Carolyn chuckled like Sarah was a child. Sarah didn't like it. The worst part was that her mother was right. She was lying to herself. She kept telling herself that they shouldn’t be together because he was her boss, but what did that really matter?
Chapter 18
Harold
Harold did not believe in magic. He knew that it existed, and he knew that it was very real. He just didn't believe in using it. There was magic in him, of course, the way that he could turn from a human to a beast. That was magic, obviously. But there were other types of magic, countless other types of magic. Harold tried to stay away from the unnatural magic and the people who did it. He didn't necessarily fear them, but he certainly didn't like to be around them all that much.
So, for him to go see a trio of witches deep in the woods, hundreds of miles away from where he lived, Harold knew that he was in pretty deep. The problem was, he didn't think that he was going to get anything out of it. He would have been better off going to his own father, or someone else in his clan, but he couldn't. So, this was what he had to do. He had to trust witches that were untrustworthy. The only thing that he could trust about them was their greed, and he hoped that he had brought enough baubles to satisfy their thirst and to get proper answers.
“You don't have to knock, dear. It’s too nice of a night to be indoors.”
Harold had been all in his head, thinking about what he wanted to ask and how he was going to ask. He just wanted answers. He wasn't expecting them to all be outside, looking at him with eyes that were sharp and saw everything. He got the distinct feeling that they already knew what he was doing there. Witches just had a way of knowing things. Everything. The power they wielded was too strong and it made him uneasy.
“It is good to see you again. I don't know if you remember me...”
“I remember you, Harold. It has been a while since you came here. I was hoping to see you again one day, see what kind of man you turned out to be. Men in power have always fascinated me. The choices they make fascinate me still.”
“I think you got bad information, witch. I haven't been in power for a long time. I will never be in power again.”
She clicked her tongue. “Please tell me that you do not actually believe that.”
Harold didn't know what to say. He had lost his right to lead. He knew that for sure and nothing about it was going to change. It didn't matter if he wanted to. It didn't matter if what he did was a mistake. At the end of the day, he couldn’t come back from it.
“I believe that I made a grave mistake, and I lost my chance. I am not here for that, though.”
“No, you are here because your beast knows more than you do. How is it that shifters can be so dominant, when they don’t usually ever know their emotions, or themselves at all?”
Harold scoffed, and the woman might as well have called him an idiot mutt. The witch had distinct disdain in her voice, and it riled him up to no end.
“So, what do you want to know?”
“I thought you knew?” Harold smiled wryly.
“Oh, honey, there is so much that you don't know, so you're going to have to be a little bit more specific. The few gems you have in your pocket are not going to cover it all. You are going to have to be more specific.”
She said this in a tone that shook him, and he automatically gave an answer. It wasn't like he had a choice. It just popped from his mouth because he was forced. The witch had made him come forth with it.
“I want to know why my beast is suddenly uncontrollable. He's coming up when he is not supposed to, and he's never done that before. I have always had a firm grasp on my inner beast. But now, now it's like I have no say and that bothers me. It could be dangerous, if it comes forth when I am around humans. I work with humans all day.”
The witch smiled. “Is that really what you want to waste your question on? Aren’t there more important things that could be learned?”
Harold wasn't sure what the old woman was getting at, but he agreed that there were several other questions that he had.
“Then why do you only want to know about your beast? I thought you would have asked about your mother, as much as she's been on your mind lately.”
Harold sighed loudly, and he tried to remind himself that he was there for answers about his beast. He couldn't have it showing itself when he was around humans. He had been with human women before and had never done that, so why now? That was going to have to be what mattered.
“My mother is dead and gone and has been gone for years. There is no sense in asking about her.”
“And what about the woman? Do you want to know about her and all of her secrets?”
Harold disagreed again. He didn't even want to talk about Sarah. He was afraid that the witches would somehow know something and would get to her. He didn’t even want them to know that she existed. It was bad enough that he had put himself in danger being there, but to bring Sarah into it was not something that he could do. He was not willing to do that.
“I just want to know how to control the beast, witch. You forced me to say what I really want and that is it. As you said before, I don't have enough money for anything more.”
Sadly, he had billions of dollars, but it wasn’t the currency that the witches preferred.
“You are a rich man, Harold.”
