Even as I thought the words, I knew that wasn’t true. I just had to find the strength to keep my head up and keep talking.

  “If Aunt Junie cast the spell, couldn’t she have tracked her own magic instead of tracking me?” I asked, assuming locating spells were as easy as fiction made them seem.

  Charlie answered with ire lacing her words. “No, because you helped her cast the spell. A condition from your mother to make sure Junie couldn’t interfere again.”

  Never had the urge to speak to my mother been so strong. I didn’t want to be angry with her, but learning all of this made it harder by the second. I needed to understand why she’d tried so hard to keep me isolated.

  “When Junie died during a supernatural battle, any existing spells she’d had active in the world ceased to exist,” Beatrix explained. “Because your power was intertwined with the concealment spell, it helped you stay hidden for far longer than any of us liked. Now that the spell is slowly breaking, you have a choice to make, Andie.” Beatrix’s voice hardened, losing the softness she’d momentarily been showing.

  I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin. “What choice would that be?”

  “Do you want to be a witch? Or do you want to start a new life with no more magic left inside you, no danger of attracting a coven’s interest, like your mother wanted?”

  Charlie’s fingers flinched around my hand. I didn’t know who she was anymore, but now I remembered the girl with who I’d been best friends. The one who’d climbed trees with me, so we could practice magic without our parents finding us. The one who’d hugged me tightly enough to keep the pieces of my heart together when my hamster had died. The one who had always known how to make me laugh.

  I’d been alone for a long time. The weirdness I’d been fighting against over the last several months was frightening, but did I want to live the rest of my life wondering what if? Even if that was what my mother had thought was best?

  My first instinct was to stay and face whatever was happening. This was my home, and these people had once been my family, but I still had my mother’s wishes to consider. There was a reason she’d walked away. Would I be tarnishing what we’d had by coming back to this life after all these years?

  “Does Andie have to decide now?” Charlie asked, breaking the tense silence.

  Beatrix narrowed her eyes on my friend before turning back to me. “I suppose not, but there is something else you need to know. Something that might be helpful with your decision.”

  I wanted to revert back to my childish ways and roll my eyes at the old witch but managed to refrain from the action. Of course there was something else, given she’d likely read my hesitancy. Why wouldn’t there be?

  “What’s that?” I asked begrudgingly.

  “Are you aware that witches have soulmates?” Beatrix asked.

  “Outside of the fact that you used that word earlier to describe my parents, not really. Unless you count what I’ve seen in the movies. Please, don’t tell me I have to find one to be welcomed back here.”

  Beatrix recoiled from my last sentence. “Gods, no. Being tied to someone is not a requirement we have here. But yes, your parents were soulmates, something that is rather rare for our kind. So rare that we don’t talk about them much, but I believe you have one.”

  I searched the old witch’s face, hoping to find some hint that she was lying and trying to dangle some happily-ever-after in front of me in hopes that it would sway my decision in a positive way. Except she gave nothing away other than candor.

  “How do you know?” I asked, my hands beginning to shake from the overload of emotions.

  Charlie gasped. “That wo—”

  Beatrix cut her off with a wave of the hand. “There’s a man who’s been around and he’s waiting outside, but you don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to. You’re not going to be forced into this life if it’s not one that you want. There are risks, as you now remember, but they’re just as great outside the barriers of this coven.”

  For the first time since I’d sat up on the couch, Beatrix made me feel as though she truly wanted me to stay and learn about the life I’d been taken from. I hadn’t taken her for the mushy type, so I wasn’t expecting anything grand from the witch, but she wasn’t pushing me out the door, either.

  That, combined with the memories I was still trying to process, told me what I was already going to decide. Except, knowing there was a soulmate waiting for me just outside? I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with that information.

  There was a warmth in my chest expanding that wasn’t like what I was used to. It wasn’t like I’d never had boyfriends before, but there had never been any serious relationships. I mostly considered them casual flings I only had to keep the worst of my loneliness away.

  “Does he live here? In your coven?” I asked Beatrix, because that definitely made a difference.

  She and Charlie shared a look I didn’t like. Almost as if they were silently arguing in their heads and Charlie had won, or at least refused to back down because she answered me instead.

  “Your soulmate doesn’t live in the coven. He isn’t even a warlock. Do you remember anything about the other supernatural races?” she asked, and when I couldn’t find the words to answer, she continued. “Let’s keep it simple for now since you’ve already been overwhelmed enough today.”

  “That would be appreciated,” I croaked.

  Charlie continued, “Your soulmate is a wolf shifter. He’s been searching this area for you for months and none of us knew it was you until tonight. I don’t know anything about him, but I do know that wolf mates are the most common. Knowledge of them is rather public, unlike with our kind. They’re loyal to a fault and I don’t believe you have anything to fear from him, but I have no problem putting the fear of God in him to be sure.”

  My breathing became erratic, and I leaned forward to put my head between my knees. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. Maybe I should have taken more time to process one thing at a time. Learning that I had a soulmate was one thing but finding out he was a mother-freaking wolf was something else entirely.

  “You’re welcome to turn him away. I would support that decision,” Beatrix said.

  Her words had me looking up and curious as to why she would say that. She’d previously made soulmates sound like something to be revered. Now she was suggesting it was okay to turn mine away? I had a feeling she possibly didn’t approve of this man or wolf or whatever I was supposed to call him.

  “Is there something wrong with him?” I asked.

  “Outside of the fact that he’s a wolf? Not necessarily,” Beatrix replied with an air of disgust.

  Something about how much the old witch didn’t like this man made me want to meet him, regardless of how freaked out I was.

  “If I choose to meet him, does that mean…anything?” I asked.

  Charlie shook her head. “No. We’re not sure if your connection with him will be like the ones shared between witches or wolves, but either way, there is a process. One that doesn’t immediately tie you to him.”

  The ache in my chest was loosening and less about the situation I’d been thrown into was seeming all that crazy. I wasn’t sure if that was because of the memories I was given back, I’d reached a level of freak-out that made me numb, or something else entirely, but in that moment, I decided I was done running.

  I loved my mother, and I didn’t blame her for the choices she’d made, but I wanted something more out of my life than spending the rest of it alone and scared of what I now knew.

  With a conviction I didn’t think I was capable of, I said, “I want to meet him.”

  7

  FOSTER

  Nearly an hour had passed since Beatrix had disappeared back into her compound with my mate. I didn’t even know the female’s name, but her soft eyes and creamy skin were permanently burned into my memory.

  We’d stayed in the road, waiting for her to come back to us, to need us the same way we’d been needing her all these months, but the longer our mate was behind the witches’ barrier, the farther away she felt from us.

  We need to get her, my wolf said evenly.

  She was scared of us.

  What I should have said was she’d feared the big wolf leering at her, but my wolf didn’t need that.

  She just doesn’t understand. Once she does, she won’t be afraid anymore, he pleaded.

  My wolf’s hurt was plaguing me, increasing my own. I hadn’t wanted a mate, but all it had taken was one look into her innocent blue eyes for everything to change for me. Suddenly, I longed to hold the one meant just for us. Knowing that she was just out of reach…that was more painful than having spent months searching for her aimlessly.

  The shield next to us shimmered and another witch stepped out, one I wasn’t familiar with. She was older like Beatrix, but instead of grey hair, this one had stark, white strands with hazel eyes.

  “Shift, Wolf,” the woman demanded.

  My wolf snarled at her. She doesn’t get to tell us what to do.

  Agreed, but if we want to see our mate sooner rather than later, we’re going to have to play nice.

  The roles between my wolf and I were reversed, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Regardless, I didn’t have time to argue with him. I pushed the shift forward, picturing my human form and the clothes I’d been wearing before.

  Within seconds, I was back on two feet and looming over the witch. “Where’s my mate?”

  “She’s inside and safe. Beatrix said you can come in on two conditions.” She spoke with an attitude that told me this witch wasn’t in agreement with her leader.

  “What are they?” I asked.

  “You’re not allowed to shift to your wolf form while on coven lands, and if Andie wants you to go, then you’ll leave without argument.”

  Andie. Our mate’s name was Andie.

  Andie, my wolf echoed.

  The tomboy name wasn’t what I’d expected from the female we’d seen, but the more I repeated the word, the more it suited her.

  “You have my word that we won’t shift, and I will do whatever it is that my mate needs, even if that means walking away from her,” I said to the witch, even though just saying the words caused my chest to constrict. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if Andie found us unworthy.

  She won’t turn us away. It’s not possible, my wolf said, finding some of his positivity again.

  I wanted to believe he was right, but finding Andie this way wasn’t how things usually worked. The Moon Goddess would never have involved herself under normal circumstances. I wasn’t counting on anything about this arrangement being the way we expected.

  The old witch huffed, then turned her back on me. She pressed her hand against the shield, and a silver glow emitted between the barrier and her palm. When she pulled away, the shape of a door formed.

  “Go through before it closes. I won’t open it again,” the witch snapped.

  As much as I wanted to bite her head off—literally—I needed to get inside the coven, and this was the only way. I’d hold my tongue long enough to get to Andie, then re-evaluate how nice I needed to be to these witches if they wanted to continue having an attitude toward me.

  The witch stomped deeper into the coven, and I followed her, ignoring everything around me when the presence of our mate ignited inside me. My chest swelled, and I was breathless for the first time in my life, letting my feet carry me forward.

  We arrived at a courtyard and the witch pointed to a bench. “Sit.”

  “No,” I snarled back.

  She raised a brow at my actions.

  “Just because I’m not your guest doesn’t mean you get to treat me with disrespect,” I added with a more even tone.

  “Noted,” was all the old biddy said before disappearing into the shadows.

  I was left alone in a stone courtyard filled with empty benches, a three-tier water fountain in the middle, some statues of women and men standing with their hands held out in front of them, and a few canvas awnings strung just a few feet above my head.

  The crescent moon was peeking through the space between the coverings and warming my skin. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. The Moon Goddess had sent us on one hell of a goose chase. I didn’t want to have hope that all the running and searching we’d done was finally at an end, but the wisps of excitement were hard to ignore.

  That was until my shadowed soul stepped in and reminded me that by finding this mate of ours, by letting her in and caring about her, she was just another person for us to lose. Another light to be smothered by our darkness.

  Regardless of that, I wasn’t willing to turn away from Andie. She needed me. I didn’t know why, but I knew my creator wouldn’t have interfered as she had if that wasn’t the case. I was going to find out and do whatever it took to keep her safe.

  The click of heels connecting with the concrete walkway echoed from behind me. I tensed and turned slowly, expecting to see Andie, only to be disappointed by the sight of another witch.

  A blonde female, maybe in her early twenties, was headed for me. She wore a smirk on her full lips, but there was concern etched into her cognac eyes.

  She flicked her golden hair back. “Foster, I presume?”

  “Who are you?” I demanded.

  “I’m someone you’re going to want to be nice to if you’re who Beatrix has told me you are.”

  A growl built in my chest. “There is no one other than Andie that I need to be nice to.”

  She let out a small laugh. “I’m Charlie. Andie was my best friend before she left our coven, and I will protect her with my life. Even from you. She’s going to come out here, and you’re going to stay calm. More specifically, your wolf isn’t allowed to maul Andie the moment he sees her. She knows you’re a shifter and her soulmate, but this is all new to Andie. She’s going to need time to adjust. If you can’t give her that, then you and I will be seeing each other again real soon.”

  I wanted to be furious that the young witch was speaking to me that way, but her words were nothing other than true. My wolf was rather good at sensing truth from lie, and nothing about her threats were false to him. I didn’t want to share my mate, but given my history, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to have more people around Andie who would fight to keep her safe.

  “I won’t do anything to hurt Andie. You have my word,” I said to the young witch.

  She nodded, then turned back, exiting the way she’d arrived.

  I like Charlie, my wolf said.

  Is that all? He’d been quieter than normal, and I needed to know if he’d sensed something I hadn’t.

  This meeting doesn’t have anything to do with me. I’ll have my moment with Andie when the time is right, he replied.

  As eager as my wolf had been to find our mate, I wasn’t sure how to take his current mood, but before I could further question him, more footfalls echoed from the shadows.

  I bit the inside of my cheek and leaned forward, trying to see if another annoying witch was headed my way, or if I’d finally get to see my mate again.

  As the pounding in my chest began reverberating in my ears, I knew it wasn’t just any witch getting closer.

  With bated breath, I took another step toward the shadows, and the glow of Andie’s light-pink hair first appeared, followed by her light blue eyes, angelic skin, and rosy cheeks.

  My hands itched to reach out to her, but I forced myself to stay where I stood.

  Andie’s steps slowed when our gazes met, and it took every strength I contained not to fall at her feet. There was an eruption of possessiveness inside me that I hadn’t expected, but as I fought the need to wrap my arms around her, I also knew I wasn’t the only one affected.

  A flush crept up Andie’s neck, coloring her oval face while she appraised me with heated eyes. Her mouth parted and I watched her tongue slowly peek out, wetting her lips. She leaned closer to me, tilting her head slightly to the right.

  I thought she was going to say something, but instead, the glow of pink emanating from her hands distracted us both.

  Without thinking, I was standing inches from her and held both of her hands in my own. Any previous thoughts quickly dissipated when the heat from her magic moved up my forearms.

  The energy wrapped around me, drawing us closer together. I knew I was supposed to give Andie space, but when I searched her face, there was only awe shining through her azure eyes.

  Andie’s magic faded away, and I expected her to withdraw from my hold, but instead, she looked up at me, offering a small smile. “Hi.”

  “I’m Foster,” I said awkwardly.

  “Nice to meet you, Foster. I’m Andie.”

  “I know.”

  She sighed. “Seems to be the case with all of the people I’m meeting tonight.”

  I grimaced, realizing I’d struck a nerve with her already. “The other witch already told me your name. I don’t know anything else about you, though.”

  Her smile reappeared. “Except that I’m supposed to be your soulmate, right?”

  Apparently, this woman wasn’t as fragile as she looked.

  “So I’ve been led to believe,” I replied.

  “How do you know? Did someone tell you?” she asked, her brow furrowing slightly.

  “Normally, we have to see our mates to know, but there was some intervention from my creator that made me drawn to this area. I’ve felt you right here for months now.” I placed one of her hands over my chest. “I just didn’t know who you were until tonight.”

  She bit her lip while shaking her head. Frustration rolled off her in waves with an undertone of surprise. “Creator? What does that mean? Do you not have normal parents? Sorry, not a lot of this makes sense to me yet, and none of it is what I expected.”

  I didn’t want to further overwhelm her, so I moved to take a step back before answering her questions, but when I did, her fingers dug into my forearm, an action that seemed to be as unexpected by her as it was by me.

  She stiffened, then loosened the hold she had on me. I took several steps back. My right hand rubbed the back of my neck while the other made a fist at my side.