Page 39 of Starlight Witch

Grams and May both took a long psychic look at me, and I could feel them probing my aura. Grams shook her head.

“There is a shadow near you, but it’s not attached to you, and it didn’t come home with us. It isn’t malign, but it feels like a dark cloud on the horizon. What do you think, May?”

May concurred. “I don’t know what it is either, but we should cleanse your aura before Bran and I go home.” She glanced at Bran. “Or are you staying here tonight?”

He started to shake his head, but then the doorbell rang. I glanced at the others, wondering who would be here this late. Unwilling to answer the door, I stalled until Grams hustled over and opened it, talking in soft tones to whoever was outside. She returned, carrying an envelope. As she handed to me, a spark flew off of it, jolting my fingers. I dropped it on the floor. There was something bad inside. I knew it.

“I don’t want to open it,” I said. “I don’t even want to touch it. My anxiety is directly connected with whatever’s in that letter.”

Grams slowly leaned down and picked it up, glancing at it.

“Does it say who it’s from?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, just your name written across the front. A messenger brought it, so it wasn’t mailed.” She waited while I stared at her and at the envelope. Feeling nauseated, I finally nodded for her to open it. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Bran sat down beside me, draping his arm around my shoulders. I could tell he felt it too, whatever it was. May brought over a footstool and sat on it, petting Silver as he jumped up on her lap.

“I’m ready,” I said.

Grams opened the envelope, neatly loosening the flap. She drew out a single sheet of paper and opened it. I could tell there was some sort of crest on it as the light seeped through from the other side. Grams silently read the letter, and then slowly handed it to me. “You need to read this yourself,” she said.

The letter was from Kyle. I recognized his handwriting. It simply read:

Elphyra, this is to inform you that King Faron of the Olympic Wolfpack is engaged to be married to Princess Elizabeth from the Rainier Wolfpack. Faron will be released from the hospital in four days, at which point he will retake the throne, and his wedding will take place the next day. This is an official notification that you are trespassed from any part of the commune, and are forbidden to set foot in our territory.

“They’re making him get married,” I said. I stared at the letter, trying to suss out whether it was a lie or not. It wasn’t—it was the truth. I glanced at Bran, who squeezed my shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” Bran whispered.

Shrugging, I leaned my head on his shoulder. I couldn’t cry. I was numb, to the point of exhaustion, on this subject. And I was starting to get really tired of Kyle and all his Pack politics. Faron and I could have had a real relationship, but I was quickly coming to realize that even if he remembered, they weren’t going to let him tie himself to a witch, let alone a polyamorous relationship. And I knew when to step away.

“Well, it’s settled now. I’m grateful that he’s being released from the hospital, and that he survived. I just hope that he’ll be happy.”

“I’m sorry,” Grams said. “But it might be for the best.”

“Yeah, I imagine it is. It’s hard enough to manage one relationship, let alone two,” I said. “Fate has her reasons, and I’m not going to question them. I guess Kyle’s right, anyway—the Wolf Pack wouldn’t have accepted me. And I refuse to make Faron choose between me and his allegiance to his people. I thought a lot about this the past couple of days. I can love him as a friend, probably one I’ll never talk to again, but I can let things be. I wish him well. I wish him the very best.”

With that, I yawned, exhausted. “I’m going to bed. Bran, why don’t you go with your mother tonight to make sure that everything’s okay at your house. Tomorrow night, let’s start planning the wedding.”

“You’re sure?”

I nodded. “You’ve been here for me since the beginning, since I first moved here. We click together, though I didn’t think we would. And…you were my friend first. Sometimes the deepest love emerges from friendship.”

As they headed toward the door, I headed for my bathroom. I took a long, leisurely bath, almost falling asleep in the tub. I’d expected to cry, or break down, but I felt oddly free, as though strings had been severed that had kept me tied to a heavy weight. I thought about fated mates, and how sometimes you could want something so bad, but in the end, what you needed was right under your nose. Bran had come into my life as a friend, and now, we were getting married. I brushed my hair as I stared out of the window. Then, with Gem on my pillow, and grateful for all the good that had come out of the weekend, I crawled into bed and slept like the dead.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Three months later…

I grabbed a cart, ready to head into the supermarket. As I swung around the corner, heading toward the doors, they opened and I froze. There was Faron, pushing a cart, and he almost rammed into me. Déjà vu all over again.

My heart raced, but this time, it was more from being startled than from seeing the wolf shifter. Bran and I were in a really good place, and we were pulling together plans for a summer wedding. Grams had her new house, and Bran was moving in with me.

Not sure if he would even remember me—I had no idea what had gone on with Faron over the months since Kyle sent me his letter—I automatically glanced at Faron’s ring finger. Sure enough, there was a gold band there.

“Elphyra,” he said, stopping short. He looked good as ever, the confusion gone from his eyes.

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