Chapter 68 - He Returns

I clutched onto the piece of paper I had in my hand tightly. The neatly written digits Blake had unwillingly noted on it stared back at me. You could see the dent marks on the paper where Blake had pressed the pen too hard while he cursed for having to even ask for the information I was holding.

My chest tightened, and I wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but right now, I was a little short on time. My life was on the line, and this was probably the only option we had.

I glanced out the window and tried to focus on the orange skies. The sun was setting, filling the evening skies with its beautiful red and orange flames.

Before we left Evelyn’s driveway, Benji had made a series of logical statements that had us all stunned.

*“Max has experience in dark magic, and from what I’ve heard, he has managed to communicate with feral spirits in the past. He’s a very powerful warlock, and we know he can do some pretty messed-up things. Given your relationship with him and our lack of time, he will be our best bet.”*

I closed my eyes, squeezing them tightly. I couldn’t help but curse my destiny. Was I really going to ask the guy that had caused nothing but problems in my life for help?

Everything Benji said made sense. We knew Max was the fastest way to trial our theory, but Klaus had his reservations since Max’s ways were frowned upon by many Witches and Warlocks. As I had learned, The Coven was responsible for teaching Max magic. Once upon a time, he was Klaus’s apprentice. Everything Max knew, Klaus had taught him. Although Klaus made it very clear he had never taught him dark magic. How Max learned dark magic was still a mystery.

After a heated debate between Klaus, Benji, Elijah, and Blake, the men agreed that finding Max was essential. So Blake reluctantly called Sue, the only person Max kept in contact with.

Once Blake explained to Sue what was happening, she immediately went searching for Max’s number. Sue said she wasn’t sure if Max still had the same number given what happened at the clinic, but it was worth trying.

I looked down at the piece of paper in my hand again. Blake had quickly written the number Sue had given and handed the paper to me.

*“You will have a better chance in convincing him to help us. Make the call,”* Blake muttered before turning away and sliding into the driver’s seat.

My stomach churned at the thought of asking Max for help. Max had a reputation of only helping when it benefitted him. What was to say he wouldn’t demand something in return just like Evelyn had.

Taking a deep breath in, I reached for my phone. Guess there was only one way to find out if he would help me.

My finger trembled as I dialed the number written on the paper.

Blake growled under his breath and tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he watched me place my phone to my ear.

He wasn’t too happy about this, but what choice did we have?

The phone rang and rang. Finally, when there was no answer after six rings, I hung up.

“No answer?” Blake asked.

I shook my head and stared at my phone. Max must have ditched this number. How were we going to find him now?! Max did a tracking spell to find me once; maybe one of The Coven members could do a tracking spell too.

My head was spinning with so many questions. I could feel my anxiety rising. I was going to die, and my last option was nowhere to be found.

Just as I went to put my phone back into my pocket, it started to ring.

The number I had just called flashed on the screen.

“Hello?” I answered in a shaky voice.

“Rosalie, What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Max’s voice filled me with a sense of relief.

“Oh, thank god!” I exclaimed, letting go of the breath I was holding.

“Rosy, what’s going on?! Are you in trouble?! Is everything okay?!” Max demanded, his voice laced with concern.

I had rustling and doors opening in the background.

“Y-.. yeah. I’m okay. For now anyway.” I stuttered.

As relieved as I was that we found him, It felt wrong talking to him. I was meant to be mad at Max, angry that he had made it look like I was pregnant so that Blake and I would break up. He was trouble, and I had seen it first hand. Was I so desperate to stay alive that I would take advantage of whatever affection Max had for me? Didn’t that make me just as bad as Evelyn?

“Rosy… What’s going on? Please talk to me. Has something happened?” Max interrupted my thoughts.

There was more movement in the background as I heard more rustling and crunching of leaves. Max cursed at something before I heard another door open and close.

I looked up at Blake, and he gave me a tight smile.

“Max, I-.. I need your h-..help.” I stuttered. My heart raced as if I was running a marathon.

“Where are you?! I’m coming.” he barked, and within seconds I could hear a car start.

“Could you please meet us at the Cooper Mansion in maybe 20 minutes?”

“Us? Blake’s with you?” Max asked. I could hear his car purr as it accelerated.

“Yeah, he’s here. It’s complicated, but I’ll explain everything when I see you. Will you come?” I bit my bottom lip, anticipating his answer.

“I’ll see you soon.” he hung up.

I stared at my phone screen for a few seconds, utterly shocked by Max’s response.

“Angel... You okay?” Blake reached over and squeezed my thigh.

“He didn’t even ask what the problem was or why I was calling him for help. I expected a little resistance from him, but he just got into his car to come to help me.” I couldn’t hide the confusion in my voice.

Blake sighed and squeezed my thigh a little harder.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Angel.” he sighed.

“You knew he wouldn’t question me, didn’t you?” my words came out as more of an accusation rather than a question.

“Yeah, I did. My brother may be a completely selfish asshole. But if you are his mate like he claims you are, then his body screams for him to help you, no questions asked. Just like my body does.” Blake clenched his jaws.

“I have a bad feeling about asking him for help, Blake,” Rocky commented from the backseat.

“You and I both. We don’t really have any other choice right now. The moment he makes one mistake, I’ll use his blood to water his grave,” Blake growled.

His words made me shiver a little. We were taking a risk asking Max for help, but his reaction to my phone call made me feel hopeful.

The rest of the drive was quiet. All three of us were lost in our thoughts, trying to process everything that happened. Finally, we made it to the Cooper Mansion in record time since Blake didn’t seem to want to follow any road rules. Once we got inside, I was smothered with hugs and reassurances. Sue had called and told Dwyane and Nate what had happened during our meeting with Evelyn. They had wrapped up their work immediately and came home to help us figure out what to do next.

At some point, Sue disappeared to organize dinner for us while we waited for Max. I looked at the time, and it had been over 2 hours since we had arrived at the mansion. Max still hadn’t turned up, although I had no idea where he really was and how long it would take him. Was I foolish to think he would actually show up to help me? What if he changed his mind midway?

“He will be here,” Dwayne’s voice came from behind me as I stood at the ranch slider, looking out at the forest behind the house.

I turned towards the old man and tried to smile as convincingly as possible. How did he know what I was thinking?

“Whitlock blood, huh? I always knew there was something special about you.” Dwayne walked over and stood next to me.

“Do you know the Whitlock family?” I asked, hoping I would get some insight into what mum’s family was like.

“Michael and I have known each other since we were toddlers. We grew up together, trained together too” Dwayne smiled at the memory.

“So then you knew my mum?” I gulped.

Dwayne stuffed his hands into his pockets and shook his head. “No, unfortunately, I didn’t. Life got in the way after we took our thrones, and we only saw each other during meetings or functions. I mean, we did talk to each other over the phone and stuff, but it wasn’t like when we were younger. I don’t think I have ever got to meet your mum. I have met Lena and Jonathan, though. Your mum took off when she was so young; we didn’t get to know her. Michael disowned Bethany the day she left and made us all vow we would never speak of her. Eventually, her existence was wiped out.” Dwayne explained.

“For so long, I craved a family. I wished I had grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, relatives. Little did I know that I had everything. I just didn’t know about them. Although, now that I do know, I still can’t have it.” I snickered.

“Who says you can’t have it?” Dwayne tilted his head to the side. With the way Dwayne was standing, you could see the handsome resemblance that ran from father to son to grandsons.

“Why would they want to accept their disowned daughter’s bastard? Why unearth the past they had worked so hard to hide?”

“Don’t believe everything you hear. Unless you’ve seen them turn their backs on you, I wouldn’t rule out anything” Dwayne reached out and squeezed my shoulder. He gave me a tight smile and walked away.

Did I want to see their rejection? The thought of contacting my mum’s family had crossed my mind, but after remembering the terms my mother had left in, I dismissed any desire to see them. Why would they want to see me? They had happily moved on with their life and buried every shame my mother brought on them; me showing up to meet them would turn their world around.

Sue called us all for dinner, and I made my way to the extravagant dining room. The table could easily fit 30 people, but right now, it was set up for 7. Unfortunately, Emily had gone out of town for a school research trip and wouldn’t be back for a few weeks.

Just as we all sat down to eat, the side doors flung open, and Max walked in.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Max growled as he walked in.

He walked over to me, his eyes scanning every part of me he could see.

Max pulled out the empty chair next to me and sat down, his hands immediately turning my chair to see the rest of my appearance.

“Did they hurt you?!” He demanded, his face and voice covered in concern.

*They?!* Who was he talking about?!

“I-.. I’m not hurt,” I stuttered. His reaction was a little overwhelming.

“Then?!”

“She’s decaying,” Blake simply responded.

“Decaying? Like a suppressant decaying?!” Max stood up and looked at his brother.

Blake nodded.

“Max, hunny, why don’t you grab a plate and sit down. It’s a long conversation, and you must be starving,” Sue chirped in, standing up and filling a plate for Max.

Max walked around the table and pulled out an empty chair next to Dwayne, across from me.

“Old fart” Max nodded at his grandfather before sitting down.

“Obnoxious moron,” Dwayne replied, popping a piece of meat into his mouth.

“Alright, I’ve got food and annoying company, now talk. What’s going on??” Max stabbed his food and looked at Blake.

Blake proceeded to explain to Max about the suppressant and my heritage. It was the first time I had seen the brothers sit and have a civilized conversation.

“Damn, I missed out on the fun part, huh. Fucking Evelyn. She may be a strong witch, but she’s annoying as hell. Why’d you have to sleep with Cynthia anyway? She’s a walking talking STD.” Max rumbled between his bites.

“You’re one to talk. You slept with her before and after I did.” Blake barked, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, whatever. But this doesn’t explain why I’m here. What can I do to help? The witch that cast the spell is the only one that can lift it,” Max was stating what we already knew.

“We know that. We need you to wake her wolf spirit. Rumors are you’ve had success before” Blake put his cutleries down and folded his arms.

Max stopped mid-chew. “I may know a thing or two” he narrowed his eyes and looked around the table.

Everyone was staring at him, waiting for his response.

“Wait, are you serious?!” Max asked.

“Benji made a point. Rosy has a wolf spirit residing in her. But because Beth and Evelyn tempered with it, the spirit has gone to sleep. If we can wake the spirit up even slightly, it might activate the dormant part of Rosy’s werewolf genes. As a result, her body will receive the werewolf strength to fight the decaying,” Blake explained. Even though he was trying to hide it, you could hear the desperation in his voice.

“You do know how dangerous that is?? Her wolf, that’s been sleeping for over 20 years, the first thing she will want to do is burst into her wolf form. Rosy has gone past all the milestones. Usually, you get to learn about your wolf and accept it before you turn. Your body is phased into the shift. But Rosy’s body is past the learning phase. Her wolf will wake up and take charge. With the suppressant fighting to keep the wolf in, her feral spirit will fight against it to come out! That might kill her before the decay does.” Max roared.

There was that sentence again. Was there any way I wasn’t going to die?

“Max has a point, Blake. Rosy has a very powerful bloodline. A very dominant Alpha wolf. She won’t just sniff freedom and stay put.” Nate added.

“Well then, will someone tell me how I can stop myself from dying?” I croaked, looking down at my plate. I didn’t have the willpower to look at anyone without bursting into tears.

“Angel, we will find a way,” Blake cooed and side hugged me, kissing my head.

As comforting as Blake’s hug was, I knew his hugs were not always going to fix my problems.

I had Max sigh from across the table.

“I may know another way,” Max confessed. “Although, I will need Klaus’s help.”

I felt Blake straighten up a little.

“I will talk to Klaus. I’m sure he will be willing to cooperate for the sake of his Luna.” Blake assured.

“Wait, what’s the other way?” I interrupted.

I needed to know what he was going to do. No way was I letting Max do anything to me without knowing.

“The rumors are true. In the past, I have had success connecting to wolf spirits. However, it’s only been for small things. Finding out why a wolf is still feral? Why someone hasn’t shifted? But what Rosy needs is for her spirit to be woken and tamed before she goes haywire. As much as I can wake her up, I need to have someone on the outside doing a calming spell so that the wolf spirit stays civil long enough for me to explain the situation to her.” Max rubbed his face, avoiding eye contact with me.

Was he hiding something?

“How can I trust you won’t use this opportunity as an attempt to separate Blake and me?” I asked. Blake’s arms around me tightened possessively.

Max stared at me like he was trying to solve some complicated puzzle. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and I felt knots forming in my stomach.

“How about we call it a truce? Maybe we should focus on keeping you alive. All my energy will go to waste if you die,” Max smirked, earning a growl from Blake.

“Please don’t make me regret this, Max. My life is in your hands, and I will happily choose death over separation from Blake.” I vowed.

The innocent smirk on Max’s face turned cynical.

“Trust me when I say this. You will not get a choice when death comes knocking on your door. The only reason you’re still alive is because someone out there wants to keep you alive.” he snickered.

“What the fuck does that even mean?!” I hissed.

“You will know when the time is right.” Max ran his hands through his hair and turned towards Blake.

“How fast can you convince Klaus to help? We can get started in the morning.” Max asked,

“I’ll give him a call now” Blake excused himself and walked out of the dining room.

Max leaned back into his chair and absentmindedly played with the food left on his plate.

His demeanor told me there was definitely something he wasn’t telling us. Did he know more than we did? and if he did, what did he know?

The longer I looked at him, the more I regretted my decision.

Lord, please, make this as simple as possible.