Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
She says, “I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.”
“Not so hot,” I admit. “He’s right up in my space and it… hurts. I can’t talk about it. I… can’t face all of this and all that it means. I know I’ll eventually have to, but…” I can’t finish the sentence.
Not yet. I can’t let myself process this yet. I’m glad we got interrupted because I was cracking open and everything was beginning to leak out of me. And it was too much. I’m glad we were interrupted otherwise it could’ve sent me to bed for a week, wallowing in depression. There’s no time for that. I’m on a forty-eight-hour deadline. What I need to do right now is focus on getting that petition filled with signatures. I need to figure out the best way to frame my application for a law change.
She shakes her head. “He’s getting a good helping of some bitter medicine. Medicine he needs.”
“I just want him to go away and leave me alone with my heartbreak. I feel like I’m on the verge of major grieving and it’s too much, way too much, so I’m trying really hard to stop it from penetrating.”
She gives me a kind smile.
I add, “He can’t help it that he can’t be what I wanted him to be. So, no, I’m not looking to dole out pain. I just… I can’t think long term right now, but… what’s gonna happen after the three days are up?” I ask.
“We’ll have another meeting. We’ll hear you out and then we’ll talk about it behind closed doors weighing it all out before we act.”
I blow out a breath of relief. “So… I can avoid reality for at least another two days.”
“At least.”
I do my best to shake off my emotions. “On another note… are you guys making progress on helping my parents yet? I know you’ve got your hands full, I’m just so worried about them.”
Dani nods. “Aunt Mimi thinks she can help. She should be here in a few days. Couldn’t move her flight sooner or she’d be on her way here by now. Erica can’t just siphon it away, not only because it’d need to go somewhere and we don’t want that but also because she can’t trace it. She can’t mess with it.”
“No remote magic options?”
Dani shakes her head. “Not this time. Undoing a deceased witch’s spell can only be done under very specific circumstances. Soleil was under sanctions so it’s not her spell per se, but it was done on her behalf, so we’ve got some leeway. We don’t know the coven the witch who helped was from. Aphra didn’t know either, it was some big secret, but she was formidable. We’ve had some clues and we’re on it, but … anyway, all that detail isn’t important to you. Basically, our coven should be able to fix it. It’s delicate, like pulling a thread on a knitted blanket, but making sure you stop at the right spot in a way that won’t unravel the entire thing. If anyone alive has those skills, it’s Aunt Mimi.”
I blow out a relieved breath, then ask, “What about Cicely?”
“That’s not as easy as undoing a spell, unfortunately, and undoing spells isn’t easy.”
“Yikes. I sure hope Cicely gets through this okay.”
“From what Grey and Ronnie have gleaned so far, Jared is very damaged,” Dani tells me. “Severe trauma cleaved his beast away from the rest of him. That beast is in kill mode. Sees everything around it as a threat. We’re brainstorming.”
“Is Cicely in true danger? I mean, her own mate wouldn’t harm her, would he?”
“He’s staying muzzled when he’s near her. They’ve got a big cage for him out there in a building in the woods.”
“That’s not foolproof though, is it?”
“No. And I can’t usually talk about what we do behind the scenes but because we had no knowledge, no warning about potential problems there I can say this much. It’s feeling like it’ll be okay in the end. Vivi sees a happy ending for them. What that looks like and whether or not there’ll be any casualties we don’t know, but we do know at the end, they’ll both be left standing together. You can’t tell anyone this, but it’s going to work out. It needs to. Their pairing is important for the big picture for this pack.”
“What does that mean?”
“Can’t tell you that. Shouldn’t have said as much as I did. I’m not a rule-breaker. But you and I are family, and good friends, so you’re in the girlfriend circle of trust.”
I smile, but internally I wince, resisting the urge to ask if me and Jase are part of that same big picture. Because if she says we are, that I have to suck it up and just let all this happen, I don’t know how I’ll cope. Instead, I focus on my best friend.