Chapter 20 - Winter

“I’m not overly pleased about the idea of putting spells on humans,” Jack sighed as they sat in his office, having explained everything.

He sat in quiet contemplation, nobody speaking as the alpha mulled over the idea in his head.

It was Winter who finally broke the silence as she suggested, “Perhaps we should ask Kane?”

All three werewolves looked at Winter with raised brows, and she continued, “The human is his sister, right? He should have a say in what becomes of her.”

Jack's eyes widened and he shook his head. “Why didn't I think of that?”

“Probably because you're less trusting of him after everything that's happened,” Will scoffed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “Can we really trust him with his human sister around?”

Eddie growled low in his throat and Winter reached for his hand, silently warning him not to do anything stupid.

“Eddie, go and fetch Kane,” Jack ordered, ignoring Will's comment entirely.

For a second, Eddie made no move to obey. He continued to glower at Will as he snapped, “That's one of your brothers you're talking about.”

Then, finally, he rose and moved for the door, disappearing without another word.

Jack looked to Will then and said, “Eddie's right. Kane's never done anything to make us doubt him. I see why he chose not to tell us his secret.”

Will grimaced. “Can it really be forgiven so easily?”

“For now, we must put our pride aside and concentrate on protecting the pack,” Jack insisted, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. “With Christopher still in the basement, the most important thing is finding a fix for this situation as quickly as possible.”

“Then Winter's idea is a good plan,” Will insisted, and Winter's eyes almost bulged out of her head.

After all the shit he had given her, trying to refuse to explain the situation in front of a witch, she had never expected him to take her side.

She was still reeling a little from that when Eddie returned with Kane in tow.

“Eddie said you wished to see me?” Kane said, his head dipped as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to look at anyone in the room. His shame was clear, and Winter actually felt a little sorry for him.

After all, he was a human turned wolf and she was, she had recently found out, only half a witch. Would her coven treat her this way if they found out her secret? She suspected it was the main reason her mother had never told her of her father. A witch born to a werewolf father was an abomination, at least in many witches' minds and likely many werewolves’ as well.

“Winter has a suggestion to make, and we believe you should be the one to make the final decision on it,” Jack stated, looking to Winter to give her the floor.

She was surprised when Kane actually looked at her. There was an almost pleading glint about his gaze that set a heavy weight upon Winter's shoulders.

Sucking in a deep breath, she explained, “There's a spell in one of my mom's books back at the shop. It's a glamour spell. And if we used it on your sister, it would stop her from seeing anything supernatural in town.”

Kane cocked his head. “How does it work?”

Winter gulped. “I don't know all of the ins and outs of it, but it has something to do with making a human see something else if they happen upon anything supernatural. It kicks into the part of their brain that makes them want to believe they are seeing things and helps them have an easier time brushing things off.”

Kane looked thoughtful. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, closing his eyes as he debated what Winter had said.

Then he turned to Jack and explained, “Karena can't leave town. She's not safe.”

An aggressive shadow cast over the alpha's face, as if he wasn’t pleased at being told what someone in his town could or couldn't do.

“Why?” he asked, his tone clipped.

“She's on the run from an abusive boyfriend,” Kane said, his entire body tensing as he did so. “I myself would like to go and rip the guy's head off for what he's done to her, but that would only bring more trouble down on the pack, and I know I've caused enough already.”

“Then what exactly are you saying?” Jack asked, his brow furrowing.

Kane turned to Winter then and asked, “What exactly do you need to do for this spell?”

“It's quite simple really,” Winter said, shrugging. “I just need to mix up the potion. The hard part is getting her to take it.”

Winter watched as a lightbulb seemed to go on inside Kane's head. “That's easy enough. Everybody drinks at parties, and we still have a mating to celebrate, don't we?”

He looked between Winter and Eddie, smiling hopefully.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Eddie said, shaking his head.

Winter almost felt disappointed. Didn't he want to celebrate their union?

“It's perfect,” she insisted, rising to her feet, prepared to go and make the potion right away. “We can tell Karena it's a wedding reception. Humans have those, don't they?”

Eddie looked doubtful, but the others seemed amenable to the plan.

“It's settled then,” Jack said, slamming his hand down on his desk. “We'll host this reception of yours tomorrow night. That should be enough time for you to prepare, right, Winter?”

Clenching her hands into fists with determination, Winter nodded. “More than enough.”

“Must we really do it like this?” Eddie asked, and Winter's heart sank.

“Yes,” Jack said, an edge to his voice. Winter was relieved when Eddie didn't fight anymore. “You're dismissed.”

As everyone filed out of the office, Winter pulled Eddie to one side and demanded, “What the hell was that all about?”

Eddie glanced down, his cheeks reddening a little.

“Don't you want to celebrate this?” Winter asked, gesturing between them. “I thought things were good between us.”

“They are!” Eddie responded quickly, his face whipping up to meet her gaze. When he placed a hand against her cheek, Winter couldn't help but lean into his touch. “I just don't like the idea of so much attention being on us while you're risking so much to administer a potion to a human. It could all blow up in our faces.”

Hearing the concern in his tone, Winter's heart began to melt. Taking his face in both her hands, she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him hard. “You worry too much.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Eddie pulled her close and kissed her back. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, “I'll always worry about you. It's my job as your mate.”

Winter's body tingled all over at his words and she kissed him again.

“Damn, would you two get a room?” Will called from down the hall, and Eddie and Winter burst into laughter.

“Come on,” Winter said, gripping Eddie's hand. “I've got a potion to prepare.”