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“You already have, Bruno,” I said, and then clamped my mouth shut. Why had I said that? Yes, I wanted him, but this was going too fast.
He must have felt my panic. “We can take it slow,” he reassured me. “Now that I’ve found you, I can wait till you’re absolutely sure you want to be with me. There’s no hurry, okay?”
Relieved, I nodded. “Okay.”
“Bruno, tell us more about what is going on with Pac,” Charli said.
Bruno sighed. “It’s not looking good. We can’t find the witches Pac is working with. They’ve hidden themselves well. We think Esmi is leading them, and Miti believes they are also looking for the flower.”
Charli sucked in a deep breath at the same time I did. “Esmi is looking for the white flower?”
“Yes,” he said. “The only person we know who’s ever seen it is Bubbie. That’s how her pack got so strong, but she refuses to tell Miti where to obtain it.”
“For good reason,” Charli spit out. “That flower is not to be trifled with. Only one person has ever been able to harness its power and stay sane.”
“But we still need to get it before Pac does. We must be either equals in this war or stronger than he and his army are in order to win the fight ahead of us.”
“Or just have the right people on our side,” Charli said, looking at me. “I think you two should take a stroll through the woods in the back, maybe step in the grove together.”
I snapped my head to her. “You said it was too early.”
“The bond between you two is strong, even for mated pairs. I’m willing to bet that Bruno can keep you grounded in the grove, especially with Miti’s blood coursing through him. Between me holding the spirits back and Bruno by your side, it might just work.”
After fainting twice and coming out of it with a massive headache, I was hesitant to go back in again so soon. But with Bruno looking at me like I was his be-all and end-all, I couldn’t help but nod. “Okay, I’m willing to give it a try after dinner.”
Bruno sent me a warm smile, and that was enough to cement the idea.
We finished dinner and headed out for a walk. Hand in hand, I led him to the grove. I really wasn’t looking forward to going in again.
“Welcome to my family grove,” I said, giving him a smile. “I only learned about this in the last two days. It’s definitely not something I ever thought was real outside of a fiction book.”
“I’ve heard a lot about this place,” Bruno said. “Never thought I’d see it.” He squeezed my hand and led me toward the trees. “Shall we step in?”
I nodded. Looking at the grove, I recited aloud, “I give permission for Bruno McCullough to enter the Wu family grove.”
Charli entered first, followed by Bruno, and then me. I felt the zing of the wards as soon as I stepped through and closed my eyes, preparing for the bombardment of voices and images to slam into my mind. But nothing came. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw Charli floating in the middle of the grove, chatting with a couple of ghosts. Bruno rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand to let me know he was there, and I turned to see he was looking at me with a smile.
I could feel something crawling across my wrist, and I looked down to see a golden thread was wrapping itself around our joined hands and working up our arms. Instead of freaking out and screaming, I watched it do its thing until it had ensconced us both. What felt like a mother’s warmth washed over me as the golden string dissipated into thin air.
“You feel that?” Bruno asked.
I looked at him and nodded. “I feel connected to you more than before.”
Yes.
My eyes went wide, and I stared at his lips . . . which hadn’t moved. He had spoken in my mind!
I’m very sure that, after that, we can probably communicate across great distances now, he continued in my mind. But, my love, I want you to know that your thoughts are always safe unless you want me to hear them.
How are you so calm with this? I returned. It was a wonder I wasn’t running away. But for once, I felt grounded, even with the sudden ability to talk to Bruno mind to mind.
I had the privilege of growing up with Miti, and she’s told me many stories. One of them being how powerful this grove is, and how important it is to witches. It’s one of three that remain in the world and must be protected at all costs.
Processing this, I looked around and realized there were ten spirits staring at me. Two of them approached me with Charli in tow, and I gasped, “Grandma Juniper!” I ran to her and fell through her image, but she came back around to face me and put her hands on my shoulders. I stood very still and felt a soft tingle at her touch. “I’ve missed you so much. It hasn’t been the same since you left, Grandma.”
“My sweet girl, I have missed you too. I wondered how long it would be before you found this place.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all of this? Our family? That we’re witches?”
