Page 16 of Mate Me

“Yes. Don’t change the subject,” he said, crossing his arms.

“All right, all right. What’s the damage?” I asked, both hesitation and hope filling every single word. Sin pressed her lips together in a firm, thin line. A crease formed between her brows as they pushed toward each other. The little bit of hope I felt was crushed, and she shook her head slightly. “That bad, huh?”

“How long have you been having the visions?” my dad started, crouching down beside the couch.

“The hallucinations?” I asked, wiping sweat from my brow. “That’s never happened before. It’s just the fever.”

He shook his head. “Before you saw the man. I’m talking about the mural on your wall. That happened prior to the fever. Sin said you drew them from dreams.”

“When did I say that?” I asked, somewhat alarmed that I had confessed anything without recalling.

“Last night, after you said you saw the Soulless One. You lost consciousness but you were talking in your sleep. You also said you saw him as though he was in that place you had painted. Not just like some ghost in your room.”

“These are visions, Reagan. I need to know when they started,” my dad pressed.

“What?” I shook my head and looked at him in confusion. “I don’t know. I saw the castle on the mountain a while ago. It’s nothing. Just a recurring dream.”

“When?” he growled, the alpha command vibrating in the room.

His reaction made me jump, and I couldn’t help but stutter my response. I thought back to when I first began painting it. “T-ten years now? Give or take some.”

The color drained from my sister’s face.

“We’re out of time,” my dad choked out, looking at my sister. He cursed under his breath. “I just always thought they’d lied to Rosa to keep her in check. It wasn’t even the bite. That’s just moving it up. It’s been slowly breaking down for ten years.”

“This was what Elda said would happen, didn’t she?” Sin whispered.

“That what could happ—” My brain caught up, registering every detail in the conversation. My sister asked our father that question. Not me. Adrenaline rushed to my head, and the room felt wobbly. “What did you just say?”

“Reagan,” he started, but a rage began to fill me, and I cut him off.

“N-no,” I stammered, pointing my finger accusingly at Sin. “You said Elda. How do you know that name? She was in my fever dream, telling me a bedtime story. There’s no way you can know that name unless ...”

While Sin’s expression was nothing but shock, my father’s was more resigned. He closed his eyes tight, exhaling loudly. The non-answer was more than I could handle.

“She’s real,” I breathed in disbelief. My heart pounded and my palms grew sweaty. “Oh my god . . . How? And how do you know her?How do I not remember?”

My dad placed his hands out gently, motioning for me to remain calm. The alpha tone left his voice, replaced by a softer note. One asking for forgiveness.

“Yes, she was real. She was an elder with the coven that held you and your mother captive. She raised you both.”

“Why do I remember her now? I know the story of the Soulless One. I know what I guard, but why not her?”

“I think ...” He took a deep breath, glancing at my sister briefly before continuing. “Whatever infection is affecting you right now is allowing traumatic memories to surface. It’s breaking the ... magic that protects you from it.”

I narrowed my eyes and grit my teeth against a wave of pain. The flashes of my dream where Elda spoke with Josiah resurfaced. “Explain to me what that exactly means.”

Dad sniffed quietly, taking a minute before speaking. “Your mother had powerful magic, Reagan. Cloaking spells were her specialty. We were mates, drawn to each other no matter what. I never gave credence to the story of the Soulless One, but she assured me it was real. I should have listened.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, pausing before he continued. “Before she realized she was living with a cult, she snuck out to see me like any other teenager would. We thought Elda suspected, but she had no proof. I figured she was trying to scare your mom when she began to warn her of visions and dreams. Elda said it was a sign the ward was weakening and would need to be reinforced. It never happened before a guardian turned twenty-five, but they were insistent on documenting anything that changed with her. It sounded like another bullshit way to control Rosa’s every move.”

I tilted my head, and the movement in my neck was stiff. “You think these dreams of Elda are the same thing they warned Mom about?”

“I never believed your mother was actually a guardian. Not until later.” His eyes softened, and his voice lowered, but the fact he didn’t answer my question didn’t go unnoticed. “Your mother realized that coven’s intent when she got pregnant with you, but they already pieced together you were mine. They took her. Disappeared without a trace. They masked her scent and blocked her from me so I couldn’t even follow the mate bond. I knew they’d killed her when the connection broke. The only thing that kept me going was finding you and bringing you home safely.”

“Dad, you’ve been searching for a way to transfer this ward since you brought me home. If you didn’t believe she was a guardian, what made you believe I am?”

Sin and my dad met each other’s gaze briefly before he spoke again. “I learned a lot when you came home. Had I believed your mother—truly believed it wasn’t just a bunch of superstitious witches—then I would have gotten her out myself. I would have started my search for how to transfer it safely much sooner. It’s my greatest regret.”

I couldn’t remember much of my childhood. I’d shared what I knew; fractured bits and pieces of my life before my dad found me, but it was all so fuzzy. All I had of my mother was a pendant I wore and the few stories my dad would share. My ability to retain long-term memories became stronger when my dad found me and brought me to my family. Of course it made sense that would happen. I was safe and loved.

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