“Gimme a second, love,” Rev said,
“Hallie, honey. What can you tell me about your parents?” Kitty asked.
“I was adopted at birth. Why? What is going on?” Hallie asked again.
“I don’t think you’re human at all, honey,” Kitty said.
“Of course, I am. I have been my whole life,” Hallie argued.
“We need a witch,” Kitty said, pulling her phone from her purse and shooting off a quick text.
“I think you’re right,” Rev said, agreeing with his mom. How he could have missed it was beyond him, but he had. There was something off about Hallie’s scent now that he had marked her as his mate. Her scent was no longer human but that of a shifter. It was being blocked by some sort of magic, though.
* * *
“Someone needsto tell me what the hell is going on,” Hallie said, getting more pissed by the moment. What the hell were they talking about that she wasn’t a human?
“Love, your scent has changed since I marked you as my mate. I don’t know why I didn’t pick it up sooner. I should have.”
“Pick what up?” she asked again.
“What my son is trying to say is that you smell like a shifter. I can’t tell what kind of shifter, but honey, you aren’t human. There is something blocking the magic you were born with. My guess is that it was done right after you were born. That way, you would appear human, and no one would ever question it,” Kitty explained.
“I … I don’t understand,” Hallie stammered. “I don’t know anything about my birth parents at all. Only that I was adopted when I was just a few days old. I’ve tried looking them up, but there are no hospital records, no adoption records. Nothing. I’ve come up empty-handed every time. So, I just gave up when it came to finding out who my real parents were.”
Hallie hated the subject. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her adopted parents. She did. To her, they were Mom and Dad. No questions asked, but a large part of her still wanted to know why she had been put up for adoption in the first place. She wanted to know who her real parents were and what their story was.
“Muriel should be here any minute. She lives not far from here. She will be able to figure out what is going on, so we can get to the bottom of this.”
“Muriel? She’s a witch?” Hallie asked.
“Yes, love.”
“I think I need to sit down for a minute. My head is spinning. You mean to tell me witches are real? Next, you’re going to tell me that zombies and vampires are real too!” Hallie squealed.
Knowing shifters were real had freaked her the fuck out. Now, witches were apparently real, and one was coming to see her! She was going to pass the fuck out if she didn’t breathe and soon.
“Easy, love. I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“Are they?” she asked.
“Are they what, love?” Rev replied.
“Are zombies and vampires real?”
“No and yes.”
“Holy Christ!”
“Wait! Is she just learning about the supernatural world? As in … today?” Kitty asked.
“Yep,” Hallie replied.
“No wonder why her head is spinning,” Emily said, finally finding her voice.
There was another knock at the front door. Rev quickly answered it and ushered in another woman. Muriel was at least seventy years old with long gray hair and a beautiful easy smile. She dressed like a hippie with a full maxi dress and sandals. There was a warm, light air about her. Her presence alone helped calm Hallie’s anxiety.
“You must be the one I’m here to see,” Muriel said, her voice floating around Hallie’s ears.