The room is a large, comfortable parlor with old-fashioned furniture and walls full of books. Musical instruments are gathered in one corner, and long windows let in the light along one wall. The council members are sitting on couches in the center of the room, all of them looking shocked by my intrusion.
“What are you doing here?” Darla tries to yell and stand from her chair, but almost topples over. She clings to the armrest and manages to sit down without falling.
“Get out of here, witch,” Thorne says, his voice rasping in his throat. “All our troubles started with you!”
“Your troubles started a long time before I even got here,” I reply firmly. “And all of you know I’m not the cause, so stop fucking around.”
“Where did you get that book?” Neville asks, his eyes wide with wonder. “I thought it was lost forever.”
“I found it in a secret room in the museum,” I answer. “Does that mean you’ve read it?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “I only know of its existence because we have pages torn from it, but I thought the book was long-lost or destroyed.”
I wait for a moment, looking around the room. Every member of the council looks at best uncomfortable, and at worst, flat-out guilty.
“It’s Lynette Croft’s spell book, isn’t it?” Faye asks, and I nod.
“So, you know she was a witch?” I ask. “Not just one of the town founders, but a magic worker?”
“Yes,” Sylvie says, shifting in her chair as she tries to take a deep breath. “We know. We tried to keep the information hidden from the pack.”
“Why?” I ask, exasperated. “Why would you do this?”
“Because the witch queen and the wolf king were not enemies!” Rafe explodes. “They were lovers!”
His words sink into me slowly, and it’s crystal clear to me what would happen in the packs if they learned about this.
Their entire culture could be destroyed. There could be civil wars, retaliation against the council. It would be beyond ugly and could tear their society apart.
“You’re cowards,” I say, shaking my head. “But still, I understand why you did this. It really is for the greater good. I don’t know how this news would be received by all three packs.”
“Even I agreed on it,” Neville says. “We had no choice but to continue the lie. I have always loved the old books since I was a boy, and I found Lynette’s bonding ritual, a spell that allows an alpha to find his true mate and share strength with each other to bring life to the whole pack, and break any curse.”
“You used a magic spell?” I choke out. “And you didn’t tell the others, even Rhys?”
“We had no choice,” Darla replies, angrily. “Nothing else was working, and we had to try something. I’m sorry I agreed to it now because obviously, it didn’t work—we’re all still dying.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Neville says. “The pages of the book we had were torn from it hundreds of years ago, and standing before us is Lynette’s descendant, holding the other half to make it whole again.”
“Why was the book torn up?” I ask, afraid to hear the answer.
“When the wolf king, Darien Cole, found out he had been betrayed, he went to war on all witches,” Neville says. “I believe Lynette took those pages herself and gave the book to her sisters to hide. Lynette would have had the pages on her when—”
“Oh, God,” I gasp. “When what?”
“When he locked her up in here,” Darla says. “He imprisoned her in the manor.”
“OhGod!” I cry. “She died here, didn’t she?”
No one answers me, but their faces tell me everything I need to know. I cling to the book, holding it against my chestas if it’s my poor, dead ancestor and I can somehow bring her comfort.
That’s why this place has such bad vibes. Poor Lynette.
“May I see the book?” Neville asks. “I’ve been very curious about it.”
“You don’t need to,” I say, holding onto it defensively. “It’s mine now, and what you need to know is that it has a continuation of the bonding ritual that will fully release my magic and break the curse.”
“It will heal us?” Darla asks in amazement.
