71
Lucy
Henry made the lift let me out in front, and pushed me inside the building Stacy nudged me into the wheelchair waiting for me just outside my room with a beaming smile.
“Some of the people you’ll meet will also be helping on the team as they’re already in magical training, but most of them will be older,” Stacy said. “Oh, and of course, there’s the mixer with all the new students that Riley organizes. It’ll be great!”
“Which is happening first?” I asked.
“The mixer,” Stacy said. “We didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much at one time.”
I nodded. “Why… aren’t there any other werewolves around to test this out on?”
Stacy hummed. “Well, to put it simply: politics. Werewolves are cagey and tend to be pretty rude. No one likes them, as a rule. And the Hecate Coven has a terrible track record with werewolves. They designed the spells that make supernatural suppressors.”
“What does that mean?”
“They can keep a werewolf from transforming,” she said. “Cast by a powerful enough witch, they can completely rob them of their supernatural powers for days or even weeks. The Hecate Coven designed the first spell back during the supernatural wars. Since then, they’ve adapted it into making holding facilities for supernatural criminals.”
I nodded. “Are the Hecate Coven really important?”
Stacy grinned. “Oh, Lucy, we have so much to talk about! There are three tenants of the supernatural world: power, knowledge, and justice. Within the witch community, there are three families who are… essentially the keepers of those tenants for witch-kind, partially humankind, and most of the supernatural too because of how influential they are.”
“Are they like nobility or something?”
“Something like that,” Stacy said. “I guess you could call them the three noble families of witch-kind. The Hargraves are the family of power. All the magical powerhouses come from that family. They also run the magical academies for witches, specifically the application side. Then, there are the Brightvalleys. They’re the family of justice. They work really close with the SCF and the Council and tend to be in the middle of most inter-species negotiations. You’ll meet one of them probably during the court cases.”
“Court cases?”
“Of course,” Stacy said. “You didn’t think those two were just going to be punished in the supernatural world, did you?”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” I said. “I thought… I thought that since I didn’t have a bond that it would all be over.”
Stacy squeezed my shoulder. “You won’t be forced back to Blue Moon if that’s what you’re worried about, but there’s still the matter of all the other issues that come with being trafficked in the human world and the supernatural world. Both sides are going to want to talk to you, and the more trouble you throw at the twins, the better it will be in the long run.”
“Why does it matter?” I asked. “I… I’d rather not see them if I don’t have to.”
Her lips twitched. “And if that’s at all possible, we’ll make it happen. I don’t know if you’ll have to appear in court, but the lawyers are going to want to talk to you, as will the police… The things you remember might help them find more people like you, supernatural and not.”
I blinked and nodded. “I’ll… do my best then.”
She smiled. “Good to hear. As for your twin alpha problem, the more trouble we can send their way, the better off you’ll be with regard to the Council and their need to play nice with the Blue Moon Pack for reasons that are ridiculous. The best thing we can do to make sure that you can live the life you want is to have you protected on all sides.”
I nodded. “I don’t fully understand, but I appreciate it.”
“Good to hear. Now, let’s get you upstairs and resting for a bit, okay?”
I nodded and let Henry and Stacy get me upstairs. I thought that I would be able to stay up a little longer, but as soon as I got into bed, I went to sleep.
It was hours later before I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I answered it.
“Lucy,” Tina said. “Did I wake you? I wanted to make sure you’d be coming down for dinner….”
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. “It’s okay. I… I’m pretty sure I need to eat.”
“Great, I’ll head your way. Don’t even think of walking downstairs, all right?”
“I won’t,” I said, smiling as I hung up.
I looked at my bedside table and saw a note from Stacy on top of a small case of potions and another box.
I picked up the note and read:
These are your maintenance potions. The instructions are on the back. In the box is a charm that will help even more. You’ll be wheelchair-bound for a little while, but the experts say that with a week or two on the potions and with the charm and you’ll be able to move around freely.
I opened the box and gasped. There were four gems wrapped in gleaming dark metal inside. They were all strung together on one leather cord. I picked it up and looked at each gem. The largest one was a milky white that was just barely tinged with blue. One was blue with a little green in the center. Another was red, and the last one was a vibrant pink.
It was pretty and something I kind of imagined a witch wearing. I put it on and swung my legs over the edge of the bed.
My legs felt a little shaky, but overall I felt okay. I didn’t want to chance it, so I got into the wheelchair and wheeled myself to the door just as Tina rang the doorbell.
I opened the door and smiled up at her.
“You’re a regular celebrity,” she said, grinning. “The Hargraves have organized a whole thing for you downstairs.”
My stomach churned. “I’m… not really good with a bunch of people.”
“Twenty people tops and a lot of food.” She darted behind me and took control of the wheelchair. “Let’s go!”
She started running down the hall until it felt like we were flying. I couldn’t help but laugh as she rode on the back past people poking their heads out of their rooms.
When we got downstairs, I could smell the food and something else. Tina rolled me towards the room, and I froze as we entered. No one looked at us. Most of them were too busy eating or chatting with each other.
The problem was that I was almost sure that I recognized some of them. It was the same feeling I had when I saw David again.
“You okay?” Tina asked.
I nodded and wheeled toward one group. The young man looked up at me from his food. His eyes were dark, and his hair was long and shaggy. He blinked at me. Then, he narrowed his eyes.
“I… know you, don’t I?”
“I… think. Are you… Duke?”
He blinked and nodded. “Were you at the orphanage?”
I nodded. “I’m Lucy.”
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