Chapter 12

MISTY

Lloyd wasn’t telling me something but I had no idea what. And how did he know what witches smelled like? Something stank, and it wasn’t me! Moreover, a male rejected a she-wolf immediately if he didn’t want her. Why was he leaving me hanging?

Something was going on, but my bright idea had turned into a disaster, and now Lloyd’s car was, for lack of a better word, fucked. I still couldn’t believe he’d ripped the door off so I could get out without climbing through the window.

He was more powerful than any male here, and he was hiding something.

Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday, and Lloyd wasn’t in the cottage when I arrived for my punishment.

I hadn’t intended to go, but my curiosity was aroused, and I had the urge to be close to him. He hadn’t hurt me other than pushing me away, which in itself was hurtful.

I sat on the steps to his cottage and waited.

I tried linking him numerous times, but he blocked me.

Something had changed in him. Like he’d given up, and I wanted to ask him why it didn’t matter anymore, but he was avoiding me. Despondent and hurt, I walked back wrapped in misery and almost missed my dad’s car parked at the clinic.

~“Dad?”~ I linked. ~“Are you at the clinic for an appointment?”~

~“No, sweetheart.”~

Oh no. Tears pricked my eyes as I ran into the clinic. My dad was the only one sitting in the reception area, his face pale and drawn. He stood up, and I hurtled into his arms and cried my eyes out.

“Shh, Misty. She’s okay, and you can see her in a little while,” he consoled, but he didn’t know that wasn’t the only thing I was crying for. I hadn’t wanted a mate, but now I wanted Lloyd so badly it hurt.

An hour later, a nurse came to get us. My mom was groggy but smiled at us, grabbing my dad’s hand and squeezing it.

“Harris? I’m so thirsty. Could you get me something to drink?” she asked.

“Of course, my love.”

As soon as he was out of the ward, she grabbed my arm. “Misty, I saw that book in your room. What is going on?”

Goddess, I’d hidden the grimoire under the bed; she must have been cleaning, and now that I thought of it, my room had been vacuumed.

“Mom, you were supposed to take it easy, not clean. Please rest. We can chat about it later.”

She tried to sit up, grimacing in pain. “Tell me before your dad comes back.”

Whatever I told her would only raise more questions. “Someone thinks I smell like a witch.”

I expected her to laugh. Instead, she looked gravely at me. She inhaled as if to speak, but my dad walked in with ice chips. Our eyes met, and she shook her head slightly.

The nurse walked in behind him. “I’ve given her a sedative, so it’s best if you leave. She needs rest.”

“Here we go, sweetheart.” My dad handed her the ice chips and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

“Get better, Mom.” I kissed her cheek, and we walked out.

My mom knew something, but I’d have to wait until tomorrow.

“Dad? Are we still going to the palace on Friday?”

He shook his head. “Your mom won’t, but we’ll have to.”

He pulled into the driveway, and I went straight to bed but couldn’t sleep.

I tossed and turned for most of the night and was up before dawn. I had to speak to Lloyd, and I wanted to apologize for breaking his car.

Shifting on the porch, I ran to Lloyd’s cottage. The door stood open, but he wasn’t there.

~“Lloyd?”~ I linked him, but he blocked me. ~“Please, I just want to apologize.”~

I trotted up and down until I smelled warriors coming for training. I knew it was pointless waiting, and ran home with a heavy heart.

JP assigned us to clean the pack house kitchen. I was so emotional and overtired that I couldn’t focus. When Dawn asked me what was wrong, I used my mom as an excuse.

Just before lunch, my dad linked me to tell me my mom had been discharged and was at home.

At lunchtime, I approached Uncle Zack’s and knocked determinedly on his door.

“Misty? Why are you here?” he asked, a frown on his face.

“Please, Uncle Zack. I can’t leave my mom alone. Can I have the afternoon off? Please,” I begged.

Uncle Zack sighed. “Fine, this once I will allow it.”

“Thank you,” I warbled and raced out the door.

My mom was fast asleep in bed, and I cuddled up to her like I did when I was little and wished I had told her everything from the word go. Her smell and warmth soothed my aching heart, and I fell asleep beside her.

I woke when I felt her stirring. “Mom? How are you feeling.”

She cupped my face. “I’ll be fine in a couple of days,” she said. “But I think you have something to tell me.”

“You first. You wanted to tell me something last night.”

My mom sighed. “I didn’t lie to you, but I didn’t tell you the whole truth, and when I saw the book in your room with the pentagram on it, I knew I had to tell you.”

She took a deep breath and leaned against the headboard, smoothing the blanket around her, before making eye contact.

“When I was six months pregnant with you, I started spotting. I was so distraught when I saw the blood and felt such a failure that I just wanted to get out of the house and clear my head.

“I went for a walk and ended up at the Monolith when pain lanced through my abdomen. I thought I was going into labor.”

“I was born at the Monolith?” I interrupted.

“No, you were born on the couch, and your father delivered you, but that was three months later.”

“So, what happened at the Monolith?” I asked with bated breath.

“I was writhing in pain on the ground. I’d linked your dad and was waiting for him when an old crone appeared. I thought she was human, but I’m not so sure now. I’ve never seen a human so old and wrinkly.

“I tried to get away from her, but she was surprisingly strong and knelt beside me. She put her knobbly hands on my stomach, and the pain went away.”

“Just like that?”

“Yes, and I never spotted again.”

“Was she a witch?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve often wondered.”

“What did she smell like?”

She shook her head. “I can’t remember, spicy maybe?”

Spicy? She must have been a witch because old humans don’t smell spicy. So maybe witches weren’t extinct, but why did Lloyd have beef with them?

“Did she say anything?”

My mom shook her head. “After she healed me, at least that is what I thought she did, she looked at the sky with milky white eyes and disintegrated.”

“Disintegrated?” I asked.

“Yes. Sometimes I think I dreamed the whole thing, but every time I lose another pup, I think about that.”

Was that why I was obsessed with the Monolith, although I hadn’t felt the draw since we’d moved here? Who was the old crone?

~“But that doesn’t make us a witch, even if that crone was one,”~ Cammy mused.

~“What if her essence went into me while I was a fetus?”~

~“I guess it’s possible.”~

That would explain why only I smelled like a witch, right? But it still didn’t explain Lloyd’s hatred of them unless he had allegiance to them and wanted to break it.

But the question that he’d written on the paper—~How and with what?~—wasn’t self-explanatory.

I sat up. “And you’d never seen her before?”

“No, and believe me, I have pondered this for years. Have you seen her?”

“No. Why didn’t you tell Dad?”

“I didn’t want to sound crazy. When I saw the book, which looks exactly like the pentagram carved into the boulder, it gave me a start. Your obsession with the Monolith worried me as much as your nightmare.”

“It stopped since we’ve been here,” I admitted, almost feeling like I’d failed somehow and that leaving had been a mistake.

“Where did you get the book from?”

I didn’t want to tell her, mainly because she would view Lloyd differently, especially if she found out I was his mate, and I felt protective of him, insane but true.

“I found the book in the house when we moved in, and Josh saw it and told me I smelled like a witch,” I lied.

“Hmm, Misty, don’t lie to me, please.”

I dropped my head in shame. I was never good at lying. “Give me some time, please. I promise to tell you everything when I’ve figured a few things out myself.”

“Okay, but I’ll hold you to that.”