After dinner, we settle into our routine of putting Cassie to bed, and she falls asleep when we are halfway through the bedtime story. I stand hesitantly in the hallway afterwards, wanting to ask Sadie to share my bed again but fearing that she’s already made her decision to leave. The thought is so depressing, I end up saying goodnight and hurrying back to my room before she can reply.
***
The next morning, I wake with a new sense of purpose. I still don’t have a plan to save my pack, but I know I want Sadie in my life, and I don’t want to let Cassie go.
This is my chance to tell Sadie how I feel and see if she feels the same. Then we can decide what to do.
When I greet them in the kitchen, Sadie turns to me with a bright smile. Her eyes are clear, and she looks well-rested for the first time in days.
She must have had a good night’s sleep last night. Is it because she’s decided what she wants to do?
After Jean picks Cassie up, we head out to the car. Sadie takes my hand, squeezing it and smiling up at me. My heart aches with conflict and regret—all that we could have been, and the future we’ll never have.
No matter what Sadie decides, the pack wants her gone, and I can’t leave them. Whichever way this goes, my heart and soul are going to be ripped apart.
On the way to the park, Sadie talks excitedly about her work and the old texts that she’s been going through.
“What do you really know about witches?” she asks me as we unpack the car at the park.
“I don’t know how much I should tell you,” I reply, as we walk across the grass to find a nice, shady tree. “It’s very different from the town records.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking you,” she says as we sit down. “I know the wolves don’t trust magic, but I don’t know why.”
“Well, no one really does,” I say. “It happened so long ago. The witch queen and wolf king were close, founders of the town. There was some conflict, and we became enemies and have been since.”
“But what happened to the witches?” she asks.
I pause for a moment before answering, focusing on pouring her some champagne.
“We hunted them to extinction,” I say. “There hasn’t been a witch in these hills for a hundred years.”
“Are you sure they’re all dead?” she asks.
I nod. “Positive. We made sure of it.”
“But… what about the magic? Was it really a threat to the wolves, or was there something good about it, too?”
“I don’t know,” I answer. “I had no direct experience with it, but the old records indicate it was extremely dangerous, unstable, and the witches used it to hurt us.”
“Oh,” Sadie says softly. She takes a sip of champagne, her eyes dark and full of unspoken thoughts.
“Why?” I ask.
She shrugs. “There’s nothing in the town records about any magic being dangerous. I haven’t finished reading about thewitch trials. I don’t know, I just thought that maybe witches could be good as well.”
“I don’t think so,” I say firmly.
Sadie nods, looking up at me and biting her lip thoughtfully as if she wants to say something, but thinks better of it.
“Tell me how Cassie is going,” I say. “She’s doing a sports competition with the other kids, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Sadie says, smiling. “It’s just an informal soccer game, and an athletics carnival, but Jean says Cassie has natural talent, and even though she hasn’t shifted, she definitely has enhanced attributes.”
Once we start talking about Cassie, the conversation is much easier, and both of us loosen up. After a few glasses of champagne, the energy between us shifts into a different gear, and suddenly all I can see is how beautiful she is.
The sunlight flickers down through the leaves far above our heads and dapples across her brown hair, making her glitter with a golden glow. Her dark brown eyes seem dark and mysterious, shadows that evade the shimmer dancing across her hair and pale skin. When she smiles at me and tilts her champagne glass in a toast, the arousal I’ve been trying so hard to keep at bay suddenly rises inside me and pumps through my blood.
It's been bad enough being caught between my duty and the selfish need to keep Sadie and Cassie in my life. The last thing I need is to be wrecked with desire as well.
