Chapter 85

085 – Silver Crest Pack ADAN STONE.

“Alpha Fabius, I’m glad to see you again. “I greeted the Alpha of the Silver Crest the moment I stepped out of the car in front of his packhouse.

He took and shook my hand as he responded. “Pleasure is mine, Alpha Stone. I thought Blade would come with you.”

“Is he not here?” I asked, my brows furrowing.

“No. It’s been over a year since the last time he showed up here. So when I heard he was in your territory weeks ago, I was hoping he would come and check on me.”

“I have no idea where he is at the moment.” It was the truth. The trackers I sent to contact Althea reached Collin with the news that Althea was at the Fortuna Coven but Blade was not.

“Typical Blade. I would be the last one on his priority list.” He let out a sigh before he flashed a smile, something that didn’t reach his eyes. “Anyway, enough about my brother. My Beta will show you the area you can use. It’s in the middle of the forest, away from the residential area, and usually not visited by my people. So it’s secured for whatever you are planning.’

“Sounds good.”

“The house is just a small cottage, but it’s fully equipped. I’m sure it’ll be comfortable and cozy despite the size.”

“I can also sleep in the forest, so I’m not worried about that. But thank you for providing a place to stay as well.”

“Well, good thing I did. You have a female companion. I’m sure she would appreciate a roof over her head. Is she the witch?”

I saw the way Fabius’ eyes sparkled as he looked at Patrea, who smiled warmly at him.

“Yes, she is. “My name is Luca,” Lucius said as he extended his hand.”I’m Clarissa’s boyfriend.”

I almost choked at his words. We had discussed the names that they would be using, but we definitely didn’t discuss that last part.

“Besides, she’s too old to be your mom.” He added, which made Patrea’s eyes widen before she glared at Lucius. 2 I watched in amusement as Lucius shook Fabius’ hand, waiting for him to do anything to the young guy, but thankfully he didn’t, although Fabius’ shoulders slumped at his words.

‘What the fuck was that?’ I sent Lucius’ a mindlink ‘Just marking my territory.’ He replied, which made me raise my brows. I already noticed his protective instinct toward Patrea, but I just assumed it was because he needed her for his plan, but it seems I was wrong. There was more to the story between them than what meets the eye.

♡♡♡

PATREA.

I wanted to use my powers to stop Lucius from telling lies to the Alpha of the Silver Crest, but I had been reserving my energy for the spell I was about to make, so I just let him say whatever he wanted and hoped he would shut his mouth soon.

After all the pleasantries, we were escorted toward the middle of the forest, where a small cottage was located. It had two bedrooms, and I was given my own room.

“Will this place be good enough for the spell?” Alpha Stone inquired when Alpha Fabius’ Beta had left us.

“Yes, I just need a quiet place. But are you sure no witches are living in this territory?”

“No. At least that’s what Fabius told me. Will it be a problem if there are?”

“Not really. It’s just that witches can feel if spirits are being summoned if they are in close proximity. I just don’t want to draw any attention to myself at the moment and be accused of using dark magic to make myself younger.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m old in human years. As Lucius said, I was old enough to be Alpha Fabius’

mother.”

“So I wasn’t hallucinating when you said Althea, the other witch, is your granddaughter? She really is your granddaughter?”

I nodded my head before my eyes darted to Lucius, who was leaning his back against a tree, looking bored as usual.

“I’ll just wait for my memory to come back because I have so many questions, but maybe I already know the answer, and just forgot about it.”

“Yup, good idea. Because I was hoping I could rest for a while before we do the spell.”

“When do you want to do it?”

“Tonight at midnight. Lucius already got me everything I needed, so I just need a moment to gather my thoughts.

Reversing a spell is way harder than casting it.”

6/12 “Is there a way it will go wrong?”

“If another witch or power tampered with your memory while you still had memory loss. Other than that, the only thing that could go wrong is my ability to reverse it. I need spirits and energy to help me remain conscious while I reverse it. So I wanted to rest for a while.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then at midnight. But just to remind you, Fabius will send someone to bring us something to eat, so just come down when you’re hungry.”

“I will. Thank you.” I excused myself and turned around.

I was already halfway up the second floor of the cottage when I felt a presence behind me.

“What do you need?” I asked as my hand reached for the doorknob but decided not to open it, and I just shifted my body so I could see Lucius.

He walked closer and stopped in front of me before he leaned his forearm against the door, and his face was hovering over mine. He was too near, invading my private space, but I had nowhere to move or go.

“I just want to say something. Make things clear between us, and the others around here.”

I was about to tell him to move away and give me space, but his words piqued my curiosity so much that the only response I was able to make was to raise my eyebrows.

“You can’t have sex or be intimate with the men around here.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, my forehead creasing.

“Yes, you heard me right, witch.” He flashed me a smug smirk before his thumb traced my lips, which made me move my head back only for it to hit the door. “I won’t hesitate to burn any man who will touch you, and I won’t care who it is.”

“Stone is mated to your sister, and Kingston is mated too. What makes you think I would destroy anyone’s bond? I might not be a werewolf, but I do respect...

He interrupted me while I was still talking. “Fabius. He’s not mated, and I saw the way he was gawking at you. I don’t like it.”

“Did you forget you told him I’m old enough to be his mom?”

“You don’t look like one. And besides, even if you are, you will undoubtedly fall into the ‘mother I would love to fuck’

category.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.”

“Take it in whatever way that will keep you from fucking someone else.”

“What is your point, Lucius?” My hands went up to his chest, stopping him from leaning closer.

“I don’t need to explain myself. I’m sure you understand what I was trying to imply.”

“I’m not your puppet. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

“You’re not. I agree with that. You’re free to decide what you want to do. I’m just simply stating what will happen based on your course of action.” He told me in a cold voice before he moved and walked away, leaving me still aghast at his words.

Did I get away from Lucien just to fall into another obsession, this time with his son?

This was not going well. Was helping Lucija the right thing to do? Maybe I was putting myself at risk again. I only had good intentions, but it still resulted in something bad for me. Or was it really that bad?

I knew Lucius must be like his father, but a part of me wanted to believe he might be different from him. But then, who was I kidding? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

But how could I explain Lucija?

I let out a sigh as I pushed the bedroom door open. I had to get Lucius out of my system and just help Luicja and get away from him and his father as soon as I could because I would not fall victim to them again.

I just hoped I was making the right choice by taking Lucius’ side. I hope he’s here to help Lucija because if the worst happens, I’ll have to fight him if he turns out to be an enemy, which I don’t want to do.