Missing Star

Chapter 16

Thomas 

We had a new routine going. I spent most of the evening with her at that point. I often left in the early morning before she woke up and returned around sundown. It was odd the way we communicated. Somehow, we had come to the basic understanding that she could hear my thoughts. Not in the crazy way that most people think. It was close to a mind link. 

So far she has had a lot of questions about me and my pack. I was open with her, telling her the truth. I only wished that I could tell her the most important part was that I was a Werewolf. But the time for that would come. 

This evening we had Miss Mary coming over to talk about her gift. Over the last few days, Marissa had talked to Miss Mary about her being able to communicate with me. Now would be the best time to learn what her gift really meant. Just like clockwork, Miss Mary showed up with food and some old books. It had become normal for me to eat in wolf form and just lay in my corner or be next to Marissa on the side of the loveseat. 

John had teased that I was like an oversized dog. To everyone else around us, I was just that big dog she had rescued. Few knew that I was a Werewolf. Miss Mary was one and she loved to make subtle hints. 

Tonight, she point-blank asked Marissa "do you believe in magic and the unknown?" 

I half expected Marissa to laugh in her face, but instead, she looked at Miss Mary and said "I have no choice but to believe her. I'm friends with a wolf and a witch." 

Shook crossed Miss Mary's face. "How did you know I was a witch?" 

"Some of my earliest memories of my mother and I were us picking flowers and herbs. She always helped others with funky-looking drinks and meals. I was two years old when she had the courage to leave my father. She fought like h*ll to keep me safe, then the accident happened and I was now his problem." 

I could see the pain in her eyes as her memories came up. It took all of my power not to shift and hold her at that moment. 

"My mother was a wonderful woman," Marissa added as she played with her hands. "I remember the books, crystals, and herbs she always kept handy. When I'm with you, Miss Mary, I see you hold those things just as dear as she did. My father would call her a witch and beat her. She embraced it and said that she was blessed with her gifts and he could never take them away from her." 

Clearing her eyes with the back of her hand, Miss Mary opened a book. "Your mother was amazing and so are you, Marissa. Things are not simple in our world. I hope you understand that we must hide who we are from those that would harm us, and those who choose to believe that the human race is the only one that exists." 

"Just as some people can be good and bad, so can witches, vampires, werewolves, and other creatures. Most have spent years hiding, using their magic to blend in." She added, looking at her book. 

After going to a page, she handed the book over to Marissa. "Your gift has only been seen three times in over 100 million years. You are the Missing Star of our people.” 

“What does that even mean, Miss Mary? “ Marissa said, standing and pacing with the book in her hand. She turned the book and there was a picture of her. “Who drew this?” 

“That was made when the last Queen of our people was here. She had been taught since birth how to manage and control her gifts. She was able to see into the future, later on in her life, and she saw you. She told her advisers that you would be the one to bring back hope and peace to our people.” She said as she got up and walked to Marissa. She placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“What I have to say next is the hardest part. Your mother was an amazing person. We were all scared of hunters and when your father promised to protect her, she left with him. The day that you were born she wrote telling us. She knew that you were the Missing Star that we had been promised. This only made her want to protect you even more. This was till your father changed. He wanted only your mother and her love for you made him mad to the point that your mother began to fear him. When she separated from him and tried to take you away, he became even more spiteful….” As Miss Mary was speaking Marissa's eyes rolled back and she began to fall. 

I shifted to human form just in time to catch her. I carried her to the couch and laid her down. It looked like she had passed out but her eyes were white and not focused. I was scared out of my mind when Miss Mary came to my side and said “She’s fine, she's time traveling, it's part of her gift.” 

I had to shake my head. This was too much. My mate could communicate with magical creators and time travel. It must have shown on my face because this caused a sad chuckle from Miss Mary. 

“What’s so funny?” I asked her, overwhelmed. 

“The fact that you have yet to learn how truly special your mate is. She can time travel, communicate with mythical, and normal creators just like talking to a friend down the street, but she also has access to magic. She comes from a long line of great witches.” Just then I noticed a small tear come down her face. 

“Miss Mary, what is going on? How do you know all of this?” I asked, concerned about what my mate was going through right now and why Miss Mary looked like she was scared of the outcome. 

With a heavy sigh she said “Marissa is about to learn that her mother's passing wasn’t an accident. Her father was a jealous man that wanted her mother to himself. He could not take the fact that her mother loved her over him. So he tried to make her mother pay by fighting for custody when she tried to leave him. He hated Marissa for being born, so when she was with him, he’d treated Marissa like dirt to make her and her mother hurt.” 

At this point, Miss Mary's tears streaked down her face. She took a breath and started again. “Marissa's mother was my daughter. She reached out to me for help. We had planned for them both to leave and come back here, where I could help protect them at least until Marissa was 18. Somehow, her father found out and when she was going to pick up Marissa on the last day of her visit to her dad, she died. They said that her car went off the road, but I never believed that. Every time I tried to contact Marissa, he would block it. Once he told me that if I didn't stop he’d kill her too. And I believed that he would, so I stopped trying.”

Now, this was starting to make more sense. “You knew that she would try and get away,” I said, putting the pieces together. 

“I had hoped. I couldn’t risk her life so I sent my animals. They kept an eye on her and were there to comfort her when I couldn’t. I knew that she had applied to school here and if she hadn’t gotten a full ride I would have covered the cost. I didn’t think that her father would try to sell her off to be married. She has been through so much, I didn’t want to risk her running again so I waited for the truth. When she wakes up she’ll be tired and hungry and we’ll be here. If she wants me to stay, it is up to her.” she added. 

Both of us fell into a silence watching over the woman we loved. This was all adding up for me now. I mean it was a lot for me. But the thought of her having to go back to the past and see the truth was going to be painful for her. And all I could do was shift back to my wolf form and be there. I would have to tell her soon about who I was. And just like her Grandmother right now, I feared that she may never want to see me after learning the truth.