7. Asher

Chapter 7

Asher

I ’m reluctant to leave Poppy in the underground cells with the other prisoners, especially now that we know who she is, but I won’t do any good standing guard down there when she refuses to talk to us. I suspect standing over her will only make her angrier.

Giving her space is probably our best option right now, but I don’t know to what end.

She will be in her own cell, at least, away from the other prisoners.

“What the hell are we going to do with her now?” Malachi wants to know. Concern shadows his face for the first time as we retreat to our home.

“I don’t remember her being there,” I tell Warrick, wracking my brain for a more distinct memory of what had transpired that night.

“She must have been waiting on the road.”

Again, I wrack my brain, trying to recall if Sharp had called out to his daughter.

He might have…

“Why don’t I remember any of this?” Malachi grumbles, slamming the office door closed as we regroup in my workspace.

I turn away from the destruction of the boardroom, my worry for Poppy troubling me more than the mess she left behind.

“Too much was happening back then,” I remind him. “Our parents had just died. You were still in mourning?—”

“I was fine!” Malachi counters angrily, the reminder of his pain still a touchy subject.

“We were all in mourning and trying our best to keep it together in the aftermath,” Warrick interjects smoothly. “Even though we expect them to all go together, it’s always a shock when they do die at once like Apex mates do.”

The grimace on Malachi’s face grows, and I quickly change topics. “None of this has to do with how she lost her memories,” I tell them. “How did she forget if she was there the day it happened? And why didn’t she shift when she was supposed to shift?”

Helplessly, we look at one another. None of us can provide the answers we need.

I sit upright in my chair. “Her mother.”

“What about her?” Malachi asks with a rightfully blank expression.

Both of my brothers gape at me.

“Who is her mother?” Warrick asks, cocking his head to the side.

“Her real mother was probably a rebel, too, and lost in the cause,” I reply. “But the adoptive mother—the one who took her in—the witch. She probably knows more than she told Poppy. I bet she’s the reason Poppy doesn’t remember anything. That makes the most sense. But we have to find her and find out what she knows.”

Understanding floods both my siblings’ faces, and they sit up straighter in their seats, nodding vehemently.

“You’re right!” Warrick concedes. “That makes perfect sense. Maybe the witch can talk some sense into her daughter.”

“Or maybe the witch will try to kill us, too,” Malachi grumbles darkly.

It doesn’t take long to track down the witch. The packs in Tennessee under our rule respond swiftly to our call for aid. The shifters who prove to be the most valuable in this situation once attended school with Poppy and are familiar with her living situation, making it easy to pinpoint the witch’s location.

Within hours, Sadie arrives in our hidden town.

The witch looks at us with defiant nervousness as we lead her down the dank stairwell, her mistrust tangible. She has made it crystal clear she isn’t happy to be here even though I’ve reassured her we have Poppy’s best interests at heart.

“For someone who claims to care about Poppy, these aren’t very nice accommodations,” she hisses haughtily. She wants to flee, to turn around and leave us to deal with this on our own. But she won’t, not when her daughter is in a prison cell.

“She tried to kill us—twice,” Malachi snaps from behind her, but I shoot him a warning look.

“It’s for everyone’s safety,” Warrick tells her gently. “She was in a beautiful suite upstairs, and I’d happily put her back in it if she promises not to attack us again.”

The witch snorts and rolls her sooty eyes heavenward. “Did the big, bad girl scare you three Apex Alphas? For some reason, I thought you were stronger than that.”

I smother a smile, realizing where Poppy got her attitude from as Sadie throws her head up and marches further into the bowels of the cavern, pausing to look at the scruffy prisoners before casting me a look.

“Are these…?” she breathes worriedly.

“Rebels,” I conclude for her, and she exhales.

“Does she know who she is?” Sadie questions, her gray eyes widening.

I shake my head. “I don’t think so—not really. She won’t talk to us. Every time we try, she… well, we hope you can explain it to her.”

Sadie’s mouth purses into a fine line. “Poppy deserves to know the truth now. She never deserved anything that happened to her.”

“You should have been more forthcoming with her,” Malachi tells her sharply. “None of this would have happened if you had.”

She hangs her head, and I read the shame on her face. “Where is she?”

I gesture up the alleyway, and she heads forward as we linger back, ensuring that Poppy doesn’t see us in the shadows. “We’ll stay back here. She won’t talk if she sees us.”

“Good idea,” Sadie mumbles, offering me a grateful look. Inhaling, she stalks forward and into the dimness, stopping at Poppy's cell.

“Poppyseed? Are you all right?”

There’s a scurry of movement and pale hands curl around the bars as Poppy releases a gasp of denial. “Sadie! They caught you, too!” she cries out. “Oh, my gods. I’m so sorry! I got you tangled up in this mess! I didn’t tell them about you, I swear! Did they get Circe too?!”

Sadie shakes her head, casting us a sidelong look, but we remain out of view. “I’m not a captive, Poppy. The Alphas brought me here to talk to you.”

It’s hard to make out Poppy’s expression from the angle where we stand, but I can feel the dismay rolling off her in waves. “What? What do you mean?”

“I need to tell you some things, Poppy.”

“Oh, no, Sadie! Go! Run! They’re evil! They’re murdering bastards! They killed my father!”

“I know,” she says quietly.

Poppy draws in a breath. “You know? But you’re still here?”

“I need to tell you some things,” she says again.

Poppy scoffs. “Why? Do they really think anything you say is going to change my mind about them being horrible murderers?”

“I don’t know,” the witch answers honestly. “But I can tell you my role in what happened to you.”

Poppy draws back from the bars. “Your role?” she echoes. “What do you mean?”

Sadie drops her head and exhales. “I should have told you the truth a long time ago.”

“The truth about what? Sadie, did they do something to you? Threaten you?—”

Sadie shakes her salt and pepper bun vehemently. “No, Poppyseed. This is about what I did to you .”

She draws in another breath and rushes onward as if she’s afraid she’s about to lose her nerve. “Most of what I told you is true; I found you in the mountain woods when you were twelve… but you weren’t in an amnesiac state.”

“What?”

“You were screaming, panicked, losing your mind, really. You remembered every detail of your father’s murder vividly, in fact. It was horrible to watch a little girl going through such a devastating thing.”

“What?” Poppy chokes.

“You knew the new Apex Alphas had taken his life, and even then, you were crying out for revenge. I wanted to protect you and myself. I thought I was doing you a kindness by casting a blocker spell on you. Obviously a girl who hadn’t even shifted yet, a girl with no pack and no parents, couldn’t take on the most powerful pack in the state—some of the most powerful shifters in the world. The best thing I could think to do was make you forget.”

“Oh…” Poppy reels back from the bars, and I hear her collapse onto the floor.

“I’m sorry, Poppy. I didn’t realize how much damage the spell would do. I didn’t know that it would block you from shifting normally at fifteen, or that it would wear off after a decade—although I still don’t know why either thing occurred. No one in the coven could help me undo it—or they just didn’t want to get involved. They were afraid, too.”

She drops her head, shame overtaking her as I finally emerge from the shadows.

“She comes from a very distinct bloodline,” I explain quietly. “The blocker probably wasn’t as effective because of who she is.”

“A bloodline you tried your best to kill!” Poppy rages, jumping back up to her feet to confront me. The fury is back, Sadie’s confession doing nothing to alleviate her initial rage.

“No,” Warrick denies, stepping up to the bars as Malachi joins him. “You’ve got it backward, Poppy. It was your father and his group of rebels who were trying to kill us. He came to our packhouse in the woods that day and tried to blindside us during a ritual.” My brother points to the prominent scar over his eyebrow. “This scar? It’s from your father. He almost murdered me before Asher intervened.”

I nod in agreement, lowering my eyes at the memory.

Poppy recoils. “My father wouldn’t…” she whispers weakly.

“He would, and he did much worse in the name of his cause,” I tell her quietly. “You remember, don’t you?”

Her blue eyes shine with upset, tears flooding them. “How did I forget?” she mumbles. “How could I forget?”

“We always want to remember the best in our parents,” Warrick sighs. “Unfortunately, we don’t always see the full truth.”

“I should have given you a choice,” Sadie moans, bowing her head with regret. “But you were hysterical and driven by anger. I couldn’t abandon you again, or you would have gotten yourself killed before you had a chance to live your life.”

The witch reaches through the bars to touch Poppy’s hand. Slowly, they join fingers as Sadie begs us to release Poppy. “None of this is her fault,” she pleads. “Just send her back, and she won’t make any more trouble for you. I’ll make sure you never see her again or hear our names. You have my word.”

My chest constricts at the idea of sending her home, even if she’s not a danger. I don’t want her to leave. I want her to stay right here with us, where she belongs.

“That’s up to Poppy,” Warrick growls. “If she can agree, this grudge of hers is forgiven.”

“I’m sorry,” Poppy mumbles, her eyes darting between all of us. “I… I don’t know what else to say.”

Malachi gapes at her, looking from me to Warrick and back at Poppy as if he expects us to make her stay, but this is beyond our control now.

I nod toward the guards. “Unlock her cell. Poppy is free to go.”

“Oh, thank you, Alphas!” Sadie gushes, her relief genuine.

The cell door opens, and the women embrace as I watch sadly, but as Poppy clings to her adoptive mother, her gaze dances from one of us to the next.

I turn away, unable to watch this anymore. There’s no need for us to stand around and witness this private moment.

“Do I have to go?”

The unexpected question stops me in my place, and I turn to look at Poppy. Her eyes are fixed on me.

“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“Can I stay here?” she asks, nonplussed, holding my gaze for a moment, before glancing at Malachi, then Warrick.

“You want to stay in the cells?” Malachi asks.

I roll my eyes as Warrick snorts.

“You can’t stay in the cells,” Warrick answers. “It’s no place for a shifter of your bloodline. But you can stay in Oak Valley—if that’s what you mean.”

Pink tinges Poppy’s cheeks as she bows her head slightly. “Can I stay at the estate?”

Glee floods me, but dismay overcomes Sadie’s face. “You won’t come home?” the witch demands, looking warily at us as if we’d brainwashed her somehow. She releases Poppy to study her face worriedly, and Poppy holds her hand tightly.

“I will come home eventually,” she promises. “But right now, I’d like to stay here, with the Alphas.”

“Why?” Sadie shoots out bluntly. “You don’t know anyone here. Your friends are back home. Circe?—”

“I would like to get to know everyone here better,” Poppy demurs gently. “And I don’t think you or my friends are forbidden from visiting… are they?”

In tandem, my brothers and I shake our collective heads. “No, of course not. You’re always welcome here, Sadie, and so are any friends of Poppy’s.”

The shadow of suspicion lightens over Sadie’s face, but the disappointment remains. “The door is always open at home,” she murmurs.

“And I will come back,” Poppy reassures her, drawing her into a hug again.

They embrace again, and we all head up through the tunnels.

“Don’t forget about us!” Tavric croaks as we pass by, his gnarled hands reaching out for Poppy.

She falters and smiles weakly at him.

“Don’t worry. I won’t,” she promises. “I’ll be back for you, too.”