I was used to tears, and I was used to being a shoulder to cry on for my friends, but this woman was a stranger, and if she started bawling, things would get awkward. I had two choices, ignore the sheen of tears or ask about them.
She gave me a watery smile.
Aw, fuck it. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She sniffed and stroked Rune’s head. “I just…You spoke to him directly.”
“Is that a problem?”
Had I made some dire wolf faux pas?
“No, no. It’s just…everyone always speaks to him through me.”
“Okay, now I’m intrigued.”
“I’m Halle,” she said. “Rune’s twin sister.” She looked down at her brother. “Rune is the ascending alpha of the Holm Pack and, um… He’s been in wolf form most of his life.”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “I suppose if he prefers it, then cool.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Rune made a soft growling sound, and she snapped it closed and looked down at him for a long beat. Fuck, they were communicating, or he was communicating with her. This was possible between Loup when they were in Loup form, but I’d never seen it done like this. Must have been something to do with their twin bond, or maybe dire wolf dynamics were different.
Halle smiled brightly at me. “Once you’re bonded to Rune, you’ll be able to communicate with him directly for real.”
“Oh?”
“Anchor perk,” she said.
“There are perks, huh?”
“Oh, so many…” It was her turn to frown. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“What the bond is… What it’s like?”
“No, I—”
“It’s not good enough!” Anna’s raised voice cut across the platform.
“Uh-oh,” Halle said. “This drama.”
“Care to fill me in?”
She leaned in conspiratorially. “Well, finding an anchor was one problem, but we’re also down an alpha.”
“What?”
She nodded slowly. “Uh-huh, Torsten is refusing to come home and do his duty.”
Torsten, the third alpha? “Well, that hardly seems fair. I mean, he knows what’s at stake, right?”
“Yep, but Torsten has always been a law unto himself. He’s always been volatile, but about a year ago, he just upped and left. He’d rather palm off his duty to another alpha in his pack. Problem is, the binding needs primal bloodlines.”
“And what are those?”
“The original bloodlines of the alphas who signed the covenant.”
“Okay. Got it. Go on.”
“Torsten is the last of the Mana Pack’s primal bloodline, just like Rune and I are the last of Holm Pack’s primal line. I mean, Mana could give the coven another alpha, but it probably won’t work, and then we’d all be fucked.”
Leif and Anna were speaking low and urgent, and now I knew what they were discussing, the tension in the air was evident. My being here was useless without all three alphas being on board, and as much as I’d hated the idea of doing this, I hated the idea of my friends being in danger even more.
It was obvious that this Torsten guy needed a good kick up his arse, and if he thought he was volatile, he hadn’t seen my manic gene in action.
I jerked my head in their direction and then wandered closer with Halle in tow.
“The ceremony will take place in less than two weeks at the blood moon,” Anna said to Leif. “We need him.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Leif asked. “But I also know Tor; he’s made up his mind. We can’t force him into this. It’s got to be voluntary, and Ulf has volunteered in Torsten’s place.”
“Ulf isn’t primal stock,” Anna reminded him. “It’s too huge a risk. If the ceremony fails, the present anchor won’t survive till the next blood moon, and the seal… The seal will be broken.”
I joined them. “What’s this guy’s problem anyway?”
Both Leif and Anna turned to look at me, but it was Leif who answered.
“Torsten doesn’t want to anchor himself to anyone. He wants to be free, away from compacts and ancient threats.”
Oh boy, could I understand that, but if I had to do this, then so did he. He was going to have to put his big boy pants on and deal with it. “Where is he?”
“Why?” Leif asked.
“Because I’m going to go get him.”
“You?” He looked perplexed then worried. “Not a good idea. Torsten is…dangerous and volatile. The wolves that Sten—his uncle, the current alpha—sent to bring him home came back beaten so badly they took days to heal.”
Okay, so he got aggressive. “Would he hit a woman?”
Leif looked horrified. “Torsten may be a lot of things, but he would never hurt a female.”
“Okay, if I have that in my arsenal, maybe I can get him to listen to me.”
Leif didn’t look convinced.
I smiled sweetly up at him. “I don’t take no for an answer, and I’m not easily intimidated.” I grinned. “I also have gorgeous cornflower blue eyes.” I fluttered my lashes. “And other distracting assets, and if all those techniques fail to get him to listen, I’ll teleport his ass here, and we can lock him up until we wear him down.”
Leif snort-laughed, then looked surprised at himself. “I like the way you think.”
“No,” Anna said. “The Order is out there, waiting for a chance to end you. You’re not safe outside these walls. Not until after the blood moon ceremony.”
“Which won’t happen unless Torsten gets his ass back here.” I arched a brow.
“She has a point,” Leif said. “We need this binding to work. I’ll go with her.”
“I can take care of myself.” I allowed my hands to light up with a crackle.
“Power doesn’t always do the trick,” Leif said pointedly.
He was referring to the varga attack. Had he told Anna? No, she would have said something. I needed to make sure he kept his mouth shut.
“Only in exceptional situations.” I arched a brow. “And if all ends well, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.” I slid my gaze toward Anna, then back to him, hoping he’d get the hint and keep his mouth shut.
“Agreed,” he said.
“What am I missing?” Halle said, looking between Leif and me.
“The slau,” Leif said without taking his gaze off my face. “The slau is immune to magic.”
Oh crap, he had a point. It was the slau that was after me.
I looked at Anna. “So, give me something to keep it at bay.”
She sucked in her cheeks. “We have wards. We had them on the potentials’ hideout, but they proved defective. Maybe an error in the enchantment… But they’ve always worked in the past.” She gnawed on her bottom lip. “Do you really believe you can bring him back?”
“Look, I don’t know this guy, but I know me, and I can be very persuasive. It’s either this plan or we use a non-primal alpha and risk the seal blowing up.”
She nodded. “I’ll get a personal ward commissioned for you. It’ll take a couple of days, but you can take that time to get familiar with the coven. Charlotte wishes to meet you too.” Her eyes grew sad. “She’s taking visitors tomorrow.”
Charlotte? Bramble had mentioned her too. “Is Charlotte the current anchor?”
“Yes,” Leif said. “A formidable woman.” He sounded genuinely fond of her. “You have some big shoes to fill, Cora.”
It was the first time he’d said my name, and it rolled off his tongue in a way that made my stomach flip, but I was an expert at hiding my emotions.
I met his gaze levelly. “I’m not one to shy away from a challenge, Leif.” I said his name softly, hoping I’d pronounced it right.
A strange expression crossed his face.
“What? Did I say it wrong?”
“No.” A small smile played on his lips. “Then we have that in common.”
His words gave me a warm rush.
Rune brushed past me, and then he and Leif vanished into the darkness.
Halle lingered, looking torn, like she wanted to say something.
“What is it, Halle?” Anna asked. “Spit it out.”
“What if Torsten doesn’t come back? What if Cora fails?” She glanced at me. “No offense.”
I shrugged. “None taken.”
“Do we have a Plan B?” Halle asked.
Anna’s expression was grim. “Yes. We do.”
“And?” Halle pressed. “Care to share?”
Anna’s smile was wry. “If the seal fails, there is only one thing to do. Fight.”
Chapter Ten
The mansion was a monolith of corridors and rooms, and I was too tired to make a thorough observation as Anna led me through stone arches decorated with etchings of serpents and up steps, past pretty moldings of crossed sconces and strange ornate wheels.
Silence reigned like a thick fog, and not a single soul crossed my path.
It was late, yes, but this was a coven. A huge coven. Surely there should be someone about? “Where is everyone else?”
“The other witches are either on patrol or asleep. We have a strict system in place, and it works to keep us safe.”
“Wait, patrol?”
She glanced over a shoulder with an arched brow. “Oh yes, Cora. We aren’t like the other covens, having tea parties and throwing balls while the Magiguard do the legwork. We work to protect our interests.”
“Your interests?”
“Humans.”
“Ah yes, the producers of miasma.”
She looked impressed. “You’ve done your research.”
Meh. More like listened to Elijah’s history lesson. “Yep. So, what is it you patrol for? The varga?”
“No. The varga can render our magic mute. The packs deal with them. We have other responsibilities.”
A breeze tickled the back of my neck, my skin prickled, and a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform, complete with a white cap and apron, shot through a door and came to a halt before Anna. Her bottom half wavered the way specters did when agitated.
“Oh, Mistress Anna,” she said. “It’s not going well. Not well at all.”
Anna came to a halt with a sigh. “You explained the situation?”
“Oh yes, but they’re stubborn buggers. They won’t shift. They say it’s their home.” She looked sympathetic.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, they’re ghosts. They can haunt any part of the damn mansion.”
A frown crossed the maid’s brow, but she covered it with a polite smile. “Yes, Mistress.”
“You explained that the new anchor needs the wing?”
“They refuse to give it to her.”
Anna pinched the bridge of her nose.
“What’s going on?” I looked from the spectral maid to Anna, then back again.
“The residents of the east wing won’t vacate it,” the maid said. “They’ve been there for a…a long time.”
Anna sighed. “We need to house you in the east wing. We’re short on space.”
Was she serious? “This place is huge. How many witches do you have living here?”
“Too many,” Anna said. “And not all are living.” She pursed her lips.
Oh… “They haven’t…moved on…”
Anna’s jaw jutted. “We, as the original witches, have the prerogative not to move on. Grimswood is an anchor for us if we choose to remain.”
Her tone was sharp with annoyance, but I didn’t think it was at my question, more aimed at the predicament. I mean, whoever had come up with the you-can-hang-out-here-for-all-eternity obviously hadn’t thought it through too well.
Outlier souls went somewhere different from human souls, but I had no clue about the rules. “So, the residents of the east wing are ghosts.”
“The oldest of our kind,” Anna said. “The first elder council.” She squared her shoulders. “It looks like I’ll need to speak to them myself.”
The maid melted back through the wall, and Anna continued down the corridor to a set of double doors where she stopped to retrieve a key from her pocket and unlock the doors. She took a deep breath and pushed them open.
A gust of musty air hit me as we stepped through into a gray, dismal corridor. Grimy windows with stone ledges made up the wall on the right. There were cobwebs and dust, and it looked like this wing hadn’t been lived in for years.
Well, not by the living anyway.
“I’ll have the maids clean up the wing,” Anna said, setting off at a clip again. “But they’ve prepared your quarters.”
“Her quarters?” A wizened figure appeared by the window, ethereal and silver. “This is our domain.”
“Meredith, please…” Anna said.
“We had a deal.”
“Things have changed,” Anna said. “The potentials for this year were all murdered.”
“This year…” Meredith frowned. “What year is this?” Her face crumpled in confusion.
“It doesn’t matter,” Anna said. “All that matters is we make the new anchor comfortable.”
“Then make her comfortable elsewhere.” Meredith’s expression set mulishly. “The manor is filled with empty rooms.”
“It would be if any of you agreed to pass over,” Anna bit out.
“As if you wouldn’t opt to stay,” another voice said.
I scanned the corridor, but the speaker didn’t materialize. I switched to othersight, and the world bloomed silver and gray. Several spectral forms appeared, all wizened and annoyed.
“Geraldine, she’s looking right at me,” one of the ghosts said.
“Impossible, Dottie, we’re in veil.” Geraldine patted her buddy.
I arched a brow and crossed my arms.
“No. No, she’s looking at us.” Dottie eyed me warily.
“Oh…” Geraldine locked gazes with me. “Oh, well…”
“You can see them?” Meredith asked me.
“Yeah. I can see them.”
Anna blinked at me in surprise. “How?”
I shrugged. “Just a thing I can do. Look, guys—” I smiled sweetly. “You’re right, this mansion is big enough for all of us. I mean, this wing is huge, right?”
They watched me guardedly.
“And I’m new and feeling kinda lost. I mean, I’d hate to be shoved in here all by myself.” I widened my eyes in a lost girl way. “I could use the company, if you’ll have me.”
Wren chose that moment to poke his head over my shoulder.
Geraldine let out a shriek, hand going to her chest, but Dottie’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, my. What a cutie.” She drifted closer. “Hello, sweetie, hello.”
“Hello,” Wren said.
She squeaked in surprise and clasped her hands together. “Oh, so adorable.”
Wren scrambled over my shoulder and into my arms.
I hugged him. “This is my friend Wren. He’ll be staying here with me.”
“Wren?” Dottie said. “What a lovely name.”
“Thank you,” Wren said.
Dottie looked like she was about to melt. She turned to Meredith, and some unspoken communication seemed to pass between them.
Meredith huffed then nodded, her watery gaze fixing on me. “You can stay,” she said. “But I warn you, we like our quiet. No noisy parties.”
I bit back a snort. “I think I can manage that.”
The spirits began to drift away, but Meredith lingered. “And you,” she snapped at Anna. “Next time you want to send us a message, have the courtesy to deliver it personally.”
She trailed after the other ghosts and through a wall.
I switched out of othersight to find Anna watching me with an indecipherable expression.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Follow me.”
We continued past the windows, and I caught a glimpse
of a stone form jutting up from a ledge outside, but the moon was playing peekaboo, so it was impossible to make much out.
We took a flight of steps to an upper floor and onto a carpeted entranceway. There were no windows here, but there was a door in front of us.
Anna strode to it and pushed it open. “These are your quarters.”
The room beyond was the size of the lower floor of my house, and it was all lounge space. Cushy sofas, throws, cushions, two coffee tables, and a huge fuck-off window seat. There were bookcases lined with colorful paperbacks and even an old-style record player with a box of vinyl.
“Wow, high five to the person who decorated this space.”
Anna’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Penelope did an excellent job. I’m glad you like it.”
“Is Penelope another witch?”
Her expression clouded. “She’s my granddaughter. You’ll meet her tomorrow. She’ll show you around and answer any questions you may have.” Her gaze dropped to the amulet around my neck. “There are protective wards around the mansion, but I’m afraid only the amulet can keep your malevolent spirit at bay. Make sure to keep it on.”
She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
I slumped onto the sofa, and Wren scrambled off to explore. My hand went to the amulet, and thoughts of Jasper filled my head.
He’d come for me when the slau attacked. Tried to save me. I shook my head. He’d been saving himself, not me. That was all.
Was he okay, though? Was he hurt? Could he be hurt? Why hadn’t he come to me yet? Surely, he’d want to know I was all right.
And why the fuck did I care?
Wren rejoined me and hopped up onto the sofa. “Cora, this place is big. Do we stay here now?”
Fuck, I hadn’t even thought of that. I’d committed to being an anchor, which meant this was now my home, right?
My stomach clenched. Breathe, Cora. This is the right thing to do. The sane thing.
“Cora?” Wren touched my hand lightly with his paw and cocked his head.
I covered his paw with my hand. “Yeah, buddy. We’re staying.”
A grumble erupted from his belly, and he looked up at me with mournful eyes.
“I know, I know. You’re hungry.”
“Did you say he was hungry?” Dottie materialized by the sofa.
Witch Unexpected: The Thirteenth Sign Book 1 Page 8