by Ellen, Jo
“Your mother came from a powerful line of witches. It looks like it skipped your grandmother, but your mom was gifted with a small amount. Somehow, when you were born, you inherited more than just your mom’s hair color,” he said smiling.
“Did you find out why she didn’t tell Lisa?” asked Rafe.
“It’s still supposition. I think she realized how powerful you were and was afraid someone would try to use you. Just that little demonstration you gave this morning was a hell of lot more than your everyday witch could do.”
“Thank you for telling me. I didn’t mean to intrude. I originally came in to ask about Rafe’s call to Dunstan.”
“It’s all right. We would have been repeating it all to you tomorrow anyway. Well, I’m for a shower and bed. I’ll make sure to be here at ten tomorrow for the show,” he said grinning as he left.
Lisa rose to leave also. “Again, sorry. I think I’ll go on up to bed too. Goodnight.”
“I’ll walk you to your door. Just like a real date, only it’s not your front door,” he said smiling.
Arriving at her bedroom door, she turned. “This seems to be a habit; you walking me upstairs to my door.”
“Hopefully, it won’t be happening much longer. Leaving you at your door, I mean.”
Lisa hesitated, “Would you like to come in?” If that wasn’t obvious, I don’t know what is, she thought.
“I will, but I won’t stay. We need to talk,” he stated.
Well that certainly sounds ominous. Looks like I need to work on my seducing skills.
Rafe came in and sat on the edge of her bed. He patted the comforter for her to sit beside him. She casually walked over to sit down.
“I won’t make love to you until you’re certain this is what you want. I haven’t explained the mating well enough for you to know.”
“Okaaay, I’m listening.”
“When we join, our souls, our entire being will be combined. There will never be another, for you or for me. It’s permanent and forever. Our connection will enable us to speak to each other telepathically. You’ll have to accept me, as I am, a shifter and alpha of this pack. My people will always need me. I just want to make sure you understand all of this,” he said seriously.
“Back up. Telepathically? Will you be able to read my thoughts?” she asked, horrified.
Laughing, “No, don’t worry. Although I am curious now, as to what you are thinking. That reaction is intriguing. I will be able to send you thoughts, and vice versa.”
It was a lot to think about. Was she ready to settle down with him? It was still too soon. Although time-wise, it was only days, they had spent more time together than just going on a normal date. It was as if weeks were crammed into days.
Rafe rose, going to the door. “Think about it. This would be a huge change for you. It would be up to you to accept or reject the gift of the waters,” he said closing the door.
Crap! She’d forgotten about that. Do I want to be a witch slash wolf? I wonder what it would be like? She found it more intriguing than scary. Looks like she needed to have a long talk with Stephanie. Gee, thanks, Rafe, no pressure.
Chapter 11
Dunstan parked his jeep, staring. Incredible, it really was a castle. Looking around, he saw several men watching him. Counting, he saw six were wolves and three were fae. Shaking his head, he should have known. Climbing out, he noticed one of the men coming over. Wolf, he saw.
“I’m Ian. Pack Enforcer. Do anything I don’t like, I’ll rip your balls off,” he said nastily.
“I’m kind of fond of them, so rest easy,” Dunstan said dryly.
Ian motioned him ahead, towards the huge front doors. They opened to show Rafe, waving him inside. Looking around, he saw Lisa sitting on the sofa beside the woman he’d learned was Stephanie.
“Hi, Dunstan. Glad you made it past the garrison,” said Lisa.
“Hello, Lisa. Thanks for agreeing to see me.”
Dunstan moved over to stand by the large windows. The other warriors had followed him in and now stood strategically around the room. Rafe went to stand next to where Lisa was sitting.
“Umm, what now?” asked Lisa.
The fae that Dunstan remembered as Robert, stepped forward. He came over to Dunstan and stared into his eyes. Dunstan stared right back, refusing to be intimidated.
“Lisa is going to try and reach into your mind and see if she can figure out why she dreamed of you. She’s new at this so we’ll go slowly. I’ll be instructing Lisa. If I sense any harm to her, we stop immediately,” Robert stated.
Dunstan nodded, agreeing with him. Robert directed him to go sit on the couch beside Lisa. He could tell Rafe was uncomfortable with this, but he kept quiet.
“Now, lass, take his hands and look into his eyes,” said Robert.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to stare into his eyes,” she said.
Chuckling softly, Robert answered her. “It’s all right. I can break his hold if needed. Dunstan, I want you to open up to her. She needs to see inside you, if she can.”
Dunstan already knew she was a witch. He saw it when she came into the restaurant. He’d realized then that she had the power he needed.
“Lisa, concentrate. He wants to find his mother. Focus in on that thought.”
Staring into his eyes, she felt kind of silly. Especially when she saw, he had a small smile forming on his lips. Her thoughts drifted off, thinking how cute he was. Yeah, Rafe was a hunk, but this guy was just as stunning.
“Focus!” Robert demanded.
Lisa’s cheeks burned, she had forgotten other people were watching them. She could almost feel Rafe bristling beside her.
Zeroing back in, she stared deep into his eyes. She felt him pulling her in. Closing her eyes, she let go of his hands and leaned back against the sofa.
She saw him hugging a beautiful blonde woman. She heard him saying he would come back for her. She was shaking her head, insisting he never return. As she faded away, she felt herself moving forward, through time. Now the woman was running, pulling a small child behind her down a dark corridor. She saw them shimmer, and then disappear. They were gone. Lisa looked around and saw no one, only fog so thick she couldn’t see through it. She started screaming, where are you? Not realizing she was crying at the same time.
She opened her eyes to see Rafe staring at her worriedly. He was holding her shoulders, calling her name. She saw Dunstan standing, with the men surrounding him. Robert was in front, blocking him.
“I’m all right. Please, let Dunstan sit back down. He didn’t hurt me. I promise.”
The men all looked to Rafe, waiting for his decision.
“First, tell me what happened. Why are you crying?” Rafe asked.
Lisa looked over again at Dunstan. “I saw his mother. Let him pass. Dunstan, please come sit with me.”
Rafe told the men to step back. Dunstan slowly made his way back over to Lisa. His face was stoic. She could tell he was expecting to hear his mother was dead.
Taking his hand, Lisa started to tell of what she had seen.
“I saw you speaking with a beautiful blonde woman. I’m guessing she is your mother. I believe it was when she was making you leave. Once you’d disappeared, it felt like I flew forward in time.”
Squeezing his hand, she told him of the woman and child. Telling him how she saw them both disappear.
“I don’t know where they went. I’m sorry. I can’t tell you if she’s alive or dead. But there is something you should know. Your mother looked familiar to me.”
Releasing his hand, Lisa turned to Rafe. “I think Anna is his sister,” she said calmly.
“What?” the brothers shouted, almost simultaneously.
“Now it makes sense,” Robert said.
They were all stunned, and didn’t know what to think.
Lisa spoke. “She’s their housekeeper. Dunstan, when I saw your mother, I saw the resemblance to Anna. I think your mother got her away to safety.”
&
nbsp; “But that would make her half dark fae, assuming Ciar is her father,” Rafe said. “Robert, you would have seen that, wouldn’t you?”
“At dinner, when I saw her, I knew. I could see fae and wolf. I was going to wait to say something after I investigated her further. She must have stayed away whenever I visited over the years,” Robert told them.
“Wow, she’s good. All these years, she’s managed to not be seen by Robert,” Devlin said.
“She was hiding! I never even realized. She was always so quiet. I assumed she was afraid of Robert because he’s fae. I’d thought maybe something had happened that made her fear them. She was afraid, but not of him in particular. She knew he would recognize her as part dark fae,” Rafe said in disgust with himself.
“She always went to her cabin. I never put it together either. Damn, we should have questioned her more. To think, all these years she’s been hiding in fear. No wonder she never ventured far from here. It was the safest place for her to be,” Ian said thoughtfully.
Dunstan sat there, amazed. He had a sister. At least, he thought he did. They were all jumping to conclusions. Just because she looked like his mother, didn’t mean she was. He would know for sure, when he saw her, he decided.
“I don’t understand. If both Dunstan and Anna are dark fae, why aren’t they evil?” Lisa said apologetically, looking at Dunstan.
Robert spoke for him. “Just like humans, there are good and bad. It’s just that the unseelie realm is cold and unforgiving. Evil is in the very air. Being devious is how they build their status and position. I believe both Dunstan and Anna were influenced by their mother and their wolf half.” He looked questionably over at Dunstan.
“That’s true. Mainly though, I would say our mother. Also, since Anna was young when Lisa saw her, then she would have gotten away from our father’s influence. Does anyone know where Anna is now?” asked Dunstan.
“I think she’s probably in her cabin. We need to decide how we’re going to proceed. I don’t want her scared by this revelation or to think we would make her leave. If she ran, I don’t know that we would ever find her,” said Ian.
“Me and my brothers will go and talk to her. She knows she is family to us and we’d never hurt her,” Rafe stated.
“I’d like to be there too. Maybe I can answer questions for her and she can tell me what happened,” said Dunstan.
Rafe thought it over. Whereas they were her adopted family, Dunstan was blood. He decided both Dunstan and Lisa should come. Since Lisa had the vision, she may be able to help Anna remember things she’d forgotten.
“My brothers and I, along with Dunstan and Lisa will go. I think one fae showing up on her doorstep is enough. Lisa, you may be able to help with her memories, since she was so young in your vision.”
“I’ll come, but she may not be comfortable with me being there. I only met her once, and she may not want me digging around in her memories.”
Lisa had liked Anna as soon as she’d met her, but getting in her head would be somewhat intimate. Knowing how reserved Anna was, she was afraid she wouldn’t agree to it.
“I’ll go around the back of her cabin. I’m afraid if she sees Dunstan with us, she may run,” said Ian.
“No sense putting this off, we’ll go now,” Rafe declared.
Leaving through the kitchen, the group headed towards the cabins in back. Dunstan was uneasy. Thinking about having a sibling and actually meeting one was very nerve wracking. Funny, he’d faced down his father’s flunkies and his father too with less trepidation. The short walk didn’t give him any time to prepare. He watched warily, as Rafe knocked on her door, with Lisa beside him.
“Devlin, Dunstan, hang back. Let me speak with her a moment before we all go in.”
Anna was reading when she heard the knock. Automatically sniffing the air, she recognized Rafe and Lisa’s scent. Wondering why they would seek her out, she opened her door, smiling. She couldn’t see beyond Rafe, he was blocking her view.
“Hi Anna, there’s something we need to discuss with you. Would it be all right if we all came in?” asked Rafe solemnly.
Anna laughed, “We all? What, have a stowaway in your pocket?”
Rafe stepped aside and motioned Devlin and Dunstan forward. Her face went white when she saw Dunstan.
“It’s all right, Anna. No one here will harm you. You’ve known me for years. I wouldn’t bring anyone to your home to hurt you. It’s important we speak with you,” Rafe calmly reassured her.
Lisa stepped forward, putting her arm around Anna’s shoulders to support her. “Please, may we come in and sit down?”
Anna motioned for them to enter, going to sit quietly on her couch. Lisa sat beside her with her arm still around her. All these years, she’d hidden. Now it was all over. Tears slowly ran down her cheeks. With that man being fae, she knew he would tell them that she was too.
Rafe sat on her other side. “I’m not going to drag this out. Anna, this is Dunstan. He is part dark fae, part wolf. We’ve come to believe he’s your brother.”
“Whaaat?” she stuttered. Stunned, she could only look at Rafe in confusion. Lisa had reached up to wipe the tears from her face.
Dunstan stepped forward and knelt down in front of her. Taking her hands, he told her his story. Anna was fascinated. Could this man really be her brother? She kept staring at him, trying to see a resemblance. There was something familiar about what he told her. The castle, the woman he said was their mother. She got chills when he talked about Ciar.
She said the only thing she could think of. “We look nothing alike.”
Dunstan chuckled. “No, I look like our father, much to my regret. But you, you look so much like Mother, it floored me when I saw you. She had long blonde hair just like yours.”
Anna started crying again, but these were happy tears. “I have a blood brother!” She threw her arms around Dunstan, almost knocking him over.
“Thrown over so easily, you wound me,” Devlin joked.
Laughing, they were relieved it had gone so well. Ian had come in once he knew she wasn’t running away. The brothers hugged her, feeling as if a weight had been lifted.
“He may be your real brother, but we are still your family. We’ve always thought of you as our little sister, you know,” said Rafe.
Lisa was crying now also. Hugging Anna, they sat back down on the sofa. Dunstan sat beside her this time, knowing it would be difficult for her to tell her story to them.
“We’ve always known there was something you were hiding. We never wanted to push you, hoping you would come to us. Knowing you’re part dark fae, doesn’t change how we feel about you. We know you don’t have an evil bone in your body.” This was the longest speech Ian had ever made to her. He made her realize she should have trusted them long ago.
“I’m so sorry I’ve lied to you all for so long. I was told to never tell anyone about my fae half. I was so young when it was ingrained in me.”
“By who, Anna? Our mother? Do you remember her?” asked Dunstan hopefully.
Anna cast her mind back to those memories from so long ago that she had tried to forget. She remembered being scared, running from something or someone. She couldn’t remember the person’s face, she thought sadly.
“I remember someone pulling me along, running. I can’t see their face. I put so much of that early time behind me, trying to forget. There was so much fear, I just blocked it out.”
“I think we should let Dunstan and Anna get to know one another. We’ll all go up to the house for lunch. Anna, when you’re ready, Lisa may be able to help retrieve those memories. I don’t want you under any pressure to relive that time. If or when you want to try, come to me,” with that, Rafe leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you, Rafe,” Dunstan said sincerely.
Rafe’s mother was in the kitchen when they entered. After explaining the situation, Liz wanted to go and assure Anna this would always be her home and family.
“I left
Dunstan with her so they could talk. Mom, wait to go to her after they’ve had some time.”
“I’ll go see her later today then. Everyone sit. I’ve made soup and it’s ready now,” said Liz.
Mack came in and sat to down to eat. They all started explaining what had taken place. He thought back to when he’d met her. He remembered how timid she’d been. He always thought someone had abused her and she was running. To think her father was the one she was running away from made him angry. Fathers should cherish their children. Thank God, she’d gotten away.
“I think we need to go and visit Chase,” Robert said sitting down at the table. “After meeting Dunstan, I don’t believe he is the ‘darkness’ the seer spoke of.”
“I’m thinking the same. With Dunstan’s revelations about Ciar, I believe that is the darkness she saw. I don’t think it’s a coincidence he showed up now,” said Rafe. “I’d like to talk to his seer in person.”
“Dunstan’s story was that he was summoned by that guy having his dirk. How did that dirk go missing? It’s bothered me since he told us. I want to track this guy down that had it and question him,” said Ian.
“Do that. But first, wait until Dunstan finishes speaking with Anna. I think it would be a good idea to take him with you. He knows this guy, Stephen,” Rafe said.
“Just checking, but are you sure you trust Dunstan? I know you left him with Anna, but we don’t have much to go on,” said Robert.
“Like I told Ian, I trust Lisa,” Rafe stated firmly.
Oh, great. They’ve known me three days and now I’m responsible if something happens to the pond or the wolves, Lisa was thinking.
“Umm, like I said, Dunstan is a good soul, but I’m not a psychic. I don’t want anything to happen to anyone here, or something going wrong with the pond,” she said nervously.
“You are not responsible for my wolves or the pond. We’ve protected both of them all our lives, and if evil comes, it wasn’t brought by you,” Rafe stated.
Rafe and Robert left after contacting Chase to see if he was available.
Lisa went looking for Stephanie, hoping to spend some time with her and the girls.
