Page 44 of Healing Fate
Susan sighed. “Yes, and it was a lot of fun too, especially with Lucy there.”
“You play?” Taylor asked.
I shrugged. “Someone taught a bunch of us when I was with the…”
My voice trailed off as Taylor’s jaw set in a hardline.
“I remember,” she said softly.
I knew she did too because she had been there at the end when they had come to rescue us all, or at least we had thought it was all at the time. I shivered, grateful for them all and happy to know the Raglan was completely dissolved and the human beasts behind it were dead.
“So you played while in captivity?” Elise blurted out.
I smiled. “Yes. It was like this whole other world we could escape too even if just for a moment. We didn’t have the fancy dice or maps or anything, but we had our imaginations and sometimes it was just sitting in cages sharing a common story to pass the time and keep each other from going insane.”
Shelby wiped her eyes and stood up to hug me. “That could have been my children’s life too.”
Her sister, Elizabeth, went to her side and wrapped an arm around her as she sobbed.
“I’m so sorry. I just hear all these awful things and I can’t help but think how my babies were born into that world. It terrifies me.”
“But they weren’t. They were born into their daddy’s arms and brought home to you,” Elizabeth told her as the two embraced.
“I never let myself truly get upset or even sad about what had happened, and all I went through. Without it I wouldn’t have my daughter and so I could never be fully angry about any of it. I got the best part of it all. Your kids never lived a second of that life. From what I heard, Ben delivered the babies and immediately took them away and brought them home to you.”
I didn’t dare say anything more. I couldn’t talk about the helpless feelings of having your child ripped from your arms to disappear for hours of testing. They had been kinder to Vada than the others. I had done everything asked of me without complaint to ensure that.
They were all watching me. Staring. I didn’t know what to say or do.
“So how about you and the sexy hot doctor? I hear you’re working there now,” Elise said making everyone laugh. The tension in the room instantly lifted as my cheeks turned a shade of dark red.
I didn’t think I wanted to talk about Micah or our mating, until I opened my mouth to say so and things just started spewing out. I told them about how he had considered leaving the pack believing I must be mated. I explained how I hadn’t wanted anyone to know about Vada’s origins, but especially not him. I could say that in this group because I knew from the way Shelby had opened up that they were already aware and accepting of her children, which gave me hope that maybe they could accept my little girl too.
I talked about it. I told them everything, except the one secret I was still harboring even from Micah. And then even that was out there in the open.
“Does he know you’re a healer?” Taylor asked.
My jaw dropped. My muscles tensed as I looked around the room. Much to my shock no one seemed surprised by the news.
“You all know?”
“I didn’t know,” Elise said. “Why didn’t I know this?”
“Sorry. I really didn’t think it was a secret. We celebrate witches around here, I guess I assumed that’s how Kelsey convinced you to stay here,” Taylor said.
“That’s so sweet. You’re a healer and he’s a doctor. Just imagine what the two of you can do working together,” Maddie said. She was one of Kelsey’s brother’s mates, or something like that. They were all a blur at this point.
“He can’t find out what I am,” I blurted out.
Kelsey came and sat next to me. It was almost surreal. I mean, I knew she was the Pack Mother, but the way the others scrambled to clear a path for her really highlighted the authority she had.
“Lucy, why haven’t you told him?”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I don’t want to see that kind of disappointment or fear when he looks at me.”
“You won’t,” Kelsey tried to tell me.
“You don’t know that for sure. I’ve seen it too many times, even on people I thought cared about me. I can’t risk seeing it from him.”
