by Cameo Renae
“Dad, why did the picture on our mantel say that mom died giving birth to me?” I questioned.
“I wrote that because I knew I’d forget when we left, and didn’t want to remember the truth of how she died.”
“What is the truth?”
“I know it seems like I’m bouncing around the answer, but you need to know the entire story to understand.”
“I know. I’m not pushing,” I said, making a mental note not to keep asking him.
He smiled and continued. “I was walking out in the woods one afternoon when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see a woman standing in a long black robe, her face concealed within a large cowl. When she removed the cowl, fear overcame me for the first time since moving here.
“It was the woman. The crazed, jealous woman. And she’d somehow found us here in a place we thought we were safe. Her eyes were dark and evil, holding no emotion, and when I turned to walk away, my body froze in place. I couldn’t move, and knew she’d cast a spell on me. I was alpha of my pack and protector of my family, yet this woman had rendered me helpless.
“Then, she offered me a choice. One last chance to leave your mother and start a life with her, or suffer the consequence. My temper got the best of me. I told her she was mad, and I would never love her. Then, I watched something inside of her snap. Her eyes went completely black, and I felt an evil power exude from her.
“Her mind was so dark and twisted, and there was nothing but hatred and jealousy in her heart, harbored all those long years. She stormed off, releasing me from the spell. When I chased after her, she was nowhere to be found. Not even a scent.
“I told your mother what happened, but we weren’t even sure what she was capable of. What we didn’t know was that she’d searched to find a specific spell, so dark and so evil. An unbreakable spell that would change our lives forever. Because I didn’t choose her, I would now have to make another choice. To save the life of my wife or my daughter.
“It was on your tenth birthday when you and your mother fell ill. The mages here tried everything they could to stop the curse, to find a loophole, but they couldn’t find one in this spell. They told me I had to prepare myself, because one of you would die.” A deep sob ripped from my father’s chest. His head fell onto his crossed arms on the table. My heart was shattering, splintering for the decision he had to make. Just the thought of having to choose the life of a loved one over another was devastating. It was no wonder he decided to leave this place. He didn’t want to be haunted by the memories of that horrifying choice.
I reached over and took his hand, and he squeezed mine.
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I sobbed. “I’m sorry you had to choose between us.”
Tears welled again from his bloodshot eyes. “Your mother made me promise to choose you. Made me swear to do everything in my power to protect you, to take you away and keep you safe.” He paused and shook his head. “Your brother overheard me making the promise to your mother. He loved you, Eris, but he was just a boy who loved his mother dearly. He wanted me to choose her. Your mother loved you both fiercely, with every part of her heart, and proved she would give her life for either one of you.
“I don’t blame him for wanting to choose Mom,” I said. “If I’d known . . . If I’d understood what was going on, I would have told you to choose her, too.”
“I know you would have.” Dad gave my hand another squeeze. “The night before the spell took your mother’s life—and half of my heart—Uncle Garrick found Camden in your room. You were sound asleep, and he was standing above you with a knife in his hand.”
My chest constricted and ached. “He was going to kill me, wasn’t he? Because he wanted Mom to live.” Tears streamed down my face. “He must have hated me after she died. Hated that I was alive instead of her.” I looked up at my dad. “And hated you for choosing me.”
My dad slowly nodded. “I pray that no one else ever has to endure that kind of hell.”
I finally realized why my brother had stayed. Why the family knew it was best, and why my father left him behind. And that day, my dad not only lost his wife and mate, he’d lost his son, too.
“I’m so sorry, Dad.” I knew those words would never be enough to heal his shattered heart, but they were the only words I could find. “I have something to tell you,” I said. Now that he’d told me everything, it was time I told him about me . . . about the changes and the dreams.
So, we sat at that table, and I told him everything, and when I was done, he hugged me.
“What ever happened to the woman who cast the spell?” I asked.
“No one knows. That day I saw her in the woods, she disappeared like a shadow, not leaving any trace of being in Havenwood Falls.”
“Do you think she’s responsible for what’s happening to Camden?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I have to consider it a possibility.”
“We’ll get through this, Dad. Like we always have.”
He smiled through his tears. “Yes, we will, sweetheart. Like we always have.”
“So, now that all the secrets are out, what’s next?” I asked.
“Lyra’s daughter, Addie, will be coming to do our tattoos,” he said glancing at his watch. “She should be here soon.”
“Then what?”
“Then, I have to go meet Sheriff Kasun, and you’re going to stay here,” he said in his protective, fatherly tone. “We’re going to team up, to try and find out what’s going on.” He swiveled back toward me. “I know your aunts are taking you shopping, but remember stay with them.”
“Can’t I go with you? I want to help.”
“No,” he said firmly, then sighed. “I know you want to help, but I don’t want you anywhere near the woods. Not until we find out what’s going on.” His eyes softened. “Go have fun with your aunts. They’re excited you’re here. Okay?”
“Okay.” I threw my arms around his neck, and he hugged me back.
“I love you, Eris.”
“I know. I love you too, Daddy.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower and change before Addie gets here.”
I nodded and watched him leave.
I was trying to be strong. To show him I could handle all of this.
Outwardly, I’d become good at masking what was inside. But inside . . . inside I still had to deal with the overwhelming information about my family, who I was, and how I fit in. All while convincing myself that everything would be all right. My mother died to save me, and my brother tried to kill me. That fact alone made me wonder. Did Camden still harbor those feelings? Did he still hate me?
I’d have to prove to him that I was alive for a reason. I had to find a way to help.
Chapter 7
I was drowning in heaviness. Everything my father had shared with me—the secrets of who I really was, the curse, the promise, the reason my brother stayed—it was pressing me on all sides. The Blaekthorns were werewolves, my mother’s side was witches, and her father a werewolf hunter. Talk about dysfunctional. So, what did that make me? And Camden?
My brother had already shifted, so he fit right into the Blaekthorn pack, but I was still in limbo. Maybe I would be one of those who didn’t shift. Maybe I would embrace the other side of my heritage. I needed to find out more about my mother’s lineage, the Witheridges, and where they came from.
A knock on the door made me jump. I thought it was the girl coming to give us the tattoos, but when I opened the door, Rylan stood there.
At the sight of him, my heart flip-flopped inside my chest, and I forgot to speak.
He laughed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I wanted to ask if, maybe later, you’d like to get a burger. Or whatever it is you like. There’s a pizza joint in town, too.”
I didn’t know what to say. He was asking me to lunch, and we’d just met this morning. “My dad—” I paused, pointing upstairs.
“Yeah, I know. I just thought it’d be cool to get to know my best f
riend’s sister.”
God, he was making this hard. “I’m going into town with my aunts. But you’re welcome to come by after, if my dad isn’t here. The fridge is filled with food. I can whip something up?”
“You’re going to cook for me on our first date?”
“Date?” I squeaked. “Definitely not a date. And I won’t be cooking. I’ll probably be throwing together sandwiches.”
“That’s fine with me.” He shrugged, a crooked grin adorning his handsome face. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” I said, shutting the door behind him.
I let out a sigh of relief, thankful my dad wasn’t here when he came to the door. Rylan was the first boy who’d heard his warning and still dared to come to my house and ask me to lunch. If my dad knew, he would never let me leave. Especially on a motorcycle with a boy I’d just met, who lived next door.
Later, my dad came down, freshly showered and changed. He was wearing blue jeans and a black-and-blue flannel shirt. “You look like you belong in a cabin in the woods,” I teased.
“Well, I hope that’s a good thing.” He chuckled. A smile brightened his face. “I’m meeting the sheriff in town in half an hour, and I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. I told him I’d help, since he’s gotten a few tips. I’ll be checking out some areas while he talks to those who might have information. Uncle Barney will be coming with me, since he’s the second in command. But Uncle Garrick will be next door, in case you need anything.”
Not long after, a girl arrived at the house. She was very pretty, around five-six, in her mid-twenties, with light brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in black, with a diamond piercing in her nose and a bag slung over her shoulder. She introduced herself as Addie Beaumont, Lyra’s daughter. She had come to give me and my dad our protection tattoos. It was strange, considering myself as something other than human. And it also made me wonder . . .
Was Rylan different? Did he have a protection tattoo, too?
Addie was a lot of fun and quick with her work. She did my dad’s tattoo first, since he had to leave, and mine was next. Before she left, she told me that if I ever had any questions, I should come see her. It was great being accepted by the people in town, and I felt that maybe in the future, just maybe, Dad and I would return to Havenwood Falls and make it our home.
My dad grabbed his keys and headed for the door. “There is no ward on the property yet, so stay inside and keep the door locked. And when you go out with your aunts—”
“I know,” I sighed. “I’ll stay with them and be safe. And you be safe out there, too.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can take care of myself.”
As I watched him walk toward his truck, Uncle Barney jogged from his house to meet him. “Hey princess, if you’re bored, head next door. Your Aunt Lydia is starting her yoga session. It’ll definitely keep you entertained.” He laughed out loud before hopping into the passenger seat and shutting the door.
I giggled, watching them pull away. If Uncle Barney shaved his beard, he would be a mixture of my dad and Uncle Garrick.
And to think they were all werewolves. Werewolves. My entire family were shifters. What did they look like shifted? The thought was too overwhelming.
I closed the door and locked it behind me, then went to the fridge to see what kinds of things there were to throw together when Rylan came over. I was relieved to find cold cuts and veggies to make sandwiches. To the right of the fridge was a pantry, and inside I found some bread.
How long did they think we were going to stay here? The shelves were stocked with everything—cereal, crackers, canned goods. Then I remembered Camden was living here, too.
What was it like for him to have gone through his teenage years without a dad?
He truly missed out, because our dad had a lot of love to give. Yes, he was overprotective at times, but it was because he loved me to a fault. And I knew he would have loved Camden the same way. He still did. We were all he had left of our mother.
An hour later, my aunts collected me to go shopping. The drive into town was quick, but it was beautiful. The town was filled with lights and Christmas decorations. The shops were quaint, and it had that small-town feel and charm, and everyone we passed seemed so friendly.
We stopped at a few places, one where Aunt Lydia loaded up on fireworks, and then to a butcher shop where they bought steaks and burgers. For a break, we stopped at a quaint little shop called Coffee Haven. Inside, it smelled like heaven.
“Eris, would you like a coffee?” Aunt Vera asked.
“I’d love a mocha.”
“You got it,” she said. “After this, we’ll walk to the Backwoods Sport and Ski shop, right around the corner. They have some warm jackets and thermals.”
“Sounds good.” I’d definitely need them.
There was a line, so while my aunts waited, I decided to sit by the window. Outside, I spotted a fountain in the middle of the square, and a gazebo. This area must have looked magical at night with all the twinkle and colored lights.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of light pass by. I thought I was seeing things at first, until it zipped right past my window again, then returned, making circles directly in front of me.
I gasped, staring at the anomaly. It was my magic glimmer. It had followed me here, to Havenwood Falls.
I looked around the shop to see if anyone else noticed it, but no one did. Even the people it zipped around outside didn’t notice.
It suddenly slammed into the window, making me jump, and then zipped away. It wanted me to follow, and the urge to get up and leave was strong. Then, my dad’s voice was like a gong in my head. Stay with your aunts. Both of them were occupied, talking to other people in line.
Stay or go—that was the question.
To hell with it. This glimmer had been with me as long as I could remember, and always came when I needed it most. It was here for a reason. So, against my dad’s wishes, and in spite of the consequences, I stood and walked out the door.
The glimmer zipped around me, like it was happy I’d come, and then it started to move.
We went left down Main Street, passing Shelf Indulgence and The Haven Saloon. We kept going straight, right past the Havenwood Village Apartments. Then it took a right on Sixth and another left on Stuart Street. I had to remember these places in case the glimmer disappeared, so I could find my way back.
The frigid winter air was seeping right through my clothes, making me shiver. Down Stuart Street I began to pick up my pace to a jog. My aunts were going to freak when they found out I was missing, and I prayed they wouldn’t call my dad.
This darn glimmer had better be leading me toward something important. As we came to the end of the road, I passed a park with a plaque declaring it Cook’s Corner Park and right off it, I slowed and watched the glimmer enter a small graveled path . . . which led directly to the Havenwood Falls Cemetery.
A cemetery. Yep, I was dead. Especially when my dad found out.
Under a thick blanket of white, the cemetery was gorgeous. I could only imagine what it looked like in the summer with flowers and green grass, in its full glory. There were stone pathways, but no headstones, which was odd. But there were plaques with the names of the deceased on the stone walls surrounding me.
The glimmer led me down a maze of pathways, into different sections of the cemetery, farther and farther from the entrance. I started to second-guess myself when we finally reached a more secluded area and the glimmer stopped at the opening of a tunnel.
“Oh, hell no! If you think I’m going into that dark, creepy tunnel, you’re crazy!” I huffed at the glimmer. Thank God no one was around, or they would have thought I was mad. It zipped back and forth in front of me. “No way. I’m not going in there.” I stepped back. “I’m already in a crapload of trouble, especially when my dad finds out. I might as well pick a burial spot and start digging.”
The glimmer zipped around me and then disappeared.
I was pushed forward, gasping as the glimmer touched me. Where it made contact was warm and tingly. It’d never touched me before. It usually just hovered around me.
It was suddenly back in front of me, glowing brighter, lighting the dark tunnel before me.
“You think that’s going to help?”
It bobbed up and down as if it were nodding. This glimmer was sassy.
It zipped in front of my face, a foot away, just enough so I could focus on it. Its warmth surrounded me, making my fear and anxiety diminish.
“Fine,” I exhaled.
What was the worst that could happen anyway?
The answer: There were too many horrifying things to even attempt to count.
The trip through the tunnel wasn’t as daunting as I’d expected, and we reached the other side in no time. It exited into a wooded area, another cemetery.
I followed the glimmer until it stopped in front of a gravestone, and I noticed a large bouquet of fresh-cut red roses lying at its base. My body trembled as I made my way, finally standing in front of it.
A deep sob ripped from my chest, and my legs gave, dropping me to my knees.
“Mom,” I cried, my heart shattering into a million pieces. I’d found her. My glimmer had led me directly to her.
My fingers traced the name on the headstone.
Aurora Witheridge-Blaekthorn
Devoted wife, mother, friend
And below that was another inscription.
Those we love don’t go away.
They walk beside us every day.
Lying under the earth, right beneath me, was the woman who birthed me. Who loved and raised me, and even died for me. I wished I’d been given the chance to know her. And hoped that every single memory I’d shared with her here, good and bad, returned soon. I wanted them all. I wanted to remember and never, ever forget her again.
I knew the glimmer was near because I could feel its warmth radiating through me, like a warm blanket. But it did nothing to comfort me.