Chapter 2
1073 Words
***Nina***
Sweat trickled down my forehead as the events of my dream replayed vividly in my mind. I could recall every detail, every haunting moment. When Nevin left, I sat in silence for a few minutes, gathering my thoughts alone.
Somehow, I had been seeing through Nora’s eyes. I could feel her movement, her presence. The thought of her locked away in a cell, shivering in a dark, cold dungeon, made my stomach churn. She was alone—no, not alone; she was with someone named Harold.
And that demon we thought we had trapped..Crowley.. he was still here, still holding my sister prisoner. Why hadn’t the spell worked? How had he escaped?
Summer wasn’t here for me to ask these questions. She was older and knew more; she had raised her two younger sisters and was meant to lead the Whitlock Coven. I would have to wait for her return.
Deciding I needed to clear my head, I stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash away the remnants of sweat and anxiety. If I knew my mate, he would be able to sense the unsettling energy that had been coursing through me. He was a werewolf—an Alpha, no less—the crowned king of wolves. Our relationship had been complicated; months before I discovered he was a werewolf, we had been dating under the guise of being human. At the time, neither of us had been aware of our true natures. I hadn’t turned eighteen yet, so the bond we shared hadn’t fully revealed itself until my birthday.
There had always been a pull between us, one that my untrained gift had sensed, despite my age. It didn’t matter to me that he was a wolf; he was my mate, and I was his. The goddess Hecate had matched us perfectly, as had his goddess. We were drawn to one another long before we understood our differences. I feared things might shift when he learned the truth, but they hadn’t; if anything, we had only grown closer.
Publicly, we hadn’t disclosed our relationship. As far as the werewolves were concerned, our bond was due to the treaty arrangements my brother had made with him and the supernatural council—an assembly of elders from each species, including their kings and queens. That secrecy was now a challenge we needed to navigate.
Grandma Frances had spoken of the mating law that had robbed our grandmother Alice of her fated mate. I had asked about him, but she’d refused to tell me, only mentioning that their bond was forbidden due to their differing species. The council’s archaic law was the reason behind it all.
Just days ago, Grandma Frances had sat us down, revealing she couldn’t remember why Alice had dropped the request to repeal the law. Despite fighting for her mate, something had happened when it came time to confront the council. But her forgetfulness nagged at me. I suspected she might be under a different spell, hiding memories, just like the forgotten spell. Or perhaps it was simply old age catching up with her.
There felt like an insurmountable number of unanswered questions since the witches and warlocks returned. My twin sister was in danger, and the search for her was dwindling. Asher’s mate had vanished, leaving him struggling with his responsibilities as King of Covens. Isaac showed up drunk to train our soldiers; it had been over a year since he had seen or spoken to his mate, and though I tried to facilitate a meeting between them, it ultimately lay in their hands to address their bond. Then there was Nevin, my brother, who overworked himself, picking up the slack while Asher and Isaac floundered.
I knew him well enough to recognize when he drowned himself in work—he did it to escape whatever weighed heavily on his mind. It wasn’t just overthinking; I could sense his frustration, confusion, and hurt. I didn’t want to pry, but I also knew my brothers needed me, just as I needed them. Nora needed us more than ever. She had been robbed of growing up with us, deprived of her family. If I wanted to find her, I had to remind my brothers of our bond, of the importance of sticking together, no matter what.
My gift of sight wasn’t at all what I had thought it would be. Ever since we found Grandma Frances, she had helped me in ways I hadn't expected. It wasn’t just the ability to see the past, present, and future; I could also sense things, see auras, and, apparently, now I could see through my twin sister’s eyes. I didn't even know how I had done that—it just happened on its own.
First, I needed to help my brothers with whatever they needed. I had to rally them to find Nora; I couldn’t do it alone. I knew my mate would assist me, but I didn’t want to burden him with everything. Though he wouldn’t see it that way, Grandma had warned us not to be around each other in public. It was for our own safety now that we were part of the supernatural council again.
After my shower, I dried off and got dressed. The warm water had cleared my thoughts, and I made a plan for what needed to happen. I didn’t want to be the type of princess who locked herself in the castle while the men did all the work. I still needed to find my role now that our family was reestablishing itself. My people bowed before me and called me princess, which was something I had to get used to. But deep down, I wanted to earn their respect, to deserve my title just as my mate deserved his as King of Wolves.
As I left my room, I knew before meeting my mate, I had to consult with Grandma. She might understand why I could see through Nora's eyes. Once I had that clarity, I’d update my brothers about Crowley before turning their focus onto their own struggles. Then I’d probe further into why Grandma Alice hadn’t succeeded in removing the mating law. It was the very law that kept my mate and me from being wholly together in front of the council.
With hope in my heart, I steeled myself, determined that my plan would provide the answers I desperately needed.
- Writer
