Chapter 12

“ H e smells. We should kill him,” Walter seethes as he sits on my bed retracting and exposing his claws repeatedly, like he could take out the massive wolf shifter downstairs. “You shouldn’t let him stay here. It’s going to stink for weeks.”

I pull back the covers and climb into my overly large bed. I had to cast quite a few enchantments to make a mattress fit, but the frame was already here. Why my mother had such a large bed? I have no clue, but I can’t deny I love it.

“It’s just temporary. Plus, you saw how close I was to showing up at the pack compound to make this feeling go away.”

“Killing him would solve all our problems. High Priestess would be most pleased,” he says, kneading biscuits into his pillow before lying down to rest.

Thankfully, our communication is when we decide to speak, so he can’t hear my thoughts. I might not like the Moon Walker Pack, but I wouldn’t wish Silas dead.

“I need to break this hex before grand-mère finds out.”

“We’re back to my murder plot,” Walter says with a yawn. “You’ve ruined my rest for two nights now. Go to sleep.”

Walter falls asleep quickly, his eyes doing the weird thing where I can’t tell if he’s truly asleep because his eyes are partially open.

I hold my covers close to my chest and stare up at the intricate ceiling. Part of me wants to go downstairs and tell Silas everything, that I didn’t mean to leave him forever, that I didn’t have a choice. I still don’t have a choice.

Bringing up the past doesn’t matter, only in the context of how we’re going to get this resolved. I need to keep this secret from my grand-mère and protect Silas in the process. I might not like him, but I used to know him, he used to be my best friend.

Even if he hates me and the circumstances are less than unfortunate, I don’t want him facing my grandmother's wrath because of a stupid spell I accidentally cast.

The ceiling fan above me twirls, and I wonder if I should take a potion to help me sleep. When suddenly, my bedroom door flings wide open, the knob slamming against the drywall, leaving a dent.

A feminine yelp escapes me as Walter jumps into the air next to me, screeching. I hold the blanket close to my chest as the world’s biggest wolf stands in my doorway.

I’ve seen the shifters afar on rare occasions, thinking they were the size of normal wolves, or perhaps Silas’ wolf is just abnormally huge. The brown wolf before me stands at what I imagine would be my height.

He isn’t snarling or looking threatening as his paws propel him to the bed.

“Stun him, do something, stupid girl,” Walter says, but I just lie there frozen as the wolf approaches me.

Deep down, something tells me he means me no harm. Is Silas seeing all this? Or is he completely absent when his wolf takes over? The shifters, like witches, clutch our secrets close, neither group knowing much about the other.

I grip the bedding like a lifeline as the wolf places his muzzle on the bed, a needy whine ripping through his throat. I swallow thickly as I look into his golden brown eyes. Perhaps the wolf is kinder than the man?

I hold out my hand, going to pet the top of his head as Walter hisses next to me. The wolf glares at my familiar with disinterest as I place my hand on his downy fur, stroking the top of his head and petting back his ears.

The wolf presses further into my hand, like my touch is something to be cherished.

“I’m sorry that grumpy asshole keeps you bottled up,” I tell him.

I swear to Hecate, if a wolf can smile, this one just did. I scratch his head, under his jaw and behind his ears, he seems to love it.

“I need to get some sleep,” I tell the wolf and he tilts his head.

The wolf doesn’t retreat. Instead, he jumps up on the bed and turns three times before lying on top of the sheets and resting his head on my calves. I blink down at him, too afraid to tell him no.

Walter glares at the beast and hisses.

“Get that mangy mutt out of our bed.”

I don’t want to piss off the wolf, so instead I pet Walter a few times, and he bites my hand.

“Ouch,” I snap at Walter, who grimaces at me.

“Now you’re rubbing his scent on me. Just tell me you hate me, Violet,” the cat complains, jumping off my bed and leaving the room, likely going to sleep in the other guest room upstairs.

I could have offered it to Silas. It would have been a hell of a lot more comfortable than the couch, but I didn’t feel like he deserved it. Not after refusing to give me a ride earlier and his sour mood. I did teleport home once it was safe but he doesn’t know that.

“Maybe you should stay in this form all the time,” I tell the wolf.

He nuzzles against my legs, his eyes closing and I do the same. I should be scared and unable to sleep with him here. Yet, I doze off nearly instantly.

I’m not sure why, but I get the best sleep I’ve had in fourteen years.

When I wake up, there are no animals in my bed and I almost wonder if I dreamt last night up. I mean, there’s no way that Silas’ wolf took over and snuggled me in the night. There’s just no damn way. If anything, his beast would hate me more than the man does?

Instead of pondering it too long, I get ready for my day. We have council this morning and the last thing I need is to show up late and raise any flags that something is wrong. Like the fact I got married to the Alpha pack leader. Who slept on my couch, and quite possibly my bed last night.

I shower quickly and cast a quick spell on my hair and face. Beauty charms are one perk of being a witch. I’m able to get ready in a matter of minutes.

The full moon is in five days and we need to prepare, especially after our less than poor meeting with the other supernaturals.

I wear a purple dress with golden crescent moons before sliding on my boots and carefully walking downstairs. Silas could still be here, hell, there could be a wolf sleeping on my couch.

Instead, when I walk down into the living room, I find a shirtless Silas, an arm slung over his eyes as his chest rises and falls. A black sheet covers the rest of his body and Walter sits on the coffee table, staring at the man, and likely plotting his murder.

Silas is lucky that Walter’s magical abilities aren’t vast, or he would be shit out of luck.

“Do not kill him while I’m gone,” I tell Walter in a soft voice.

“No promises,” he replies, retracting his claws in and out of his paw pad.

I sigh and glance at Silas one more time. He doesn’t look as angry when he sleeps, if anything he reminds me of the boy I once loved all those years ago. Soft, kind, and gentle.

I’m not sure what he went through, but it’s clear that part of him I once adored is long gone. All that’s left is an angry, bitter, control freak.

I might slam the door a little harder than necessary before leaving. Walter will ensure that Silas doesn’t do any damage to my home. He’d call upon me right away if he was doing anything suspicious. Not to mention the most important things in my home are warded and the shifter wouldn’t be able to find them, anyway.

My teleportation magic isn’t as strong as my grand-mère’s, but it’s passable, especially in locations I’ve already been. After a quick breath, I call on the familiar location and teleport to my grandmother’s greenhouse.

“There you are. I tried calling you and stopping by your house yesterday. I know you wanted a low-key thirtieth, but what the fuck, Violet?” Iris says as I happen to pop into existence right next to her.

I dust my dress off and look down at her hands. “Is one of those for me?” I ask with a smile and she rolls her eyes and hands me the iced pumpkin spiced latte. I hum with the first sip. “Thank you, I needed this.”

“You’re welcome. But you’re also not off the hook. You couldn’t text back?”

Clearly, I should have thought of my alibi before now. I’ve been so consumed with needing to figure out this counter curse, hex, spell, whatever the fuck it is, that I haven’t thought about how I’m going to keep the coven off my back while I resolve it.

“I was trying to astral project,” I lie to her, and she pulls me closer to her body.

“Why, it’s been a good hundred years since anyone in the coven has been able to do that?”

“I was hoping to find my mother that way,” I say. It’s a truth mixed with a lie, so hopefully she buys it.

She furrows her brow and nods. The topic of my mother has always been an interesting one with the coven. Of course, anyone my age or younger knows nothing. But the older witches all have the same story. She was troubled, and she left with me in her belly. No one heard from her again, and my grandmother found me at sixteen. No one’s story ever falters.

I’ve only seen three photographs of her, all in my grand-mère’s home. One when she was a young child, another at fifteen, and another at eighteen, when she disappeared.

My grand-mère has tried multiple location spells with a few of my mother’s items, and none of them have worked. It’s been long speculated that she doesn’t want to be found, and I still can’t wrap my mind around why.

Why would she abandon me and leave me far from my coven? Why would she never come back around?

Yet, I never act on my curiosity. This coven is everything to me. My loyalty stays with my family at all times. The coven is my family, not the woman who left me alone and helpless.

“We should keep that between us, then,” Iris says with a nod.

I want to tell my best friend what’s happened, and get her help, but I just can’t. As much as I trust Iris, I feel as though only I can fix my gigantic man issue that’s currently haunting my home.

“Gather around,” my grand-mère says as everyone takes a seat.

The coven is about forty strong, but we network with other covens when necessary. Our family comes first, but we will outreach a hand to another coven. After all, we’ve all been blessed with the same gift from Hecate.

“Now, as many of you know, the Moon Walker Pack has taken on a new Alpha.” Most of the witches seem disinterested, and my grandmother taps her wand against the podium. “Typically, I wouldn’t be concerned either. That pack hasn’t had solid leadership in decades. But this one is different. I need everyone on high alert. Especially the coming full moon.”

She doesn’t mention how he wanted peace, and neither do I.

“I fear under this new leadership they will do what they have always done. Taking things that do not belong to them. We must stay vigilant and not engage unless you find it is completely necessary. In the meantime, I’ll be looking deeper into their new pack leader, Silas. I believe striking this down by the head will be our best option.”

I swallow thickly, knowing she’s right, but hating the way it makes me feel.

“Now, let us discuss this full moon's rituals and potions needed,” she says, changing pace.

Iris stands up. “I have a few potions brewing that need to sit out in the full moon. I can barely keep the seduction potions on the shelf,” Iris says and my grandmother gives her a wide smile.

Iris is not only extraordinarily talented with potions, creams, soaps, what have you, but she also makes a ridiculous amount of money for the coven.

“I’d like to ensure we have a few gallons of water sitting out for the gardens,” Ember says from the corner where she sits with her mother.

I lean forward and wave, which she returns with a quick smile.

“Wonderful. We will also use the moon to unify our coven’s strength. It’s paramount that every witch, regardless of age, is present,” my grand-mère says, with no window for discussion.

Let’s just hope I’m happily divorced by the full moon…