"Becca, I don't understand." My voice cracked, frustration mixing with despair. "Why is this happening? Why me? I'm a defective werewolf who can't even shift!"
A heavy silence settled between us as Becca's words hung in the air, thick with implications. I couldn't help but feel a knot forming in my chest, the weight of my own inadequacies pressing down on me. But I knew there was more, I knew there was something that she wasn’t telling me.
"Becca," I finally managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. "I need to know how this happened. How did I end up like…this?" Becca hesitated for a moment and then sighed, her gaze meeting mine with an intensity that made my heart race.
"It's our fault, Erica. Your mother, me, and a few others from the pack and coven. We never meant for things to turn out this way." My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms.
"How, Becca? What did you do?"
"Back when the sorcerer first targeted you, we knew we had to take drastic measures to protect you," she explained, her voice laced with regret. "We combined the forces of the pack and the coven, creating the Moon Key pack as a united front against the threats we faced."
As her words sank in, I could feel the anger bubbling beneath my skin, hot and raw.
"But what does that have to do with me not being able to shift, Becca?" I demanded, trying to keep my emotions in check.
"Concealing ourselves was our top priority," Becca said, her voice a mere whisper in the dimly lit room. "We decided on a binding spell that would make us appear human, effectively hiding us from the sorcerer's prying eyes." As she spoke, I could see the shadows of the past flickering behind her gaze, the weight of long-kept secrets pressing down upon her shoulders. I clutched at the edge of the bed, knuckles turning white as I held onto every word.
"Binding your powers would have been just like any other witch's, or so we thought," Becca continued, her hands twisting together in her lap. "But you, Erica... You were different. The first true witch-wolf hybrid we'd ever encountered." My heart clenched in my chest, the feeling of being an anomaly once again gnawing at me. It seemed that no matter where I turned, I was always the one who didn't fit, the piece that refused to slot into place.
"We thought that binding your witch side would leave your wolf essence untouched," Becca said, her voice thick with regret. "But we were wrong. Your witch essence and wolf essence were intertwined, two halves of the same whole."
"Intertwined?" I echoed, barely able to comprehend the magnitude of what she was saying. Was it possible that all this time, the reason I couldn't shift was because of the very people who had sworn to protect me?
"Okay, let me try to explain it in a different way," Becca said gently, seeing the confusion in my eyes. "You know how colours mix together, right?" I nodded cautiously, unsure of where she was going with this analogy.
"Imagine that a witch's essence is pink, and a werewolf's essence is blue," she continued. "Now, normally a child born of both would have either witch or wolf essence, but you...you're special, Erica. You had both, and they mixed into purple."
I stared at her for a moment, trying to make sense of her words. It was like a kaleidoscope of images flashing through my mind, the vibrant pinks and blues swirling together, merging into a deep, rich shade of violet. The notion that I was an entirely new kind of being filled me with equal parts fascination and dread.
"Because the spell bound the witch side of you," Becca went on, "and the wolf side of you was connected, that side was bound at the same time. We didn't know it would happen like this, but your powers were intertwined in a way we couldn't have predicted."
My chest tightened, and I clenched my fists, trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions that threatened to overtake me. My entire life, I'd believed myself to be broken, a failure as both a witch and a werewolf. And now, Becca was telling me that it wasn't my fault, that I was something new, something unique. The revelation left me reeling, and I struggled to keep my composure.
"Becca, why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked, my voice cracking with emotion. "Why did you let me believe that there was something wrong with me?"
"Erica, I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "We wanted to protect you, and we thought that keeping you in the dark would be the best way to do that. But I see now that it only caused you more pain."
"Damn right, it did," I muttered bitterly, feeling a hot surge of anger and sadness wash over me. But even as I glared at Becca, I couldn't bring myself to truly hate her. She'd sacrificed so much for me, and I knew that she'd been trying to do what was best, even if it hadn't turned out as planned.
"Wait," I said, hope blooming in my chest. "If you're the one who bound me, then can't you just unbind me again? Can't you fix this?" My green eyes searched Becca's face for any hint of possibility. A sad smile tugged at the corner of Becca's lips as she shook her head.
"I wish it were that simple, Erica. It took twelve witches to create the binding spell, and it would take those same twelve witches to release it." Her gaze fell to the floor. "There are only Charlene and me left alive."
"No," I whispered, feeling the weight of despair settle on my shoulders. "You can't be serious. How could you expect us to live like this for the rest of our lives? How could you think that all of the witches would stay alive forever?" Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes, and my voice cracked with emotion. "There has to be a way to break this spell, Becca. There has to be."
"We didn't know, Erica. We couldn't have predicted how things would turn out," Becca replied softly, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears. She hesitated for a moment before adding, "But there is another way, you can break the spell."
"Me?" I asked, incredulous. "How am I supposed to do that?”
"Erica, there's something you need to understand," Becca said gently, her expression softening. "We didn't expect the threat to go away, but we knew that when you finally came into your hybrid power, you would be strong enough to protect yourself." A flicker of hope ignited within me as I listened to her words. Maybe all was not lost after all.
"So what do I have to do?" I asked, my voice shaking with anticipation.
"You need to break the chains holding you back and accept your hybrid form," Becca explained, her eyes filled with conviction. "To do that, you must accept your king."
"Accept my...king?" I repeated, unsure of what she meant. Becca nodded.
"Yes, when you complete the mate bond with Liam, you will transform into the hybrid version of yourself."
