Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“How did she lose her coven?” Dex asked.
“She wouldn’t keep paying the price of the magic. She turned her back on helping people because it always came with a steep price. She warned me. She said what I asked for would come with a price, and I told her it was one I was willing to pay. The shields went up, and for two weeks, I thought I didn’t pay any price because I did the right thing. I was wrong, so wrong. On the night you were born, your mother started to hemorrhage. She nearly died giving birth to you. You lived, but her ability to have more children was taken from us. That was the cost I had to pay to keep the pack safe. Lucinda felt horrible. It’s why she remains at the edge of the forest, staying close but not too close to the pack. She also doesn’t practice magic anymore. You will not go to Lucinda, promise me.”
“I promise.”
He had no idea of the sacrifices his father had made. Or what his parents had suffered for the sake of the pack.
“Dad, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t. I do not regret my decisions. I preserved the pack, and it saved us. We do not have to fear humans nor hunters, and for that I am grateful. You will not go to Lucinda.”
“No, I won’t.”
He couldn’t do that. If the price had to be taken out on a loved one, he was not going to risk Casey being hurt. He’d take everything for her.
****
“Ouch.” Casey pulled her hands away from the rosebush and glared at the plant. She had a small droplet of blood on her finger, and she wrinkled her nose.
Sticking her finger into her mouth, she sat back on her heels and looked around the garden. She was starting to doubt her father’s assessment of trying to relax her.
“Are you okay, honey?”
She looked up to see her mother coming out of the kitchen, carrying a small pitcher of lemonade along with two glasses.
“How much do you like roses?” Casey asked, knowing it was a pointless question as her mother loved the prickly little plant.
Her mother was also called Rose. According to her grandparents, they didn’t know what to name their daughter, and it took them a long time, but noticed their little girl was always near the roses.
Casey wasn’t quite sure how accurate the story was, but they would claim her mother could crawl at a very young age. Either way, Rose Scott loved her garden, which is why her father planted them for her.
“Oh, sweetie. Your father plants them for me every year we’re together.”
“Mom, that is at least eighteen plants I know of,” Casey said.
Rose chuckled. “I know. I know. He can’t help himself and that is one of the many things I love about your father. Some of the early plants didn’t make it. Not because we had a bad relationship or anything, just because we didn’t know how to take care of the roses. Over time, we were able to learn, and since then, this garden has thrived.”
She knew her mother loved her garden. Not so much the gardening, but she would always spend a lot of time outside, especially in spring and summer.
“Dad loves you very much.”
“That he does. I would have to say I have a feeling Dex has quite a few feelings about you.”
“Mom, come on, stop it.”
“What? Can’t a mother ask about her daughter’s love life?”
“Your daughter doesn’t have a love life.”
“Okay, so what is Dex?” she asked.
Casey sighed and couldn’t help but giggle. “I don’t know, and I probably sound like a schoolgirl.”
“Honey, you are still a schoolgirl.”
“I care about Dex. I’ve always cared about him.”
“But?”
“Can I allow him to … you know, be with me?” Casey asked.
She moved from her muddy patch and joined her mother as she poured them both a glass of lemonade.
“Why can you not be with him?” Rose asked.
“Are you not worried about the giant problem right now?”
“You mean about you not turning into a wolf?”
“Yeah, it is a pretty big … problem.”
“Only if you make it one. I don’t see a problem. If you and Dex are in fact mates, then there is not, nor is there ever going to be, a problem with the two of you being together. Here you go, sweetheart. It is way too hot out here.”
Casey took the lemonade from her mother. “How can you be so positive?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it is because of … you know, Dex always showing up here. I also saw what he did to that Buddy boy, and now that I think about it, whenever you did come home with bruises and scratches, the people responsible were always joining you.” Rose shrugged. “You and Dex can make this work.”
She leaned back and took a long sip of her lemonade, not realizing how thirsty she had become.