Page 42 of Stella

I followed Stella into a small waiting room. Meredith was dressed down, wearing loose fitting slacks and a blouse, and her hair was pulled away from her face. She smiled at Stella, but there were dark circles under her eyes even her careful makeup couldn’t conceal.

Rage boiled inside me. I should hunt her pack down and make them pay for hurting her.

Mother and Father of course weren’t pleased by Meredith’s public humiliation but had business ties with one of the former alphas. So of course, they couldn’t be too publicly angry with them.

Stella smiled brightly. “Ready to continue the process of sticking it to your old pack and becoming a better you?”

Meredith smiled a real smile this time. “Yes.”

Stella knew exactly what to say.

“First, we’re going to the crystal room.”

Stella glanced at me but continued down the hallway. We followed the distracting omega into a small room that was wall to wall crystals and herbs.

The crystals were all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Some were smooth pink stones all the way up to large chunks of what even I knew was amethyst, the jagged pieces of rock exposed. On a rough wooden table that looked like it was made from two large slabs of driftwood, several bowls sat. Each bowl was filled with crystals.

The lighting was low, and calm energy radiated from the room.

“Your first crystal should be a gift.” Stella pulled Meredith’s hands into hers. “I want you to go through the room and pick out the crystal that’s calling to you the most. It can be any shape or size or color.”

“How do crystals work, exactly?” Meredith blushed. “I’m not questioning you. I’m curious.”

“It’s okay. I get that question a lot.” She shot me a look.

Stella was expecting me to tell her this was a load of crap. I didn’t see how pretty rocks could heal someone, but if it made Meredith happy, I didn’t see the harm in it.

“Most crystals are minerals formed from the pressure of the earth.” Stella started. She picked up two gray rocks and handed one to Meredith. “If I told you each crystal had energy and properties from that energy, you would look at me skeptically.”

“Right.” Meredith picked up a smooth pink stone from the bowl. “They’re beautiful though.”

“But we already have energy in certain rocks that are strong enough for the untrained eye to see the effect.” Stella brought the rocks apart, and then let go.

Instantly, the rocks snapped together.

“Magnets.” Stella put the magnet back to the side of the table. “We see the effects of magnetism and we don’t question it. But when we use obsidian to help ground us, or citrine to help lift our moods, we assume it’s a placebo effect.”

Meredith bit her lip. She looked so forlorn in that moment, I wanted to wrap her up and never let her out of my sight.

“Pick out some crystals.” Stella pressed the pink stone Meredith had been toying with her into her hands. “Let your intuition guide you.”

“I clearly can’t be trusted to pick out a pack, much less crystals.”

I stepped forward, but Stella shook her head at me. She took Meredith’s hands and set them on the driftwood table. “After this, you’ll be getting your chakras opened up by my cousin Ember. She’s good at it. Even if you feel nothing right now, you deserve relaxation and peace.”

Meredith nodded. “Of course. I’ll be fine.”

Stella raised an eyebrow. “You’re not fine, but that’s okay. You can take your time here. Find your center and then you can decide if you want to let other people in.”

It was again the right thing to say. Meredith relaxed her shoulders, and even I felt the strength in Stella’s words.

Meredith picked out some crystals. I couldn’t help but browse myself. In addition to the light blues, pinks, and purples, there were stones black as the night, or dark brown with yellow lines running through them.

Stella let Meredith wander, coming to stand by me like I was the sun pulling her into orbit.

The pretty omega picked up one of the black stones and then one of the brown ones. “These are yours.”

I shook my head. “We’re here for Meredith.”

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