Page 46 of Cursed Wolfsbane

“Saint!” I shout, unsure if getting up or moving will cause my magic to start doing more weird stuff.

I hear footsteps pounding in the hall before Saint and Xander barge through the frosted-glass French doors to the office. “What do you need—” Saint breaks off as he takes in the absolute insanity of the room. “Oh. Hmm. Yeah, I can see why you need help.”

“You think?” I squeak as more and more books start floating.

Malachi and Bastian also run into the room, their wide eyes taking in the snow and books. “What’s going on here?” Malachi asks.

“I wish I knew! One moment, I was reading another letter from my mom. The next I look up, and it’s fucking snowing inside!” Of all the problems I thought I would encounter today, indoor snow was definitely not one of them.

“Did anything in the letter make you emotional?” Saint asks gently.

“I mean, I was reading a letter from Mama, so, yeah, you could say I got emotional,” I rasp, trying hard to hide how much my mom’s letters get to me. On one hand, I crave every scrap of my mom I can get. On the other hand, reading her letters from when she was still alive makes me wish so badly she were here. I’m sure she’d know what to do.

Me, however?

I have no idea what I’m doing or how I’m supposed to fix the world’s problems.

“I’m sorry, little shadow,” Saint whispers.

He moves toward me, and I hold out my hand to stop him. “Stop, Saint. I don’t know what the hell is going on, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

A small smile tugs up one corner of his mouth. “You won’t hurt me. And you’ve somehow gotten your magic. Nan’s potion worked faster than it was supposed to, and your strong emotions let your magic out for the first time. It happens to every mage.”

I scoff. “I’m pretty certain every mage doesn’t conjure a snowstorm in their dad’s office.”

He huffs a small laugh as he comes to kneel in front of me. He takes one of my hands in his, instantly calming me a little. “You’re right. I can’t say I’ve ever done that, but I did set my kitchen on fire, torch a classroom, and almost burn down the forest behind my family’s house. I’m pretty sure all of those are more destructive than what’s going on here.”

“But at least all that’s normal. Why can’t anything I do ever be normal?” I ask in a small voice.

At my pain, the Wyldharts cautiously move closer to me, taking care to dodge the floating books. Malachi kneels beside Saint and holds my other hand. Xander stands behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders comfortingly. Bastian kneels to my left and wraps his warm hand around my upper arm.

With all my mates touching me in some way or another, I start to feel the panic and heartbreak and worry recede. As my emotions calm, some of the books float back over to their shelves and slide into place quietly. It’s still snowing, though.

“Oh, little shadow, being normal is overrated. And, honestly, I’m not sure any of us are truly normal. No one fits into the perfect ‘normal’ mold society sets out for all of us. We all have our struggles, hardships, and abnormal parts of us. That doesn’t necessarily help you not feel like an outsider, but there’s not a damn thing wrong with you.”

I let out a watery chuckle. “There’s a lot wrong with me, Saint. But all of it can wait. How do I fix this?”

He presses his lips into a thin line but doesn’t waste his breath disagreeing with me. “You’ll need to look in yourself and find where your magic is. Then you’ll have to visualize it flowing back into you. Closing your eyes will help you concentrate.”

That gives me an idea. Squeezing my eyes shut, I call on Dido.Hey, Dido?

“Yes, child?”

So, apparently, I’m some sort of wolf-mage hybrid, and I just got my magic. It’s wreaking havoc. Can you help me control it?

“I am sorry, child, I cannot. I was never a mage, only a wolf.”

My shoulders slump at that news. Looks like I’m going to have to figure this out myself. But I have another question for Dido before I do.Can I ask you another question?

“Yes,”she responds simply.

What happened to your mates? Do they reincarnate like you do?

She’s silent for a moment, and a deep sadness invades my mind.“They have been gone for a long time. My mates had passed before I met that conniving snake, Aeneas. As such, they do not reincarnate with me.”

That must get lonely.

“It does.”

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