“I can’t wait to hear this,” Max groused, shaking his head with a smile.
“I repeated a spell—some mumbo-jumbo in Latin.” She held up her phone with a text message from someone named Spooky Chick. “You can read it if you’d like. Essentially, I stole Escobar’s magic by opening up that bag of tricks and touching him. Whatever’s in that bag activates some sort of energy I’m still not sure I understand. Then, coupled with Dianna’s magic, and all of us holding hands, we created a potent conduit. That conduit created a current and brought you both back to life.”
“And stole Escobar’s magic?”
Faith winced again, smoothing her hand over her mussed hair. “I’m afraid he’s magicless now. A mere mortal forever.”
Derrick shook his head. “But wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of sacrifice? A life for a life, Escobar said.”
Faith nodded. “Losing his magic was the sacrifice—losing his immortal life, specifically,” she explained.
Derrick couldn’t help but laugh. “Dang, Mom. Who do you know who has a spell like that just sitting around?”
Faith patted his cheek and grinned. “I’ve been around a long time, honey, and being around a long time means I know a lot of people. Some of them witches. And as an aside, if you talked to me more, shared what’s troubling you, you’d have known that and maybe I could have helped much sooner.”
“But then again, maybe this was the part of the curse that needed to happen. The impossible?” Max asked, hugging his mother.
“Good point, son. I hope that’s true because wow, I don’t ever want to have to hear those words come from your brother’s mouth again.”
Derrick hugged her. “You could have been killed,” he murmured against the top of her head, fighting the residual waves of sheer terror the notion brought.
Faith leaned back in his embrace and grinned. “But I wasn’t, and neither was Martine, and that was the point. To save the mate you claim you don’t want for a mate. Now, I don’t fancy running back home again in shift. It’s cold and whether I like to admit it or not, my bones aren’t as young as they used to be. So I’m going to call a car service, let them charge me an arm and a leg to drive me all the way back to Cedar Glen, and leave the two of you to work this out. Maybe I can talk Dianna into coming with me so we can get to know each other.”
“Why would you want to get to know her?” Derrick asked.
Faith sighed and chucked him under his chin like she used to when he was six. “Oh, I think you know the answer to that, honey. Don’t play dumb—not after all this.”
He knew.
Now he had to convince Martine she knew, too.
* * *
Dianna gripped Martine’s hand, her eyes pleading with her daughter. “Do you understand why I protected you for so long now? Why I never wanted you to have to live with my mistakes?”
Martine’s head swirled with information, dizzy from not just the recounting of how she’d died and Derrick had offered his life up for hers, but of her mother’s admission. Seeing her mother for the first time in so long, so much smaller than she remembered, almost defeated, made Martine want to throw herself into Dianna’s arms and never let go.
But she’d been a part of this ruse. This maddening, insane ruse.
Pinching her temples with her fingers, Martine pressed her mother for answers. “So Dad didn’t know who you really were? Where you really came from?”
Dianna’s eyes went sad, the fine lines around them becoming more pronounced. “No, but he wasn’t always like he is now, honey. When I met him he was charming and funny, and I fell wildly in love with him. I was swept away. My parents warned me all my life about the lengths people would go to if they knew who I was, but I didn’t listen. I, much like you, wanted to be free of all the restrictions they’d placed on my life.”
Martine shook her head. “It wasn’t you who restricted me, Mom.”
“I didn’t do it purposely. I did it to keep you safe. Anyway, the only smart thing I did after meeting your father was not tell him who I really was or at least my real last name. I used my mother’s maiden name. Thinking back on it now, I don’t know what kept me from telling him. Intuition, maybe?”
Imagining her father anything but surly and angry was almost impossible. “So you married him…”
Dianna shook her head, tucking her hair back behind her ears and gave her a sheepish smile. “Against both our families wishes in one impulsive, defiant trip to Vegas and a visit to a sketchy warlock—which is how two familiars are bound for eternity.”
“So Dad’s family didn’t want him to marry you either?”
Dianna’s eyes shadowed briefly. “Oh, no. Your grandfather didn’t think I was good enough for your father. He wanted him to marry up. His father was particularly vocal about how Gavin would never amount to anything with me as a wife. Your grandfather didn’t care how much I loved your father, or thought I loved him. He wanted someone with power and money to support his son—a son he’d clearly recognized as lazy and worthless long before I did. Which is the reason why I didn’t tell your grandfather who I really was either. I was fine with him thinking I was an average familiar.”
Martine frowned. She knew almost nothing about her father’s side of the family. To hear they thought her mother wasn’t good enough made her wonder if some of her father’s behavior stemmed from years of their criticism.
“And then you got pregnant with me.”
Her mother’s eyes warmed. “Yes, and when I found out I was pregnant, I almost told him who I was. But that was around the time I began to realize your father wasn’t meant to be a family man. He’d never have a steady income and we’d never be able to rely on him.”
“Yeah. That’s the father I remember,” she said, knowing it came off as bitter.
But that didn’t faze her mother. “When I found out the kind of man he was, the things he was doing behind my back, when I found out how he used his magic, all of the evil things he was willing to do in order to become more powerful, I swore I’d never let him find out about me, or use you and the magic you inherited from me. The day you were born, I cast a spell on you to keep whatever magic you had dormant, to weaken it into submission, but even that wasn’t enough to contain it, Martine. It slipped out every now and then no matter what I did to squash it. I didn’t practice magic around you for that very reason. I didn’t want you to learn. Any of it—ever.”
“But Dad knew. He told me the day I left I’d regret not practicing magic. He clearly knew I was capable.”
“He knew you were capable, of course. You were born to two familiars, honey. But there are all sorts of levels of abilities, if you will. Some familiars can practice forever and never do much more than making objects fly, and some, like me, can wreak havoc. I managed to convince him you didn’t inherit my abilities. I convinced him you were weak, but I knew someday you’d have the mark, just like I do, and then he’d find out.”
“The mark?”
Dianna slipped her shoe off, holding up her right foot and pointing to the bottom of her heel, where a deep-purple crescent moon was stamped on her skin. “This mark. The mark of my family—of your family. It’s a symbol of who we are, and the proof I needed to convince Escobar I am who I said I was. It’s also how I bargained with him for your life just before you found us.”
Her eyes went to her feet. She didn’t have a symbol of anything anywhere on her body. “But I don’t…”
“Not yet, you don’t. But you will when you’re allowed to practice.”
Nothing made sense in her world anymore. Everything was topsy-turvy, upside down. As more horror washed over her, she still had trouble wrapping her brain around one thing.
She brushed the hair from Dianna’s cheek, peering into her tortured eyes. “Okay, so why didn’t you just leave Dad? Why didn’t you go back to your family? If you’re so powerful, why did you stay with someone so horrible? Someone who was so cruel to you? A drunk!” she yelped, trying to contain her rage
for so many lost years. For her lost childhood, for the years lost with her mother.
“First of all, in the world of a familiar, when you mate, you mate for life. It’s quite rare that a divorce is granted. But there was more. I’d made my bed, now I had to lie in it, and as far as I was concerned, I deserved as much for going against my parents’ wishes. But you didn’t deserve the life you were given, and I considered leaving every day. But…”
Martine held her breath, wrapping the sweater tighter around her. “But?”
“As I said, familiars don’t allow divorce, and there’s an old law—very old, mind you. One almost no one ever calls upon, but one I’m sure your father would have used and gotten away with…”
Now she rolled her eyes. A law. Of course there was a law. There was always a law, a rule, a bullshit reason why you couldn’t just live your life when you were paranormal. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
Dianna gripped her hand. “Your father told me he’d kill me if I ever left him, and in the world of a familiar, he could have done it and been well within his rights,” she replied, her voice hitching, the fear in it so very real.
Clearly, today was the day of bombshells. “So you were afraid.”
“I was terrified. But it wasn’t just your father I was afraid of, Martine. It was your grandfather, too. He hated the idea of your father marrying me. He knew there was no way out once the deed was done. But he would have loved an excuse to kill me. If I left and took you with me, he would have helped your father hunt me down, Martine, and there was no way on earth I was leaving you in their hands. I had to protect you at all costs.”
Who was this man? This man she’d never even heard mentioned in polite conversation. “Who is my grandfather? Who is this son of a bitch who has such a hold on you?”
A tear slipped from her mother’s eye. One lone, salty tear when she answered, “Escobar. Escobar is your grandfather.”
Chapter Seventeen
Martine’s eyes went wide, the wind knocked out of her.
Escobar? This man who’d kept her hostage for six months, had used her countless times to enter the realm and steal for him, was related to her? Her actual flesh and blood?
Add in Gavin and it was like finding out Charlie Manson was your long lost relative. “Escobar is my grandfather?”
Dianna reached up to cup her cheek, her fingers trembling. “I know this is too much all at once, but I need you to understand why I did what I did, Martine. I did it to protect you. It’s why I sent you away so long ago. Why I wouldn’t have any contact with you all these years—because I never wanted you to know who your father really was. Not just the spitting mad drunk, but a man who’d do anything to get what he wanted. I knew what he’d do to you if he knew what you could do, especially with your grandfather egging him on. Your father was always trying to prove something to him. If they’d known what you were capable of, I shudder to imagine the chaos…So when I found out Escobar had you—”
“You knew he was holding me hostage?” she squeaked out.
Dianna’s shoulders sagged. “Not until just a few weeks ago, and I only found out because of one of Gavin’s drunken tirades. That Escobar trusted him to keep a secret as big as kidnapping you is ludicrous. He knows what your father is like after a twelve pack.”
That’s when it hit her—hit her hard. Martine’s eyes widened, her throat tight. She gripped Dianna’s hands and asked, “It was you who rescued me, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” she offered, her voice low and hushed. “The moment I found out what your father had done, I came and got you. I can’t explain why I left you in a Dumpster at a 7-Eleven, but there was this voice in my head that told me everything would work out if I just listened to it, and anything was better than leaving you in Escobar’s clutches. If I hadn’t taken you, he would have drained you and killed you. I couldn’t let that happen, Martine. Wouldn’t.”
Martine’s head dropped low as she fought tears. This news changed everything. Her mother wasn’t a weak coward. She was amazing, and so much stronger than Martine had ever given her credit for. This had happened for a reason, all of it—right down to dumping her at the 7-Eleven.
Still, she had to say the words out loud. “So all those years with my father—all this time…it was for me?”
Dianna lifted her chin, her face streaked with tears. “Yes. I was terrified Escobar and your father would find out about who I am and what you can do—so rather than risk your safety, I decided to keep my enemy close,” she said on a sob.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.” She pulled her mother into a hug, inhaling her scent, letting it soothe her.
Dianna patted her back and sniffed. “But some good did come of it, because you found a big, handsome man to spend the rest of your life with. He loves you, Martine. He doesn’t know that’s what it’s called yet, but that’s what it is. Don’t hide from what you’re feeling because of the example your father and I set. I know that’s what you’re doing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Let yourself feel what I know deep down inside you’re feeling for him—and explore it, take your time while you do it, but don’t walk away until you do. Please.”
Martine finally smiled, and it felt good. “The way you explained things, you were willing to kill Derrick to save me, Mom. How’s that going to pan out come Thanksgiving when we’re all sitting around the table? Pass the stuffing, attempted murderer?”
Dianna smiled and laughed, too. “Don’t be silly, young lady. I was going to do no such thing. I was going to steal Escobar’s magic while he was out cold and use it to reanimate you and Derrick. But Derrick’s mother saved us all instead.”
Martine let her side sag against the cracked wall, taking deep breaths when Derrick came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, forcing her to lean on him. “Hey, you two all right?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully, smiling at her mother and entwining her fingers with his. “But I think I will be. I think we all will be.”
Faith approached them and held out a hand to Dianna. “I think we need to get to know each other. I mean, we did just commit a paranormal felony together, and we are going to be family whether these two youngsters think so or not. So why not join me, maybe come back to Cedar Glen to get your wits about you—get back on your feet? We’ll take really good care of you,” she coaxed with a smile.
“Um, speaking of a paranormal felony,” Derrick said, interrupting them. “What do we do about him and this mess?” He pointed to Escobar, who was rousing from his unconscious state, and then to the enormous fallout in the hallway.
Dianna’s cheeks flushed red. “Oh, we can’t have these poor tenants come home from work to this, and we certainly don’t want that man out in the hall to remember anything. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. It’s a simple spell. Anyone in the building who might have seen what happened won’t remember a thing when I’m done,” she assured them.
Martine grabbed her mother’s hand and smiled. She didn’t want to let go, didn’t want her mother to run back to Gavin out of fear. There was nothing to fear anymore. Not as long as she was around. “I’m not very good at it, obviously, but if you show me how to do whatever it is you do, maybe I can help you clean up? And will you come back to Cedar Glen, Mom? I’d really love to spend some time with you…”
Another tear seeped from the corner of her mother’s eyes. “What we do, Martine. I’m going to teach you to love being who you are. And I’d love to go to Cedar Glen, honey. As to this mess, this one’s on me. You and your handsome man go home and work things out. You have a lot of talking to do. I’m sure Derrick’s mother will help me, won’t you, Faith?”
Derrick’s mother wrapped an arm around Dianna’s smaller shoulders and smiled. “You bet I will. I say we start with Mr. Warlock here. As a parent, I’m not sure how I can let such poor behavior, by a family member no less, go without some sort of consequences. What do you think, Dianna?”
Dianna laughed as she and F
aith picked their way over the debris. “Consequences ahoy!”
Derrick turned Martine in his arms, pulling her close and resting his chin on the top of her head.
She smiled into his chest—relieved and happy. So happy, she was almost afraid to enjoy it. Her mother was coming back to Cedar Glen. That was the first step to leaving her father. For right now, that was enough.
“So, Pussycat, speaking of Cedar Glen. Let’s make a deal.”
Martine chuckled against his pec. “Haven’t we done this before, Farm Boy?”
Tipping her chin up, he kissed the tip of her nose. “We have indeed. But this one’s going to be a little different.”
Melting against the shelter of his body, she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist. “Oh, really. How so?”
“Don’t make any decisions now. Not about your future or your mother or anything else for at least the next week, until the mate. During that week, get to know me. Date me, for lack of a better term. And at the end of the week, we’ll talk about where to go from there.”
“Date you, huh?” she asked on a playful smile. “I hope that means you’re paying for everything because I’m flat broke.”
“It means we do this like two people who really like each other. You stay at my mom’s or Nat’s. I text you lame texts just to say hello. You giggle and twirl your hair. We go out to dinner. We take walks. Maybe I send you some flowers. You know, date stuff.”
“Stay at your mother’s? So no sex until the mate? What kind of hedonist are you?” she teased, pressing her lips to his, woozy with delight that Derrick wanted to court her.
“The kind who wants you to decide whether you want to stay in Cedar Glen forever without me muddying the waters with my amazing sexual prowess.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “And if I don’t?”
Derrick chuckled. “I’ll call you crazy and find a cuter witch.”
What's New, Pussycat? (Wolf Mates Book 2) Page 19