Page 24 of Branches of the Willow

“Ah, sweetheart, your bond is still intact. Your inability to shift is for an entirely different reason. Probably the same reason that saved you two from that accursed spell.”

I’m sure the look on my face at that point was question enough so I didn’t bother to ask out loud. Serena smiled at me and offered a cup with a straw. “Drink. I will explain everything.”

I took the cup into shaky hands and sipped a bit of the cool water. It was like a balm to my dried throat, even as the motion of sucking through a straw cracked my severely chapped lips further. I could feel a slick wetness at the top of the straw, and smell the coppery scent of my own blood, as the cracks became more irritated. Still, I drank because whatever was in the cup felt amazing on my throat.

“Before you were taken, was there a time when you and your mate were consumed with one another?” She watched me as my skin flamed, burning a nice rosy appearance into my otherwise pallid features. “That’s what I thought. It’s different for my children than for the other wolves. A white wolf can sometimes have multiple heat cycles in her first year of mating, if she does not have a successful mating on the first try, or the second.” Serena winked at me. “Apparently, you were successful the second time around.” My eyes grew wide in surprise as what Serena was telling me sank in. I made a motion with one hand that indicated an enlarged belly, and Serena laughed at me. “Yes, my dear, you are with child.”

A tear slid free from my eye and trailed down my face before falling to catch somewhere in my shirt. I wasn’t even sure how I possibly formed a tear as dry as I felt, but there it was. I took another sip of water at Serena’s prompting, and then another. It took a few minutes of processing before I attempted to speak again. “Are you sure?” I whispered out to her. My stomach rolled a little, leaving me with a queasy feeling.

“Let me,” Serena offered as she took the cup from me and sat it down on the nightstand beside the bed. “You are still weak, and while that is not your typical water, you still need time for your body to adjust to nutrients being introduced again.”

“Not typical?”

“It’s my own special brew. I figured, when I couldn’t reach you in your dreams, that my sister was drugging you with the Witch’s Sleep, it’s a powder we can use to knock one another out for a time.” Her nose wrinkled up then. “Most of us don’t dare use magic like that against another, but Sophia has not walked the path of most witches in a very long time.” She waved her hand, as if to brush away the memories of her sister and then her eyes once again focused back on me. “I had some brew made up before I went to retrieve you. It will replace all that you’ve lost in a much shorter amount of time, but your body has a bit more going on than I bargained for, so you’ll have to go slow, or you’ll get sick.”

I nodded my head in understanding. I still felt like I was in a haze. “You are my many times great grandmother.” It was a statement of fact, not a question. Every word also burned as I managed to get them out.

“I see, my sister told you then?” I nodded my head, and she continued. “I am, indeed. You are the first, since Aislynn, to know this. It’s been a burden to keep this secret from so many before you.”

“Is that why you were able to visit me in my dreams, like the white wolves do?”

“Yes. We are linked through blood and bond. While my mate was killed, our bond survived in my daughter, and through her line, all the way down to you.”

I heard a door open and slam shut from downstairs, then heavy steps running through the house. “I called your mate when we arrived, to let him know. He must have flown to get here this quickly.” Serena chuckled. “Not that I blame him.”

“I’m glad my sister told you about me, Jessica. Aislynn and I were forbidden long ago to reveal my link to the white wolves. Now, you may pass the knowledge along to the rest of the line.” She put her hand on my belly to emphasize that I would be able to pass it on sooner, rather than later.

“Don’t tell him yet.” I made the request, not knowing why in that moment. I just knew it was going to be a lot to handle having me back, all the questions, and I didn’t want to have an unexpected pregnancy caught up in the middle of all that. I wanted to wait to spread the news until we could celebrate it, and not have it be one more thing we almost lost. Sorrow swamped me for a moment as I realized that after all that had been done to me, we might not end up with anything to celebrate anyway. What if my child didn’t make it? It was a burden I would not give to Mikael after all he’d been through.

“That is your news to tell, when you’re ready,” Serena assured me. The bedroom door burst open then, and Serena removed her hand and stepped aside, out of the way of Mikael as he came rushing forward and roughly took me into his arms.

“Jessica!” My name was a prayer on his lips as he cried while holding onto me. His shoulders were shaking as he squeezed me far too tightly. A part of me didn’t care that he was a little rough, but the other part was starting to feel sick from being manhandled, and before I could move him back, I felt bile creeping up the back of my throat. Serena, thankfully, saw what was happening and snatched the trashcan up from across the room and brought it to me. “Oh my God, Jessica!” Mikael shouted as he moved over just in time to avoid the backsplash. I didn’t have a lot on my stomach, but what was there came up violently. “What’s wrong with her?” He was looking back and forth between Serena and me for answers.

“She has been through quite an ordeal with my sister. Let’s calm down, and do try to be gentle with her, Mikael. I realize you’re happy to have her back but squeezing her will not help her state right now.” Serena spoke in a low, calm voice, hoping that it would help ease Mikael’s tension, and make him more inclined to listen.

“I did this?” He asked, stunned. “I’m so sorry, love.” His voice had grown weaker. I finally managed to pull my head out of the trash can and look up at him.

“Sorry.” I whispered with my ragged voice. I watched as Mikael’s face contorted with the pain of hearing me sound so bad. “Too much water, too fast.” I tried to alleviate the guilt he had just heaped on himself by blaming it on that.

“She’s severely dehydrated. I was giving her a special brew to replenish the lost fluids quicker, but too much movement afterwards, sometimes results in sickness.” I gave Serena a weak smile for her efforts. My sickness had nothing to do with her brew and she knew it.

“I’ll be okay.” I rasped out.

“Your voice…” Mikael whispered, and then he reached forward, as if to touch my face, only to pull away again, afraid of hurting me. I moved, slowly, until I was right there next to him, and I put my head on his shoulder. His scent wrapped around me, filling my soul with calm, safety, and home. It was exactly what I needed.

“What happened?” He asked Serena, not me, as his hand came up to caress the side of my face, and gently push my hair back. “How the hell did you manage to find her when no one else could?”

Serena tipped her head to me. She wasn’t able to tell her secret, but I could. “Serena is my kin.” I said without hesitation.

“Your what?”

“She is the mother of the white wolves. Aislynn was her daughter, and we are all descended from her.” My vocal cords were still raw, so I leaned forward, looking for the drink Serena had set aside earlier.

“Here you are, dear.” Serena offered the cup to me after retrieving it. Mikael just looked from Serena to me and back again like we both had two heads.

“You’re serious?”

Serena nodded her agreement.

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