“I want,” Carter said, his heart beating a mile a minute.
“Yolanda isreallyexpensive,” Owen warned, sounding hesitant. “My grandmother said she often charges upwards of a million dollars for a single ritual. Do you have that kind of money?”
“Yes,” Carter said, simply. A million dollars would put a sizable dent in his savings, but it wasn’t beyond his means. And even if it had been, Carter would have gladly taken up a loan or just stolen the money if it meant he could be normal.
“Okay. I’ll have my grandmother set it up and get back to you with the details by tomorrow.”
Carter closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing even.
“How soon do you think we could make this happen?” he asked. Now that Owen had confirmed that this was real—that this was something that could happen—he found himself so impatient he could barely sit still.
“I’m not sure. It could be a couple of months, depending on how busy she is. We’ll know more after my grandmother talks to her.”
“You could give me her number and I could talk to Yolanda myself,” Carter suggested.
“No,” Owen said, not even considering it. “It’s better to go through my grandmother. That way she knows not to fuck you over.”
Carter hadn’t thought of that. He guessed that was a good point.
“Okay, I’ll let your grandmother handle it. Thank you for this, Owen.”
Owen was quiet, and Carter frowned.
“What?” he asked.
“I just feel really shitty about this,” Owen said. “I want to help you, and I get why you want this, but it’s just… It’s not right. The pack should accept you for who you are.”
“Well they won’t, and there’s no use wishing it were different.”
“It’s your choice,” Owen said. “And I hope this goes well for you. I really do. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Carter said goodbye and hung up the phone, a strange feeling settling over him. He was excited, but somehow he felt sadder than ever. The hollowness in his chest felt like it was going to swallow him whole.
Fuck it. Carter was going to fix himself and then he’d never feel like this again. Rising from the couch, Carter ignored his feelings and jogged up to his room, changing into his workout clothes and grabbing his gym bag before heading down to his car.
A few hours at the gym were just what he needed to take his mind off things.
***
