Fateful Choices

BAMBI

Holly was waiting patiently for my answer.

But I could see the struggle in the tenseness of her body—the way she played with the comforter as a means to distract herself.

She wasn’t comfortable with casting a spell on Ekon—especially without his consent.

And at that moment, I realized I wasn’t either.

“No, Holly,” I said. “This isn’t what I want. Not this way.”

I saw Holly exhale, and the worry dissipated from her body.

“Oh, thank the Moon Goddess!” she exclaimed.

We hugged and laughed away our tension.

“If Ekon can’t tell me the truth, it shouldn’t be up to you to force him,” I said, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. “I’m sorry I asked you to do that.”

“Of course I’d do anything for you,” she replied. “Within ~reason~.”

“That’s good to know because if Ekon found out about that, he would have no reasoning. It would be total chaos.”

We shared another laugh, and Holly stood to leave. She stopped at the door and looked back.

“Thanks again,” Holly said.

I watched her leave before lying on my bed with a heavy sigh.

It felt good to do the right thing.

~But how much longer will I be able to pretend Ekon isn’t hiding a secret?~

HUNTER

The sun was out, but the wind was strong.

I hurried across the quiet street, headed toward a cozy bakery on the corner.

It was my first time off the compound grounds since our return from South America. But the person I was looking for wouldn’t be found in Ekon’s compound.

Not when she was at work…

With Ela gone, I had nothing to do but think. And for a person like me, that wasn’t always a good thing.

I’d been called so many names during my life that I had eventually just tried to live up to the expectations.

But there was one name that had plagued me worse than any other.

~Cuntsniffer…~

The very thought of it made me cringe. But it wasn’t just me that it impacted…

Ela was my mate. That meant she was bonded with me through good times and bad.

And if I couldn’t get rid of that damn moniker, it might end up staining Ela’s reputation.

I couldn’t have that.

I entered the bakery where Victoria worked and found her alone. She was reading a book quietly with a steaming cup of tea at her side.

“Hey there,” I said.

Victoria heard my voice, and her eyes shot up to greet me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, irritated.

~Okay. Not the response I was hoping to receive…~

“I need help with something.”

Victoria’s eyebrows arched into an accusatory look.

“You’re going to have to tell me more than that,” she said.

I could almost hear the silent ~cuntsniffer~ at the end of her sentence and involuntarily winced.

“I’m not trying to pull anything over on you,” I said, annoyed I even had to explain myself. “I need some PR help…for my image.”

Victoria closed the book and uncrossed her legs, opening up to my presence for the first time.

“Why would you ever need help with that?” she asked with a smirk.

~Har, fucking, har.~

“Because I can’t keep embarrassing Ela. And that fucking name people call me is the most embarrassing thing of all,” I said honestly.

Victoria nodded her head in agreement but said nothing more.

“Please,” I begged. “I promise I’m not trying to fuck you.”

“Why would you even say that!?” she said, aghast.

I’d only said a few words and had already managed to fuck it up. When I opened my mouth again, I stammered.

~Why is this so hard?~

“Don’t do it for me,” I begged. “If anything, do it for Ela.”

Victoria glowered in my direction, clearly annoyed that I had invoked the name of Ela in my argument.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” she said. “But ~only~ because of Ela.”

I sighed in relief.

“Fair enough.”

Victoria opened up her book but looked at me one last time.

“But I’m going to warn you, this won’t be easy.”

~Tell me something I don’t already know…~

I nodded in agreement.

“The first thing you need to do is stop being so damn creepy,” she said. “And then the rest should come along naturally.”

Perhaps for the first time ever, we were both on the same page…

ROSE

Ekon had visited me every few hours since my return to the world of the living.

Those were moments of my day that I cherished dearly.

But when he came to me this afternoon to tell me about a plan, I thought it best to take a walk.

So, we headed for the far corners of the compound.

Ekon had jumped from topic to topic. He was like a child that had discovered the answer to some difficult question and wanted everyone to know everything he did.

But as we neared the place where my tomb rested, he grew quiet.

“Talk to me, sweetie,” I said warmly. “Let me know what’s troubling you.”

“I have a plan,” he said, “but I’m afraid of how you might react.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not a monster,” I replied.

“Not a monster,” he said. “But my mother. And that task is enough to drive anyone a little mad.”

I pinched his cheek and watched his pale skin turn pink.

“Don’t hold back,” I told him. “Tell me everything.”

Ekon took a deep breath, afraid of the words he was about to speak. But I already knew what Ekon wanted.

And I was already unsure if I could deliver…

“You’re the only one who can kill Devina,” he said. “Matthias is still with her, but he isn’t the one I’m worried about. His power comes from her.”

~Matthias.~

Even though Devina was the mastermind of this terror, Matthias was more than willing to do his part.

I looked at Ekon and a wave of sadness washed over my body. He had a brother that he would never truly know as family. To Ekon, Matthias was the ~enemy~.

And it was all my fault.

“And you really think I could actually go through with this plan?”

His hollow eyes looked in my direction, and he shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I know so. Otherwise, the future of all werewolves could be wiped out.”

Werewolves were always getting into trouble—going rogue, starting wars, and being all-around rebels.

It was always so dramatic being around a werewolf, which was probably one of the reasons that I ended up being mated to one. It didn’t hurt that I was half-wolf as well…

~Witches do have a flair for the dramatic… Even dead ones, like me.~

But what Ekon had asked me to do was more than just ~dramatic~. It was asking me to murder my own daughter!

Ekon continued to stare in my direction, trying to piece together the meaning of my silence.

“Devina and Matthias chose the wrong path, but they’re still my children,” I lamented.

Ekon huffed but otherwise remained silent.

I stood there for a long time, looking out at the mountains in the distance.

The memories of my previous life were blurry at times. Still, I remembered all too clearly the moment I had abandoned my children.

I closed my eyes and was carried back to that fateful night…

***

~The night was cold and wet. It had been raining for days, and I felt like it might never stop.~

~Devina was fast asleep, curled up in her crib.~

~Her chubby cheeks and jet-black hair glistened in the light of the fire.~

~The heat would keep her warm until someone found her.~

~She might not even stir again until the birds chirped their morning calls…~

~But that didn’t matter. Not anymore.~

~It was now or never.~

~The prophecy had been echoing in my head, refusing to let me find any relief from its warning…~

~Three children who will bring three Great Wars…

~I needed to leave…~

~But the coven would watch over my daughter. Even though my peers were obsessed with dark magic, they would still find it in their hearts to take care of a child.~

~I grabbed the small satchel I’d packed up with my belongings and slipped out the door.~

***

I’d been silent for a long while, thinking about the choices I’d made…

Finally, I found my voice.

“I failed them as a mother. I don’t know if I can hurt them twice in one lifetime.”

Ekon growled.

“They had no problem hurting you,” he sneered.

His voice was like a dagger, but it didn’t make his words any less accurate.

Devina and Matthias had ended my life, and I’m sure they had reveled in my pain and anguish.

But if there was any way to stop Devina’s reign of terror without violence, wouldn’t that be a better way?

~Can’t I still try to save my little girl?~

EKON

I paced my study, trying to focus my feelings.

For the first time since her resurrection, my mother had let me down.

I couldn’t understand it.

~Why do I feel so betrayed?~

But I knew the answer all too well—because I hadn’t gotten what I wanted.

My mother was right, of course. Devina and Matthias were her children.

Could she have saved them from a lifetime of violence if she’d stayed to raise them?

~No.~ The prophecy had warned about our doom if all three of us banded together.

If she’d kept our family whole, who knows what kind of person I would have become.

The door to my study burst open, and I smelled the scent of my mate.

“There you are,” she said.

I could hear the tension in her voice and knew immediately why she’d gone looking for me…

“I just needed some time alone,” I said.

The door closed and Bambi approached as I stood expectantly in the middle of the room.

“I hope you found it,” she said, “because I need to talk to you.”

I sighed and nodded.

Thoughts bounced around my head as I prepared for our conversation. But Bambi wouldn’t give me any time to think.

“What happened to my parents?” she asked calmly. “I want to know, and I’m not going to leave until you tell me the truth.”

I couldn’t see my mate, but I could feel the heat of her body. And I could smell the scent on her skin.

She was angry, confused, and desperate for answers.

“Is this something you really want to hear?” I questioned.

“Don’t do that!” she exclaimed. “Not this time. Tonight, I’m going to learn the truth once and for all.”

I heard the door lock and knew she meant business…

She wanted to know the truth.

She ~needed~ to know the truth.

But I also knew once she heard it, things between us might never be the same.