“No. She’s entirely human. You can see why I was trying to leave town.”
Cole nodded and shoved a hand into his pocket, pulling out a phone. “I’m goin’ to go handle this, before it becomes any bigger of a mess than it already is. Henrik, figure out your witch. Can’t have her burnin’ the whole pack down.”
He walked away while calling someone, leaving Violet standing there with what she knew had to be a horrified look on her face. Cole had hit the nail on the head, a little too hard. She had always remembered him to be blunt as a kid, but to hear him now with the voice of the Alpha…
One glance at Henrik told her that Cole’s fears were shared. He was scared of her. Scared of what she could do. Scared of what she was going to do right now.
He was right to be afraid. They all had a very good reason to be afraid.
“That’s not the only reason you were leavin’, was it. Or at least, not the original reason.”
Violet swallowed hard before shaking her head no. Because he was right. It wasn’t the only reason.
“Fuck, Violet,” Henrik cursed, walking a few paces away. “What are we gonna do? You can’t… you’re still smokin’. The fuck is goin’ on?”
“What’s going on is my entire life is a lie,” Violet gasped, following after him. “Everything my mother taught me and trained me. How it all works. How to be a witch. All of it. She lied to me. Half of it’s for show, the other is to help them to just focus. There’s no way to fix what’s wrong with us, though, because I don’t know what my mother even wanted to begin with!”
He was staring at her, mouth open, shocked. Of course he was shocked. She was in shock as well. And she hadn’t even told him all of it.
“It’s all intention. It’s all based on what you want. And then magic does its own thing, twisting and turning your words to fit its own desires. If it listens, and you’re not clear, there’s no telling what you’ll get. My mom wanted us to think that there was something keeping us apart, with all of the rope and candles and herbs, but what she really wanted was physical distance, and now look at us!”
He was standing separate from her, his uninjured hand cradling the burned one, staring at her. The distance between them, the physical distance, was a reminder of what could not be. Of what could never be.
“There’s no fixing this. There’s no fixing us. No fixing me. I’m so... angry! And now, I’m freakingsmoking.”
She threw up her hands before turning to march away, unable to find anything else to say. Her presence wasn’t helping the situation, she couldn’t comfort him even with layers, and talking to Henrik was only getting her more and more worked up.
“Violet, Little Witch, come back here,” Henrik begged. She could hear him following behind her, but didn’t look back at him. “Just hold on a minute. You can’t just drop that on me and not tell me the rest of it. How long have you been keepin’ this from me? Can’t your mother just come back and wish for grandbabies or somethin’?”
“Her coming back isn’t going to change me,” Violet yelled as she continued walking. “It’s not going to change my lack of control.”
Because that was the problem, wasn’t it. The magic must have sensed her anger, sensed her desire to lash out, to distance, to crush... and now, it was making her physically burn anyone who came too close.
“Violet, we have to talk about this,” Henrik tried again, still following behind her. “I’ve been tryin’ to give you space, but—”
“Space? Is that what we’re calling this?” She whirled around, arms crossed under her breasts, and shivered. She was so hot she was cold. “Since we arrived, I’ve barely seen you. Either you’re off running in the woods or you’re off helping with Colburn’s house or you’re spending time with Ansa, and I’m fine with that, I’m happy with that, and I’m glad you’re back home, but don’t act like our distance has been you giving me space! You’ve been away from me for your own desires, which is why I didn’t say anything, but you’ve also been avoiding me!”
Henrik stared at her, no longer trying to chase, still maintaining the distance. She didn’t like it.
“I’ve been alone for so much of my life, Henrik, but I’ve never felt truly lonely until now. I spend my days trying to fill them, trying to do more than just laying in bed moping. I tried to be a good witch, or at least a good enough witch. I’ve been trying to meet the expectations demanded of me. I’ve met all of the new mates, I’ve been meeting all of the demands of both the pack and the coven, and I’ve—”
“And what have you done for you? For us?”
“What?”
“We came back here, Violet, because this is where we can fix this. Fix us. Fix whatever is goin’ on with you. This goes beyond us, though. This, you’ve been on your own journey this whole time, and I’m fine with that. I’ve always known that.”
She was... he was... She stared at him, confused and not understanding. Yes, they had come back so they could figure out their problems, but the way he said it was...
“You will never have to doubt my love for you. You know that I love you, Violet. I’ve always loved you. And I know you think I’ve been keepin’ my space, well... that’s because this ain’t about me. It’s about you. All of this is about you. About you returnin’. About you figurin’ things out. About you makin’ everythin’ better. Me? I’m just your big dumb mate, gettin’ in the way, askin’ stupid questions. None of this is about me. It’s about you. And right now, it feels like you’re givin’ up on you.”
She didn’t know what to make of that. Didn’t know what to make of any of it.
But that was it, then? He was leaving her alone, making her feel lonely, because he thought that was what she wanted?
She knew what he meant, she understood what he meant, but she wanted something to latch onto, something to be angry about. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to feel the burning. She wanted to feel the rage.
“So, you think I’m on my own journey?” she yelled, once again mad at him. “Fine then. Looks like I’m heading off on my own journey right now.”