Page 69 of The Witch’s Daughter

And when I did, something strange happened. It was more than a calming peace that washed over me. It was a warmth I’d never felt. Acceptance like I’d never had before. And I had to wonder, if this was what it would’ve been like to have a mother who cared.

“Do you still love her?” Mischief sparkled in the witch’s eyes as I nodded. “Then why would you let some silly human warlock keep you from your destined mate?”

I knew I always liked her.

25

Trish

I tried to hold onto the dreams of Jaxon and what he’d done to me in the woods the other night just a little bit longer, but they faded as I slowly came awake. Last night, I’d crashed hard. I hadn’t meant to sleep like a baby in this warlock’s war camp, but in my defense, life had been stressful lately and it was the first time I’d slept in a real bed in almost two weeks.

Finally. My wolf yawned. Your turn.

She stretched out her front paws, giving me our body, as her bones broke and rearranged with that of mine. I continued the stretch with my arms above my head, echoing her yawn.

Thanks for keeping watch.

She mumbled something incoherent as her consciousness settled down in my mind to sleep.

Smiling, I caught a whiff of myself. I still smelled deliciously clean from my first real bath in ages last night. Vincent may have been a crazy warlock, but he sure knew how to treat his guests.

A girl could get used to this.

If only there wasn’t the lingering threat of war on the horizon and the mystery of the Ossory witch to solve.

I dressed quickly. Vincent had my stuff brought to this tent—that was more of a guest house than a tent—despite my protests. If I didn’t know Alpha Kera would be here any minute and that Jaxon would look for me if I disappeared, I might’ve bolted last night. But Vincent seemed to trust me and I wanted to use that to my advantage while the opportunity presented itself.

Once I was dressed, I sat cross-legged on the intricately woven carpet and inhaled deeply.

Like a long-lost friend, the warmth of my magic embraced me as if it’d never left.

Hell yeah! I squealed to myself. We’re back.

My wolf opened one sleepy eye and nodded. Good. I needed a break.

Whatever happened on the training field yesterday with Jaxon had reignited my spark. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this whole.

I was still smiling as I opened the flap of the tent and welcomed the light of day outside. First on the agenda was to find Sarah. She’d slipped away yesterday at the chow hall, and I hadn’t seen her since. Jaxon and the others would want to know what she was doing here.

But that was proving to be a challenge.

You’d think we were in a whole other territory with how large a setup Vincent had. The tents themselves were tall enough to house giants, and there was enough space to host an army far bigger than the one currently testing to be here in the next valley over.

I tracked the sun in the sky, realizing it was probably close to breakfast time now, and just about the time that the other witches would be heading toward that field. Jaxon was probably still pissed at me. I chewed my bottom lip as I walked, sending up a silent prayer that he’d understand.

Once this was all over—this afternoon most likely—I’d make it up to him somehow.

I continued to walk through the makeshift war camp, trying to find my way back to familiar landmarks by using my instincts because I didn’t recognize anything. It was eerie how abandoned the paths all seemed.

Maybe Vincent planned to fill these tents later, and this was some sort of mock set up to test his equipment. Ossory territory wasn’t near any human city I’d ever heard of—Virtua must’ve been at least three hundred miles to the south—so he couldn’t have planned to stage a base camp here.

And I didn’t know why he needed such large beds and bathtubs for a war effort anyway.

Wasn’t war supposed to be less… luxurious?

I retraced my steps to the chow hall tent, trusting my gut to lead me there. The stomach never lies. I found the tent in no time at all. It was empty too except for the silver trays on the serving table piled high with fruit and baked goods like an offering to anyone who entered.

Don’t mind if I do. I snagged an apple and a slice of sweet bread before resuming my search.