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Sophie's presence feels distinctly different from the one I felt the other night at the lake. But while the Seer is clearly a unique character, it's quite possible that she's not the only one on these lands with strange powers.
I have this sinking feeling that there is something else lurking beyond the ragtag world of the Rovers and their benevolent King. As we look into the unknown, I can't shake the feeling that whatever is out there in the dark... it's staring right back at me. And it is neither witch nor wolf.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The inside of Sophie's cottage is surprisingly cozy, and a short while later, I find myself curled up on a couch with a blanket on my lap and a cup of tea in my hands. Tristan is across from me, leaning back in a leather armchair as Sophie takes a seat beside me.
"In your visions of me," I start slowly, "did you see where I come from? Do you know who my father was, or... do you know what my name is?"
I hadn't realized how desperately I wanted to ask that until the question left my lips. My mother is dead, my father a mystery. But surely, if anyone knows who I am and where I come from, it's Sophie.
But the Seer sucks in a breath, pursing her lips with a drawn expression that registers like a cold dose of reality. Her brows furrow together, and I feel my hopes come crashing down when she finally shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, child," the woman says. "I saw glimpses of your eyes in my dreams, heard whispers of you in the crackling of a fire and the bubbling of a brook. I felt an urgency about you that led me to tell Tristan about you. I sensed the importance of the part you would play as his mate, but I did not even know where you were or what you were called."
I bite back a sigh, trying to swallow my disappointment.
"There is a mark on her chest," Tristan says, determined to find out more. "Did you see anything about that in your premonition?"
"A mark? You're going to have to be more specific than that, boy. Looking into the future is like remembering a dream. I can try to make sense of bits and pieces, but even if I knew what I was looking for, it's no guarantee I'll be able to find it."
"It's a birthmark," I add. "The skin is lighter there, kind of like a scar. It's shaped like a crescent moon, about the length of my thumb. Here... may?" I reach out and take her hand gently, and she nods to me as I tug down the neckline of my shirt with my other hand. Slowly, I guide her fingertips to the spot below my left collarbone where the mark is.
Sophie's expression grows narrow with concentration as she presses her palm against my chest, covering the mark as if she could soak it up through her wrinkled skin.
"This isn't a birthmark," she says slowly, her voice suddenly somber. "I cannot see the stain on the surface, but I can feel it beneath. There's moonlight flowing in your veins, girl. There's something wrathful and divine wrapped around your heart."
She pulls her hand away suddenly in a sharp movement as if the mark somehow bit her, but I didn't feel anything. There's no pain in my chest, no shimmery glow on my skin.
"What does that mean, exactly?" Tristan asks, leaning forward in his seat as his eyes dart between me and the Seer, concern apparent on his face.
"Honestly?" Sophie shakes her head, shoulders sagging as she shifts back on the couch. "I don't know."
"Is it tied to my parents?" I ask, shaken by the witch's cryptic words. I'm not sure what sort of 'divine wrath' she sensed in me, but I need to find out. "Could it have something to do with why I don't have a wolf?"
Sophie arches a brow. "Oh, you have a wolf. It's buried deep within you, slumbering out of your reach."
What? All my life, I've been considered defective, broken, and freakish because I never manifested a wolf. Now this woman is telling me that there's been one inside me all along?
"I do not know how you can wake it," Sophie goes on, "and you won't be able to shift until you do. But it's there, dormant and waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Tristan demands, and there's an edge in his voice that tells me that he dislikes this uncertainty as much as I do. Perhaps even more. He cannot protect me from what he can't see.
"Mind your tone, boy. You know full well that I'm just the messenger. If you came here thinking you'd find easy answers and a clear path, then you haven't been paying attention."
Tristan lets out a low, unhappy growl, and Sophie's expression softens. Her face crinkles with affection when she turns toward him.
"You are a great Alpha and a good man. I have seen you take on one challenge after the next, but whatever is plaguing your mate will only be revealed with patience."
He shifts in his seat, and I find myself instinctively reaching out for him. I rest my hand on his knee and give him a small smile, which seems to melt some of the worry in his golden eyes.
"We're now aware that the mark is magic and that I have a wolf," I say, surprised by the steadiness of my own voice. "That is more than we knew when the day started."
His hands move to cover my own, and he squeezes them softly.
"We don't need to figure everything out at once," I tell him, lashes fluttering as I look down at our entwined hands. "I've never been given a chance to know myself. You were the first person to ask me what I want. You're the first person that has cared enough about my past to look into it. You swore you would never harm me, and I promise I will never run away from you. So we have time. The answers will come."
Tristan closes his eyes for a moment, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand in a way that sends goosebumps across my skin. At last, he looks back up at the Seer, seemingly remembering that we're not alone.
"If there are no more answers to be found today, then perhaps some advice," he tells Sophie. "We don't understand the powers that are at play here. But this girl isn't a vision anymore." He nods toward me. "She's real, she's here, and she is my guest. My responsibility. One way or another, I intend to keep her safe. How would you suggest I do that?"
Sophie smiles, tilting her head to the side in a curious little motion as if she were listening for the answer before she spoke it.
"My advice? You aren't just an Alpha and a king, my boy. You are a warrior, and the wisest warriors know that the best way to protect someone in the long term is to teach them how to protect themselves. It's how you've built a kingdom out of ruin and a pack out of outcasts. You give people what they need to thrive."
Sophie turns back to me, and even through the scars, I swear I can see a glint in her cloudy eyes that screams of hope and resilience.
"You want to keep your little flower safe? Then do what you do best— help her blossom."
~The End~
