Chapter 63

Scarlett.

"You want what?!" Astra dropped the memoire on the table, flinching when it came into contact with the wooden surface with a bang.

"You heard me, Astra. I want a spell that can reverse mating bonds." As I uttered the words, my chest constricted at the mere thought of the outcome. My wolf howled painfully on the inside, demanding to be let out. My beast needed a nice, quiet run while my warlock side needed new spells to work on. I had to harmonize them into doing the same thing lest they made me run mad.

"Why in the world would you ask for such a spell, my child?" Astra looked deep into my unblinking eyes, tucking a strand of her silvery white hair behind her ear.

"Do you have it or not?" I spoke lowly, leaning on the table. She hesitated for a moment, searching for some emotion on my face. “I don’t have it."

"Not to worry, I can always come up with it." I shrugged, forcing a smile despite the lump in my throat. My own mate had insulted me in our house, which reminded me of my level in his eyes. I couldn’t blame him though, given my upbringing. My eyes watered, but I was quick to swallow the tears when Astra’s gaze didn’t waver.

"Please don’t tell me you want—"

"Cane talked about someone who could re-grow his manhood." I cut her off, changing the topic in that instant.

“The only person who can do that is a warlock," Astra replied with the area between her brows creased.

“Said he knew a powerful one. He was tasked with fetching something for the warlock in question,” I explained, my wolf whining and turning over with every second that went by. I drew a chair out and sat around the dining table, willing my heart to stop pounding so hard.

“So there really is one out there. Honey, whoever they are, they carry a skill that I have never seen before. It’s almost as if I’ve seen it before." I looked at the beautiful woman as she sat on the opposite side, facing me. I could see it in her eyes—a fire that had begun to light up. A resilience that was pushing strings to catch the warlock in question.

A silence enveloped the room as the two of us pondered the matter. It was proving almost grueling for me to ignore the burning feeling in my chest. Jax had me forgetting that I was an outcast, showering me with love and praise... only for him to shatter it down into ruins.

"It’s beginning to make some sense, all of it. What did Cane have to give in return?" Astra broke the silence, snapping me out of thoughts about my mate. I opened my mouth but hesitated when I heard a slight movement outside the house. I listened in closely, pushing my grieving wolf into isolating the sounds.

“There is someone sniffing around,” I whispered to Astra, standing up slowly to try and peep through the window. She pressed her index finger on her mouth, then followed suit, standing stealthily. Together, we walked through the window, holding our breaths.

I was so engrossed in perfecting my steps that I ended up stepping on a creaky piece of wood on the floor. ”Damn it!"

I face-palmed when we felt fast footsteps retreating into the darkness of the night. Whoever it was simply couldn’t risk being seen, and I was sure it wasn’t Jaxon. He would never try to sneak up on us like that. I had an inkling that the mole had just been in Astra’s compound.

"Whoever it is, they have gotten confident,” the woman spoke, catching my attention.

"Why do you say so?" I turned to look at her, but she walked past me and stood in front of the window.

“The sloppy actions say it all; they risked stepping into my compound to spy on you."

"Why are you so certain that it was me they were spying on?" I crossed my hands over my upper abdomen. My wolf had since retreated since the threat had just disappeared.

"Do you really think it’s a coincidence? You come to my place and barely minutes after they try to stay undetected?" A cold feeling gripped me at the mere thought of someone following me.

"Astra, are you saying that I was being followed?" I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head, letting the possibility of what Astra had suggested sink in.

"Cane... what did the warlock want?" I didn’t appreciate the way she changed the topic.

“The ring," I answered anyway, remembering the phone call that Cane had received before he paid for his actions with his bitter blood. Another silence filled the room; only the sound of small animals in the forest was being heard.

"I thought your former alpha is the one who had you kidnapped.” Her voice dropped.

"Cane was working for Silas and the warlock at the same time. Silas wanted me to be delivered to him unharmed, while the other party wanted Cane to get the information about the ring from me,” I explained it just as Cane had gladly narrated it to me. I had been doing a lot of thinking about it, leaving no stone unturned in my mind.

Jaxon had avoided the story all together, dismissing it every time I tried bringing it up. Deep down, I knew it was because the ring reminded him of his mother’s cold murder. He was trying to run away from it instead of facing it head-on.

“So he was playing both of them. Mmh,” Astra hummed, turning again. Her eyes landed on the spell book, thick with so many pages.

"He would get a pack to identify with from Silas and a cock from the said person. He didn’t have anything to lose,” I concluded, swallowing thickly.

"For the warlock to have known that Silas was tasking Cane with kidnapping you..."

“They had to be close to Silas to know that,” I finished her statement in a whisper.

“So, in other words, the warlock is likely to be a close friend of Silas, in your former pack." My legs almost gave out at the thought of the possibility.

"But... I can’t think of anyone. I didn’t even know they existed until you told me I was one." I could feel a slight pounding inside my temples.

“There are so many questions that need answers, but I think I just confirmed one after years of strenuous spells,” Astra spoke, almost in a whisper.

"What?" I forced the word out, my eyes closing to just let myself feel the gnawing, growing pain in my head.

“The cloaking spell on the ring was definitely cast by the said warlock."

"Which means that my former pack or the warlock was the one behind the attack years ago." Jaxon’s face crossed my mind as I connected the dots.

Astra smiled briefly, a distant look showing through her unblinking eyes. “I am one step closer to finding the killer of Jaxon’s mother."