“The coven needs to know, were you allowed to enter? Obviously, you’ve been allowed to remain. Did you meet with Broderick? Is he allowing you to stay only because of your connection with Henrik, or—”
Violet’s lungs felt as though they collapsed at that name, and she blinked, startled. She had to cut her off, to find her first answer. “Mom. What? What do you mean, have I met with Mr. Reeve? He’s—”
“An old pig head of a wolf, but he always meant well. Even when we didn’t agree on things, even when I didn’t agree with his decisions... He had a right to be wary, of course, and I understood his caution and his decisions, but—”
“He’s dead, Mom. Most of the town is dead.”
She could hear her mother suck in a deep breath, and then the sound went quiet, as though she had been placed on hold. She waited a moment, knowing that the line hadn’t gone dead, which meant either her mother was speaking to someone else, or...
No, that was probably it. Her mother was speaking to someone else. Which meant, other people were there listening to the phone call.
“Mom, if you can still hear me, this isn’t about you or the pack. I need contacts. I need help. This town, it’s stuck in 2003. There’s no internet, cell phones don’t work, and I don’t know what you did to the boundary line, but you need to fix it. The town is shrinking in on itself, dying, and it’s struggling to fight back. There’s humans that live here, mated with wolves. And—”
“Broderick Reeve is dead?” The voice that came through the phone was one Violet had only heard a few times. It was not her mother. In fact, it was not even the witch her mother reported to. One of the elders. One of the elders was on the phone with her.
Violet sat up, startled, then stood. Why would one of the elders be involved?
“Yes. He died... over a decade ago.”
“Do you know how?”
Violet shook her head before taking a few steps, pulling the phone cord with her as she did so. “No. No one has told me much of anything, other than, he died and left Colburn in charge, his son. Cole was young when he took over, but he seemed to not really... know... anything...”
“It’s because Broderick thought Colburn was too rebellious, shifting from the old ways,” her mother said, voice distant and in the background. “One of the many things we disagreed on.”
“Are you going to tell me what happened here? Why did we pull away? What’s going on? Why did we leave?”
“You left because the town was not welcome to the guidance of witches.” It was the elder once more, her tone chilling. “Only your connection with a wolf kept you there for as long as it did. Once the attack came, of course, you had to leave. Your safety could no longer be guaranteed.”
What...
“We will have to discuss things, but of course, with the passing of Broderick Reeve, we will be reestablishing our connection with the town of Garoureve. Your first task, of course, is to once again establish connections with the outside world. If you say it is stuck in 2003, make movements forward as is necessary.”
Was this witch, who, Violet didn’t even know her name and had only met and seen in passing a few times, going to completely override anything that Violet actually wanted or needed to discuss? Alright, excellent, they would help to bring Garoureve to the modern era, but, there was so much more than that!
“Of course, but—”
“This boundary issue, fix that as well. We shall be sending you whatever it is you need, so tell Harriet when she comes on how we might help you.”
“But—” How was she supposed to fix a boundary issue that she didn’t even understand?
“And Violet, do not screw this up. Do not place your bond before your duty to the town. The pack, the land, it has struggled without us, but we can bring them back into the—”
“No. I’m not a witch. I can’t control my magic, and—”
Mabel cut her off, her voice being the one to take over the phone. “Oh, give me that. Respectfully.”
There was a shifting for a moment, and Violet waited to hear what her mother would say... or do.
She still had questions. So many questions.
Like what the hell was going on with Colburn’s father?
“Mom, I’m not a witch. You know this. I know this. I can’t control my magic. I can’t direct anything. I can’t talk to the elements. I can barely even exist without burning everything around me.”
“Listen to me, Violet.” Her mother’s voice was calm, soothing. A sure sign that she was probably speaking a lot louder than intended, and on the verge of freaking out. “I have... not handled things well.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Violet muttered, and let out a long sigh.