Page 33 of Resting Witch Face
“Are those your wolves?” River stepped up when a storm clouded the Alpha’s features. The mismatched eyes lit from inside his skull when he moved the piercing gaze from me to inspect what was left of the wolves.
“No,” Alex growled low after he sniffed the air in a very animalistic way. “I have not scented any of them in my territory until now.”
“They were black.” For some reason, it felt important to tell him that. “I knew they were not yours.”
“You do pay attention, huh?” Some of the anger abated from him, but not all. “If they were black wolves, we have a very big problem,” he told Danika.
“Can we talk somewhere else where I can place wards?” River stepped between me and Alex for some unknown reason. Didn’t he see that I was the monster? “We need to get out of the open.”
“I saw the price they placed on her.” My grandmother was pissed. “They wasted no time.”
“Let’s take this on to pack lands.” Alex was already leaving, not waiting to see if we followed. “I’m parked on the other side of this field. Your car will be brought there, Hazel.”
In a row like ducks, we trotted after the Alpha in silence.
17
Pack lands were breathtaking, even in the middle of crises. Hundreds of acres of land surrounded by thick woods not too close to Cleveland were patrolled by shifters on two and four legs. Alex didn’t take the safety of his people lightly, and I was grateful for it. No matter how many times I’d seen it, I still wondered how his son managed to get to my door that one time he got lost.
“I envy you all this nature,” River told Alex as the SUV rolled through the long stretch of road toward the Alpha’s home.
“We need to be free, and it placates the beast.” Alex couldn’t hide the pride in his tone, not that I blamed him.
I had my face pressed against the glass, my breath clouding it while I watched the homes and people we passed. All of them stopped whatever they were doing to raise their hand and acknowledge their Alpha. In return, he waved too, returning their respectful greeting. I always held Alex Greywood in high regard, and I still would if I wasn’t worried he would cash in the second he got a chance. My already truck load of trust issues just redoubled with the whole dumb magic revelation. Sissily sitting mutely next to me lost in her thoughts was like a knife being twisted in an already open wound.
There was so much I wanted to say to my best friend, yet the words stuck on my tongue, refusing to be voiced. Since that cursed book went nuts on me, many thoughts crossed my mind, along with emotions. The initial fear dissipated faster than expected, and it was replaced by relief. After spending my whole life wishing I belonged, all my dreams became a reality before I had time to blink.
I had magic.
I was no longer a dud. No longer an embarrassment.
When all that happiness and glee hit me, I never considered how others would react to the change. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see pride on Danika’s face. Coming from a long line of very powerful witches, I saw her struggle with my existence. Her confession told a different story, making it like she had to put up a front for everyone and act up her disappointment, but I knew better. Every time magic was needed and I couldn’t deliver, it was an insistent thorn in her side.
Everything was up in the air. I had no idea what to expect or how I’d be able to control something that refused to be leashed. A new type of fear creeped up in my soul after the display of intelligence my magic gave us in the middle of the field. In truth, I didn’t want to share that tid-bit with Danika, but I had a feeling Sissily or River might. Still, I stayed silent and stared out the window.
Amber rushed down the few steps from the wrap-around porch to greet us with a warm smile on her face. Like her name suggested, wild clouds of corkscrews in flame red danced around her shoulders. Alex was out and wrapping her in his arms before any of us exited the SUV.
“Welcome, welcome.” The Alpha’s mate spread her arms wide like she wanted to hug us all at once. “Come on in. I just pulled out pies from the oven.”
Their home was three stories and large enough to house an army. When shifters started popping out like jack in the boxes out of all the rooms, it became apparent why. Sissily and I visited the pack a few times on Alex’s insistence, but this was our first time entering their home. And that was what it was. A home. Not simply a house.
“Amber, I would like you to stay,” my grandmother told the sweet woman that fed us pies until we could barely breathe a few hours later.
After a nod from Alex, his mate joined us in his office, perching on the armrest of his chair. The rest of us were sprinkled on overstuffed chairs, and Danika was sitting primly alone on a loveseat. The mismatched furniture somehow matched Alex with his dual-toned eyes. It was him through and through. That was all the observing I could do before the air shifted, becoming more serious, more oppressive somehow.
“Alex is free to fill you in on everything I told him when I asked for his help,” my grandmother started, and I shrunk further in the chair. “In that time, we had a new development, and I will need another favor, I’m afraid.”
“If it’s in my power, and I’m assuming this is about Hazel, everything in my disposal is yours. Just name it.” There was not a second of hesitation in his voice.
I wanted to die.
“I knew something like this was a great possibility.” Danika avoided my gaze, and an abyss opened in my chest. “That her magic would somehow be unsealed. So, before I ask for help, I have a confession to make.”
“Another one?” If I sounded accusing and angry, that was because I was. What now? Another soul contract? Was it mine this time?
She ignored me like I hadn’t spoken.
“The day Hazel found your pup, I might’ve had something to do with it.” My grandmother’s chin jutted out, and she stared down the Alpha with all the grace of a fucking queen. While telling him she might’ve stolen his child.
