Page 28 of Ruthless Moon

The room’s atmosphere shifts, shimmers like a desert mirage, setting my wolf senses on edge. Magick, vibrant and pulsating, caresses my skin, the ethereal touch raising goose bumps in its wake.

After she locks the door on the far side of the room, Rachel returns to stand next to us, her face somber.

“Thank you, dear.” Meredith’s voice trembles, the vibration sending ripples across the air. “I’m part of the reason Aiden needs to protect the O’Connor pack territory from your father and uncle. I was pregnant with Emma when I came here with a few others over twenty years ago. I needed a place to hide.” She takes a deep, shaky breath, as if steeling herself for the words to come.

“I don’t understand.” Confusion twists in my gut, distracting me briefly from my sorrows.

Meredith’s eyes glisten and her tone deepens. “Aiden’s father agreed to let me build the court on their land. In exchange I blessed the pack.”

“Blessed?” I echo, my brows furrowing in confusion and curiosity. “And what’s a court?”

“I’m a witch and with that comes certain abilities,” Meredith says, the weight of her lineage bearing down on the syllables.

Rachel’s voice, a thick wave of respect, crashes over me. “Meredith comes from an original witch line. Her blessings ensure prosperity, health, and well-being for the pack.”

This is the source of the O’Connors’ prosperity, their resilience against my father and Uncle Dave. And here it stands in human form, so benign and gentle, yet powerful enough to change destinies. My fingers twitch involuntarily, wishing there was a way to use this strength, this mystic power, and reshape my future.

“What about the court? What did you mean by that?”

“It’s a safe space I built to hide us.”

I shake my head. “Like a house?”

“No, it’s more like a...” Meredith trails off and stares up at the ceiling.

Rachel steps forward. “It’s like the Tardis, Gen. There’s no police box, but there’s a ‘door’ to a place that shouldn’t be possible and it’s bigger on the inside.” She gives me a weak grin like she’s waiting for me to scream that she’s crazy.

And to be fair, I’m considering that option in my brain, but instead I embrace the crazy.Witches. Werewolves. Covens and courts. Why not?“You mean like a pocket universe?”

Meredith nods. “Yes, exactly.”

My mouth goes dry, as if all moisture has been sapped away by the gravity of the situation. Dread pools in my stomach, but it’s entwined with something else...a new understanding of the invisible ties that bind me to this fate, and the people whose lives hinge on my reluctant acceptance of it.

“Your father isn’t the first man to find out about the coven. But he’s the first we haven’t been able to chase off, so to speak. Unfortunately, Aiden’s father made some grave errors and put everything at risk.”

“And my father found those errors?” Bitterness rises like venomous bile in my throat, a caustic mirror of my bleak reality. “That sounds like Oliver Gallagher—finding a weakness and exploiting it to its full potential.”

“I just want you to understand how much your sacrifice means, not just for the O’Connor pack but also for an entire group of people you’ve never met. If discovered, we will all be hunted by people who want us dead or locked away. Me, everyone I love...”

A cold hand clenches around my heart, squeezing until I can barely breathe. The magnitude of my impending marriage, stakes immeasurably higher than I ever imagined, crashes over me like a tsunami of brutal realization.

Meredith’s eyes shimmer with a deep sadness, yet gratitude also pools within their depths. “I wish there was another way, Gen. I wish you and Aiden didn’t have to bear this burden. But your strength and courage are helping to protect so many people. People who aren’t able to find help anywhere else. I do hope you can find some comfort in that knowledge.”

Rachel nods, her eyes reflecting respect and thankfulness. “We’re all so grateful for what you’re doing.”

Their words hang in the air like weights, solemn and resonant. Silence sweeps in, its cold hands brushing the walls of the boutique. My father’s ruthlessness is something I’ve known my entire life. But the prospect of him understanding what Meredith is capable of...it’s unthinkable.

The things he would demand of her. The lengths he would go to ensure her obedience.

My chest tightens painfully.

The gravity of the situation drops like an anchor into my consciousness. I knew this marriage alliance had been forged to maintain peace between my father and my uncle. Both of them have been trying to find a way to take over the O’Connor pack and their coveted territory, but I hadn’t realized how much more was at stake—the lives and safety of an entire coven of hidden witches.

“Just remember, we’re here for you. You’ll never be alone.” Meredith’s comforting words float toward me, followed by a sad smile and another embrace.

“Can we get out of here?” I try to shake off the tidal wave of emotion and newly accepted responsibility and focus on moving forward. “This dress is fine. I don’t need to try on another one.”

If it were up to me, a plain white sundress would suffice. I’ll still be a sacrifice on the altar of responsibility and honor no matter what I’m wearing.

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