Pack Bound: Pack Bound Series Book 1, page 18
‘Let her finish, love.’
‘What else is there to say? He’s a warlock. Shelley and Bron knew and didn’t say anything. I can’t trust any of you.’
‘Don’t jump to wrong conclusions. Listen to her, love.’
‘That’s not what’s going on.’
‘I think you’re losing your touch, Jase.’
‘He’s not a warlock, he’s a Were.’
The voices pummelled at her, Grandpa, Shelley, Adam, Bron, all at once. The only person who didn’t talk was Jason.
‘Aren’t you going to defend yourself?’ Her voice, twisted and bitter, hardly sounded like her own. ‘Don’t you have some excuse to make?’
Jason, who hadn’t moved from where he’d been sitting on the edge of the bed, just shook his head. ‘You didn’t remember, even when I showed you, so I don’t see how saying anything right now is going to make any difference.’
He sounded defeated, lost. And at that sound, the anger in her died. ‘You’re not going to try and convince me you’re not a warlock?’
‘I’m not a warlock. I’m a Were. I have a second natural form—that of a wolf.’
Skye swallowed hard. ‘As in werewolf?’
He nodded. ‘It might seem magical, but for too many centuries it was a curse. Then the Pact was made with witches and warlocks to save us both. Them from their magic overloading, and us from our curse. The Pack allowed them to share their magic with us, allowing us to change at will once again, to live in harmony with our wolves. So while I am filled with magic, that magic isn’t mine. It’s yours to give.’
‘I haven’t given you anything.’
Bron grabbed her hand. ‘That’s what Shelley is trying to tell you. You did give him the magic. Up at the snow. The thing you thought was the flu wasn’t.’ She turned to Jason. ‘She flamed out, didn’t she? When you slept with her that first time?’ He nodded, his misery so obvious Skye felt its touch.
Shelley shook her head at him. ‘Typical male, taking what you want with no thought to the consequences.’
‘It wasn’t like that.’
Shelley opened her mouth to respond but Bron butted in. ‘This isn’t time for recriminations, Shelley. We have to think what’s best for Skye. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like how they went about it, she needs their help.’
‘I don’t need their help,’ Skye said, edging further away from all of them.
‘Yes, you do. If you don’t want to get sick again, you need to listen to what they’ve got to tell you and try to believe. I don’t want to push you, but I think Jason has a story to tell you of your past. And it’s in your best interests that you listen to what he has to say.’
‘Trust your friends, love. You need to hear this. For yourself. For River.’
Tentatively, trembling because what she was about to do went against everything she’d been brought up to believe, she nodded. She didn’t know if she could trust the voice that Shelley said was actually her grandpa, but she did trust her friends. They might not fully understand the danger that was her magic, but they had never forced her to go against her will. They had her best interests at heart.
‘Grandpa is saying I need you to tell me your story. That it will help me and River.’ She looked at Shelley, who nodded her approval. ‘Is that true?’
‘River? Your twin, River? He’s alive?’
18
Jason’s senses reeled as his mind repeated what she’d just said.
‘Your twin?’ Adam echoed. ‘River?’
‘River is alive? He didn’t die in the car accident that killed your parents?’
Her gaze snapped to him, black suddenly swirling in her eyes once more. ‘Of course he didn’t die. He was severely injured and lives with my grandmother but— How do you know about my brother?’
Elation at the affirmation her twin was alive warred with the sinking sensation as he saw suspicion cast a nasty cloud in her eyes.
‘Your father was our Pack Warlock, your mother a Were Pack Healer. My parents and your parents were friends. My father was not only our Alpha, but he was your godfather as well. I knew your father and your mother. I met you and your brother when you were babies. However, I was in France when your parents were murdered and you were taken.’
‘How do you know my parents were murdered?’
‘Because the pack felt it the moment they died,’ Adam said. ‘It was like someone had punched a hole through the centre of us, leaving nothing but a jagged wound. Your father sent a vision through his link with the Alpha, our father, and he saw it all. Somebody made that car crash. Then they set the car on fire with them inside it after you were taken from it. We thought River was murdered too, burned in the fire that took your parents, because his consciousness disappeared from the Packbond.’
She winced.
Jason wanted to reach for her hand, but she was still crouched up against the bed head, her eyes inky pools of darkness. ‘We grieved.’ He swallowed hard. ‘We all grieved. And now, to find out he’s alive … It’s almost as good as the gift of finding you.’
Skye closed her eyes as if she was in pain. ‘Are you trying to tell me that River is what you are?’
He nodded. ‘River is a Were too. And if you didn’t know that …’ He turned to Adam. For once, his brother looked solemn.
‘River. Is he okay?’ Jason asked, cautious. ‘He’s not showing signs of insanity, is he? Angry outbursts? Fits that look like he’s being torn apart from the inside?’
‘Has he reacted strangely to your magic in the past?’ Adam added. ‘Has he asked for moondust?’
She jerked at each of their questions, her jaw dropping open, the panic in her eyes confirmation of Jason’s worst fears.
‘Where is he?’
She shook her head, backing away from him as if faced with a rabid dog. If what he suspected about River was true, it must have been a stance she had often adopted.
He tried to soften his tone, quash the urgency that made him sound angry. ‘Where is he?’ he asked again.
‘I’m not telling you.’
‘Why not?’ Adam asked.
‘You’ve still explained nothing. I’m ready to trust you with the things that concern me, but not my brother. I might not be able to do much for him, but I can protect him.’
He put his hands up, placating. ‘You don’t understand, Skye. Because of what’s happening to you and your magic, River is in danger. If he’s never changed in front of you in all these years, he’s in more danger than any of the rest of us. It means he’s being tortured in a way you can’t possibly comprehend.’
He reached towards her, but she flung her arms out. Blue fire sparked on her fingertips. ‘Stay back. I’ll hurt you.’
‘You don’t want to hurt me, Skye. You can trust me.’
She shook her head, eyes flared wide in panic; in fear. That fear cut at his heart.
‘I don’t want to trust you. Because if I do, it means what you’re saying is true. And River … Oh God, River.’ Tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m the reason, aren’t I? It’s because of what I am that he’s like he is.’
He was about to deny her words, horrified she’d interpreted what he’d said in that way, but fire spurted from her fingertips and arced towards him. Skye yelped.
‘Skye, you have to calm down.’
She laughed hysterically. ‘Calm down? It was my job to protect River, and I tried. I did try. But even now, I’m hurting him.’
Fire struck out again, making Jason and Adam dive out of the way and Bron duck down in the corner.
Before she could do it again, Shelley grabbed her hands and spun Skye around to face her. ‘Skye, stop.’
‘Shelley, don’t. I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘You won’t hurt me. Just calm down. Let me help.’
‘How can I calm down if what he’s saying about River is true?’
Shelley shot a pointed look at Jason. ‘I think he’s overstating things. Nothing’s going to happen to River right away and even if it did, you are not at fault. So stop trying to blame yourself.’
She shook her head. ‘How can I do anything else? They are right. River is getting worse.’ The sound of aching loss in her voice made Jason’s chest tighten. He watched in silent agony as a tear spilled down her cheek. ‘He’s fading away from me every day. And when he’s gone, I know I won’t have any reason to stay. I’ve always known that. He’s my anchor. My reason for being. Without him, I don’t know if I can hold on. I’ll be too dangerous. I’ll need to go. I’ll have to run.’
‘No!’
She jumped at Jason’s cry of grief and rage and turned to face him.
He stepped towards her, but fire flickered on her hands and he stopped.
‘See. I’m so dangerous,’ she whispered.
‘You’re our Pack Witch,’ he argued, desperate to make her see. ‘Your magic reacts to me because I’m the Alpha of the pack you belong to. The same pack your father and mother belonged to before you. You’re our Pack Witch. You are the most important being in a pack’s life. We need you.’
‘Why? It doesn’t make sense. You say you need my magic, but it is dangerous. You just told me it’s killing River.’
‘I never said that. If anything, your power might be able to help River … Remember I told you before, that’s one of the reasons why the Witch–Were Pact was created, to help save the Were from the madness that was taking them?’
She nodded slowly.
Relieved she finally seemed to be listening, he hurried on. ‘Do you also remember what I said about why the covens bound themselves to us?’
‘You said it was to save them from their powers.’
He nodded. ‘Their powers were exposing them to the witch hunters, or just outright killing them. Bridgette Colliere, the greatest witch who ever lived, saw a way to help us all. I know it sounds fantastical and I know you have no reason to trust me at the moment. So don’t trust me. Trust your father.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I have his diaries. I have all the Pack Witch Diaries. If you come back with me, you can read them. See for yourself that what I’m telling you is true.’ He held out his hand. ‘My house is close. All you need to do is come with me.’
Skye stared at his hand, trembling.
‘Please come. You’ll see I’m telling the truth. You can even read Bridgette Colliere’s diary. You’re related to her, you know. Her blood flows through your veins. She was a remarkable witch. In fact, there hasn’t been a witch as strong as her until you.’
‘No. No. That’s not true. It can’t be true,’ she breathed, holding her hands out to ward him off. Fire flared from her fingers. ‘My magic. It’s evil. It can’t be used for good.’
Bron shook her head. ‘That’s bullshit. Your magic isn’t dark. It’s so full of light it fills me with wonder. It always has. If it hadn’t been like that, Shelley and I would never have been drawn to you in the first place.’
‘Who told you it was evil?’
‘My grandpa. My grandmother.’
‘They lied.’
Skye’s mind spun as she shook her head. ‘No. They didn’t. They wouldn’t.’
‘Harrison. A little help here?’ Shelley said, talking to the air.
Skye heard a sigh in her ear and then, ‘They’re right. We lied.’
‘What?’
‘I needed to ensure you never broke out of the binding of the spell. I had no idea about your necessity to the Were or I might have done things differently. I had no idea the magic transfer was symbiotic and necessary to you both. I thought they were using you. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you with your own power. I didn’t understand.’
‘But why? Why would you lie about that? Why didn’t you tell me about my history?’ The flame on her fingers died as hurt and betrayal swept over her.
‘Morrigan never wanted you to know about the pack. She’d escaped from what she saw as an eternity of slavery and she didn’t want you tied to that too. But aside from all that, we hid the memories of them from you because it was too dangerous to take you back.’
As he spoke, Skye was aware of Shelley whispering in the background, telling the others what Harrison said.
‘Jason’s pack couldn’t save your parents from the rogue coven. There was no way we were taking a chance with your safety too. But I didn’t understand. I think you need them, Skye, just like they need you. All you have to do is open your mind to your memories and you will see it is so. But finally, if you don’t believe me, ask Morrigan. She’ll tell you. She’s been avoiding you because she’s afraid. But if you ask, she’ll tell you.’
Skye shook her head, the pain increasing as her grandpa spoke. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t take in what she was being told.
‘I need to go.’
‘You can’t go, Skye,’ Jason said. ‘I need to tell you about the Curse. It’s obvious it’s affected River if he’s never made the change, and it’s only going to get worse. But if you learn to use your magic—’
She turned to him and pinned him with her stare. ‘I know what you said, and I want to believe you. I do. But I hurt him with my power. I made him worse—’ She pressed her hands to her forehead as the pain spiked.
‘Are you okay?’ Shelley asked softly.
‘You don’t look good, honey,’ Bron commented.
‘I don’t feel very good.’ She stood, stumbled. Jason went to grab her to steady her, but she shied away. ‘Don’t.’ She grasped her head with one hand, holding out her other hand to ward him off. She knew what she was capable of, what she’d done. If he touched her, it would tip her over the edge she was precariously balancing on.
She had to leave before she fell over the edge and did anything worse.
With jerky movements, she made her way around the bed towards the door, then stopped. ‘Where are my shoes?’
Bron handed her some sneakers. She shoved her feet into them and turned to the door.
‘Where are you going?’
‘I think you need to lie down.’
She ignored them, making her way past them and out the door. Her shoulder hit the door frame and she almost toppled, but she caught herself against the wall and kept going.
The others trailed after her.
She grabbed her keys out of the bowl at the front door and opened it, staggering onto the porch and down the front stairs to her car.
‘Skye, honey. I don’t think you should drive.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘To see Morrigan.’
As she hopped in the car she heard Adam ask, ‘Who’s Morrigan?’
‘Skye’s grandmother.’
‘But her grandmother is dead.’
Her movements hitched as she heard that, but then she took a breath. Morrigan wasn’t dead. That lie put in question everything else they’d told her—including what they’d said about River. Because if it was true, and she was supposed to save him, then she knew he was truly in danger—she couldn’t do what they wanted. They didn’t understand.
Her powers killed. They didn’t heal.
She was about to close the door but Jason’s voice stopped her.
‘Skye, please. Say something.’
She didn’t look at him—couldn’t look at him, knowing it would be too much for her right now. Despite her fear over what he was, she still felt the pull of attraction that went beyond all reason. He said it was because he was her Alpha—whatever that meant. He also said she was their Pack Witch. It sounded like he was claiming her.
She didn’t want to be claimed. Couldn’t be claimed.
She closed the door, started the car, then drove away without answering him.
There was only one person she could speak to now—the person who’d been avoiding her over the last few weeks. She just hoped Morrigan could help make sense out of a life that had suddenly fallen into chaos.
19
Skye drove through the slowly opening gates, past the lions mounted like sentinels on the twelve-foot wall and up the sweeping circular drive to the front door.
Thinking about what she was here for, she shivered as she rang the bell. She was either about to find out that everything she’d believed in had been a lie, or her dearest friends had betrayed her.
A sensation ran down her spine akin to someone running their hand in a sensuous glide along her skin. She knew she was being watched, but unlike the sensation she’d experienced over the last few weeks, this didn’t feel intrusive. Even so, she turned, peering out into the garden, trying to pierce the gloom created by the storm clouds.
She couldn’t see anyone, but as before, she knew someone was there.
She stared for a moment longer into the shadow, lips pursed, and then turned back to the front door, hugging her arms around her. She wished she’d put on some warmer clothes. The sky was bright and clear as only a spring morning could be after a day of storms, but it was still cold and frost lay on the ground. ‘Come on Ferris, open the door.’ She jigged on the spot, wishing she hadn’t been so stubborn now about giving back her key years ago.
The door opened.
‘Hello, Ferris,’ she breathed in relief.
‘Miss. Madame Cantrae received your friend’s call. She is waiting for you in the drawing room.’ His smile was as politely correct as always, but his warm brown eyes invited her in.
She tensed her fingers around the strap of her handbag and hesitated. She suddenly didn’t want to enter. Did she really want to hear she’d been lied to and betrayed by those who should have cared for her the most?
‘Are you coming in, miss?’
‘I—’
‘Oh good, you’re here.’
Morrigan Cantrae sauntered into the foyer looking nowhere near how a woman of seventy was supposed to look, with her soft auburn hair, her sparkling green eyes—Skye’s eyes—and her flawless smooth skin with hardly a wrinkle in sight. Dressed in dove grey pants and a crisp white shirt with the colourful triangle of a paisley scarf draped over her shoulders and pearls at her neck and ears, she was poised and sophisticated and far more beautiful than Skye had ever felt in her life.
‘Why are you standing in the doorway? Come in. You’re letting in a draught.’
‘What else is there to say? He’s a warlock. Shelley and Bron knew and didn’t say anything. I can’t trust any of you.’
‘Don’t jump to wrong conclusions. Listen to her, love.’
‘That’s not what’s going on.’
‘I think you’re losing your touch, Jase.’
‘He’s not a warlock, he’s a Were.’
The voices pummelled at her, Grandpa, Shelley, Adam, Bron, all at once. The only person who didn’t talk was Jason.
‘Aren’t you going to defend yourself?’ Her voice, twisted and bitter, hardly sounded like her own. ‘Don’t you have some excuse to make?’
Jason, who hadn’t moved from where he’d been sitting on the edge of the bed, just shook his head. ‘You didn’t remember, even when I showed you, so I don’t see how saying anything right now is going to make any difference.’
He sounded defeated, lost. And at that sound, the anger in her died. ‘You’re not going to try and convince me you’re not a warlock?’
‘I’m not a warlock. I’m a Were. I have a second natural form—that of a wolf.’
Skye swallowed hard. ‘As in werewolf?’
He nodded. ‘It might seem magical, but for too many centuries it was a curse. Then the Pact was made with witches and warlocks to save us both. Them from their magic overloading, and us from our curse. The Pack allowed them to share their magic with us, allowing us to change at will once again, to live in harmony with our wolves. So while I am filled with magic, that magic isn’t mine. It’s yours to give.’
‘I haven’t given you anything.’
Bron grabbed her hand. ‘That’s what Shelley is trying to tell you. You did give him the magic. Up at the snow. The thing you thought was the flu wasn’t.’ She turned to Jason. ‘She flamed out, didn’t she? When you slept with her that first time?’ He nodded, his misery so obvious Skye felt its touch.
Shelley shook her head at him. ‘Typical male, taking what you want with no thought to the consequences.’
‘It wasn’t like that.’
Shelley opened her mouth to respond but Bron butted in. ‘This isn’t time for recriminations, Shelley. We have to think what’s best for Skye. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like how they went about it, she needs their help.’
‘I don’t need their help,’ Skye said, edging further away from all of them.
‘Yes, you do. If you don’t want to get sick again, you need to listen to what they’ve got to tell you and try to believe. I don’t want to push you, but I think Jason has a story to tell you of your past. And it’s in your best interests that you listen to what he has to say.’
‘Trust your friends, love. You need to hear this. For yourself. For River.’
Tentatively, trembling because what she was about to do went against everything she’d been brought up to believe, she nodded. She didn’t know if she could trust the voice that Shelley said was actually her grandpa, but she did trust her friends. They might not fully understand the danger that was her magic, but they had never forced her to go against her will. They had her best interests at heart.
‘Grandpa is saying I need you to tell me your story. That it will help me and River.’ She looked at Shelley, who nodded her approval. ‘Is that true?’
‘River? Your twin, River? He’s alive?’
18
Jason’s senses reeled as his mind repeated what she’d just said.
‘Your twin?’ Adam echoed. ‘River?’
‘River is alive? He didn’t die in the car accident that killed your parents?’
Her gaze snapped to him, black suddenly swirling in her eyes once more. ‘Of course he didn’t die. He was severely injured and lives with my grandmother but— How do you know about my brother?’
Elation at the affirmation her twin was alive warred with the sinking sensation as he saw suspicion cast a nasty cloud in her eyes.
‘Your father was our Pack Warlock, your mother a Were Pack Healer. My parents and your parents were friends. My father was not only our Alpha, but he was your godfather as well. I knew your father and your mother. I met you and your brother when you were babies. However, I was in France when your parents were murdered and you were taken.’
‘How do you know my parents were murdered?’
‘Because the pack felt it the moment they died,’ Adam said. ‘It was like someone had punched a hole through the centre of us, leaving nothing but a jagged wound. Your father sent a vision through his link with the Alpha, our father, and he saw it all. Somebody made that car crash. Then they set the car on fire with them inside it after you were taken from it. We thought River was murdered too, burned in the fire that took your parents, because his consciousness disappeared from the Packbond.’
She winced.
Jason wanted to reach for her hand, but she was still crouched up against the bed head, her eyes inky pools of darkness. ‘We grieved.’ He swallowed hard. ‘We all grieved. And now, to find out he’s alive … It’s almost as good as the gift of finding you.’
Skye closed her eyes as if she was in pain. ‘Are you trying to tell me that River is what you are?’
He nodded. ‘River is a Were too. And if you didn’t know that …’ He turned to Adam. For once, his brother looked solemn.
‘River. Is he okay?’ Jason asked, cautious. ‘He’s not showing signs of insanity, is he? Angry outbursts? Fits that look like he’s being torn apart from the inside?’
‘Has he reacted strangely to your magic in the past?’ Adam added. ‘Has he asked for moondust?’
She jerked at each of their questions, her jaw dropping open, the panic in her eyes confirmation of Jason’s worst fears.
‘Where is he?’
She shook her head, backing away from him as if faced with a rabid dog. If what he suspected about River was true, it must have been a stance she had often adopted.
He tried to soften his tone, quash the urgency that made him sound angry. ‘Where is he?’ he asked again.
‘I’m not telling you.’
‘Why not?’ Adam asked.
‘You’ve still explained nothing. I’m ready to trust you with the things that concern me, but not my brother. I might not be able to do much for him, but I can protect him.’
He put his hands up, placating. ‘You don’t understand, Skye. Because of what’s happening to you and your magic, River is in danger. If he’s never changed in front of you in all these years, he’s in more danger than any of the rest of us. It means he’s being tortured in a way you can’t possibly comprehend.’
He reached towards her, but she flung her arms out. Blue fire sparked on her fingertips. ‘Stay back. I’ll hurt you.’
‘You don’t want to hurt me, Skye. You can trust me.’
She shook her head, eyes flared wide in panic; in fear. That fear cut at his heart.
‘I don’t want to trust you. Because if I do, it means what you’re saying is true. And River … Oh God, River.’ Tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m the reason, aren’t I? It’s because of what I am that he’s like he is.’
He was about to deny her words, horrified she’d interpreted what he’d said in that way, but fire spurted from her fingertips and arced towards him. Skye yelped.
‘Skye, you have to calm down.’
She laughed hysterically. ‘Calm down? It was my job to protect River, and I tried. I did try. But even now, I’m hurting him.’
Fire struck out again, making Jason and Adam dive out of the way and Bron duck down in the corner.
Before she could do it again, Shelley grabbed her hands and spun Skye around to face her. ‘Skye, stop.’
‘Shelley, don’t. I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘You won’t hurt me. Just calm down. Let me help.’
‘How can I calm down if what he’s saying about River is true?’
Shelley shot a pointed look at Jason. ‘I think he’s overstating things. Nothing’s going to happen to River right away and even if it did, you are not at fault. So stop trying to blame yourself.’
She shook her head. ‘How can I do anything else? They are right. River is getting worse.’ The sound of aching loss in her voice made Jason’s chest tighten. He watched in silent agony as a tear spilled down her cheek. ‘He’s fading away from me every day. And when he’s gone, I know I won’t have any reason to stay. I’ve always known that. He’s my anchor. My reason for being. Without him, I don’t know if I can hold on. I’ll be too dangerous. I’ll need to go. I’ll have to run.’
‘No!’
She jumped at Jason’s cry of grief and rage and turned to face him.
He stepped towards her, but fire flickered on her hands and he stopped.
‘See. I’m so dangerous,’ she whispered.
‘You’re our Pack Witch,’ he argued, desperate to make her see. ‘Your magic reacts to me because I’m the Alpha of the pack you belong to. The same pack your father and mother belonged to before you. You’re our Pack Witch. You are the most important being in a pack’s life. We need you.’
‘Why? It doesn’t make sense. You say you need my magic, but it is dangerous. You just told me it’s killing River.’
‘I never said that. If anything, your power might be able to help River … Remember I told you before, that’s one of the reasons why the Witch–Were Pact was created, to help save the Were from the madness that was taking them?’
She nodded slowly.
Relieved she finally seemed to be listening, he hurried on. ‘Do you also remember what I said about why the covens bound themselves to us?’
‘You said it was to save them from their powers.’
He nodded. ‘Their powers were exposing them to the witch hunters, or just outright killing them. Bridgette Colliere, the greatest witch who ever lived, saw a way to help us all. I know it sounds fantastical and I know you have no reason to trust me at the moment. So don’t trust me. Trust your father.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I have his diaries. I have all the Pack Witch Diaries. If you come back with me, you can read them. See for yourself that what I’m telling you is true.’ He held out his hand. ‘My house is close. All you need to do is come with me.’
Skye stared at his hand, trembling.
‘Please come. You’ll see I’m telling the truth. You can even read Bridgette Colliere’s diary. You’re related to her, you know. Her blood flows through your veins. She was a remarkable witch. In fact, there hasn’t been a witch as strong as her until you.’
‘No. No. That’s not true. It can’t be true,’ she breathed, holding her hands out to ward him off. Fire flared from her fingers. ‘My magic. It’s evil. It can’t be used for good.’
Bron shook her head. ‘That’s bullshit. Your magic isn’t dark. It’s so full of light it fills me with wonder. It always has. If it hadn’t been like that, Shelley and I would never have been drawn to you in the first place.’
‘Who told you it was evil?’
‘My grandpa. My grandmother.’
‘They lied.’
Skye’s mind spun as she shook her head. ‘No. They didn’t. They wouldn’t.’
‘Harrison. A little help here?’ Shelley said, talking to the air.
Skye heard a sigh in her ear and then, ‘They’re right. We lied.’
‘What?’
‘I needed to ensure you never broke out of the binding of the spell. I had no idea about your necessity to the Were or I might have done things differently. I had no idea the magic transfer was symbiotic and necessary to you both. I thought they were using you. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you with your own power. I didn’t understand.’
‘But why? Why would you lie about that? Why didn’t you tell me about my history?’ The flame on her fingers died as hurt and betrayal swept over her.
‘Morrigan never wanted you to know about the pack. She’d escaped from what she saw as an eternity of slavery and she didn’t want you tied to that too. But aside from all that, we hid the memories of them from you because it was too dangerous to take you back.’
As he spoke, Skye was aware of Shelley whispering in the background, telling the others what Harrison said.
‘Jason’s pack couldn’t save your parents from the rogue coven. There was no way we were taking a chance with your safety too. But I didn’t understand. I think you need them, Skye, just like they need you. All you have to do is open your mind to your memories and you will see it is so. But finally, if you don’t believe me, ask Morrigan. She’ll tell you. She’s been avoiding you because she’s afraid. But if you ask, she’ll tell you.’
Skye shook her head, the pain increasing as her grandpa spoke. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t take in what she was being told.
‘I need to go.’
‘You can’t go, Skye,’ Jason said. ‘I need to tell you about the Curse. It’s obvious it’s affected River if he’s never made the change, and it’s only going to get worse. But if you learn to use your magic—’
She turned to him and pinned him with her stare. ‘I know what you said, and I want to believe you. I do. But I hurt him with my power. I made him worse—’ She pressed her hands to her forehead as the pain spiked.
‘Are you okay?’ Shelley asked softly.
‘You don’t look good, honey,’ Bron commented.
‘I don’t feel very good.’ She stood, stumbled. Jason went to grab her to steady her, but she shied away. ‘Don’t.’ She grasped her head with one hand, holding out her other hand to ward him off. She knew what she was capable of, what she’d done. If he touched her, it would tip her over the edge she was precariously balancing on.
She had to leave before she fell over the edge and did anything worse.
With jerky movements, she made her way around the bed towards the door, then stopped. ‘Where are my shoes?’
Bron handed her some sneakers. She shoved her feet into them and turned to the door.
‘Where are you going?’
‘I think you need to lie down.’
She ignored them, making her way past them and out the door. Her shoulder hit the door frame and she almost toppled, but she caught herself against the wall and kept going.
The others trailed after her.
She grabbed her keys out of the bowl at the front door and opened it, staggering onto the porch and down the front stairs to her car.
‘Skye, honey. I don’t think you should drive.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘To see Morrigan.’
As she hopped in the car she heard Adam ask, ‘Who’s Morrigan?’
‘Skye’s grandmother.’
‘But her grandmother is dead.’
Her movements hitched as she heard that, but then she took a breath. Morrigan wasn’t dead. That lie put in question everything else they’d told her—including what they’d said about River. Because if it was true, and she was supposed to save him, then she knew he was truly in danger—she couldn’t do what they wanted. They didn’t understand.
Her powers killed. They didn’t heal.
She was about to close the door but Jason’s voice stopped her.
‘Skye, please. Say something.’
She didn’t look at him—couldn’t look at him, knowing it would be too much for her right now. Despite her fear over what he was, she still felt the pull of attraction that went beyond all reason. He said it was because he was her Alpha—whatever that meant. He also said she was their Pack Witch. It sounded like he was claiming her.
She didn’t want to be claimed. Couldn’t be claimed.
She closed the door, started the car, then drove away without answering him.
There was only one person she could speak to now—the person who’d been avoiding her over the last few weeks. She just hoped Morrigan could help make sense out of a life that had suddenly fallen into chaos.
19
Skye drove through the slowly opening gates, past the lions mounted like sentinels on the twelve-foot wall and up the sweeping circular drive to the front door.
Thinking about what she was here for, she shivered as she rang the bell. She was either about to find out that everything she’d believed in had been a lie, or her dearest friends had betrayed her.
A sensation ran down her spine akin to someone running their hand in a sensuous glide along her skin. She knew she was being watched, but unlike the sensation she’d experienced over the last few weeks, this didn’t feel intrusive. Even so, she turned, peering out into the garden, trying to pierce the gloom created by the storm clouds.
She couldn’t see anyone, but as before, she knew someone was there.
She stared for a moment longer into the shadow, lips pursed, and then turned back to the front door, hugging her arms around her. She wished she’d put on some warmer clothes. The sky was bright and clear as only a spring morning could be after a day of storms, but it was still cold and frost lay on the ground. ‘Come on Ferris, open the door.’ She jigged on the spot, wishing she hadn’t been so stubborn now about giving back her key years ago.
The door opened.
‘Hello, Ferris,’ she breathed in relief.
‘Miss. Madame Cantrae received your friend’s call. She is waiting for you in the drawing room.’ His smile was as politely correct as always, but his warm brown eyes invited her in.
She tensed her fingers around the strap of her handbag and hesitated. She suddenly didn’t want to enter. Did she really want to hear she’d been lied to and betrayed by those who should have cared for her the most?
‘Are you coming in, miss?’
‘I—’
‘Oh good, you’re here.’
Morrigan Cantrae sauntered into the foyer looking nowhere near how a woman of seventy was supposed to look, with her soft auburn hair, her sparkling green eyes—Skye’s eyes—and her flawless smooth skin with hardly a wrinkle in sight. Dressed in dove grey pants and a crisp white shirt with the colourful triangle of a paisley scarf draped over her shoulders and pearls at her neck and ears, she was poised and sophisticated and far more beautiful than Skye had ever felt in her life.
‘Why are you standing in the doorway? Come in. You’re letting in a draught.’
