“So you’re saying to just keep trying?”
“I’m saying, people will come around, it just might take a little more oomph than you think.”
“Right.”
“That mate of yours. He’s come a long way since you met him, right?”
I nod, my heart skipping a beat just thinking of Jasper and how he’s grown over the last year and a half.
“Took him a while though, didn’t it?”
“That’s an understatement.”
Agatha laughs a little. “But you never gave up, did you? Because you’re strong. Persistent.”
My shoulders roll forward as I deflate a little. “I suppose.”
Agatha reaches out and takes both of my hands firmly, almost thumping them onto the wooden tabletop. “You have a whole line of blood wolves behind you,” she says. “They’ll back you up as long as you keep trying.”
Even though I still feel lost and a little useless, I force myself to smile. Because Agatha is, of course, right. Mal can turn me down, every rogue in the country can turn me down, Mia and Olivia can stay where they are, but I won’t stop fighting.
Behind Agatha, I notice bubbles appearing at the brim of her pot.
“Um, should it be doing that?”
She jumps up with a yelp. “Oh, goodness. Caught it just in time.” She turns and winks. “See, you’re more perceptive than you think.”
With a ladle she drops some of the tea in two cups then places one in front of me.
“Can I ask you a question?” I say, wrapping my cold hands around the hot mug.
“Shoot.”
“Someone important told me something recently, they said when the time comes, I would need to leave Jasper. What do you think that means?”
Cupping her own mug, Agatha slips back into her seat.
“Hard to say,” she says, thinking. “My best piece of advice is to keep your mind open. There’s more than one way to leave someone.”
“I guess.” Blowing on the surface of the murky brown liquid first, I hesitantly take a sip. But of course, my taste buds are immediately lit up. “That’s good!”
Agatha lifts a teasing brow. “What did you expect?”
In the afternoon, Omar and I get ready to leave. I throw my duffel in the trunk of the car while he says goodbye to Agatha, then turn to look up at the house once more.
Mal never reappeared after our conversation in the morning.
We spent the few hours we had eating, drinking Agatha’s soul-cleansing tea, and catching up with the girls.
Mia and Olivia exit the house with their bags as well, throwing them into their car, about to head back to the Pixies.
“How long is the drive supposed to be?” Mia asks, catching my interest.
Olivia leans over the top of their car. “Something like twenty hours, maybe more.”
“What?” I ask, wondering why the hell it would take them so long to get back when it only took us closer to five hours to get here.
Mia and Olivia share a look and Olivia smirks at me.
