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Trust. That was what Liberty had told me I needed to do. Trust my mate.
I turned to look at Paige, my hand tightening around hers. “I’m sorry for all the secrets. I’m sorry for not telling you that I was your mate. Not just your fake mate, but your fate-chosen mate. I’m sorry for not telling you about the baby the moment I knew. I’m sorry for hiding your cards to keep all my secrets. Above all, I’m sorry for not trusting that you could handle the truth…and for believing you needed protection from yourself.”
Tears sparkled in Paige’s eyes as she looked back at me, her hand tightening with mine. “I accept your apology. I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have left the packhouse. It was stupid and immature of me.”
“You were going home. You wanted family support.” I stated, turning my eyes back to the road. “I don’t blame you for that. And I don’t blame you for trusting Katya. Accepted or not, she was a pack member, and you should have been able to trust her. I know I left little for you to trust in my pack when you first came to the packhouse, but deep down, I never had thought they’d actually harm you.” I brought her hand to my lips, pressing them there. “Katya will be punished.”
“Nyte,” she questioned. “Why did the pack come with you if they haven’t accepted you as Alpha?”
I smiled, pressing another kiss to her hand. “Because they may not have accepted you as a pack member just yet, but they never turn away a pup. They would die for our child even if they have no wolf and all magic. They would still be born a member of the pack.”
It was a relief to know this and to tell her with confidence that no matter what, our child would be accepted and cared for by the pack. I could see in her the relief at hearing that. When we finally arrived back at the packhouse, with the caravan of all the packs filling the neighborhood, I parked in the driveway of the packhouse just behind Alpha Alexander.
“Are you ready?” Alexander asked, nodding to Paige.
“I just need the pendulum and a map.” She confidently walked up to him, the pack gathering in the driveway. I could hear a few whispers, my newly acquired pack growling at some derogatory comments to Paige. She glanced back at everyone. “No fighting. We don’t have time for any of that.”
Alexander stared at her in surprise and respect, nodding his agreement. “Everyone remain prepared. The women with young children should be taken to the midwives while we prepare.” He looked back at Paige after addressing the packs. “I have several city and state maps in my office. Meet me there with the pendulum.”
Paige nodded and looked back at me. “Where did you put it? Is it in that cubby that my cards were hidden in?”
“Yes,” I told her, taking the lead into the packhouse. “It’s in a velvet box. I’m surprised you hadn’t found it when you found the cards.”
She chuckled behind me. “Magical tools sometimes go undetected when they are not needed. They have minds of their own.”
We rushed up the stairs and into our room, reaching the hidden compartment beneath the TV. Paige watched as I opened the small door. Her eyes widened when she saw the black velvet box in the middle of the wires, exactly where she must have seen her cards sitting. Careful not to unplug any wires inside, I pulled out the box and turned to her, offering it like a human might with an engagement ring. She slowly reached for the box, opened it, and looked inside, gasping at the pendulum within.
“It’s the same one,” she whispered.
“What does that mean?” I frowned, watching her carefully lift the pendulum from its box.
“I saw this exact pendulum in my vision. Every detail is the same. I hadn’t ever seen it before, but something about it is familiar. I now understand why.” She lifted the pendulum so its stone dangled in front of her face, allowing her to admire the stone before her.
“What do you feel?” I asked.
“I feel him,” she answered without hesitation, my brow creasing at her words.
“Who?”
“My grandfather. I never actually met him since he passed before I had been born. But I feel him in this stone. His magic. It’s strange. Our signatures are so similar, yet so different. He put so much of himself into this stone.”
“Your dad said that he gave it to him on his wedding day. It would have been a few years before you were born then.”
Paige nodded, letting the stone return to the box and looking at me. “He was a seer like me. I knew that growing up. He could see things, but it would come out in riddles if he tried to explain them to Ama. That’s what she told me when I learned my specialty. It’s why she gave me the cards. They help unjumble messages and make it easier to share what I see.” She looked back down at the stone again. “No one knew that about his gift. They all just thought he enjoyed speaking in riddles to them.”
I smiled at her, a glow coming off her as she looked at the pendulum. As much as I wanted to sit there and let her bask in this new connection to a family member she hadn’t been able to meet, I knew we didn’t have the time.
“Come on.” I took her elbow, guiding her to the door. “Everyone is waiting for us.”
She nodded, snapping the box closed and rushing from our room at my side. I led the way to the alpha office, our footsteps echoing in the nearly empty house. Everyone else had remained outside. Those unable to fight joined the midwives on the beach as everyone else waited for orders. I could hear a distant phone call from Thompson, ordered by Alexander to call the remaining packs to join us here, my uncle included.
Inside the alpha’s office, Madilyn, Chase, and Jose already sat on the seats inside as Alexander paced behind his desk. His maps were strewn across the desk; his head snapped around to face Paige and me as we opened the office door.
“Do you have it?” he asked Paige, a flicker of hope shining in his eyes.
“Yes,” she answered, holding the box with the pendulum inside. She walked around his desk and looked down at the maps, reaching for the state map first. “We’ll have to start wide; I saw trees and a cave in my vision. I doubt that they were in the city.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Alexander commented, stepping out of her way.
