Chapter 17 Victor's Return (Scarlett POV)

Chapter 17 Victor's Return (Scarlett POV)

The house feels too big when Luna's not here.
I'm sprawled on the living room floor surrounded by crumpled tissues and my laptop, staring at the email from Crescent Ridge High detailing my two-week suspension. 
Violation of protective order. 
Aggressive behavior. 
Mandatory anger management counseling upon return.
My phone buzzes with another text from Blake: heard what happened. you ok?
I delete it without responding. He's been texting nonstop since yesterday, playing the concerned boyfriend while probably telling everyone I've completely lost it.
The front door opens.
"Luna?" I scramble to my feet, wiping my face. "Did you forget..."
Victor Ashford stands in the doorway.
My uncle looks exactly like I remember from five years ago... tall and lean with the same dark hair as Luna, though his is streaked with premature gray at the temples. He wears an expensive black coat over dark jeans, and his smile is gentle, familiar.
"Hello, Scarlett."
"Uncle Victor?" My voice cracks. "What are you... how did you..."
"The wards recognized me." He steps inside, closing the door softly behind him. "Blood of the pack, remember? They always let family through."
I should probably be more cautious. Luna said he vanished years ago, that he turned to dark magic after Aunt Melissa and Lily died. But standing here looking at him, all I see is the uncle who taught me to track deer in the woods, who let me win at chess even when I was terrible at it.
"Luna's not here," I manage. "She went to get groceries."
"I know. I waited until she left." Victor moves into the living room, his eyes sweeping over the tissues, the laptop, my red-rimmed eyes. "I came to see you, Scarlett. I heard about what happened at school."
"You heard?" I laugh bitterly. "Let me guess... the whole supernatural community is talking about how the great Silvermoon heir got a restraining order from a human boy?"
"I heard," he says quietly, "that my niece is hurting."
Something in his voice breaks me open. I sink back down to the floor, fresh tears spilling over. "I've ruined everything. The pack elders want me gone. Elder Casias is pushing his grandson as the new heir. Luna's losing authority because of me. And Danny..."
My voice chokes off entirely.
Victor crosses the room and sits beside me on the floor, like we used to when I was little and scared of thunderstorms. He doesn't say anything, just wraps an arm around my shoulders.
I break down completely.
"He's my mate," I sob into Victor's shoulder. "The Moon Goddess chose him for me, and I rejected it because he's not what I expected. He's quiet and nerdy and completely human, except he's not human, his father was a werewolf, but nobody told him, and now he's awakening and he's terrified and he thinks I'm some kind of witch who put a curse on him."
"Slow down." Victor's hand rubs circles on my back. "Start from the beginning."
So I tell him everything. Meeting Danny at basketball practice, the instant recognition of the mate bond, my stupid attempt to ignore it by dating Blake. Danny filing harassment charges. The restraining order. Watching him nearly shift in the cafeteria, breaking the restraining order to save him. The suspension.
"I just wanted to help him," I whisper. "He was about to shift in front of students. I broke the restraining order to save him, and he told the school board I attacked him. He showed them claw marks I gave him when I was trying to hold him together."
Victor is quiet for a long moment. When he speaks, his voice is thoughtful. "This boy, Danny, he doesn't know what he is?"
"I think he is beginning to realize it but keeps denying it." I wipe my face roughly. "Now he's transforming randomly and I can't even get near him to help."
"What does his mother know about werewolves?"
"I don't know. Luna said his father was David Walter, he left the packs years ago, went rogue. Married a human. Nobody knew he had a son until Danny's powers started manifesting."
Victor stands abruptly, pacing to the window. For a moment, he just stares out at the woods behind our house. When he speaks again, his voice is distant.
"There are people who hunt our kind, Scarlett. Organizations that have existed for centuries, dedicated to wiping out anything supernatural. They don't care about peace or coexistence. They see us as abominations."
"You mean like hunters? With guns and silver bullets?"
"More sophisticated than that." He turns back to me, and something in his expression makes me uneasy. "They use magic against magic. They infiltrate communities, turn people against each other, create chaos from within. A werewolf who doesn't know how to control his transformations, who has no pack to teach him, that's a tragedy waiting to happen. And when it does..."
He trails off, but I understand. "They'd use it as an excuse to come after all of us."
"Exactly." Victor moves away from the window. "Your pack, your family. Anyone connected to the incident."
I think about Danny in that classroom, his eyes flashing gold, his body trembling with the effort of not shifting. If I hadn't been there, if he'd transformed in front of Ms. Alvarez...
"I have to warn him," I say, standing up. "I have to tell Danny what's happening."
"You can't." Victor crosses back to me. "The restraining order. If you approach him again, they'll expel you permanently. Luna won't be able to negotiate for you a second time."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Just wait for him to lose control and hurt someone?"
"No." He takes both my hands in his. His skin is cold. "You let me help you."
I look up at him. "How?"
"I've studied magic that most werewolves consider forbidden," he says carefully. "Things I learned after Melissa and Lily died, when I was searching for answers. Ways to break curses, to strengthen bonds, to make people see the truth they're refusing to accept."
"You mean like a spell?"
"Something like that." His thumb traces circles on the back of my hand. "I can create a... let's call it a ritual. Something that would help Danny understand what's happening to him. Let him feel the mate bond consciously instead of fighting it. It would give his wolf something to anchor to, someone to ground him during the transformations."
Hope flares in my chest. "That would work?"
"It should. The mate bond is the strongest magic that exists. If Danny could feel it fully, accept it, his wolf would settle. He'd gain control instead of being controlled."
"But how would we, I can't get near him."
"You don't have to." Victor squeezes my hands. "I can perform the ritual remotely. I just need something of yours, something you've worn, something saturated with your scent and a location where Danny will be. The magic will do the rest."
It sounds too good to be true. "What's the catch?"
Victor's smile is sad. "The catch is that Luna can't know. She'd never approve, she's always been traditional about magic, afraid of anything that doesn't come directly from the Moon Goddess. But desperate times require desperate measures."
"I don't know..." I pull my hands back, suddenly uncertain. "If Luna found out..."
"Scarlett." Victor's voice is gentle but firm. "Your mate is awakening without guidance or control. In a few days, maybe a week, he's going to transform in a place where he can't be stopped, and people will die. When that happens, it won't just affect Danny. There are forces watching for exactly that kind of incident. Forces that would use it as justification to move against entire packs."
"You really think it's that serious?"
"I know it is." His gray eyes bore into mine. "I've seen what happens when newly awakened werewolves lose control. The aftermath. The investigations. The hunters who arrive pretending to be federal agents. They don't just eliminate the werewolf who caused the problem, they eliminate anyone who might have known, anyone who could be infected, anyone who poses a future threat."
This isn't just about me and Danny anymore. This is about protecting Luna, protecting the pack, protecting innocent people from what Danny might do if he completely loses control.
"What do you need?" I ask quietly.
Victor's shoulders relax. "Something you wear regularly. A piece of jewelry would be ideal, something that's absorbed your scent over time."
I touch the silver bracelet on my wrist automatically. Luna gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. It's a pack heirloom, passed down through the Alpha line for generations.
"Not that one." Victor's voice is sharp for just a moment, then softens. "Something less... significant. A normal piece of jewelry."
I think for a moment, then unclip the simple silver chain from around my neck. It's nothing special, I bought it at a mall three years ago but I've worn it almost every day.
"This?"
Victor takes it carefully, holding it up to the light. "Perfect. And I'll need to know where Danny will be tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow's Friday. He usually..." I trail off. "Wait, how do I know where he'll be? I'm not allowed to follow him, remember?"
"You're a werewolf, Scarlett. You have pack members who can observe without being obvious. Find out where Danny will be tomorrow night, text me the location, and I'll handle the rest."
He tucks the necklace into his coat pocket. For just a second, his face twists into something that might be pain, but it smooths over so quickly I think I imagined it.
"Uncle Victor?" I study his face more carefully. "Are you okay? You look tired."
"I'm fine." He touches my cheek briefly, the gesture affectionate but his hand ice-cold. "Just worried about you. You've been carrying too much weight alone."
"I'm not alone," I say automatically. "I have Luna."
"Do you?" Victor tilts his head. "Luna who's losing authority because of your choices? Luna who's being challenged by the elders? How much longer before she has to choose between you and the pack?"
Exactly what I've been afraid to think about.
"This ritual will fix things," Victor continues. "Danny will understand the bond, gain control of his wolf, and you'll have proven to the pack that you can solve problems instead of just creating them. Luna's position will be secure. The elders will have to acknowledge your strength."
It sounds perfect. Too perfect.
But what choice do I have?
"Okay," I whisper. "I'll text you the location."
Victor pulls me into a hug. 
When he pulls back, his smile is gentle.
"Everything's going to be fine, Scarlett. I promise."
He walks to the door, then pauses with his hand on the handle. "One more thing. Don't tell Luna about this conversation. Not yet. Let's wait until after the ritual works, until you can show her concrete results. She'll understand then."
"I won't say anything," I agree.