Page 53 of Wolves & Watercolors
“You’ve only been here for like two years. How can you be in charge?” Heath’s words replay in my head, taking on a new meaning.
“Heath was Alpha for a long time. As his closest family member, I became his heir. And Slate was his Beta, or second-in-command. When Heath got injured, he decided to officially step down, but he still helps us a lot.”
“So it’s like a monarchy?
Hazel scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. “Not like that. It’s skill based, mainly. If I wasn’t capable of doing the job, he wouldn’t have made me Heir.” She tilts her head, thinking. “Not just skills though. A lot of it is personality. Almost power levels. How do I explain this?”
At some point, Slate gave Cedar the baby, because Timber’s chubby cheek rests against Cedar’s bare chest. He leans back against the back of the sofa, letting his steady breaths lull the baby back to sleep.
Something about his hands enveloping Timber’s tiny, sloped back and the way her little fists curl up against his skin, it makes my stomach flip. The thoughts in my head float away.
“Oh, Rory, look!” Hazel says, jumping to her feet. She snatches a houseplant off a table by the window and holds it up. The vines unfurl and lengthen.
My mouth falls open. As we watch, the sudden burst of growth fades and the plant stills. Only the tendrils reaching for the floor gently sway as Hazel holds the plant at eye level and stares at it.
“I think that resolves any lingering questions.” The pot makes a ceramic clink as she sets it back on the glass table. “Did you feel anything when that happened?”
“Um, no.” I look between my sister and the plant by the window, now still. “I didn’t feel anything and I definitely wasn’t trying to do that. Are we sure it’s me?”
“The seeds you planted, remember?” Cedar says quietly.
Pressing my lips together, I lean back against the sofa, mimicking his pose.
“Okay, so we have a couple of things to consider,” Hazel says. As she slides back into her seat, Slate wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her tight against him. The touch reminds me of how Cedar held me on the porch. My toes curl and my breathing goes ragged. That will be something to consider later.
“I don’t understand why I would suddenly start affecting plants out of nowhere.”
“You’ve never been in a place like this before,” she says, sweeping her hand out. “And being around all of us might have had something to do with it. That’s just a guess. I would have to ask Sable.”
“Right. So do you think it’ll go away when I go home?”
Slate shakes his head. “We can’t count on that.”
“It’s going to be a problem when I start making all the plants go crazy during a gallery show,” I say with an awkward laugh, pressing the heel of my hand into my eyes.
“You’ll need to figure out how to control it,” Cedar says softly.
“I have no idea how to do that!”
My outburst startles Timber. Her baby blue-gray eyes pop open and she lets out a cry. Cedar pats her butt, but she starts to flail her little fists.
“Here,” Slate says, taking his child back. He murmurs comforting words to Timber, but her little face screws up and she starts to wail.
Hazel reaches for her. “I bet she’s hungry again. Get ready for diaper duty, Daddy.” My heart warms at the way he gazes at her in adoration as she positions their baby and tugs her shirt up. As soon as she offers Timber her breast, the baby latches and the room falls quiet.
“Hungry girl,” I say, utterly distracted from the problems at hand.
“Alright, so, getting control,” Hazel says without looking up from her baby, “I’m not entirely sure, but we can ask Sable and Heath.”
“I suppose trying to get things to happen on command would be the first step so I can figure out what I’m doing to cause this,” I say.
Cedar nods. He turns in his seat, his thigh pressing against mine. “I’ll help you. You should come to the garden and practice. You’ve already worked some magic there, so maybe it’ll be an easier place to trigger more.”
“Thank you.”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Hazel says. “Keep me updated on how it’s going.”
“Aurora,” Slate says, catching my attention. “We know this probably means staying longer. Let us know how much income you’re missing out on and we can help with your bills.”
