60

Julianne’s POV

I watched from the doorway as Arthur and Loretta spoke in hushed voices, their conversation too quiet for me to catch all the details. But I could hear enough to know that they were talking about what had just happened—the chandelier, Antonnia, and, of course, the witches. I could tell from the way their eyes flickered to each other that something was off. Something was wrong.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew the witches were behind this. I could feel their dark presence, even if they weren’t physically here. Nyx, especially. She was the one who’d been pulling strings, manipulating everything behind the scenes. I hated her. The way she'd found her way into our life pretending to be our friend was still amazing to me, and it was no other thing than Loretta, who decided to use her magic in healing in my hands, which cut the other day in the kitchen.

I felt my pulse quicken as anger bubbled up inside me. If Loretta didn’t know what they were up against, I sure as hell did. I wasn’t about to sit back and let my life, or Antonnia’s, be put in danger by Nyx and her coven all because of Loretta desire not to accept her role as their leader and go back to there coven.

I had to act fast first and get Arthur out of the room before talking to her.

I stepped forward, interrupting them. "Arthur," I said, my voice sweet. "I think you have bothered Loretta enough, and she needs to rest. Won't you go check on Antonnia or Jasmine?" I smirked, my eyes glinting.

Arthur cleared his throat and stood up, he gave us one last glance, his gaze lingering on Loretta's, before walking out of the room to the direction of Antonnia's room.

As soon as he was done, the pent-up anger I had felt earlier but had to keep at bay due to Arthur's presence surged through my skin. I stood akimbo and crossed my arms underneath my breast; my gaze stared intently at her.

"Loretta, you need to tell Nyx that you are the true leader, not me. Me. Not me. Because as you can see, I don't need to tell you anything at all; my life and that of Antonnia's are in danger, and the higher time you they know of the truth, the better for us all." I spat out, furiously.

Loretta turned to look at me, a frown creasing her face. "Julianne, please, please I am pleading with you, " She began, her voice calm but firm. "I know you’re angry, but we need to be smart about this. I am doing everything I can. you have to be patient with me to find a way to handle the witches and their crazy coven ." Loretta pleading, on the verge of crying.

I couldn’t hold back my frustration and anger. Looking back to the time she arrived at the park house, I have been jumping from one problem to another, first I was kidnapped out of the blues by no one particular I know and tortured and accused of being the moon goddess, and all of a sudden Loretta appeared and got me released, and we got into a quarrel with Jeremy who was also kidnapped and tortured brutally by the witches, and as if that was not enough, Jasmine is plotting her devilish scheme and the wicked would have killed Antonnia if Loretta was not on alert. Even though she got herself injured, my life and that of Antonia are still in danger. If she did not come for me, she would come for Antonnia so that I would give in to her desires.

"No, Loretta," I snapped. "You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to protect myself and Antonia all this time, not from the witches but from Arthur before he found us and brought us to the pack, and just when I was going to have my peace, the witch came into my life, and all this drama... I am sick and tired of it."

Loretta looked at me, her expression one of both sorrow and pity. I knew she must be feeling guilty for everything and I also felt for her because I knew she did not want to be a pawn in the hands of the witches and that is the reason for dodging them all this while, seeing the things she has gone through in her lifetime from her mother being killed by the witches while trying to protect he to her father chasing her out of the house.

"Please, Julianne," she said softly. "Give me a little more time. Please give me more time to devise a plot to eliminate the witched and the coven for once and for good. In the meantime, I promise, I will protect Antonia; even if I get injured, I don't care. I will make sure they are eliminated. But you need to trust me for now. Just a little longer." She pleaded desperately.

I wanted to say no. I wanted to rush in and take matters into my own hands. But deep down, I knew Loretta was right. If we didn’t have a plan, if we didn’t act carefully, it could backfire. I had to trust her—for now, and let her find a way to destroy her, in that way, she would be free from being in their coven while I wouldn't be in danger

"Fine," I said, my voice a little softer. "But I’m not waiting forever. If anything happens to Antonnia, I swear—"

"I know," Loretta interrupted, her voice full of understanding. "I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise. Don't forget I promised you that when you said you would keep my being a witch a secret, and what I did today is enough reason for you to believe that I am going to protect your daughter no matter what"

I nodded, though I still felt uneasy. But for now, I had no choice.

I turned towards the door then, needing some space from the feelings that had built between us. "I’m going for a walk," I said, my tone off. "I need some time to think and process everything. I will come to see you later and check how you are faring." I mumbled and, with that, walked out of the room without waiting for her response.

I had not gone far towards the pack's woods when Arthur emerged from the other direction. I turned around hurriedly and hastened my footsteps so he wouldn't see me, but it was too late.

"Running away from me?" He teased, sprinting towards me, grabbed my hands, and hauled me to face me.

"I was not doing such a thing, I was going for a walk; why would I run away from you?" I scoffed in disbelief.

But instead of getting mad at my behavior, he looked at me, concern flashing in his eyes. "I’ll come with you, we will go for the walk together," he said quickly.

I shook my head. "No. You should go take care of Jasmine and the baby. She needs you now more than I do. I am not a baby, and I can take care of myself, as you can see." I smiled at him.

It wasn’t entirely true. The truth was, I wanted him to stay with me. I wanted him close. But I couldn’t let him see how weak I was, how much I needed him. Not when he was so determined to break our bond, to replace me with someone else without much caring about the thing we had between us, and this growing and nagging feeling inside of me.

Arthur hesitated, his brow furrowing as if he were trying to decide whether to listen to me or not. Finally, he spoke, his voice softer this time. "Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you alone."

I turned away from him, trying to keep my emotions in check. "I’ll be fine," I said, my voice firm. "I just need some air. Go to Jasmine. I’ll be all right."

"No," he said suddenly. "I am coming to you wherever you are going," he said stubbornly, giving me her looks that left no room for argument.

I sighed tiredly. "Fine, you can come with me even though I know I can take care of myself."

As we walked down the quiet path, the weight of the day settled heavily on my shoulders. The cold air stung my skin, but I didn’t care. My mind was spinning, too caught up in everything that had happened. The witches, Nyx, Arthur’s decision to break our bond—it was all too much.

"Why did you want to break the mating bond with me? What if Jasmine gives birth to a girl and not the son, which is making you break up with me?" I blurted out without thinking.

He blinked, looking away, not expecting the question; he was taken aback. "No matter what happens, I will continue to love you, Julianne." He replied ignoring the main question.

"What thing you need to know is that this is not how things work," I answered.

But then, as we rounded a corner, I heard a rustle in the air, a sudden shift. My heart stopped. I knew that feeling. That presence.

Before I could react, Nyx appeared out of nowhere, stepping from the shadows like she had been waiting for me.

"Nyx," I whispered under my breath, my voice barely audible.