“You want me to hear Zelda say that she can’t help you with your curse and that you have to leave to keep everyone under her and Mac’s care safe.”She supplied the answer for him.“Then it will be easier for you to walk away like you always do.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but before he could, the low crunch of tires on gravel cut through the night air.
Macy turned her head just as a sleek black SUV rolled into view.The vehicle slowed to a stop, the engine purring like some kind of predator, before shutting off.The silence that followed was deafening.
The doors opened, and out stepped Mac, broad and commanding, his dark eyes scanning the area like a King inspecting his territory.He walked around and opened the passenger door.Zelda slid out with all the grace of a Queen.Her delicate curls blowing with the breeze, her small frame practically glowing with witchy confidence.Zelda was absolutely beautiful with a grace that put most women to shame.
Macy stood rooted to the spot as Mac and Zelda approached, the air charged with something heavy, something inevitable.Kaelen shifted beside her, his golden eyes wary, every muscle coiled as if preparing for a blow.
It was Zelda who broke the silence first.“Hello, Macy,” Zelda smiled at her.“I’m sorry that I didn’t speak with you last night.Please forgive me, but when I heard that we had a Werewolf among us, well, that threw me.”Her chuckle and shake of her head had Macy smiling.
“I appreciate that, and yeah, I guess that would take priority.”Macy decided to give her grace that her being dismissed wasn’t a slight.It definitely made her feel better.
Zelda touched her arm and squeezed gently before turning her attention to Kaelen.“Kaelen,” she said, looking at him as if she could see straight through the walls he’d built.“You are not cursed, but Macy already knew that.Didn’t you?”Zelda looked at Macy with a knowing smile.
“Yes, I did,” Macy replied with a nod, her gaze snapping to Kaelen.His face was carved from stone, but his stillness spoke louder than any words.
“But how can you be so sure of this?”Kaelen asked, obviously proving he was not ready to believe it.
“I’ve talked to my elders as well as other connections that are far more knowledgeable than I about your kind,” Zelda said, her tone patient as if understanding his reluctance to believe her.
“But what if they are wrong?”Kaelen countered without hesitation.
“They are not.You are a Shifter...just as much as any Wolf, Bear, Crow, or any other Shifter that calls this place home.What you carry inside you is not a curse, Kaelen.It’s who you are.”Zelda continued, her tone kind but firm.“And you’re not alone.There are other Werewolves.”
The air seemed to crack around them, Kaelen’s sharp inhale like a wound opening.His hands curled into fists at his sides, his chest rising and falling too fast.For the first time, Macy saw something in him she hadn’t seen before—raw hope.
Mac crossed his arms, his expression unreadable.“I have also spoken to those who know about your kind, Kaelen, and what Zelda says is true.Werewolves have been villainized by humans, which I even believed.”Reaching his hand out toward Kaelen, Mac waited for him to take his hand.“I will be the first to apologize for believing the worst about you and your kind.”
Macy watched with her heart in her throat as Kaelen took Mac’s hand in a handshake.
“You’re welcome to stay in Assjacket, Kaelen.To be part of this community, this family of Shifters.But…” Her head tilted slightly.“You should also go in search of your own kind.Find them.Learn what it means to truly be a Werewolf.”
Macy’s chest constricted, her heart thudding painfully against her ribs.She wanted to be happy for him—hell, shewashappy.The look on his face as Zelda’s words sank in, the fire in his eyes sparking with something close to joy.It was everything she’d wanted for him.For him to see himself as more than a monster.For him to believe he belonged.Then why did she feel so damn sad?
Her fingers curled into her palms as she forced a brave smile, even though her insides were twisting into knots.She’d never seen him look so alive, so lit from within as he talked to Mac.She suddenly knew in her bones she couldn’t be the reason he stayed, not when the truth of who he was waited for him beyond Assjacket.
“Walk with me,” Zelda said softly.
Macy blinked, startled when Zelda touched her arm.She hesitated, then followed as Zelda led her a few steps toward the edge of the trees.The witch’s auburn curls glowed in the hazy sunlight, her frame radiating a calm strength that made Macy feel both seen and exposed.
Zelda turned, eyes sharp but not unkind.“You love him.”
The words hit Macy like a punch to the gut.She opened her mouth, then shut it, heat flooding her face.“What?No!I mean, I—I just met him,” she stammered, sounding like an idiot.“It’s not?—”
“Itis,” Zelda cut in gently but firmly.“I’ve lived long enough to know what love looks like, Macy.And it’s all over you.In the way you look at him, the way you defend him.You’re already standing in the fire for him, even though you’ve only just begun to know him.I know what you did.So does everyone.You went against your Murder for him.”
Macy swallowed hard, blinking fast.Her chest ached because Zelda was right, and it terrified her.“He doesn’t even see himself the way I do.He thinks he’s nothing but trouble.That he’ll hurt me.How do you love someone who can’t even believe he deserves it?”
Zelda’s expression softened, but her eyes never lost their intensity.“By fighting for him.By standing beside him as he finds who he really is.”She glanced toward Kaelen, who was still talking with Mac.“He needs to find his people, his truth.But that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of that journey.Don’t you dare shrink from what you feel because you think it’s too soon.You’re a Shifter, Macy.You know how this works.Time has nothing to do with this.”
Macy’s breath caught, her emotions a tangled knot of fear and longing.“What if he leaves and doesn’t come back?”she whispered, her voice breaking.
“Then you’ll know you loved him honestly,” Zelda said softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand.“But from what I see, I doubt he’ll ever let go of the one person who sawhimwhen everyone else saw only a monster.”
Macy’s throat burned as tears stung her eyes.She wanted to deny it, to push Zelda’s words away, but deep down, she knew the witch was right.Shewasin love with Kaelen...recklessly, hopelessly, completely.
CHAPTER12
