Rissa turns to me, her eyes wide and brows raised. “It’s her. The woman from my vision. The fourth witch, and your fated mate.”
My jaw drops, color bleeding from my face as I stare at Rissa, stupefied.
“Wh-what?” comes Willow’s dubious question before I can ask the very same thing.
“What are you talking about?” Willow continues, and Rissa instantly blushes, glancing at me in confusion before turning back to Willow.
“He hasn’t told you, has he?” Rissa whispers, to which Willow’s frown deepens, the moment of awkward silence allowing me to step forward and stand in front of both women.
“I had no idea it was her,” I murmur to Rissa, turning to Willow and staring at her in disbelief. How is this possible?
Why didn’t I feel it before? Sense that she’s my fated mate, the way everyone told me I would?
Willow looks up, and my rejection in the past echoes in the dullness of her blue eyes, and suddenly, it all makes perfect sense. Why I rescued her last night. Why I stumbled upon her in Seward in the first place.
And most of all, why I was drawn to her years ago, only holding myself back because she’s a wolfless omega who would never be accepted by my grandfather.
This isn’t just a second chance to account for driving her out of Girdwood. This is a second chance to make things right with my fated mate and, in turn, save the pack by fulfilling the prophecy.
“We need to conduct the mating ceremony immediately,” I say to Rissa as I stare into Willow’s disbelieving eyes. “We shouldn’t waste any more time. Tell the others that I’ve found her. I’ve found Willow—my fated mate and the fourth witch from the prophecy.”
“Fated mate?” Willow repeats, and before I can respond, she continues, “Witch? Prophecy? What are you talking about?”
“She doesn’t know anything?” Rissa asks, and I shake my head.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you. I didn’t know it was her. I found her in a predicament in Blood Claw. Willow is a former member of this pack.”
“And an omega with mystical powers that have yet to be discovered,” Rissa nods in understanding, then turns to Willow, placing both hands on her shoulders as she begins explaining what all of this means. Rissa tells her that she’s a witch and begins explaining why her powers haven’t surfaced yet, all while Willow becomes paler and paler, until her eyes roll back.
“Willow!” I cut in while Rissa is still explaining, noticing the way Willow’s body grows limp and her face pales. Instincts kick in and have me sweeping in to swiftly catch her just as a sigh escapes her lips and she faints.
“Oh, my Goddess! Willow?!” Rissa exclaims, her wide eyes flying to me. “What happened to her?!”
“Too much information,” I say as I lift Willow into my arms and carry her inside the house. “I think she’s overwhelmed.”
“Yeah, that’s understandable,” Rissa concedes as she follows me inside. “I still don’t understand how you didn’t know it was her….”
As I carry Willow into my bedroom, I explain what happened to Rissa. She listens intently while helping me get Willow into bed. When I’m done, Rissa nods.
“We have work to do, Thane. I’ll check her vitals, make sure she becomes stronger,” Rissa assures me, and I know Willow is in capable hands, because Rissa has been the pack healer for years. “But now that she knows everything, you need to go ahead with the ceremony. There was a sighting yesterday when you were gone. The demons are coming back.”
I nod slowly, glancing at Willow lying unconscious on the bed, realizing that my work has only just begun.
“I’m gonna report this to the others and get Brooks to arrange a quick ceremony.”
“Good idea,” Rissa agrees. “I need to get my medical kit, but once I’m back, you'll go meet with the others.”
I nod, but just as Rissa is about to leave the room. I stop her.
“Rissa…don’t tell the elders about this. Not yet, anyway.”
Rissa turns at the doorway, recognition in her eyes. “Your grandfather…?”
“Yeah. He’s not gonna take this well,” I sigh, glancing back at Willow, a sense of deep regret and guilt washing over me. It’s not that it matters, but it’s the reason I rejected her in the past, and I despise myself for it. “She doesn’t have a wolf.”
Chapter 6 - Willow
Warm sunlight spills through tall glass panes, the air sweet with the scent of earth and lavender. I take a deep breath of the healing air, kneeling in my greenhouse—the one I spent so much time in behind Thane’s old house years ago—my hands buried in soil that feels alive beneath my fingertips. It’s quiet, peaceful, the kind of peace I’ve been chasing all my life.
