Page 62 of Witch Undecided
He groaned as I slipped away and out of the Rover. Astrid shot me a cold glare before reaching for the car door, but the engine flared to life and Leif reversed the Rover before her fingers could touch metal.
I caught the twitch of his mouth before he turned the vehicle and drove away.
Astrid spun on her heel to face me, hands on hips. “You can’t stop him, you know. You can’t poison him against me. All you’re doing is delaying the inevitable.”
“What?” Halle said. “When he finally snaps and tells youto fuck off?”
Astrid ground her teeth. “You don’t belong here,” she said to me. “You never will.”
I pressed my hand to my chest, plastering a look of hurt and horror on my face. “I don’t? Oh no, whatever will I do?”
She stared at me in confusion.
Seriously? Did she not get sarcasm? “Look, Astrid. Be a bitch to me if it makes you feel better, but I think we both know that if Leif is avoiding you, it’s not because of me. It’s because he wants to.”
She opened her mouth to retort but I held up my hand. “Now unless you’re going to tell me something useful, we’re done here.” I arched a brow, waiting.
Her gray eyes narrowed. “You can have him,” she said softly. “For now, but remember, he’s only on loan. He’ll never belong to you, not really.”
She walked off, leaving her final words buried in my chest like invisible needles. Ouch.
“Don’t,” Halle said. “Not worth it.”
“But true.”
“Not true. The future is unwritten, Cora. Remember that. You can write it however you please.”
As long as fate didn’t get in the way.
The hunt wassomething females from all three packs took part in. A task and a bonding experience.
“The feywarg are a nuisance,” Halle said. “Their numbers grow exponentially if we don’t hunt them. Culling them monthly protects the livestock and helps keep our ecosystem balanced. They don’t belong here. They shouldn’t be hunting here, but they come into our world regardless.”
We strolled toward the campfire. “Do you know why?”
“Fucked-up faerie syndrome is what they call it.” Halle’s voice dropped. “They say the place is dying. So many fae have migrated into our world for good and integrated into society. But there are some that can’t live outside of the fae realm.”
“I honestly don’t know much about the place.”
“It’s huge, like multi-dimensional. They say that it exists outside of time, that past, present, and future run side by side. Some people even believe that the fae realm is an anchor, a hub that binds all realities.”
Okay, that sounded big. “And you say it’s dying?”
“That’s the rumor.”
“Then won’t that affect every reality it’s connected to?”
Halle stopped short and stared at me, wide-eyed. “Fuck.”
I ignored theoh shitfeeling, because this was not my problem. I had enough on my plate. The Magiguard knew about the fae realm’s demise. They’d be doing something about it if they felt it would affect us, but Halle looked spooked.
I placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure it’s fine. Just stories, right?”
“Yeah. Stories.” Her expression remained pensive.
We reached the campfire and I spotted Heather. She held out her arms to me and I joined her, getting a hug for my efforts.
“Hello, sweetheart, so glad you made it. Now listen, stay close to Halle, don’t stray far from the pack. Ladies!” She addressed the wolves around me. “The anchor is our responsibility tonight. Mate to our alphas, we are honored to have her run with us.”
