“When I was there, it was common knowledge that they did horrible things to the girls in that room. They were used in different ways than we were.” Natalia confirmed.
“How do you know she was there?”
“I found her bracelet. My mother gave each of us one when we young, and bid us never take them off.” Natalia saw me look to her wrists for the telltale bracelet, but there wasn’t one. “Antoine had a lady friend of his take mine off of me. She had to put some special sauce, um, not sauce, but special lotion maybe on my arm to make it fall off.”
I looked at Evan, oddly curious about the importance of these bracelets now, and making note to share this information with Serena. Perhaps she could make sense of it.
Evan nodded his head, and pulled Natalia in closer to him. “Nat, lost it. She fell to the floor, crying, and when she did this glow erupted from her. All around us, the neglected dead plants just kind of blossomed and started coming back around. They held the same faint glow she did at first, and then it would fade away, but the healthy blossoming plants remained.”
“I don’t know what happened, or why I can do these things. You have to believe me.” Natalia’s eyes rose to meet my own, and all I saw there was fear. “I didn’t try to hurt your baby, only bless her like our people always do.” Tears were streaming down the girl’s face as I went to her and put my arm around the side that wasn’t held tightly to Evan.
“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” I whispered to her. I know just the person to ask for help.
“We tried,” she told me. “There was a lady, Layla, she was like walking moonbeams to me, so beautiful. We tried to talk to her about what was happening to me, and she helped me get control of it, when it was obvious I couldn’t stop the light from coming.” Natalia looked over to where Mikael now held Willow. “I did not mean for the light to leak out around her, but I don’t think it will hurt her either.”
I spoke to Evan then, “this Layla, she was a witch?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know anything else about her, that might be useful?” Something about that name was niggling at the back of my mind for some reason. I just couldn’t pinpoint why.
“She told us she would much rather consult with one of her sisters, because she wasn’t that great with creation and healing magic. She said the most she could do was teach Natalia to control it, so that it wouldn’t overwhelm her and show itself at inopportune times.”
“What did the other sister say, when this Layla consulted her?” I asked.
“She didn’t say anything. I wasn’t about to trust yet another witch after what I watched you go through with Sophia. I told her not to contact anyone else, and just to teach Nat how to control it. It was a good place to start anyway.” Evan’s cobalt eyes stared into mine pleadingly. “Jess you have to believe that she didn’t mean any harm.”
“I believe you both, but we still don’t know what the light means, or what it might lead to.” I shivered a little when I thought about all the possibilities. “I’m going to call Serena. If she’s still close by, maybe she can stop in and have a look at Willow, then take a peek at what’s going on with Natalia. You never know, she may be more forthcoming with an explanation, or know of a better way to help since what you’re doing isn’t working very well.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
“Yeah, just don’t be offended when I ask you to stay with someone else while you’re here. No one seems to know what the hell is going on with Natalia’s glowing abilities, and until we understand it, I can’t have her around my daughter.”
“I understand.” Natalia said quickly, as she grabbed my hand in an apologetic gesture. I didn’t mean to, but everywhere that her skin touched my own began to tingle, so my initial reaction was to snatch my hand back immediately. Natalia looked hurt, but said nothing. Evan’s look was less forgiving.
“We’ll go see if Asi has room for us.” His curt announcement bespoke his irritation.
“No!” The word left my mouth before I could stop it. I knew the moment it came out that it would sound as though I was giving them a command, but there was no way I meant for it to come off like that. “I mean, I would really like it if you’d stay with my parents for now.”
“Why the hell would we do that, Jess? Are we prisoners of the pack now?” Evan’s anger was getting the better of him, and he wasn’t trying to keep it contained any longer.
“Guests, Evan. My mother’s skills…” I stopped short of telling him that I thought my mother could tamp down any overflowing magic that Natalia was putting off. I honestly didn’t want Natalia herself to know what my mother was capable of.
“Your mother’s skills, what? Could possibly keep us in check, keep us held hostage until your witch of a great-grandmother gets here to tell you if Nat is safe or not?”
“Stop right there, brother.” Mikael’s sharp tone caught everyone by surprise, as he had been mostly quiet during this exchange. “You are going to remember your place here. Jess is the White Wolf, the ruler of our people, whether you like it or not. She is trying to help.”
“Help? She just snatched her own hand away from Nat, like she was burning her.”
“Maybe she was,” Mikael noted. “Did you even think to ask?”
“What?” Evan’s shock couldn’t be hidden, neither could Natalia’s.
“Did you bother to ask Jess why she snatched her hand away?”
“There’s no need. It’s obvious why she did it. She’s afraid of what she doesn’t understand.” He sneered at me then, in disdain. “The one person I thought would understand when strange things started happening to another person.”
“It tingled,” I whispered. Everyone grew quiet, except Evan who was still railing about the injustice of me being afraid of the unknown. I hadn’t even realized I had been rubbing my hands together for warmth since I pulled away from Natalia’s hold.
“Evan, listen to her.” Natalia offered, and he shut his mouth and listened, finally.
“When she touched me, the skin on skin contact held a tingling sensation.” I stopped rubbing my hands together, and dropped them to my sides, not wanting to call any more attention to the weirdness.
“What?” Evan looked as puzzled as I felt.
“I was not jerking back in fear as you suggested. I just didn’t know if that tingling was a good or bad thing. Not that it matters that I had a weird reaction to your mate’s touch, because we will get to the bottom of that and figure out why. Now, I am simply concerned about your nature, and the manner in which you feel justified to speak to me. I won’t be talked down to for erring on the side of caution, Evan. Clearly, something is going on with Natalia, and it affected me physically, which means it probably did with my daughter as well, only she can’t tell us about it yet.” This snapped him back to full attention.
In fact, I now had everyone’s attention with that statement, and Mikael finally started to look worried. “I don’t know what it means, or if it’s even anything to get all worked up over yet. The fact remains that none of us know what is going on, and until we do, it’s best that she stays with my mom. I am sending you to her, because she can calm people without having to touch them. You have no clue if Natalia’s gifts might also cause harm, as they seemingly did magic on the plants you described. If it looks or feels like something is off, my mom may be the only person here who can help control that. At least, until we can get a witch in here who might have seen this kind of thing before.”
“Okay, fine.” Evan relented, as he took one last look at Willow. I get it.”
“Now, I just needed to warn my parents that you’re coming, so give me a moment to contact them, please.”
INFLUX OF MAGIC
“Serena, I know you’re busy over there, but we could really use your input on this one.”
“It’s fine,” Serena’s voice came through warmly on the phone. “I believe Avery was already planning a trip to visit your pack and trade information on the disappearances and murders.
I suppose it will be as good a time as any for him to do that, and for me to check into what’s going on with Natalia.” Serena paused for a moment before continuing. “You say you felt a tingling sensation when she touched you?”
“Yes, I did, but only where our skin came into direct contact.”
“And the glowing light coming from her, was it somewhat like what you saw when you mated with Mikael? Or was it something else altogether?”
“Hmm,” I thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it, I suppose it was a lot like that light.” When Serena said nothing I continued on, “does that mean something to you? She wasn’t doing some weird bonding thing with my daughter was she?”
“I don’t think her light has anything to do with bonding, Jess. No need to worry just yet, we’ll see what it all means when I get back there.”
~*~
A few hours after I spoke with Serena she was knocking on my front door with Avery Daniels in tow. I opened the door, looking from one to the other. I noticed how close they stood to one another before I moved out of the way and invited them inside. “Avery, I figured you would be doing business with my father while you were here.”
“I do plan to see your father, but I thought I would come and give my congratulations to you and Mikael first.” He fiddled with something he had behind his back then. When I glanced down quizzically, he grinned and handed me a beautiful pink gift bag. “Annalise sends her regards, and told me if I didn’t bring this, she’d never speak to me again.”
I laughed as I took the bag from Avery, and peeked inside. His youngest daughter was as thoughtful as they come. There were a myriad of baby supplies inside, as well as a mobile to hang above her crib. I took the mobile out and marveled at the detail that went into making it. This was clearly no store bought piece. It looked almost like a dream catcher, but dangling from the ends of each webbed circle were tiny little wolves. “Did she make this?”
“She did,” Avery beamed with pride as I continued to inspect each little wolf. The one at the bottom of the mobile was completely white.
“This is absolutely gorgeous.” My words were nothing more than a whisper as I continued to marvel at the workmanship that went into the piece.
“Annalise will be ecstatic to know how much you appreciated the work that went into it.” Serena offered as she brushed past me to go seat herself in the living room.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners? Please, come in.” I offered Avery. “Sierra is actually upstairs right now with Willow and baby Jack. I can have her bring them down though.”
“Actually, this is where I run off to join your father on all of our joint business matters, although I’m sure we will have to get together before I head back home later. I think, judging from what your father has mentioned that you should be in the loop on what is happening with our two packs.” He searched my face to see if I understood what he was talking about, so I nodded. I did, indeed. All the girls who were being abducted and drained were similar to me in appearance. Avery scanned behind me then, for Serena, before continuing. “Let me know when you’re done here, or if you need to stay longer, and I will try to coordinate my schedule with that.” His eyes lingered on her a little longer than they used to, and when I turned to see her reaction, I could have sworn I saw a blush flush out across her high cheek bones.
I saw Avery out and came to sit with Serena. “You know, if he’s headed to my family’s house, we should have gone with him. Evan and Natalia are staying there for now. I thought it best to have my mom keep watch on her, just in case.”
“That was smart. I wanted to be able to talk to you about everything you witnessed first before we speak to them. I’d rather not be taken by surprise.”
“Speaking of surprises…” I questioned, and when Serena didn’t bite, I added, “what’s going on with you and Avery?”
“There’s nothing going on with Avery and I.”
“Mhmm…”
Serena tossed a sharp look my way that meant I needed to drop the subject, but her cheeks did all the talking for her. The blush had grown as she said his name. She opted for a quick subject change instead of trying to persuade me though. “That mobile is a truly exquisite work of art, is it not?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.” I admitted. I really do need to make the trip, with Willow, soon to go see Annalise and Andy.” I smiled at that. “I’m still getting used to the fact that they got together. I bet Avery totally blew his stack.”
Serena quirked her eyebrows up at that, a smirk appearing at the corner of her mouth. “Indeed, he did, as you say, blow his stack.” Her light chuckle reverberated through the room with a life of its very own. It was rare to hear Serena laugh, but when she did, I would swear it was like being in a princess movie, where the birds chirped just for her. She was magic incarnate. “At any rate,” she finally continued on, “she will be pleased that you loved it.” Serena sat up a bit straighter, and put her no-nonsense business face back in place. The transformation was astounding. One moment, she was a free, magical, happy cartoonish character. The next, she became a woman to be reckoned with. “Now, on to the business at hand. I need to know everything that took place with Natalia before we call them to us.”
~*~
“Thank you for coming,” I greeted Natalia and Evan as they entered my house.
“It’s not like we had a choice,” Evan complained.
Natalia glared at him, and apologized, “please, forgive him. He has no manners.”
“I am well aware.” I agreed.
“I would like to have help. To understand what has happened to me, and how to control it better.” Natalia seemed genuine. Her thick accent washed over me in waves as she spoke, calming my nerves. It took a moment before I realized something wasn’t quite right about that, and I shook free of the feeling.
“Did you…” I didn’t even finish getting the question out before Serena was upon us.
“You, my dear, just glamoured the White Wolf. I think this is far more serious than we originally thought.” Serena tugged on Natalia’s arm, and pulled her into my living room. Before I could follow, Evan stopped me.
“What just happened?” He actually looked concerned now.
“A feeling of calm washed over me, like I was okay with what Natalia could do, and nothing was wrong. I was ready to just go bake some cookies, and invite her to stay for tea, but...” I bit into my lip as I thought about what snapped me out of it. “I don’t know. Something deep down inside me told me it was a lie, and the minute I let that doubt kick into full gear the feeling of calm fell away.” I studied Evan’s expression and he was not happy to hear the latest news. “She doesn’t affect you, does she?”
“No. At least, not that I am aware. I have seen her affect other things, and people before, but I never felt any different during those times either. Just like now, with you. I knew something was off, but I didn’t feel it myself.”
“You do remember when I told you yesterday that I would hunt you down to the ends of the earth and beyond if you didn’t play this straight with me?” He nodded that he remembered. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about her doing this to people before?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think she would be able to affect you. I mean, you’re the White Wolf. You even managed to beat my father’s compulsion.”
I sighed then. “You know, maybe your bond makes you immune to whatever is going on with her. We’ll talk to Serena about that in a minute though. Come on, we better not miss any of this.”
I listened as Evan and Natalia re-told the story of how she discovered her abilities, watching Serena for any sign that she was afraid or worried. I saw only interest on her part.
“So, these abilities didn’t really manifest until after you became a mated pair?” Evan and Natalia looked at each other then, and while Evan acknowledged what Serena said, Natalia appeared thoughtful instead.
“No, I think I remember my sister and I making things glow when I w
as younger, but…”
“But what?” Serena prodded.
“It’s like the memory has just come back to me. It wasn’t there before, so maybe I am just making the memories happen in my head while searching for an explanation?”
“You said you and your sister both had bracelets given to you by your mother?”
“Yes, we did.”
“And yours was taken off by a woman Antoine knew?”
“That is correct.”
“Did these things also start happening after the bracelet was taken off?”
“I don’t know. I was given some kind of medicine from the woman. It made me not feel so good all the time, and there are spots that I don’t remember. Everything is blank, but the girls say I was gone for long periods of time.”
“Hmmm,” Serena offered, as she took a closer look at the woman who sat before her. “Okay, but you definitely noticed things beginning to happen often after you were mated with Mikael?”
“Yes, everything was normal for a while, when I was first brought here. I don’t remember having any odd things happen. Not until we became mated. The first time I saw the light, since I was a child, was then. And again when we found my sister’s bracelet.”
“Very interesting.” Serena stated before turning in my direction. “Didn’t your abilities begin to skyrocket after you were mated with Mikael?”
“Um, I’m not sure if there was a direct correlation with that. I mean, my abilities were already on an incline at that point.”
“I suppose so,” Serena added. “I feel as though we should call my sister in on this. She would know better than anyone how to handle this type of situation.”
“We had a witch help before, when we were still in Romania.” Natalia looked nervous as she mentioned this, because it had clearly been left out of their story.
Evan turned toward me, “We told you that Nat got everything under control for a while before we came back this way, and that a witch named Layla helped with that.” Serena turned to me then, with a questioning look as if the name Layla should mean something to me. I had honestly forgotten her name when I retold Evan and Natlia’s story to her. Evan continued talking though, so I turned my attention back to him. “Well, we ran into the witch while we were trying to figure out what was triggering the episodes with Nat, and the witch happened to see her in action.”
Bound by the Moon (The Ancients Series Book 4) Page 3
