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I lean forward, giving him a look of impatience. I’ve always gotten along fine with Mitch. I know he’s advised Aunt Cat on some medical issues several times and he’s fishing buddies with my father and Andy Quinn, but he likes the sound of his own voice.
Mitch seems to pick up on my impatience, quickly adding, “Sergei advised he will gladly speak to Riley or Erica if they’d like. He left his phone number. I’ll forward it to you, Riley.”
“Uh huh,” I say, impatiently.
“Should I continue or would one of you like to?” He looks to the witches.
“I’ll speak,” Aviva says. “Our aim with Erica’s punishment seems harsh to you now, from what I understand.”
“Understatement,” I clip.
My mate squeezes my hand.
“Yes, but necessary. You see, most covens have a generation every two or three that is stronger than the previous few. We happen to know that the current Young coven generation is stronger than has been seen in many generations. Many. If not stronger than any.”
The sisters all exchange looks that have me bracing.
Aviva keeps talking, “Knowing their potential for substantial powers and as we do on the supernatural council collective, we paid attention. While the first four born to the family are strong, formidable witches, we knew the youngest would be a force of nature. Quite literally. Lucinda saw it coming before you were born, Erica.”
“What does that mean?” my mate asks.
Aviva looks at her with a kind look. “I think it might already be obvious to you. You are a force of nature. You no longer need to tap into nature in the way the rest of us do. We knew that your mating would unlock it. Level your abilities up, so to speak. Partly, we believe, because of where you were conceived, partly because of who your fated mate is. It’s also this area. The magic in this region connects with the mating ritual, linking profound events in a supernatural being’s life. Lucinda, as the senior seer of the council, was privy to some frightening statistics about not only your potential for power but also the fact that it would hit after you mated with Riley Savage. Another witch who has since died got a vision of you taking matters into your own hands after seeing that wolf shifter before the right timing. We had to intervene and guide events to mitigate risk.”
How much intervention? The look on Lucinda Alexander’s face is chilling. I don’t trust her.
“You knew what I was going to do before I did it?” Rikki asks.
Lucinda replies. “What we knew specifically is irrelevant.”
Aviva continues speaking, “But, we believed it necessary to delay you coming into excess power too early. Your efforts to hasten the mating would mean you’d come into power far too early, way before you were ready to handle being a force of nature rather than being part of the balance of nature. Erica, dear, you’ve got the potential for dark magic that even dark witches don’t have.”
“I don’t get it,” I say.
Lucinda speaks up again. “Witches operate within the confines of a code of conduct necessitated by the balance of energy. Give and take. Give more than you take. Erica has come into power that gives her access without cosmic repercussions hitting her. It’s a big responsibility as well as a burden. And a delicate balancing act is required even if nature doesn’t require it. Do you understand, Erica?”
My mate nods, looking a little pale.
Aviva adds, “You’ll be asked at a certain point to take a position on this council. To help keep the balance in check for all supernaturals.”
“What if I don’t want that?” my mate asks.
“We already know you don’t want it. But it’s something you’ll need to do. You are needed,” Lucinda tells her.
“I don’t understand,” my mate says.
Mimi speaks up. “They wanted to humble you so that when you came into power you wouldn’t abuse it. And from my perspective, so that you’d be submissive to their agenda.”
All eyes are on her. The two visiting witches do not look pleased.
Mimi continues. “They therefore bestowed upon you the cruelest punishment they could give you so that you would be humbled. So that you would know what you could lose if not careful. So that when you got what was coming to you – your power along with your fated partner in life, you would be cautious.”
“Wait a fuckin’ second,” I snap. “You all used our relationship as a tool to keep her humble? To make sure she was so fuckin’ broken from having to live a lie for seven years so you could control her and her powers when she got them?”
Nobody says anything and that’s my answer.
There’s dangerous energy surging through the room. Rikki’s sisters are all livid. Mimi still stands, glaring. My family, my pack members are all staring with awe in their expressions.
