"Yeah. I kind of noticed that," I murmured, noticing the way many people bowed their heads in shame. "Most of them were very good with accepting the Verdans though," I added, needing to defend my family.
Mylen smiled teasingly at her soul mate who was holding her close. "I saved Hank so many times that his family finally conceded to the notion that I could be good. I worried that there was going to be a war between our families for a while. I'm glad to hear that it wasn't so dramatic with your families. I wish I had known about the Verdans and their pack as well. Our pack is very strong, but more allies are hard to find, given our unusual bonds together.
"Not to mention, we've all been hiding for so long that it's hard to let our guard down. I wish I had known about the Coldwells accepting the truth as well. I almost didn't believe Tallis when he told me. I think I actually laughed in his face.
"Hank's family could see my light as clear as day, but they still refused to believe it was possible for over three decades. I wouldn't have imagined that the Coldwells would have changed their beliefs in just a day."
Tallis kissed me on the forehead, making my goofy grin grow. "Aria did that. It's hard not to listen to her. She made me question everything I believed as well. That was why I went in search of the answers to our... dilemma. I found it odd that no one had ever heard of our situation. Our siblings had found mates in each other, and everything seemed to fit so well between us. It just seemed too perfect to be wrong."
I touched his hand that was resting on my lap, and kissed his shoulder as I leaned in to him again. Mylen smiled. "That's love. You'll do anything for it. There's no stronger emotion."
Edmond's grin spread as he interjected, "I would really like to get to know your coven. Our pack is certainly looking to extend an invitation to any other changers on our side. It's indeed rare to meet a pack as large as ours."
Mylen nodded with a happy smile before she and Hank walked away with Edmond and Allaysia to discuss details.
This entire night had changed completely. Everything I thought I knew had been wrong. I turned to Tallis, who still had both arms wrapped around me, and pressed my head into the crook of his neck, kissing it softly.
He made a nervous throat-clearing noise. "You can't start all that just yet," he grumbled playfully. He winked as he continued, "Soon enough, though."
Everything was so perfect in that moment.
"So all we have to do is wait until I'm twenty-something, and then we can finally kiss?" I asked with an irritated sigh. That was a long time away.
I loved seeing his perma-grin. "That's the best part. Soul mates transform at the same age. We'll have to hurry up to prepare your body. It normally takes about five or six months, but we have enough magic to get it done in a month or two."
I remembered Iris talking about preparing my body. She had said without preparation, transformation could kill a witch with an essence as strong as mine. She said there would be plenty of time, but I felt sick suddenly.
"When was your transformation?" I asked in a whisper.
I knew he had been eighteen, but I didn't know how long after eighteen it had been.
He smiled as he kissed my head with his soft lips. "Five days after I turned eighteen. When is your eighteenth birthday?"
He had no idea. No one else was around to hear our conversation and share in my horror.
"Five days ago."
The color drained form his face as he leapt from the couch, landing close to Iris where animated, passionate conversations started. Dread filled my grandmother's face as she looked toward me and swallowed hard.
Allaysia gasped while grabbing her mouth, steadying herself by holding Edmond's arm. Everyone forgot the most important factor—I wasn't ready.
As if on cue, I felt something in the pit of my stomach, like a dull pain working its way up into a sharper, stabbing pain. I could feel my freshly healed bones begin to pull apart. I stood up, grabbing my stomach, and saw the look of terror on everyone's faces when I spoke through gritted teeth.
"Too late. It's starting."
Chapter 16
Bewitching
Holding on to one life makes it impossible to embrace a new one.
Everything flashed around me in blurs. Tallis was holding my hand as I screamed in agony, sweat gathering all over my body.
I had finally gotten him. I was finally going to be happy, and now I felt like there was something inside of me trying to turn me inside-out. Fever and chills consumed me, leaving me freezing and burning up at the same time. I felt hypothermic at one point, and then I felt my blood boiling at the next. And I couldn't stop shaking almost violently.
They were trying to hold me down, but my body continued convulsing uncontrollably. I felt sharp stabs of pain, like someone had a knife inside of me jabbing away. And my screams refused to cease.
I heard everyone talking over each other, trying to figure out what to do, but Iris was the loudest. "I should have known. She could smell their stench; that was a sign she was within two years of transformation. I should have started preparation. I haven't found our crest on her, though. It always shows up two weeks before. She hasn't said anything about finding one either."