aint searches my face before blowing out a breath. "Yeah."

"When did you know?"

"I knew for sure when I turned sixteen and could feel the bond, but our parents suspected we were way before that."

I tilt my head, wondering how they knew. "Why?"

"Because we were always super close from the moment you were born. I would demand to go over to your house every day after school to hold you as a newborn. You would calm down instantly in my arms as a baby. We also loved playing together as kids, even though we're nine years apart. I always preferred spending time with you—even if you made me dress as a fairy princess—over hanging out with any of my friends." Saint flashes me a grin at those memories. "Our parents figured out pretty quickly we were mates but didn't say anything to me until I turned sixteen."

Blood rushes to my cheeks at all the times I made Saint wear a dress and play pretend with me. Then I realize the timeline. We left only seven months after Saint's sixteenth birthday. "Oh, Saint, I'm so sorry," I whisper. "You lost your parents and your mate in the span of a few months."

He gives me a sad smile. "Yeah. It was… hard. But I made it through, so there's nothing for you to feel bad about. Your mom told me you both were leaving for a while, but she assured me you'd find your way back to me when the time was right. And here you are."

"Here I am," I repeat, staring into the gray eyes I can't believe I forgot. I hear a sniffle behind me. Twisting around, I see Emmy wiping tears from her eyes as she watches us.

"Someone else missed you too, little shadow," Saint whispers.

I get pulled into another memory, hoping Saint won't let me fall while I'm in it.

"Wanna trade?" a younger Emmy asks as she shuts her Nancy Drew book. I'd estimate she's around seven in this memory. She turns her head to look at me, and I face her. We're lying on the ground with our legs propped up on an old weeping willow tree trunk. Her red curls are fanned out around her head like a fiery halo.

"Yep!" I give her my Hardy Boys book and take hers instead. We both love reading, so we spend every day after school in one of our backyards reading together. Saint will often join us, but he has basketball practice tonight.

"Emmeline Violette Ward! I can't believe you!" a woman yells. I hear footsteps pounding closer to us as I push up from the ground.

"Oh boy," Emmy mutters before sitting up. We both turn to face the woman who I remember is Emmy's mom and my aunt. She's the same woman who portaled Xander back to the Wyldhart mansion when he got shot. Her red hair is flying behind her as she stomps toward us.

"Do you want to explain to me why I got a call from the principal?" Emmy's mom demands.

"Nope." Emmy crosses her arms and defiantly stares down her mom.

"Fine. Then explain why you didn't tell me you got suspended for punching Lauren O'Connor today?" Aunt Molly puts her hands on her hips and frowns disapprovingly at Emmy.

I turn wide eyes to my cousin. "You punched her? That's why you left school early?"

"Of course I did, Bri. She called your mom a mangy cur and said she cheated on your dad to have you. I told her next time she talks bad about you, she'll walk away with more than a black eye."

I tackle Emmy in a hug for standing up for me. She laughs and tightly hugs me back. I know I can always count on Em to have my back.

I get teased a lot for Mama being a wolf shifter. She's the best mama there is, but mages hate other supernatural species. No one believes Papa's my real dad since two different magic races shouldn't be able to have kids together. Mama tells me I'm just a special case and not to listen to them. Most days I don't, but today I cried after Lauren was mean about Mama.

Aunt Molly sighs. "I guess I can't be mad at you, now can I, Emmy?"

Emmy grins up at her mom and pulls away from my hug.

"Aunt Evie brought fresh baked brownies. You girls should get them while they're still hot."

Em stands up and offers me a hand. I grab it, and she pulls me to my feet. We take off at a sprint, still holding hands and giggling the whole way.

As I leave the memory, I'm flooded with so many others of my built-in best friend, like us having sleepovers and staying up all night reading, racing around the neighborhood on our bikes, and exploring the woods behind our houses for hours. Emmy and I are the same age, so we did almost everything together growing up. Saint, Emmy, and I were the three musketeers, always together and always getting into trouble.

Emmy was fiercely protective of me at school. She was often in trouble for trying to defend me.

Wiggling in Saint's arms, I try to get out of his arms on my own. He gives me a smile before setting me down. I turn around and spot Emmy standing behind Nan. I run at her and tackle her in a hug. She laughs, the sound roughened by her earlier tears.

"I missed you, Em," I tell her as I hug her tightly. It feels like that's all I've been saying since I took the potion, but it's true. I did miss everyone before I lost my memories. Even without my memories, I still subconsciously missed them all. I had an aching loneliness that never went away, even when I was surrounded by other people. My heart never forgot, even when my mind did.

"I missed you, too, Bri," Emmy tells me, her voice choked up. "Things were never the same without you, Aunt Evie, and Uncle Connor."

After holding her for another long moment, I step back. It's weird hugging Emmy after all these years. When I left, we were both about the same height. Now, she's about four inches shorter than me. Emmy still has her signature wild red hair, defiant hazel eyes, and freckles smattered across her face, though.

My heart feels simultaneously full and heavy from all the memories. I'm not alone like I've thought since Mama died. I have people who care about me and have missed me, but I've also lost two of the most important people in my life.

I also never fully got to grieve losing my dad. We had to move across the country only a couple months after Papa died, turning my whole world upside down. Patrick blackmailed Mama, threatening to expose me as Dido's reincarnation. Mama married him and moved across the country to keep me safe. Patrick banned all mention of my dad. He would shove Mama around if I ever tried to talk about Papa. I just stuffed down the heartache and tried to forget about it most days.

But then I actually forgot about Papa. Now I feel like I'm that scared seven-year-old again, trying to understand a world without my dad. Only this time, I don't have my mom to hold me when I wake up at night sobbing from nightmares about Papa. She's gone too.

Before I can suffocate in the pain of losing my parents, Nan asks, "Are you finished with your memories, dearie?"

I give a small shrug as I look at her. "I think so?" No new memories have appeared in a little while, and I don't feel like I have any blanks.

"Then it's time to take the other potion." Nan turns back to the cauldron she's been working on. She dips a ladle into the bright purple liquid before carefully pouring it into another glass bottle for me.

She hands it to me, and I inspect it curiously. "What does it do?"

"It unlocks your mage magic, of course."

"What do you mean ‘mage magic'? I'm a wolf shifter. I already got my wolf." Getting my memories back means I know a lot more about supernaturals. One thing that's well-known is that interspecies pairings don't work. There's never been a hybrid between a mage, shifter, vampire, or any other supernatural. It just doesn't happen.

"Holy shit," Saint whispers from behind me.

Nan turns wide eyes to me. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before finally asking, "How? How did you get your wolf? There hasn't been a female wolf shifter in generations."

"Uh, through a series of unpleasant events. I drank the wolfsbane potion, not entirely by choice, and didn't die from it. A week later, my wolf appeared." I shrug because I'm still not exactly sure why I didn't die. Like, it's cool and all that I'm not dead, but I'd like to know why.

"Would you like me to murder the vermin known as Patrick for you, child? I have been around for a long time. I know many methods to prolong suffering and maximize pain when killing someone."

I choke on my laugh at Dido's unexpected offer. You know, I might take you up on that if we ever find him.

The Wyldharts all growl at the reminder of my almost untimely demise. It makes me realize I had completely forgotten about them while getting my memories back. I turn around hesitantly and stare at their shoes. I'm unsure what I'll find on their expressions if I look up. I did just launch myself at another guy after finding out he's also my mate. I'd be livid if any of them ran up to another woman and touched her.

"Baby girl," Malachi rumbles. He sighs when I still stare at the floor. "Look at me." At his sharp order, my gaze snaps to his. Instead of anger or disgust, all I see is concern pinching his eyes. He raises an eyebrow before crooking a finger at me. Rolling my eyes at his wordless command, I walk over to the Wyldharts.

When I reach Malachi, he startles me by grabbing me by the back of my thighs and lifting me up into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist and my arms wind around his neck automatically. I lay my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.

My frame trembles slightly as everything really starts hitting me from today. I now remember who I was, but that doesn't help me figure out who I am now. I've gone through so much that the old me couldn't have ever imagined experiencing. I'm broken in ways I wasn't before. I don't really feel like the same person, and I don't know how I fit into my old life anymore.

"What's going on in that cute head of yours, pretty girl?" Bastian asks from my left.

I lift my head to look at him. His mouth is quirked up in a smile, but his eyes are worried. "Are you upset with me?" I blurt.

Smooth, Briar. Really fucking smooth.

My eyes close in embarrassment at just outright asking that.

"Nope." Bastian moves closer and cups my face with one hand. I unconsciously lean into his touch, feeling more grounded with two of my mates touching me. "What has you worried, sweet girl?"

"I found another mate—or, I guess, I remembered another mate. I'd be pretty upset if the roles were reversed." That's an understatement. I'd be more than a little murdery if they even thought about taking another mate, which makes me a raging hypocrite.

Bastian grins at me, a genuine one this time. "Feeling a little possessive, are we?" he teases. I give him a small nod. "That's hot. But none of us are upset or angry or disappointed or any other negative emotion with you. Mates are a gift from fate. Finding another mate isn't something you can control, and it's something to be celebrated. Honestly, the more people you have on your side, the better, pretty girl. Besides, we all know I'm your favorite."

I snort at the cheeky smile Bastian flashes me. Shaking my head at his antics, I look back at Malachi. It's weird being even with his navy gaze. This close, I can see that his eyes aren't a uniform color. Instead, they have an almost black ring around the outside. The dark blue of his irises lighten up to a medium blue as they get close to the pupil, forming a starburst effect.

"He's right. We're not upset at you at all, baby girl," Malachi reassures me, breaking me out of my assessment of his eyes. I give him a half smile, feeling relieved that the Wyldharts don't hate my guts.

Glancing over at Xander, I see him standing rigidly with his hands balled into fists at his sides, his knuckles white from how hard he's squeezing his fingers. His jaw is also clenched, and he's avoiding eye contact with me. I guess I should say two out of the three Wyldharts aren't pissed at me. Although, that's Xander's default setting when it comes to me, so who even knows what he's furious about this time.

Letting my head thump back down on Malachi's shoulder, I take a moment to compose myself. Xander being angry at me is just the cherry on top of this shit sundae. But I don't have time to fall apart. I have another mysterious potion to take, more people to see, and the reason female wolves can't shift to figure out.

No biggie.

Just the fate of an entire species resting on my super unqualified shoulders.

What could possibly go wrong?

Everything. The answer's everything.

With a quiet groan, I let my legs drop from around Malachi's waist. He holds me to him for a moment before gently lowering me to the floor. Turning around, I head back to Nan, who has a soft smile on her face from watching my interaction with Malachi and Bastian.

When I stop next to her, she hands me the neon purple potion. I inspect it skeptically. "Are you sure I should take this when I'm definitely a wolf shifter and not a mage?"

"I'm positive, dear."

Blowing out a breath and hoping it won't kill me, I throw back the potion. I'm prepared for it to be gross, but it tastes weirdly like a grape slushie. I kind of want more of it. I stare down at the empty vial in confusion when nothing happens. "It's not working."

"It takes a couple days to kick in."

"If you say so," I respond skeptically.

Nan just smiles at me. "I do. It's time for you to be on your way, dear. I have work to finish, and your aunt and uncle are expecting you."

I give her a nod, suddenly choked up at the thought of leaving her again. Nan opens her arms, and I step into them. She hugs me tightly, and I try not to cry on her sundress. "I love you, Nan."

"I love you, too, Briar Rose."

Reluctantly pulling back, I step away from Nan and head over to Emmy. "Where are Aunt Molly and Uncle James wanting to meet?"

"At our house. I'll lead the way. So, have you read any good books lately?" Emmy asks as she makes her way out of Nan's workshop. I grin at the prospect of having someone to talk to about books again. I launch into explaining one of my favorite series.