Page 64 of Protected By the Wolf

“Hush!” Miti said. “Now is not the time. It’s very useful and necessary for Bruno and Lira to be able to communicate this way. They will need to rely on each other’s strength to get through this war. Now, no more questions.”

There was quite a bit of groaning before Miti stared everyone down. When they were all silent, she said, “Bruno, tell them what happened to you.”

Bruno leaned forward, a crease running along his forehead. He had told me about what happened to him the morning he was supposed to come visit me. I was horrified, and sure enough, after he told his family, they all started talking at once.

“Finn!” Theodore roared.

Everyone was trying to shout over each other until I felt a force hit me. It must have hit everyone else at the same time, because all of a sudden the room became very quiet.

“Thank you, Luc,” Miti said. “Yelling at each other is not going to help any of us. We still don’t know who the pink-haired girl is, but Finn we know. I’ll leave it up to Luc to decide what to do with the traitor.”

Luc nodded. I was amazed at how subdued everyone looked now. Was that something to do with them being a pack?

“Luc is our alpha,” Bruno explained to me. “What he says is the law around here.”

Bruno chuckled at the way I started at this news. With the anger Luc was emanating, I wouldn’t want to be Finn when he was captured.

Miti started talking again. “Now, before you all start yelling again, Lira, please tell us about your last visit to the grove.”

I took a deep breath and launched into the story, making sure to explain about the golden thread that tied Bruno and me together, which then allowed us to become telepathic. At this time, an old lady about Miti’s age came walking in. Jacob scooted over to make space for her and then put his other arm around her. She looked a lot like Alia, and I wondered if this was their other grandmother.

I was telling them about the gift of the flower when the old lady gasped.

“That’s where it went! You did not accept the flower, did you?”

“I did . . . . Was I not supposed to?”

“Oh no!” She was shaking her head and looking at me with horror. I looked at Bruno, in desperate need as to what to do.

Alia was by her side in an instant, trying to calm her down, but the old woman was bawling now. Then we heard a thunk. We all followed the sound and turned to see Miti hit a staff on the floor two more times. Where had she gotten a staff from?

“Bubbie, that is quite enough. What’s done is done, and the flower is a gift,” she said firmly. “Just because it was used for evil last time does not mean it will be used for the evil this time.”

“You did this!” Bubbie said, pointing a finger at Miti.

I looked between the two of them, wondering if this was going to split the family in two. Miti stood up and walked over to Bubbie. Without saying a word, she reached out and took the woman’s hand, leading her to another room in the house. The rest of us sat there in silence, not sure what to do.

After a few minutes, Miti came back. “Bubbie is sleeping,” she said by way of explanation as she took a seat next to me and held my hands. “Lira, the flower is a gift. It’s one of the highest gifts that can be bestowed on a witch or a human.”

Alia started talking then. “My mom carried what she thinks is a burden for many years, watching my father abuse the power she was gifted. But you and Bruno are not my mom and dad. You two are your own people, and you get to choose who you bestow your new powers to.”

“I bestow power to others?”

“Yes, it’s now your gift to give, so you must choose wisely,” Miti said.

“She can trust all of us in this room,” Luc said. “We could all carry some of the power and defeat Pac once and for all.”

“Luc, my son,” Alia said. “As alpha, you of all people should know what it’s like when there’s too many powers at play. Do you think it wise that she bestows all of us with her gift?”

“But would it help to end the war once and for all?” I asked.

“It might,” Theodore said. “Or it might not. We can only guess at what the other side is doing. Their witches have hidden themselves so well that Miti doesn’t even know where they are or what they’re up to.” He leaned back in his seat. “But we do have an advantage. Rocco let me know this morning that the latest reports are saying other packs—ones I have not seen in decades—are starting to migrate toward us. Some we know are friends, but we think a few of them are working with Pac. They will be here sooner than we thought, and I’m expecting an attack as early as this weekend.”

“That’s not enough time to prepare!” Luc said.

“It will have to be enough,” their dad said.

Fists clenched and a deep rumble filled the room, amplifying their individual growls.

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