But he’s been in charge of our actions and choices, and he’s choosing to prove to Carina she’ll be cared for in the only way wolves do.
And the only way I’m allowed to.
“You can’t talk in this form.” Her pointed words have me shifting back but remaining crouched to hide my naked body, until pants are conjured onto me, allowing me to stand. “Care to tell me why you’ve been hanging around all week? Without the lies, please.”
Lying won’t gain me any favours, considering I’m trespassing on her territory. Which deepens the irony of how Carina and I initially met. Lying also pisses her off, and I’ll take any help I can get.
“I can’t stay away from her. Not for long, anyway, and not very far.”
Morgan’s pitiful frown is nearly as bad as my mate saying she doesn’t want me. “And if she never wants to return to you? This can’t be your life.”
“But it will be. The wolf, he…can’t help it, so expect a lot of prey left around. The bond is permanent on my side. There is no walking away from her.”
“Hm.” For a long moment, it’s the only sound she makes. She crosses her arms and exhales deeply before asking, “So this is the bond keeping you around, not your feelings?”
“I love your daughter enough to understand why life with me isn’t what she wants, but I’m compelled regardless to linger and ensure she’s well.” I pause, wondering if she’ll give me the answers I truly crave, but decide to go for it. “Is she?”
Morgan blows out an even longer breath, twisting partway until her house is in view. “She’s better than what she came home as. The black magick hasn’t been bothering her as much, but she’s no longer the daughter I used to have. She misses you, Ryder.”
Hope sparks a bubbling stream inside me. If only she’d hop into it with me.
“She told me you tried to save her from this,” Morgan continues. “Planning on not completing it. Pushing her away forher safety. Since she’s come home, she’d only ever said positive things about you and yours.”
“I pushed her away, even as I was falling for her, knowing she wouldn’t want her future to be a shifter’s mate.”
Her head slowly tilts down. “Is it true you feel her emotions?”
“A sense of them, yeah, when close enough. Right now, she’s bored.” And not at home because I watched her bedroom light flick off earlier and then got a peek as she walked away from the house. I chased her as close as the barrier will allow for until she turned down a side street and out of view.
Morgan snorts, drawing my attention. “She’s at my shop, which she hates, so boredom is likely. What kind of life will my daughter have when she rejoins you?”
When.What an interesting choice of words for something that’ll never happen. “She won’t.”
“Thing is, I think she will. Carina has no interest in becoming High Priestess, though she pretends to for my sake. Since coming home, she’s attacked the job with more vigour than ever before—which tells me all I need to know. Carina plays High Priestessonlywhen she’s masking her true emotions. Other teens might opt to not speak to their parents for a week. Mine organized every ceremonial candle we when she was pissed at me.”
Hearing her past—her antics—pulls a smirk.
“So her living like a robot, going through the motions, is an excuse to avoid everything else. If she’s not at work, she’s with her cousin or hiding in her room or preparing for the ceremony, which she’snevershown an interest leading until now. She’s overcompensating for the things she believes she must do, and soon, she’ll combust. She barely speaks to me and spends half her time zoned out or staring out the nearest window. Yesterday, there were three separate instances of customer complaints because she completely ignored their questions. I had to sendher home, except she was later reported wandering aimlessly around town.”
What Morgan’s telling me isn’t a complete surprise; I’ve been feeling her emotions like they were my own. Grief, confusion, heartache, and exhaustion. She retreats to her room early in the evening and sleeps long after the sun rises.
“She’s doing what’s right by the coven. Like always.” Coldness seeps into my tone, but I can’t help it. If Carina weren’t so determined to be a leader to her people, she might have hidden herself from Sloane—and thus been the same as she always was.
“Is she?” Morgan muses. “Being a High Priestess is a job someone has to want, not something they just do. It’s in our blood and soul.”
“Then why push it on her?”
“Because it’s what I hope she’ll become, and if I don’t push, she’ll never push back and tell me it’s not what she wants.”
What kind of backwards psychology do witches learn?
“You’d let her go? If she wanted to leave.”
Grief that’s all too recognizable flashes through her eyes, and with a hard-pressed mouth she replies, “I would, for the sake of her happiness. But if she chooses never to return to you…” Her gaze drops to the pile of my prey. “Might have to acquire a new pet or something to help with these.”
I’m their new pet, but she’s too nice to say that. Their obedient guard dog who’ll never let a fly near their owner.
“Give her time. She really is processing everything. Perhaps it’s not the best way…but it’s happening.”
