‘A wolf in love with a witch is a danger to his pack.’ At last, there was a crack in his mother’s voice. ‘The traitor, Wyn Evans, will be exiled and his name will not be spoken again.’
‘No, you can’t,’ I protested, pushing my friend away. ‘It’ll kill him.’
Silently I searched until I found something that felt like him, smothered by another of Astrid’s spells, and already in more pain than I could bear.
‘One more thing you will have to learn to live with,’ Pamela said softly. ‘For someone who doesn’t want to interfere, you have managed to take both my sons from me. Impressive, witch.’
‘You can’t exile someone for falling in love,’ Lydia yelled when I couldn’t find the words. ‘That’s sick, it’s messed up. It’s not his fault.’
‘Not his fault?’ Pamela cackled but I could see the tears in her eyes. ‘Then please, I beg you, tell me whose fault is it?’
I had prepared for this eventuality but I wasn’t ready.
‘It’s my fault,’ I said, in so much pain I was almost able to believe my whole body had been smeared with Astrid’s dark magic again. ‘He isn’t in love with me, it’s magic.’
I thrust out an arm to hold Lydia back when she stepped forward, silently begging her to keep quiet with a quick glance.
‘He doesn’t love me and I don’t love him,’ I carried on, spitting out the words faster than I could breathe. If I paused, even for a second, I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. ‘My grandmother and I, we cursed him. We knew he was from a Were family long before you initiated him and we thought he might be useful, that’s all. He could never love me, a wolf could never love a witch.’
‘And a witch could never love a wolf,’ she replied, eyes boring into me. ‘I told them all there had to be more to this.’
‘I may be a lot of things but I’m not a complete monster,’ I said, choking on my words when she checked over her shoulder and signalled to one of the women at the park’s perimeter. ‘I don’t delight in splitting up families. My mom died when I was a baby, I lost my dad and my grandmother recently. You’ve already mourned Cole and now you have his mess to deal with. There’s no reason for you to lose Wyn. He’s a harmless kid. Sweet, really. He’s suffered enough.’
Pamela moved towards me, a shred of furious hope in her eyes. She wanted to be convinced but she wasn’t, not yet. I had to make her believe me.
‘Consider it a peace offering,’ I added. ‘I’ll release him from my magic and in return you and your wolves will stay out of Savannah for good.’
‘I want your curse lifted and I want it done now.’ She spoke loudly over the murmurings of her pack, her authority not to be questioned. ‘We’ll see if you’re telling the truth.’
She raised her hand and two of the women appeared, dragging Wyn between them. The gaping wound that had almost severed his shoulder from his body when his own brother dragged him from my bed was mostly healed, magically mended by his phase, but somehow he stood before me in human form. All the other males had phased, including Cole, who still howled, high-pitched and hateful, from his prison across the park.
‘An exiled wolf does not have the right to phase with his former pack,’ Pamela explained, her voice flat and emotionless, as Wyn looked up at me with empty eyes. ‘He was unphased. Disorientation is to be expected and better than what’s in store for him if you are lying to me.’
‘Emily?’ Wyn choked out my name, a flicker of light returning to his eyes.
I snatched back a sob. In the depths of his darkest moment, he knew me. When he was a wolf, he knew me. Always and forever, he would know me. But after tonight, he would never, ever forgive me.
‘Do it,’ his mother commanded. ‘Whatever it is, right now.’
‘What’s happening?’ Wyn asked as I reached into my pocket for the healing poultice I’d blended for him. There was no reason to make this hurt any more than it had to. Sprinkling the herbs into the palm of my hand, I smeared them against the still sticky blood on his chest, took his hands in mine and pulled him close.
‘Tell him,’ Pamela shouted. ‘Tell him to his face!’
‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered, resting my forehead against his then raising my voice for everyone to hear. ‘My grandmother cursed you and I used you. This, all of this, it’s a lie. I never loved you.’
In his depleted state, he only looked bewildered.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s a spell,’ I said, holding back traitorous tears. ‘You don’t love me, you only think you do because you were useful – and now you’re not. In fact, you’re a burden. I release you.’
‘She’s lying,’ he said, summoning a scrap of strength to turn around, challenging any wolf that dared look at him. There weren’t very many. ‘Can’t you see? It’s so obvious. She’s lying so you’ll leave us alone.’
When no one responded, he turned back to me, clutching at my face, holding me to him so closely, his perfect features were just a blur.
‘Stop it,’ he begged as I turned my head away. ‘Don’t say it. We’ll be OK, you and me, one way or another, we’ll be OK. Even if they take me away, if they exile me, you know I’ll always come back to you. I will always come back to you.’
I let him pull me into his arms one last time, completely stillas his hands raked through my hair, grasped my shoulders, trying to find purchase on something that had already slipped out of reach.
