You Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 3)

Chapter 38: A Visit with a Witch

Jeannie

Gabe shows up at the apartment around lunchtime to walk Kira for me. I’ve been expecting him, so I’ve got her all ready to go, and I can sense that she’s aching to get out and run around so his timing couldn’t be better.

“Put your shoes on. You’re coming with,” he announces as he crouches down to pet Kira and let her play with his fingers.

“What? No, I can’t,” I try to protest, but he’s shaking his head.

“First of all, I still think that’s bull. You shouldn’t have to be pent up here just so that Gabby can roam freely. If Beta Ryan is so worried about her behavior around you, she shouldn’t be here. End of story.”

“No, I agreed, and not by force. He just wants a chance to visit with his daughter that he barely sees, and I’m not about to take that from him.”

“Yeah, well, I’m actually not here to argue with you about that,” Gabe reveals. “I’m here because my mom told me to come get you and take you over to Clarice’s. She’s home, and she wants to see you. I already told her we’ll be bringing this little troublemaker, so she said she’ll set out some water and a place to lie down for her.”

He reaches over to scoop up Kira when he says that, and it’s as though she can understand what he’s saying because she gives him a playful little growl-bark and chews on his fingers.

“You’re not changing my opinion any,” he coos at her teasingly.

“I’ll go get my shoes and be right back,” I tell him.

He should have led with the fact that we’re going to see Clarice, but that’s beside the point. Clarice is who I’ve been waiting all morning to hear about, so of course I’m going with him. Mrs. Bentley told me she was going to call or text, but I suppose sending my mate to retrieve me works as well. And in fact, with the whole Gabby situation, it’s probably preferable that I have an escort.

Ever since my chat with the Beta, I’ve been nervous about running into her after remembering the look she gave me when we went to see Garrett. In hindsight, I think it upset her that he invited me to stay and kicked her, his mate, off the property. If Beta Ryan has picked up on any resentment toward me, it probably has nothing to do with Gabe and everything to do with what she witnessed, or thinks she witnessed, between me and Garrett.

It’s not actually her that worries me, either. It’s me. It was only yesterday that I accidentally turned myself into a wolf when I was feeling emotional, and I can only imagine what sort of anxiety might crop up if I have another encounter with her. There’s no telling what I might accidentally do, and I can’t be jeopardizing my home here because of some stupid jealousy showdown.

I retrieve my shoes and shoulder bag from my bedroom and meet him at the door, and he smiles at me, reaching out with the arm he has free. I’m torn about whether to allow whatever affection he’s about to shower me with, but eventually decide to let him.

He runs his fingers through my hair, giving me a warm but questioning look.

“Ready?” he wonders.

“Yep. Lead the way,” I answer him.

His fingers come to rest in my hair as he leans over to kiss my forehead, inadvertently allowing Kira access to me as well. Her tongue darts out to slobber on the side of my face at the same time that I feel his lips on my forehead, and all I can do is laugh. It’s a strange sort of happy feeling that washes over me as I realize that it’s kind of perfect, this weird little moment we’re sharing.

-

-

Clarice

I expect that it will be Gabe at the door with his mate, but when I rise from my chair to go answer the knocking, it turns out to be Matt Bentley instead.

“Well, this is a surprise,” I can’t help commenting, stepping aside to invite him in anyway.

“Yes, I didn’t know whether I would be able to get away and make it over here in time or not, so I didn’t promise it to anyone,” he explains.

By “get away” I know he means from his responsibilities over at the school, and by “anyone” I’m sure he mostly means Alpha Aly, so I don’t feel the need to question him further. Instead, I’m only left wondering why he’s come.

“Jeannie allowed me to search her mind to see if I could retrieve what is probably her only first-hand memory of her mother, and though I was unable to get to that memory, I did learn some things that I’d like to run by you before I talk to her about them,” he explains without me even needing to ask.

“Oh, well now I’m intrigued,” I admit to him as I usher him into my dining room. “Sit, and I’ll bring you some lunch to enjoy while we chat. At least that way, when you return to your students, it will be with a full belly.”

“That’s really not necessary. I don’t want to trouble you,” he attempts to protest, but I shush him.

“Nonsense. I’m expecting Gabe and Jeannie, and Gerry and I have to eat as well, so it’s already made and really no trouble at all.”

“Well, I suppose if you insist.”

He gives me a sheepish grin as he settles into his seat, and I can’t help smiling at how very himself he always is. He’s still very much the same young man I met all those years ago – tall, lanky, and not quite sure what to do with his limbs, delightfully awkward in certain moments, humble to a fault, and yet surprisingly confident in others, especially where it concerns his children or his mate.

Though Gerry and I will wait until Gabe arrives to dive into our own lunches, I decide to go and serve up a plate for Matt now, considering that he has to get back over to the school soon.

“So, this girl Jeannie, what are your impressions of her?” I call out to him while I work in the kitchen.

He’s only one room away, and with his sensitive senses, I know he can hear me just fine.

“She’s a sweetheart,” he begins to tell me, raising his voice enough that I can hear him.

Despite being a werewolf, while I have myself disguised by my illusory form, my senses are no better than the human I’m pretending to be, and he knows that.

“She’s clever, though she’s so quiet and compliant that there’s far more going on in her head than anyone will ever hear her speak out loud,” he continues. “And she has a good heart and a strong sense of right from wrong, which I feel are probably her most important qualities. Not that Gabe is a bad kid, but he has his vices and flaws. I think she’ll be a good influence on him.”

“And she and Gabe get on well?” I continue questioning him as I make my way back into the dining room with his food.

I know Gabe is headstrong, and as his father says, he has his flaws and vices. Some more problematic than others, especially where a mate is concerned.

I know it took Gerry some adjusting and quiet reflection to come to terms with the fact that I had been married before him, and to a vampire at that. I can only imagine how difficult it might be for a sweet, young thing to come to terms with a mate who has been with multiple women before her. And from what I’ve heard, he’s not even pursued relationships with any of them, and there have been many.

I actually couldn’t say whether it’s better or worse that he’s had no serious relationships before his mate. On the one hand, it means that he has no other attachments for her to feel that she’s in competition with. On the other, it could be perceived as him not recognizing the value of such a relationship, as though he prefers to enjoy the perks without any of the responsibilities, and I don’t know how I would respond to it in either case. I was fortunate enough to be blessed with a mate who has avoided relationships of any sort with anyone before me, despite his advancing age.

“There’s a lot of potential there,” he answers carefully, and I can sense that he’s hesitant to say much about it because he is feeling conflicted. “They’re recovering from a difficult conversation they had recently, and though I think it will eventually work itself out because there is a lot of strong affection and attachment between the two of them, they seem to be struggling a bit at the moment.”

“You’ve seen this all in her mind?”

It’s the only explanation that makes sense, considering that Gabe isn’t the sort to confess his problems, and Matt just told me that Jeannie isn’t very outspoken.

“I did, though I was trying not to because it felt like snooping,” he explains. “It wasn’t why I was there, but it did seem to be what was currently taking up most of her mental real estate, so I had no choice but to wade through it.”

“Well, then I suppose I won’t question you about it further. It’s not my business.”

“I appreciate that.”

He smiles with relief, but then he takes a bite of his lunch and chews thoughtfully for a moment.

“There was some sort of mental trap or spell that I triggered when I tried to access Jeannie’s earliest memories,” he tells me once his mouth is empty enough to do so, “which in my mind, only makes sense if someone was forcefully trying to prevent exactly what I was trying to do.”

“What sort of a spell are we talking about?”

This Jeannie girl already fascinates and intrigues me, but she grows increasingly more interesting with every tidbit and scrap of information I’m given about her.

“I could tell you, but honestly, I’d rather just show you,” he says. “I don’t think I know the words to do it justice, and I think you should see it. There’s another memory I want to show you anyway, which is essentially the reason I’ve come. I have questions about what I saw.”

Luckily for him, I’m already quite familiar with the process he’s wanting to perform on me. Gerry is much the same way, at a loss for words when he has something on his mind. And since he shares this ability to project memories and experiences into the minds of others, he tends to rely on it when he wants me to truly understand something he wishes to share with me.

So, I have no objections to what Matt is proposing. I already know it to be a gentle, painless, and yet enlightening process, and I always feel fortunate to be on the receiving end of it. There’s no greater gift than the entirety of someone’s thoughts and experiences, in my opinion.

“Go ahead then. I’m ready whenever you wish to share with me,” I give him my permission.

He nods, dropping his fork onto his plate and sitting forward in his chair. Unlike Gerry, he doesn’t need to touch me to make this happen, so he just stares into my eyes for a moment before I sense anything happening.

The first thing I see is a scene of two people of advanced middle age having a hushed conversation. After a moment, I’m aware that they are the grandparents of the young girl I can sense in the adjacent room. The kitchen, I realize. And the grandparents are in the mudroom.

I’ve also become aware that my goal in being here is to try to witness any information about the girl’s parents, the mother in particular. And in this scene, she is talked about along with the girl. The grandparents suspect the girl is a mage because they knew her mother to be one. A witch, by the sound of it. They speak of her hair and eyes, which sound much like my own in my true form.

Something happened to the mother when she was young, and it was a direct consequence of her coming of age and coming into her witch traits. It sounds like the mother experienced what we all do around that age. On our sixteenth birthdays, our true mage forms emerge, and our magic awakens. For most of us, it means a sudden and often explosive surge of power, and usually we discover our natural talent without even meaning to.

It sounds like the mother might have come into some sort of talent for controlling electrical energy judging by the description of “sparks and explosions.”  The mother could likely shoot lightning from her fingertips, which is a talent that I have seen before but do not possess. I also know it can be dangerous without some training, which is why I’m glad to hear the rest of what they say.

Her surge of power did not go unnoticed by other mages, and even seemed to activate her bond with her intended. From what I can tell, he came to retrieve her, and that’s what worries the grandparents. They don’t want the same thing to happen to the girl. But perhaps the most interesting part of this scene is the revelation that the grandparents seem to know that she has a mate.

But they’re human, I can sense it. I can also feel that the girl is not. They’re right that she’s a mage, though I can already tell she’s not a witch. Nothing about any of them explains how the grandfather has figured out that she has a mate. He also seems to have a better understanding of mages than his wife. The girl's hair color doesn’t matter. We can sense the magic running through the veins of another of our kind, even one like the girl.

Innate casters don’t walk around with that aura that serves as a giveaway to other supernaturals like werewolves and vampires, where a witch can’t do anything to hide it in her natural form. That’s where illusory forms come in handy, though a knowledgeable person can generally see right through them. The illusory form hides away that aura of power and our physical mage traits, but it also takes with it our scents. Humans can’t tell the difference, but anyone with sensitive senses will notice.

But for a mage like this girl, the power is concentrated and contained within. She doesn’t need her body to draw in and absorb power from around her in the moment she desires to cast a spell, her blood acting like a conduit once she says the activating words. She draws in and stores the power within her, and it’s already primed to be expelled at will. Mages like her tend to control the natural elements, and they are often some of the most powerful among our kind.

And that power is what other mages will detect and respond to. Coloring or cutting her hair or forcing her to wear contacts to disguise her eyes won’t prevent detection, should she ever encounter another mage. She could fool a werewolf or maybe even a vampire by pretending to be a human, but a mage always recognizes another of their kind.

As if responding to my questions about how these humans have two mages in their family line and seem convinced that the girl has a mate, Matt shows me two other scenes. In the first, he is having a conversation with the same grandfather as before, though he is older and quite ill. The grandfather reveals that his daughter was not his biologically. He and his wife “found” her, which introduces a lot of questions that I can already sense that Matt does not have answers for.

In the second scene, I witness the moment that a young Gabe first encounters the girl. She is too young for him to recognize her as his mate, but he is drawn to her, and the grandfather takes notice. That must be how he determined that the girl has a mate, though it still brings into question how he knew that his customers were werewolves. Matt doesn’t seem to have an answer for that, either.

Finally, he takes me scrolling through more of the girl’s memories, and I am given the sense that he is searching for her earliest memories. I’m suddenly made aware that the girl was left with the grandparents when she was a newborn, and what Matt seeks is the conversation that occurred between the mother and the grandparents. He wonders where she left to and why, and why she brought the girl to her parents. He fears that she may be in some sort of danger based on his previous conversation with the older man, and the fact that she brought her daughter to her parents for safekeeping.

And that’s when he hits some sort of magical barrier in her memories that prevents him from finding what he seeks. With a flash of light and an ear-grating sound, his mind is forced out of hers, and wounded in the process. I think the intent was to prevent him from being able to use his ability for a while, but he also shows me that he was fortunate enough to be healed directly after. By the girl.

“She’s a healer,” is the first thing I say after he releases his hold on my mind.

I’m sure it sounds as awestruck as I feel. Healers are exceptionally rare among my kind, and with everything else I’ve learned about this girl, it serves as a sort of final piece to the puzzle. I’ve had my suspicions about her from the start, but the more I learn, the more I can’t help feeding what I originally considered a “wild” and unlikely theory about what sort of mage she could be. If she can heal, then it’s almost undoubtedly true, and I have little reason left to try to deny it any further.

“Animals, mostly,” he tells me. “She told me that she has some experience with healing birds, and it was my wolf that she focused on with me. She also said that she couldn’t heal humans, as much as she tried.”

“She could, with the right training. Having a natural capacity for healing anything, and without even using a spell, means that if she were to learn the necessary spells, she could use that power in pretty much any way she wishes.”

He takes another bite, seeming to ponder what I said as he chews, before answering.

“I almost hope she doesn’t discover that part,” he says finally. “I think it would devastate her to learn that she could have saved her grandparents, if she had only known how.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but it won’t dissuade me from telling and teaching her. She should know, even if it will be a hard truth for her to process.”

“Yeah, understood,” he sighs.

I can tell he already has a lot of affection for the girl, perhaps even to the point of considering her like one of his own children.

There is another knock at the door, and I hear the shuffling footsteps of my mate's slippers, presumably on his way to answer it.

“I’ve got it,” Gerry calls out on his way past the dining room.

I find myself feeling quite excited for what seems like a long-awaited meeting with this young mage. She seems exceptional just from the things I’ve heard about her, and it will be an honor to be in her presence. The magic within me is already brimming with the energy of anticipation, knowing that just being around her will enhance my own power in ways I’ve never even experienced before.

I get up from my seat to go and stand in the foyer to receive my guests, who I’m looking forward to spending the afternoon with. There’s so much I need to tell them, and they’re just in time to hear my answers to Matt’s questions as well.