Prologue
Cassie sat with her siblings waiting for their Grandma and Grandpa Conners to show up. My wolf, Rain, was deeply annoyed. We didn’t want to be here. I didn’t like being around Grandma Cassandra. She always made it awkward for me.
I wished Tory and Gia were here. They were my best friends in the pack. Grandma Cassandra didn’t like me playing with them for some reason. I was certain she’d made sure they were gone today, I just couldn’t prove it. Gia was my dad’s Gamma’s daughter and Tory was Nick and Emily’s daughter. Nick did Beta duties for my dad, but his brother Jim was in the official role. Their dad still did a lot too.
I’d been trying to push my feelings down around her. If my mom could do it then so could I. Rain whispered, “Mom does it for dad. You should tell her what’s going on. She would be sad that you feel so uncomfortable.”
I sighed, “I just like having peace. Grandma Cassandra finds way to snipe at mom all the time. I don’t want them to fight because of me.” Rain laughed, “You like peace because of your Fairy side. You have a calming influence power. So, of course you like the calm. There are just other sides to you.”
I frowned because I was tired of this whole exhausting thing. I was trying for my parents. I was a daddy’s girl and unashamed of it. I found it very hypocritical that my Grandma Cassandra didn’t like us using our Fairy powers yet we had to stay here and wait for her to tell her if she was glowing.
She hurt Alexander and mom’s feelings saying that she didn’t want them to heal her. She would say that ‘if it’s meant to be, it will be’ crap. I still couldn’t believe she would say that when she wasn’t even sad when we told her she wasn’t pregnant. There were people in the pack who were sad when their attempts didn’t work out, but not her.
It infuriated me she’d hurt Alexander’s feelings. He was the most sensitive of my siblings so far. I was probably the next in line on the sensitive train, but it’s hard knowing your grandma doesn’t love you. Rain whispered, “Cassie.” I replied, “Grammy Veronica loves me so much it makes up for it.”
I’d overheard Grandma Cassandra talk about how she didn’t like me because I looked like mom. It hurt but in truth I loved that I looked like my mom. She was the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. I’m honored I look like her.
Plus, I was more Hackura than my other siblings. I was quite stealthy, and I loved it. Did it make Grandma Cassandra hate me more? Yup. Rain muttered, “It proves her problem is with your gender more than anything else. If we learned more Fairy that would track more since she hates Fairy’s not Hackura.” It was harsh but true.
Rain sadly said, “Cassandra should’ve known we could hear her when she said she didn’t know what to do with us because we looked like our mom.” I snorted, “That would require her to think about someone else for a change. I would be proud if I turn out just like my mom in looks and personality.”
Rain chuckled, “We are with some extra sass.” I told her, “I know. I even know that Grandma Cassandra hates that mom swears but I don’t. She is one of the best people I knew. I want us to have a love just like our parents.” Rain assured me, “We will.”
I wanted to love someone as crazily as my mom loved my dad. I knew that what my mom had with my dad was rare as a Fairy. She was twice light bound to my dad and in the Ribbon. Every time we went to Faerie people whispered about how much she must love him.
They weren’t the only twice light bound Fairies now, but they had been. She started a trend of sharing your light being normal. Not only once but twice. I saw the deep love they had for each other every time I looked at them. They had an undeniable love for each other.
EJ already had Elise and little Wesley had Buttercup. All of us knew Alexander really wanted to meet his mate. I did too, I just didn’t tell them that. Rain snorted, “Because they’d be crazier about us around boys than they are now.” It laughably true. All my brothers, even my youngest ones, were ridiculously protective. My dad was on a whole other level, with my uncles and grandpas.
My Hackura guard was hard to slip, but I knew how to do it. I was sneakier than my siblings. They would just pop away. The thing is people, our guards specifically, could hear that. I went a different routeand faded into the background. Or get to my it to my room then pop away. No one could hear inside my room because I’d charmed it.
My mom walked into the room, and I smiled at her. She was so beautiful and I felt a flutter of happiness that I looked like her. She told my siblings not all of us had to say. EJ let our younger siblings go, and I desperately wanted to go with them. That had Alexander glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. He was fully tapped into our bond right now. I distracted him by looking at our cousin Daisy, who had also stayed behind with us.
Rain sighed, “EJ would’ve let us go too if you’d told him how she makes you feel.” She was right but I couldn’t. My mom rubbed her belly. She was pregnant with more siblings for us to love. Boys again. I knew that my parents were going to have another girl eventually. I was beyond excited to have a sister.
She would understand how hard it was being a girl in this family with so many protective brothers. For example, my brothers were excited my mom was having more boys because they felt the more boy’s mom had the more people that would help them protect me and our one day little sister.
I knew my brothers were worried about me. We could hear better than most, and we’d heard whispers about our mom. Some things we heard weren’t bad, like how I looked at her. I knew Alexander and EJ heard worse and they’d told my dad about some comments regarding me. Those Fairies died at his hands and Uncle Aiden’s.
One day in Faerie, they’d told me to pop and go get Uncle Aiden. I’d been several feet away sketching a beautiful rainbow with unicorns. They looked haunted when I saw them next. Uncle Aiden was furious at the group of Fairies my brother’s overheard. I thought he was about to set them on fire in front of us.
Grandma Cassandra came into the room which stopped my musing. I literally felt the air slip out of the room. Rain muttered, “She’s an impending cloud of doom.” She really was. She wasn’t glowing, which was the least shocking thing that would happen today.
EJ rolled his eyes which she caught. I narrowed my eyes at her glare. Mom nicely told her she wasn’t glowing. She was about to offer to heal her, but my grandma said no before she could. EJ and Alexander’s annoyance fueled mine.
When grandpa left, my mom tried again. It was in her nature to be so kind as light itself. She always wanted to try to make things better for other people. Grandma Cassandra said that she didn’t want magic used on her because what’s meant to be will work out.
I scoffed telling Rain, “Sure, but she doesn’t mind all the other magic mom does for her. Mom should stop keeping her garden alive then.” Rain snorted, “It is weird she accepts some things done magically and not others. You know she pretends she’s the reason that garden is alive though.” I couldn’t help but be hurt that was true.
Grandma Cassandra was just so mean to my mom and me. Preston, William, and Julian wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for magic. Neither would Aiylee. Or ANY of my wolf cousins except Saied. How could she not see how hurtful it was when she made these comments about magic? I noticed everyone’s head jerk to me due to my feelings. Dang it. Normally I kept a better hold on them.
Daisy got angry. I linked her, “You’re right. She doesn’t mean it about you though.” Daisy replied, “I don’t care. I am here because of magic. All of us are actually. Even you guys.” She was right, but I didn’t think Grandma Cassandra would care about me being here like she did Daisy.
I knew that we would’ve died because when mom was pregnant because she got hit with a lot of iron. She had magical protection from the Fairy Goddess. We’d found that out in Faerie and dad creatively explained and told us we’d learn more when we were older.
Daisy linked, “I can’t be here anymore. She’ll make me feel bad for feeling this way if I stay.” She ran out of the room. My heart hurt for her. Rain encouraged me, “You should share your feelings too. Daisy did and mom knows now.”
Grandma Cassandra began to spin her woe as me web and I couldn’t stop myself from commenting. My mom didn’t have our hearing, so she didn’t know what I said. Rain linked, “Cassandra is trying to link us, but I blocked her out.” I wanted to laugh because it upset Grandma Cassandra we were strong enough to do that.
