Another Way

Another Way
\[Elise’s POV\]

I grow quiet and wait while Tristan and Jolene stare at me. From the looks on their faces, it is clear that they are confused about what it is that I am asking.

“The crone,” I repeat, wondering if I mispronounced or stuttered. “Do either of you know anything about a crone?”

“The crone,” Tristan says slowly. “Is the old wise witch. Some consider her the mother of the witches, but she is nothing more than an elder who holds knowledge of all.”

Nodding, I take in what Tristan is telling me while wondering why that woman who called herself my mother would suggest I look for such a person.

“Why are you asking?” Tristan asks. “Do you have business with the crone?”

“Maybe,” I admit. “Do you know how to find her?”

Knowing about her was one thing, but knowing where to locate her, was something else entirely, and honestly, if he didn’t know where to find her then I still didn’t have much to go on.

Like you have anything. The small voice in the back of my head tells me. You don’t even know why you have to find this woman or what she can do for you.

“Elise.”

Tristan’s voice drifts through my reverie and when I focus on him, I find that he is watching me curiously.

“What exactly is your reason for asking about the crone?”

“That,” I begin, remembering everything that was said while I was out. “I need to find her to change our fate.”

As I speak the words, I realize just how ridiculous it sounds, but what did we have to lose? As it was, Denali was so broken that she was basically a corpse, and that only indicated that many members of her pack and family were gone.

Things are pretty dire right now. I tell myself silently.

“I know it sounds crazy,” I continue when neither Tristan nor Jolene speak. “But…I just…” I trail off. “I just…I just want to do something.”

I hated being so helpless, but as I was now, I was absolutely useless.

Will you be of any help if you do find the crone? The small voice in the back of my head asks. Or will you still be useless like you are now? I didn’t know, but I had to try.

“It could be nothing.” I continue. “But, while I was out I met someone.”

“Someone,” Tristan repeats, eyeing me. “And who exactly was that someone?”

For a moment, I don’t speak as I consider whether or not he or Jolene would think I was absolutely insane if I said it.

“She said she was my mother.” I respond. “She was the one who told me that I needed to find the crone.”

“And why did she tell you that?”

“I don’t know,” I snap. “I don’t know why she would say such a thing, but shouldn’t we at least give it a try? As is, it is only a matter of time before things get even worse, and when that happens, who is to say that there will be any way to fix it?”

“But the crone,” Tristan continues, looking a bit uneasy. “She doesn’t live in this dimension.”

“What?” I hiss, shock rushing through me. “What did you say?”

“She doesn’t live in the world of the living, nor does she exist in the world of the dead.”

“Then where is she?”

“I can answer that.”

The voice rings out around us, and when I turn my gaze in the direction that it came from, I see Maria, Tristan’s mother heading toward us.

I was aware that I knew her before I lost my memories, but since losing them, we only interacted once, but it was hard to forget her.

With her beautiful looks, and hazy eyes from blindness, she stood out.

“Mother,” Tristan calls, moving toward her. “What are you doing roaming about alone?”

“I’m not helpless.” She sighs, shaking her head. “I can at least maneuver around New Moon’s packhouse.”

“But what if you got hurt.” Tristan pushes.

“You worry too much. Anyway,” she continues, turning her sightless gaze toward me as though she can actually see. “I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation, but I couldn’t just sit back either when I heard you mention the crone.”

“Do you know how to find the crone?” I ask, eyeing the woman. “If you do, then…”

“I am unable to get you to her.” She explains and I feel my hope come crashing. “But if I combined my abilities with another, I’m certain that we could open the path to her.”

“I’m not that powerful,” Tristan points out.

“I wasn’t referring to you.” Maria counters. “Gretchen,” she continues, using a name that I don’t recognize at all. “The witch who returned Maverick and the others memories. With her help, I’m certain that we could find the crone.”

“And then what?” Tristan pushes. “You know as well as I do that the crone doesn’t interfere with our problems. She is a firm believer in allowing things to play out as they should.”

“But was this truly the way they should have played out?” Maria asks, her hand reaching up and clutching at her chest. “Was Ezekial and Ellie even supposed to exist in this world?”

“Are you saying…” Tristan whispers, his eyes widening with shock. “Are you saying that the way to fix our timeline is to go back and stop Ezekial and Ellie in their own time.”

“I’m afraid so.” Maria says sadly, and I find myself remembering that Maverick, Serenity’s mate and lover, was also from that time.

“But what about Serenity?” I demand. “If we do that, won’t that mean that Maverick won’t exist in this timeline?”

At my words, Maria’s look of sadness deepens and I know that what I’ve asked is the truth, and with that realization, there is only one thing that comes to mind.

I don’t want to do it.

“No,” I whisper, remembering the way Serenity looked at Maverick. “No, we can’t do that to her.”

“It’s a sacrifice for the greater good.” Tristan points out. “What are you more concerned with, Serenity’s happiness, or the survival of our kind and the world we live on?”

Honestly…I cared about Serenity.

I didn’t know much of those outside of the small little bubble that I woke up in, nor did I care about them. I cared about Serenity, and if doing what they were suggesting would end the happiness that she had, I just couldn’t do it.

“There has to be another way.” I say now. “Some other way to stop things from going the way they did. Does it have to start when Ezekiel and Ellie turned evil or can it be another time?”

“I don’t know,” Maria admits. “I don’t have the ability to see, but usually when dealing with a problem, you take care of it from the source.”

“There has to be another source aside from that.” I argue.

“There’s only one person who can determine that.” Maria tells me. “And that person is the crone.”