Chapter 34: Briar

brIAR

"That fucker!" I growl as I realize exactly why Patrick told me all of those messed-up stories about Valentine Wyldhart. If Patrick hadn't scared me away from Valentine Wyldhart, I might have stumbled across Uncle Vale and Aunt Abbie earlier. Then Patrick would have lost his favorite punching bag.

Everyone in the room is staring at me like I've lost my mind.

"Patrick told me lots of, um, disturbing stories about Valentine Wyldhart," I clue Uncle Vale and Aunt Abbie in. "To keep me in line, Patrick told me Valentine Wyldhart would do horrible things to Ava. His threats worked great to keep me away."

"I'm going to kill that sick fuck when I get my hands on him." Uncle Vale runs an agitated hand through his dark hair.

Bastian turns around to look at me, his nose scrunched in confusion. "So, you're not afraid of my dad?"

"Nope, I'm not. I've known Uncle Vale my whole life."

"Uncle?" Malachi questions, looking a little green. "We're related?"

I chuckle as his face contorts in horror. Aunt Abbie joins in, her melodic laugh floating around the room. "No, Kai, you're not related. We're not Briar's biological aunt and uncle. We were just close with her mom."

Now that they know that I'm not scared of Uncle Vale, the Wyldharts stop blocking him from me. They crowd around my bed instead, each one finding somewhere to touch me. Almost like they need to reassure themselves I'm really here.

"Oh, thank God." Malachi exhales, visibly relieved we're not cousins. "How did you know Briar's mom?"

Neither Uncle Vale nor Aunt Abbie answer him immediately. Uncle Vale scrubs his hands across his face before blowing out a heavy breath. "Briar's mom was my mate."

The room explodes into chaos at his statement. Malachi, Xander, and Bastian are all shouting questions over each other. "Quiet!" Uncle Vale barks, his voice having that same odd resonance that Malachi's has sometimes.

I don't usually feel anything when Malachi uses that voice, but my skin crawls and something jumps inside my chest this time. Rubbing my breastbone, I hope the weird feeling will settle down.

"Evie was my fated mate," Uncle Vale tries again now that the brothers are silent. "I spent nearly forty years looking for her, but I eventually gave up hope that I'd ever find her. My brothers had already died, so I figured fate had forsaken me. I never meant to fall in love with Abbie, but I did."

Forty years? Uncle Vale looks in his late thirties, maybe early forties. There's no way he spent so long looking for my mom. He'd be way older if he had.

"I met Evie when Abbie was seven months pregnant with Xander and Bastian. She came to Wolves Hollow for college. Evie crashed into me when I was at the store for ice cream for your mom," Uncle Vale says with a smile. A ghost of a grin crosses my lips, because that sounds exactly like Mama. She was the clumsiest person I knew. "I was simultaneously elated and devastated to find her. After I invited her over for dinner, I rushed home to tell your mom what happened. She was upstairs packing?—"

"And crying," Aunt Abbie interrupts with a watery smile.

"And crying. Your mom planned to take you, Kai, to go live with her parents. That way I could start over with my mate. Evie wouldn't hear of it. When she arrived, Kai was the first to greet her. Evie was so angry when she asked if Kai was my son. I thought she was going to demand I never see him again. Instead, she asked to meet my wife. When she saw how pregnant Abbie was, Evie said to me, ‘Valentine, whatever the hell your last name is, you better not be planning to abandon this sweet woman and your adorable child for me.'"

That sounds exactly like my mom. She was always putting the needs of everyone else above her own. Mama would never dream of breaking up anyone, especially not a couple with children.

"We were both shocked, to say the least," Aunt Abbie informs her sons. "Evie refused to come between us. She only stayed in Wolves Hollow for a semester, but we both became very close to her during that time. Evie quickly became my dearest friend."

"She left because it was hard on her and me being so close to each other. She moved to Hawthorne Grove, fell in love, and had our Bumble Bee. We visited every month when they lived there. When they moved here, we saw them every week." Uncle Vale's voice is wistful as he remembers my mom.

Xander swipes a tear off my cheek when his dad finishes. I hadn't even realized I was crying. It's bittersweet talking about my mom again. Patrick banned any mention of her. Not discussing Mama made it easier to hide away from the grief all these years, but it felt like I was drowning in sorrow all alone without anyone to talk to about my mom.

"What's a mate?" I ask. While Uncle Vale was talking, I got the gist—some sort of romantic connection—but I've never heard the term before.

Uncle Vale and Aunt Abbie glance at each other in confusion. The Wyldhart brothers trade looks of reluctance. Malachi finally breaks the charged silence. "It's a… wolf thing. It's kind of like marriage."

His answer jogs my memory of Patrick turning into a wolf. "Oh, holy fuck. You're wolves! You turn into massive wolves!"

I dart my wide eyes between each of the Wyldhart brothers. They're also looking at me in shock. Xander's the first to recover. "Who told you that?"

"Patrick. He turned into a motherfucking wolf to prove that he wasn't crazy!" I'm aware that I'm shouting, but this is all just so wild. My hot-as-sin professors can turn into forest creatures. I'm both mildly terrified and super intrigued.

"What are you talking about, Bee?"

"Oh shit, did I just out you as wolves to your parents? That's awkward. I'm sorry. I'm literally the worst at keeping secrets." I cringe as I apologize to the Wyldhart brothers. That's one heck of an awkward conversation to have with your parents.

Oh hey, Mom and Dad. We like to howl at the moon and chase our tails now. No biggie.

Bastian laughs at my wordy apology. "No, pretty girl. Wolf shifting is genetic. Dad and Mom are both wolf shifters too."

"Bee, you know that we're wolf shifters and that your mom was one too." Uncle Vale tilts his head as he talks, assessing me like I'm a puzzle he can't quite figure out.

"No, I never knew that," I insist.

"You did, honey. Your favorite activity as a kid was riding around on Vale's back. Your dad was so nervous the first time Vale shifted for you. He was ready to take him out if he so much as breathed wrong in your direction." Aunt Abbie laughs as she recounts my dad's overprotectiveness. With Malachi, Xander, and Bastian huddled around me, she moves from her perch on my bed to stand over with Uncle Vale.

"I don't have any memory of that. You knew my dad? I don't remember him either," I say in a small voice. I always thought he knocked up my mom and skedaddled. Aunt Abbie makes it sound like he really loved me.

I would remember that, wouldn't I?

"What's going on here, Vale?" Aunt Abbie asks him.

He shakes his head and frowns at me in thought. Uncle Vale rubs a hand over his short black beard. It's sprinkled with more gray than it used to be. "You don't think Evie would have taken her memories, do you?"

Aunt Abbie's eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. "Evie could have taken Briar's memories to keep Patrick from knowing what she is and keep her safe."

"Fuck! If Patrick was a danger to them, why didn't she come to us?"

"I don't know, Vale." Aunt Abbie puts her hand on Uncle Vale's chest to comfort him. She'd probably try to stroke his face, but she's so short she can't reach. "Is there anything Evie gave you before she died, Briar?"

I shake my head before remembering the weird dream I had. Mama didn't give me anything, but I did manage to snag her locket before Patrick could. "Maybe her locket? I haven't been able to open it though. I had the strangest fever dream before waking up, so I might know how to now."

"Give it a try," she encourages.

My hands go up to my neck, hoping Patrick didn't take the locket when he tried to kill me. I sigh in relief when I feel the familiar chain hanging around my neck. Reaching up, I'm about to unclasp it when the door slams open. Ava rushes in, her strawberry-blonde hair billowing behind her. She's followed by a woman with vibrant red hair.

"Rosie!" she screeches as she launches herself at me. I grunt as she collides with my battered body. Ava throws her arms around my neck, and I hug her tightly around her middle. "I was so scared. I thought you'd never wake up."

"Oh, Bun Bun. I'm so sorry." I squeeze Ava tighter as she buries her face in my hair. Her slight frame shakes with her silent tears. With one hand, I rub her back in an attempt to soothe her. I hate that she had to worry about me. That's not her job. As the big sister, I'm supposed to keep her safe from stuff like this.

When she's done crying, Ava wipes her nose on my hospital gown. I snort. That's such an Ava thing to do. She gives me a sheepish smile as she wipes the leftover tears from her red-rimmed hazel eyes. "I don't ever have to see Dad again, do I?"

"Nope. You never have to see Patrick again if you don't want to." I'm not even sure I'd let her see him if she did. He's unhinged, which makes him dangerous.

"Why do you call Patrick dad, Ava Bean?" Uncle Vale asks.

Ava scrunches up her nose and squints at him in distaste. "Ugh, I'm thirteen now. I'm way too old for that nickname, Uncle Vale," Ava sasses. I giggle at how offended she is. She shoots me a dirty look, and I raise my hands in surrender. "I call him that because he's my dad."

"He's not, Avie. Connor's your dad. You just never got to meet him, honey." Aunt Abbie's eyes fill with tears. She battles them back with a few blinks, refusing to let them fall.

"Who's Connor?" both Ava and I ask at the same time. We grin at each other because great minds think alike.

"He was your dad. Both of you," Uncle Vale answers, head tilted in thought.

"I've always wondered what my dad's name was," I murmur under my breath. With no memory of the man, I obviously didn't know his name.

"Wait? Patrick's not my dad?" Ava's eyes are as wide as saucers, and she looks horrified. I'm about to comfort her when a megawatt smile splits her face. "Oh my God! That's the best news I've heard in forever. Other than Rosie being okay, of course."

"That means we're full sisters," I inform her. Ava squeals and hugs me so tightly I'm worried she's going to choke me. While I try not to die of asphyxiation from Ava's enthusiastic hug, I lock eyes with the redhead standing awkwardly in the corner.

"Hey, Bri. I would ask you how you're feeling, but you look like shit."

I wheeze out a laugh at her apt description. Ava loosens her arms, realizing she's hugging a bit too tight. "Thanks. That's what I aim for, looking like shit." She grins at me, and it feels like I know her from somewhere. "Not to be rude, but who are you?" Her face falls, and I feel like a terrible person. I'm usually great at remembering names, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out what her name is.

"You don't remember me?" Her voice wobbles. I shake my head while biting my lip, feeling like garbage for forgetting.

"She's your cousin, Bee, and we think Evie took Briar's memories before she passed, Emmy." Uncle Vale walks over to Emmy and wraps her in a hug. She accepts the comfort for a long moment before stepping out of his hold.

I have a cousin?

My head is spinning with everything I've learned since waking up. It all feels like too much. I push my breakdown until later, hopefully holding it off until I'm alone.

"Why would she do that?" Emmy questions.

"Patrick was blackmailing her." Everyone in the room turns to look at me with varying levels of shock and rage. "He gloated about it before trying to kill me. He threatened to hurt me if she didn't do what he wanted. I'm guessing whatever memories she took, Mama thought I'd be safer without them."

"Damn. That's really fucked-up. I'm so sorry about Aunt Evie, Bri." Emmy looks almost as devastated over my mom as I feel.

"Me too." I give Emmy a half smile. She returns it with a barely there tilt of her lips.

"Can you restore her memories?" Aunt Abbie looks at Emmy with hope brimming in her eyes.

Emmy's shaking her head before Aunt Abbie even finishes. "I don't know what spell or potion Aunt Evie used to take Bri's memories. Without knowing that, anything I can try might cause permanent amnesia. Do you know what she used or who made it for her?"

I blanch at the thought of permanently losing my memories. Yeah, I'd rather not. Hard pass.

Reaching up around my neck, I unclasp Mama's wolfsbane locket. Now I know why she always loved wolfsbane flowers. It was the key to unlocking her wolf. A lump forms in my throat at what happened instead.

My eyes water. Nope, no more crying today. I've reached my quarterly limit of tears. Please try again never.

"Her locket might have an answer. I had a trippy dream before waking up where I talked to Mama. So, this may not work." Looking at the locket, I remember that I need blood. I yank out the IV. The Wyldhart brothers shout in alarm, but I ignore them. I carefully drip exactly three drops of blood onto the front of the locket. The blood runs through the grooves of the wolfsbane flower, turning it crimson. "Ad astra per aspera," I whisper.

The locket makes grinding and clicking noises, like gears turning. When the noise stops, the front springs open. I peer inside, spotting a tiny folded-up piece of paper. Turning over the locket, I shake it over my palm until the scrap of paper falls out. With trembling fingers, I carefully unfold it.

On the paper is an address in I don't recognize.

121 1st St, Los Altos

Flipping the paper over, hoping there's more information. There are only two words.

Vale – Key

Maybe the address leads somewhere, but right now it seems like I'll never get my memories back. The locket had nothing helpful in it.

Suppressing a growl of frustration, I hand the rectangular scrap to Uncle Vale. "Know what this means?"

He reads both sides of the paper before looking back up at me. "I have an idea, but I need to check a few things first. You need to rest, so it's time for everyone to clear out."

Aunt Abbie pushes through her sons and wraps her arms around me. She kisses the top of my hair before moving out of the way.

Ava takes her place and gives me another suffocating embrace. "Get better, Rosie. I love you."

"Love you too, Bun Bun."

Aunt Abbie takes Ava's hand and walks to the door. Emmy follows them out after one last sad glance at me.

"We're staying," Malachi growls.

"I thought so," Uncle Vale replies with one side of his mouth turned up in a grin. He comes over to me and squeezes me tight. "I'm so glad you're all right, Bumble Bee. We'll talk more when you feel better. For now, just rest and get better, understood?"

I nod, too overwhelmed by the affection to say anything. My stomach flip-flops at being alone with the Wyldhart brothers. Nervously, I look over at them and see Malachi's eyes shining with anger.

"We need to talk," he rumbles.