“Good luck with that.” There was no sarcasm in Ariana’s tone, and Violet blinked, then reached into her pocket to find her phone. “There’s no cell service in town. You can only get it once you pass the town line.”
There was no... what?
“What?” Violet glanced between the two women, confused. Was this... for real...
“Yeah. The town is offgrid. Shouldn’t you know this?”
Violet stared at Ariana, then let out a long sigh. The town of Garoureve, offgrid? That was only possible if no one had thought to maintain the infrastructure.
“I... need to talk to whoever is in charge,” Violet finally said, and let out a long sigh. “I’ll just use the phone at my old house.”
“There’s a phone?” Scarlett asked, her voice raising in pitch.
“In the witch’s house?” Ariana finished for her.
Oh, for the love of all the spirits...
“Look, both of you seem really nice, and I would love to make friends, but neither of you can tell me who from my childhood is still alive and who is dead. You can’t tell me what happened to each person, and, I don’t blame either of you for that, but how do you just live in a place without asking questions? I mean, who even are you, Ariana? And Scarlett, you’ve been here, what, a few months? You didn’t even ask about Mardoc’s parents?”
Why did her face suddenly feel really hot?
“You left after the fire,” Ariana said, glancing at Scarlett for agreement. “And I’m Colburn’s mate. Yeah, neither of us have asked a lot of questions, but this place, this town, there’s been a lot of loss. Everyone is kind of a mess.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Scarlett agreed. “Everyone needs therapy, but given that I don’t know how to get a therapist in here that would keep the town’s secret...”
Violet was on the verge of screaming in frustration, ready to demand where the town witch was, with all of her resources and connections, when she realized... shit. That was her. Or at least, it should have been. A witch was a... diplomat of sorts, and a pack was never left without one for good reason.
Idiot fucking wolves and their connection to only the land. They didn’t think about the important things... like balance!
Violet buried her face in her hands and reminded herself to breathe. One in, one out. She was like fire, but she couldn’t burn this place down. She needed to have patience, to allow herself to bend and change. She needed to breathe.
“No, I did not leave after the fire,” she mumbled through her hands, and dragged them down her face. She was probably smearing her makeup a little, but fuck it. “During. My mother dragged us outduring. I had a problem with fire at the time, and my mother had been looking for a reason to leave, or who knows. She didn’t like my connection with Henrik, and the fire started, and she was worried we would be blamed, so we left, and—”
“Your mother left during the fire?” Ariana asked, and crossed her arms. “She just abandoned the pack?”
“I think she thought I actually did set it,” Violet corrected, and ran a hand into her hair. “I kind of... have an affinity for... Like I said, I’m not a healing witch.”
Ariana and Scarlett glanced at each other once more. There was a clear conversation happening between them, although no words were uttered out loud. Finally, Ariana threw up her hands and sat in a chair.
“I really don’t understand what witches do,” Scarlett said as she sat back down in her own chair. “Please don’t think we’re stupid, or something. We’re still figuring this out. Mardoc and Cole don’t really like to talk about their feelings, and, to be honest, it still feels like we’re in this honeymoon phase of mating.”
“You mean you’re constantly fucking,” Ariana said, rather matter-of-fact.
“So are you.”
Both women rolled their eyes, but Violet felt self-conscious. Having sex with your soulmate. It must be nice.
“Alright, so, who’s in charge around here?” Violet asked, looking between the two women. “Colburn?”
“Yes, although he is still getting used to the idea. He seemed stuck in limbo, at least until I arrived.”
Stuck in limbo... More and more questions and no answers. Was that to be her entire life? Always questions with no answers?
“Oh, crap,” Scarlett said suddenly, her eyes out the window. “I’m going into the back. I’m pretty sure she’s still mad at me for what happened.”
“Wait, who?” Ariana asked, then glanced out the window as well. “Oh, nope. Go, girl.”
Scarlett slipped out of her chair and around the bakery counter quickly, leaving Violet to wonder who it was coming in. Ariana looked to be busying herself with the edge of her skirt, while Violet stood up as the door opened. Who—