Page 29 of Enemies By Fate

There’s a scurry of movement and pale hands curl around the bars as Poppy releases a gasp of denial. “Sadie! They caught you, too!” she cries out. “Oh, my gods. I’m so sorry! I got you tangled up in this mess! I didn’t tell them about you, I swear! Did they get Circe too?!”

Sadie shakes her head, casting us a sidelong look, but we remain out of view. “I’m not a captive, Poppy. The Alphas brought me here to talk to you.”

It’s hard to make out Poppy’s expression from the angle where we stand, but I can feel the dismay rolling off her in waves. “What? What do you mean?”

“I need to tell you some things, Poppy.”

“Oh, no, Sadie! Go! Run! They’re evil! They’re murdering bastards! They killed my father!”

“I know,” she says quietly.

Poppy draws in a breath. “You know? But you’re still here?”

“I need to tell you some things,” she says again.

Poppy scoffs. “Why? Do they really think anything you say is going to change my mind about them being horrible murderers?”

“I don’t know,” the witch answers honestly. “But I can tell you my role in what happened to you.”

Poppy draws back from the bars. “Your role?” she echoes. “What do you mean?”

Sadie drops her head and exhales. “I should have told you the truth a long time ago.”

“The truth about what? Sadie, did they do something to you? Threaten you?—”

Sadie shakes her salt and pepper bun vehemently. “No, Poppyseed. This is about whatIdid toyou.”

She draws in another breath and rushes onward as if she’s afraid she’s about to lose her nerve. “Most of what I told you is true; I found you in the mountain woods when you were twelve… but you weren’t in an amnesiac state.”

“What?”

“You were screaming, panicked, losing your mind, really. You remembered every detail of your father’s murder vividly, in fact. It was horrible to watch a little girl going through such a devastating thing.”

“What?” Poppy chokes.

“You knew the new Apex Alphas had taken his life, and even then, you were crying out for revenge. I wanted to protect you and myself. I thought I was doing you a kindness by casting a blocker spell on you. Obviously a girl who hadn’t even shifted yet, a girl with no pack and no parents, couldn’t take on the mostpowerful pack in the state—some of the most powerful shifters in the world. The best thing I could think to do was make you forget.”

“Oh…” Poppy reels back from the bars, and I hear her collapse onto the floor.

“I’m sorry, Poppy. I didn’t realize how much damage the spell would do. I didn’t know that it would block you from shifting normally at fifteen, or that it would wear off after a decade—although I still don’t know why either thing occurred. No one in the coven could help me undo it—or they just didn’t want to get involved. They were afraid, too.”

She drops her head, shame overtaking her as I finally emerge from the shadows.

“She comes from a very distinct bloodline,” I explain quietly. “The blocker probably wasn’t as effective because of who she is.”

“A bloodline you tried your best to kill!” Poppy rages, jumping back up to her feet to confront me. The fury is back, Sadie’s confession doing nothing to alleviate her initial rage.

“No,” Warrick denies, stepping up to the bars as Malachi joins him. “You’ve got it backward, Poppy. It was your father and his group of rebels who were trying to kill us. He came to our packhouse in the woods that day and tried to blindside us during a ritual.” My brother points to the prominent scar over his eyebrow. “This scar? It’s from your father. He almost murdered me before Asher intervened.”

I nod in agreement, lowering my eyes at the memory.

Poppy recoils. “My father wouldn’t…” she whispers weakly.

“He would, and he did much worse in the name of his cause,” I tell her quietly. “You remember, don’t you?”

Her blue eyes shine with upset, tears flooding them. “How did I forget?” she mumbles. “How could I forget?”

“We always want to remember the best in our parents,” Warrick sighs. “Unfortunately, we don’t always see the full truth.”

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