69
Lucy
My heart lurched. “What do you mean? You just said that it was supposed to protect me.”
“It is,” she said.
“How is killing me protecting me?”
She turned with a wry smile. “It shows how young you are that you can’t imagine a fate worse than death.”
“I—”
My mind jumped back to the sneer of that luna who had come to tell me about what my duties to Matt and Tony were. The thought of dying in pain, giving birth to a child I didn’t even want, or being alive and forced to see that same child every day…
My stomach churned, and I looked down.
“N-Never mind,” I said. “I… But why?”
“The person who put it on you probably thought it would be broken by now,” she tilted her head. “Or there was supposed to be something else powering it until you were strong enough to break it yourself. Either way, that’s the fact of the matter.”
“Well, what do I do? Can you… even tell me what it’s supposed to do?”
“Not without a deeper analysis, but you have options,” she said. “Either you learn to use magic and break it, or you hope that we can break it for you.”
“How… likely are either of those things?”
“Well, that depends on you,” she said. “Considering the number of research requests the Hecate Coven fields from all over the supernatural world… it would be easier if you broke it.”
“I… don’t know the first thing about magic,” I said, my heart racing.
“Babies don’t know the first thing about magic,” she said. “Don’t be dramatic. You’ve survived being trafficked and escaping Blue Moon custody. I’m sure you’ll figure it out… or die.”
My eyes burned. “How can you just say that?”
She looked at me. “I don’t know you from Susie, Sally, Brenda, or Jamie, but do you know how many young people I’ve watched die without even half the chance you have?”
My eyes widened.
“Expect tears when there’s nothing left to be done, and you’ve done all you could to save your own life.” She turned back to her tablet and made some more notes. “Now, do you want the good news?”
“Is it… that I can learn how to use magic?”
Her lips twitched. “No. I would never be so obvious.”
“Okay… what is it?”
“You don’t have even the slightest trace of having a bond with Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum of Blue Moon.”
I blinked as she turned the board back to me and explained how she could tell that. Relief filled me. If Riley was right, then I really was free now.
“Would you like some more good news?”
My lips twitched as tears started to burn my eyes. I nodded.
“You have living family.”
I sat up. My eyes were wide, and my heart felt like it skipped a beat. Then, everything went black.
When I woke up, I was in a different room, alone. My head was pounding, but then the door opened, and a woman in a long robe walked in.
She looked at me and smiled. “You’re awake, hm? You really gave yourself a shock.”
“What?” I groaned. “Where am I?”
“In the SCF infirmary,” she said and sat beside my bed. “You’ll be exhausted for a little longer, but I can answer any questions you have.”
I looked at her. “The… analyst said I have family?”
She nodded. “Riley is pulling the records. It’s good too. None of them had a family registry record. Based on your status, they’re probably in a similar state.”
I winced. “Is… Are they really?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean the bind,” she said. “I meant being relatively unprotected in the human or supernatural world. I’m a resource counselor with the SCF. Most of the people that have a profile in the system have been classified as rogue or are completely unknown.”
“What does that mean?”
She hummed. “Well, werewolves made the term. I think it’s supposed to be shameful, but all it really means is that they aren’t formally affiliated with any pack. That can be a good thing, but with the way werewolves run their society, it probably means they’re living in the human world mostly in secret.”
Her tablet chimed, and she opened him, humming.
“And to be completely unknown?”
“It means that they’re probably very young,” she said. “And no one has taken the time to register them… much like you.”
She hesitated and then looked up at him. “Since you’re only eighteen, no one would expect you to take care of them, just so you know. There is a supernatural orphanage system, and of course, the rest of your family would also be an option.”
“Would that be… safe?” I asked. “For the kid? I’ve heard so much about werewolves and the way they think… I wouldn’t want them to end up in a situation like mine.”
She chuckled. “If werewolves old enough to be your parent are alive and rogue, it’s by choice. They probably know more about why being in the werewolf society is the worst idea right now than anyone else alive. After all… they were probably more than old enough to know what happened to the rest of your family.”
I swallowed, and before I could think more about it, I spoke.
“Is there a chance I could meet them?”
She smiled. “Well, Lucy, that’s why I’m here. As soon as we can get contact established, we’ll do what we can to reunite you all.”
She pat my shoulder. “For now, I have orders to get you back to your handler, Stacy, so she can take you home, and you can get some real rest.”
I nodded and tried to get up. I felt weak and a bit dizzy, but I managed to walk down the hallway. Henry and Stacy were there. Henry was standing behind a wheelchair. My face heated.
“I’m okay.”
“That’s not what I was told,” Stacy said. “Into the chair with you.”
I smiled and did as she asked. Henry wheeled me out to a different car. The back of it opened, and a lift unfolded.
“This... seemed like a lot.”
“Miss Stacy has said that you are family now,” Henry said. “That means seeing to your health and comfort. I hope that you can… indulge her wish to care for you even if it’s a bit overwhelming.”
He smiled at me. “Know that it comes from only a place of care.”
I smiled back and nodded. The lift picked me up, chair and all, and folded me into the back of the van. Then, Stacy got into the back seat with a deep sigh.
“Karlie is beside herself. Half of the girls on the floor are all worked up. Artemis is tearing through the library to start looking for information on this restraint,” she tutted. “We’re all worried, and you want to walk on wobbly legs to the car?”
I ducked my head. “I’m sorry. “
She scoffed. “I just hope that you don’t make this a habit… I know you aren’t used to people caring about you and your well-being, but you have that now.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
“I’ve already set up your scooter with the campus,” Stacy said. “You’ll have a designated one if they’ll clear you to go. I’ve got a meeting with a magical tutor of the Hecate Coven to talk about how best to proceed.”
Her eyes turned glossy. “You’re going to have a damn good twenty-fifth, thirtieth, and fiftieth birthday.”
My eyes stung as I met her gaze, and my jaw wobbled. “Thank you, Stacy. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
She smiled and leaned back. “You’re family now. There is no repayment.”
She blinked and grinned. “Though if you ever want to get on the good side of the Hecate Coven, get those magic lessons under your belt quick and get on their repelling barrier team.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
She leaned against the back seat. “This piece of the coast is Hecate Coven territory. To the south, there are allies, but to the north, they border Black and Blood Moon, and both of them are pains in the ass. They’ve been trying to encroach on their territory for years in their own ways. The repelling barrier team is making a new barrier that would keep werewolves out unless they were given special privileges.”
“And… how could I help them?”
She grinned. “They need a werewolf to test it on.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
