“How?” I asked, my voice low. She looked past me, and her eyes glazed over.
“I want to help you, Esma,” she repeated, emphasizing the word help. I stared into her eyes for one long minute before shaking my head. She held my hand and lifted it to examine it.
“See, so many scars, healed but fresh. You were using the talisman, but it isn’t of help anymore. You needed answers,” she said, getting straight to the point. How did she know about the talisman?
“You want to know about Reed’s past? I can help you,” she said seriously as if she wanted me to believe her. Her eyes looked pleading, and maybe I saw concern in them too. I scoffed.
“Oh yeah, like you helped Reed? You want to make me your puppet?” I asked mockingly.
Her eyes widened. I don’t know if it was in shock or something else, but soon she recovered.
“I didn’t ask Reed to take my help. He came willingly. He was the one who was hell-bent on killing your alpha. He wanted revenge. I was just a medium. It was my mistake; I trusted him. It was a part of the deal. He didn’t fulfill his part,” she said in a clipped tone. Her attempt to control her rising anger was evident in her voice.
“Okay, then what should I call this?” I gestured to the whole place around us. “You send letters, threatening my people, making an army of rogues, and now you tell me you are here to help me.”
She blinked, and I swear I saw her smiling apologetically.
“Yes, that is quite a precise summary of it all. But tell me one thing: if I had not done it, would you be so willing to meet me? I guess the answer is quite obvious.”
I pursed my lips. She had a point. I probably wouldn’t have met with her. Hell, now I even questioned coming here.
“I am on your side, Esma,” she said, reaching for my hand. I jerked away reflexively. She stopped. Her face fell for a second.
“I have always been on your side. I don’t know why you are trying to fight us like some evil monsters. We...” She gestured to the others. “We are not monsters. We are the keepers of peace. Always have been,” she said softly as if trying to convince a small kid that they should prefer chocolate over candy.
“Why do you need the blade? If you are so kind and considerate, then return it to us.”
She laughed. Her voice was like bells, yet it was on edge. She was trying hard to keep her calm.
“It is our blade, Ms. Rockwood. We gave it to your mate,” she spat the last word with so much hatred and venom. “We are only taking what belongs to us. You have no idea how many people your pathetic mate slaughtered mercilessly, how many innocents died trying to stop him. You better not forget what he did to your father,” she murmured, now standing near me, breathing down my neck. Her eyes blazed like scarlet coals. “No doubt that’s why he was cursed.” My eyes widened, and I looked at her in bewilderment.
Reed told me he was cursed, but not for a second had I thought he meant it.
“Cursed?” I whispered, tasting the word on my tongue. She started laughing, but this time, it was devoid of any emotion. It was hollow, just like her eyes. “Who cursed him?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Like Eve, you’re so quick to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Who else? Your moon goddess,” she said, shaking her head.
“What?” My jaw dropped, and I swore my eyes would pop out from their sockets.
The moon goddess her fucking self cursed Reed? But why? This was very unnatural. Very few people had even seen the moon goddess. The ones who could see her and talk with her were legends.
This explains everything. Reed was a legend! The strongest, most powerful, and most ruthless tyrant alpha, and my mate, was a legend. That’s why he could easily beat the wolves in his human form.
“What is the curse?” I asked. My wolf was biting her paws, sitting on her stomach anxiously. She knew the answer already. Hecate’s eyes darkened, eating all the white space.
“I can’t tell you,” she said, her voice on edge. She looked towards the women standing in the cloaks and nodded. The previous girl walked towards us, carrying a bag, and delivered it to Hecate.
Hecate extracted a talisman from the bag similar to the one Diana gave me before, except it was black and silver, unlike my golden one.
“You want to know everything about him, don’t you?” she asked, tauntingly playing with the talisman. I remained passive, tried not to show anything on the surface.
“Oh dear, this mateship is the only thing that I can’t understand. He rejected you, yet you are drawn to him like a moth to fire.” She was right. My cheeks heated at the realization.
“You will pay for it, Esma. He is a monster. His own goddess despised him,” Hecate tried to convince me one more time before putting the talisman in my right hand.
“You have feelings for him,” she said as if not believing. I lowered my head as if caught red-handed. That wasn’t her business.
“Esma, you are so naïve. Your friend Diana knew everything, yet she didn’t warn you.” Diana? My eyes widened at her name. How did she know Diana was living with us? The last time I checked, she was running from them.
“Diana is the one who gave you the talisman, right? No doubt she only gave you the information she wants you to know. After all, she is one of us.” Hecate loudly laughed this time, her voice echoing in the forest.
She released my hand. “This will tell you all of it, everything you want to know. But it only works one time, so choose wisely,” she said and started walking towards her clan. She looked once again behind her, and I swore I saw a ghost of a smile on her face.
“Wait, you don’t want anything in return?” She smiled warmly. “Why are you helping me?” She took several steps before standing in front of me and cocked her head towards the moon. Her eyes were filled with many emotions, the hurt evident, yet they were equally hollow.
“When you lose somebody, all the candles, all the prayers, do not make up for the fact that the only thing you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody used to be.” She looked back at me and smiled her signature smile.
“We will never attack you, not yours nor anybody else’s pack. I hope we will meet again soon, Esma,” she said and suddenly disappeared into thin air.
I clutched the talisman in my hand tighter and started walking back towards my home.
“I am home,” I murmured lowly and closed the door behind me slowly. It was literally morning now, and the lights were off. I told Mom that I was not hungry and needed to sleep.
I walked on my toes, not making any sound, and started to head toward my room. I opened the room and switched on the light on my desk. Phew, this was easier than I had anticipated. I threw my jacket on the bed, and before I could take one more step, the lights switched on, blinding me for a few seconds.
I blinked twice before adjusting to the light’s intensity and meeting a pair of now-oh-so-furious ocean blue eyes. And the very similar letter I dumped in the glass of water.
Shit…