by Celeste Raye
Jillian didn’t stay to watch them pack up. She had done her part, and now it was time for her to go home. She stopped several places on the way, trying her best to stop any witches she knew that were powerful enough to help Freya. Freya didn’t need any more truth, she’d had enough of it, and there was sadly nothing that she could do about it.
The mother hoped that she had done enough to keep her secrets dead and buried. She worried that she hadn’t done enough, but there was no going back. She’d made her decision long ago when her daughter was small. Now it was going to get dragged into the rest of it, including the biggest secret of all. If Freya hated Jillian now, she knew that there was more to come if Freya got the answers that she was seeking.
“What happened?”
“She lied to me, that’s what happened. Well, she wouldn’t tell me everything, so that is just as bad as lying, the omission. I don’t know what else she is hiding, but I have a feeling that it isn’t going to be something that we want to hear. Maybe we should just let it lie.”
Nik knew that something must have spooked her. “Are you sure that is what you want to do? You made it seem like this was the only way that you were going to get peace.”
“Well, I thought so, but I don’t think I am ever going to get peace, no matter what I find out. I don’t think there is an end to the lies. Maybe it’s best to let it go.”
He agreed with her because he didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was. It was hard for him to see her so upset, but what he wanted to do wasn’t possible. He wanted to protect her from everything, but Nik knew that he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to believe that everything was going to work out, he knew that he wanted details. He would help her to deal with them, whatever they were, but he had to know.
The two sat on the balcony watching them go for quite some time. It was only when they were all gone that the gates went back down. The spell stayed up. Nik made sure of it because though Freya was convinced that they would do what they said they would do; he wasn’t all that sure. He wanted to keep it up just a little while longer, just in case.
Once everyone was gone, the day was almost over, but it was the perfect time for them to go out and get a bite. It had been a long time since they’d been off of the grounds.
“I can’t wait to finally start our life together—again, I should say. It’s going to take a while to get used to that.”
“I know. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I really don’t.”
Nik had to agree silently. He was going to find out. He had to know the truth; even if no one else would hear about it, he had to know for himself.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“This is not something light that you ask of me. I have been warned against helping you.”
“By whom?”
The gypsy smiled and told Nik that he knew exactly who had warned her. It was rather clear that the person who had done it was still trying to keep her secrets.
“I know that it is not something light that I ask. But I have to know. And I know that a strong witch’s magic is the only way that I’m going to get it.”
“If it is too far down inside, it will hurt to retrieve it. A lot.”
“There is always a sacrifice when it comes to you witches.”
That got a bigger grin from the woman, who called herself Star. Obviously, it wasn’t her name, though maybe it was. Gypsies always liked to come up with interesting names for their children. He had known several women named Moon and even more named after flowers.
“Yes, there is. Are you willing to pay it?”
“I am. I have to know what is happening to us and why it was done. I won’t be able to rest or have peace until I do.”
“Us?”
Nik gave her the shortest version that he possibly could, but it was somehow even worse when he had to say it out loud because then he could hear how bad it all sounded.
“I see. Now it is starting to make sense, why Jillian came to see me. You must have something very juicy inside of you, that she wants to keep hidden away. It might be something that you don't want to know, Nik.”
“I have played out all of the scenarios in my head. This is what needs to happen. I have to know, and I figure that it can’t be much worse than what I’ve come up with. Finding out might be a relief.”
“It would be easier if your wife were here. You would be able to get a clearer picture of what was lost, to see both sides of it.”
“She lost her family, so she really isn’t worried about finding out more. It’s been a lot for her to take on, as you can imagine.”
Star did not ask any more questions, and Nik silently thanked her for that. She was going to know far too much about him soon enough.
He watched her prepare cards and some bundled up herbs that she started to burn. He never would understand the ways of witches, but he didn't have to.
The funny thing about witches was their messes could only be fixed by another witch. Making both sides necessary, so even though he liked to stay away from the magical arts, he was never able to. Witches were in high demand for one reason or another.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“We're going to go in there and try to pull the memories to the surface. I will feed you the questions that you want to answer and try to fill the black space that is there now. It would be better if Freya were here. Then I could look at her mind as well, and since it was her mother that did this to you, she has had more conversations that you were not going to be privy to. Seen more things.”
“If anything comes of this, maybe I can talk her into it, but for now, work with what you have.”
Star agreed and started to chant words that he didn't understand. It was a language that he’d heard many times before but never bothered to learn. It was the witch language.
He started to feel much like he had the time before when they had first found out about the memory loss. All of the flashbacks were coming back, and they were not slow like the second time. Then, he could feel new ones forming. All he had to do was pay attention. There had to be a sign, a clue, that he could use to figure it out. What was so bad that all of it had happened in the first place?
Finally, Nik got one of the answers that he needed. The exact moment, the exact conversation, and the exact memory that he was looking for was there.
There was a conversation going on between Freya’s dad Franklin and another man. He had liked Franklin at the time. They had gotten along quite well before they just suddenly didn't. While it was playing in his head, Nik knew that this was the moment he was waiting for. It was the moment where everything was going to change.
“You know what the prophecy says. You cannot pretend anymore that she is your daughter, Franklin. The truth has to come out so that we can avoid this catastrophe. It is written and said.”
Nik was not sure where he was exactly, because the memory would not let him look around. He could only see what he had seen before. He watched it all go down, right in front of him. He was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Nik wanted more than just the memory of that night. He wanted awareness of what was going on.
“You are not her father, Abe! You were the man that my wife cheated on me with. Nothing more. I will not even talk about this with you.”
The man that Franklin called Abe grabbed his arm and stopped him. Nik could see that his eyes were glowing. He knew that he was another shifter, but he couldn’t place the name. Who was he? Was he really Freya’s father?
None of it was making sense, and Nik again wanted clarity on what he was seeing in front of him.
“You have to. You know what the prophecy says. It is far more important, Franklin, than your pride.”
“All it will do is bring shame down on my family and on Freya. I won’t allow it. Your line is almost gone for a reason.”
Abe flinched, and then he growled. The two were fighting in front of him, and he saw Lachlan come out of the darkness and hit Abe on the back of the
head. Nik came out of hiding, walking forward to stop what was going to happen next, his movement delayed because of shock, he imagined.
“What are you doing here, Nik?”
Lachlan looked up from the body lying on the floor. “You can’t be here for this. No one can know. I don’t want anyone to know that he’s our dad.”
“Son, what are you doing?”
“Taking care of it, Dad. You’re the only one that will ever hear those words. No one can know.”
Nik watched the memory end with Lachlan coming towards him with something in his hand. He didn’t even get to see it before everything went black.
He was snapped out of it, and he was breathing hard. Nik’s heart was going a mile a minute, and he looked over at Star.
“Is that it?”
“That is one of the last memories taken out. So, I would imagine that it’s it.”
“Do you have any idea what all of that means?”
Star wasn’t sure and she told him so. “Us witches stay out of shifter business mostly. Do you know who the man was that was killed?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Find out who he is and why they wanted to keep it all a secret. I think the paternity of your wife is what caused this all.”
“But they said something about a prophecy. What’s that about?”
“Prophecies are always being made and diverted. Who’s to say that they’re ever real at all? Though some people will put real stock in them, giving up great sacrifices to make sure they don’t happen.”
“I came here for answers, and I am way more confused than when I started this day.”
Star laughed for a moment. “It is that way sometimes. What you’re trying to discover has been buried a long time, and with reason. But if you need answers, now you will know where to look at least.”
“You’re right, of course. I should be thankful that I have found this out. It’s big and is going to help a lot. I would have never known that I’d witnessed a murder and cover-up. I wonder why they didn’t kill me?”
“Their daughter loved you. Maybe they did it out of respect for her.”
Nik wasn’t ready to attribute anything good to them. He wanted to hate them for what they had done and what they had taken away from both him and Freya. He didn’t know if he was ever going to be able to forgive them for it.
“I don’t know. Thank you, Star. I think you have started me in the right direction.”
“Come back if you talk her into it. That would make it easier to get the full picture, but you should have enough.”
Nik left with a heavier heart than when he started. He wanted to go home to Freya, but he had to see it through. He was going to have to stay away from her a little bit longer until he figured it all out.
Nik was taken to all different parts of the world, trying to figure out the final answers. The problem was the fact that it seemed like nobody knew who Abe actually was. It was like Abe and his whole family never existed. Nik was not sure how it was managed, but he knew that it was the work of a witch. All the bad stuff, the creepy stuff, always came from a witch.
Finally, Nik found an old record book that mentioned Abraham Phoenix. He could not remember that name from anywhere, and since there weren’t many dragon packs in the world, he had to wonder what had happened to him.
The answer took him down several dark roads, and through fighting humans, all of the Phoenix pack was killed. The only one that had survived an attack on their family was the youngest, Abraham. From there, the man was taken to an orphanage and did not learn about his power until later on in life.
The more Nik learned, the more complicated it became. Lachlan had killed his father, which was also Freya’s father. That in and of itself was bad enough, but the fact that he was a Phoenix was even harder. Their name was considered to be cursed, and that was just another reason that their true lineage couldn’t be found out.
“What it meant was that neither Franklin nor Lachlan could be the true Alpha of the Domin family. The dominant Alpha was always something that was passed down in their pack. Franklin did not have any children and the embarrassment of what he had allowed to happen would have pushed him out long ago if the information had ever been learned. If he could not control his own wife, then how could he be expected to take on the problems of the pack?
The last place that Nik decided to go was to see Jillian. Freya had been right from the beginning; her mother was key to everything. She was the one that was going to help him to make sense of it all. She had all of the answers that he so desperately needed.
Another part of him, the stubborn side from his Rand roots, wanted her to know that he knew the truth. He wanted her to know that he saw everything that she’d done to them, and she was never going to get the chance to do it to him, or Freya, ever again.
When she finally came into the room that he was waiting in, he stood up. Nik wasn’t ready for the meeting, as much as he liked to believe he was.
“Jillian, so good to see you again. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I can’t say that I am so happy to see you, Nik, but you’re right: it has been a while. Why are you here? Is Freya with you?”
“Freya doesn’t want to see you.”
“So why are you here then?”
“Because I found out a lot while I’ve been away, and I thought you might want to talk about it.”
Jillian’s lips were pressed together hard, and she was waiting for the next bomb to drop. It was only a matter of time.
“I can’t say that I do particularly, but by the way you’re looking at me, I suppose that we’re going to have this conversation, aren’t we?”
“Yes, I think it needs to be done.”
“Well then, come on in and I will get you some tea. I think this is going to be a long one.”
Nik agreed, and Jillian’s mind was searching for an answer. If he wasn’t with Freya, she still had this sliver of hope that he hadn’t talked to her about everything yet.
“Why are you two love birds not together? I thought that I would never see the two of you separated again.”
Nik’s jaw got tense at the reminder of what it was all for. He didn’t want to think about it, not with the conversation that was about to come.
“Yes, but once again, you seem to be in between us, though this time it’s your secrets that have kept me away from her.”
She smiled like she was sorry, but the fact was that she wasn’t at all. What was keeping Jillian calm was the idea that Nik hadn’t had a chance to talk to Freya about what he’d found out yet.
She fixed them both a cup of tea but added a little something extra in the one that she gave to him. Jillian knew that she was going to have to get Nik into a more agreeable state. Her mind was still trying to find a way out.
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
“I want to talk about Abraham Phoenix.”
Jillian stopped at the sound of his name, like every drop of blood in her veins had suddenly run cold. Abe was the last person that she wanted to talk about, and certainly not with Nik.
“Why would you want to talk about him?”
“I think you know why.”
“Enlighten me, Nik. You have gone out of your way, to shake up my family, so tell me what it is exactly that you want to talk about.”
“How about we talk about all the memories that you spent so much time getting rid of? The one that took searing my brain with a witch to get back.”
“Oh, that.”
“I thought that you would at least deny it.”
“There is no point to that, Nik. I can tell by the way you're looking at me that you remember that night quite well.”
“I do, Jillian. I remember that you were the one that wanted to take me out. I'm glad that somebody decided against it. So, I can't say that I liked the alternative much better.”
“Of course, it was better than killing you. You're still here.”
“But Abraham isn’t.”
She took a drink of her tea and tried not to look as nervous as she was. Her mind was trying to compel him to take his own drink. She needed him to if she was going to be able to stop this from getting back to her daughter. She was not too worried about how this was going to work on the rest of the family, but the idea that Freya was going to hate her for the rest of her life was too much to bear.
Not to mention that there was still the prophecy to worry about. The end of it all, if Freya were to be with Nik.
The last idea was the only thing that helped her to go to sleep at night. Without it, there was no way that she would be able to live with the demons that haunted her because of her actions.
Jillian started to relax a little bit when Nik finally took a drink of the tea. He made a comment about the sweetness, and she told him that it was full of linden flowers that she’d picked that morning.
“I haven't had a witch tea in a while. There is never any telling what's in there. But they always taste pretty good.”
“I am going to take that as a compliment. It is most likely the closest I'm going to get from you.”
“The fact that I have not killed you and your whole family yet shows how much I care for your daughter. I know that she will forgive you in time, even though you do not deserve it. It is bad enough to do it to me, but to do it to her is unthinkable. Was it really that bad that you had to keep it all hidden like you did? That you would go to such lengths?”
Jillian nodded her head that it was. She told herself that she wasn’t going to try and explain it all, but she wanted him to understand. After all that time and everything that had been done because of her affair, she wanted to get it out to at least one person. Not all of it, but more than she had been able to share with anyone else. Nik was perfect because he’d never be able to tell anyone what he’d learned.