“It’s not going to be easy,” she says. We both know this is true.
I knew Aster was a strong witch, but everything that’s been laid out on the table here tonight goes beyond what I even imagined.
“You’re not alone, far from it. We’ll all take this on together,” I tell her.
“For better or for worse, huh?” she jokes and my grip on her head tightens, making her lips part.
“For better or for worse,” I repeat.
When I said my vows originally, they meant nothing to me, but as I look down at my wife, there’s nothing that can stand between us.
She lifts on her toes and we share a sweet soft kiss, before the door behind us opens and her parents walk back in.
Lavender seems more put together, and Oberyn looks pissed.
“I take it you’re the Alpha of Moon Walker Pack?” he says to me and I nod.
He takes a deep inhale and slightly bows.
“I have a list of shifters who can help,” he says.
“And witches I know don’t care for my mother,” Lavender says.
“You’re not coming back with us?” Violet says, her face falling slightly as her mother approaches her and grabs her hand.
“There’s nothing I want more than to come home and get to know you better. But I can’t do that, not without my magic, not without my mother finding out you know the truth. The moment she knows she’s been found out I worry what she’ll do. It’s of the utmost importance that you do not let her even get a whiff that we’re conspiring against her. Assuming that’s what you want,” Lavender says.
Violet’s lip tilts upwards. Even after everything her mother’s been through, she’s giving her daughter the choice. Even after all these years of not knowing she was out there or who she was, she loves Violet beyond anything. She’s letting her decide.
“I’m getting your gifts back and I’m righting the wrongs of our coven,” Violet says proudly, a sharp confidence slipping out of her that’s refreshing and has me falling for her even more.
Lavender smiles, and Oberyn looks proud.
“Then we have some planning to do before your trip home,” Lavender says.
So we make a plan. One that I fucking hate, but it will keep us safe.
Chapter 35
The moment we arrived home, we started putting our plan in place. Part one is the thing I hate the most, and that’s Silas and I going minimal with our in person contact, which is already weighing on me.
Not the same way as before. It’s not like my body physically aches if I’m not near him. I just genuinely miss him.
I feel stupid for ever having doubted Ember and Iris. Not when Ember’s mother and grandmother have already agreed to side with us, and not as I sit across from Delphine, Iris’ grandmother.
She clutches her cane, as her unseeing but all telling eyes glance over at me. She may be blind, but she knows far more than I realize.
The older witch looks similar to Iris, the same umber skin, amber eyes, and relative height. Her hair is buzzed close to her head and her large gold earrings jingle as she closes her eyes, her chin pointing up to the air as she takes a deep breath.
A slow, calming smile takes over her face, before she laughs, all of her jewelry clanging with the motion.
Iris glances over at me, more used to her grandmother’s quirks.
“How is your mother?” Delphine asks, and my mouth parts as I glance over at Iris.
“Devoid of magic,” I say and she nods.
“I fear this is my fault,” she says, her hand gripping her cane to the point where her knuckles nearly turn white.
