Page 17 of Fated Moons
“The idea of a pure witch fairy, outside of Trask, is unheard of, and it terrifies my kind. When my mother first started with a few specks of fairy dust, my father was gravely concerned for me and my sisters. It could have brought about a witch hunt of a different kind. Witches turning on each other out of fear that their kin might be one. Or new spells being created to produce fairy dust or even to banish witch fairies. Once we learned my mom wasn’t a royal fairy and it hadn’t been passed on to me and my sisters, we went on like normal but decided to keep her being a fairy a secret. No need to ruffle any feathers and cause a panic.”
“Especially your Aunt Alley.”
“She would be horrified by the concept, for sure. But there’s more to it,” she said. “Some witches believe that mixing witch and fairy magic is not only unholy, but it will bring about something as evil as the Princess Tara Moonglimmer.”
“She’s been destroyed. Trask and his mate made sure of it.”
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t more like her,” Amanda said.
“She was Trask’s mother. Not his human host. But his fairy mom. And she was only half of her whole self.” Jackson rubbed his temple as he tried to pull the story from the recesses of his mind. It was a complicated one, and it had hurt his brain the first time Trask and Hollie had told it in its entirety, mostly because parts of it didn’t make sense. “I don’t pretend to understand it, but Dayton tried to explain it once in the same way he was separated into two parts. His wolf form and his fairy form. Only, Tara’s other half was a witch who had practiced black magic and had been stripped of their powers, making it impossible for her to be reunited. It turned her fairy side evil and her only hope of survival was to steal her child’s powers.”
“Many witches don’t believe that story. They believe that Tara was an evil fairy out to destroy everything and everyone. But it’s the fear of the unknown. It’s all those centuries of witches clashing with fairies. That’s why my father doesn’ttake a hard line, demanding witches accept wolfairies. He only demands they respect their right to exist. It would be like wolves and vampires becoming friends and reproducing.”
Jackson tossed his head back and laughed. “Vampires refuse to take part in the Twilight Crossing Council. They barely play nice in the sandbox with the rest of the paranormal world. Also, it’s physically impossible for any other creature to reproduce with them. The only way to become a vampire is to be turned. And the only way to do that is to agree to have your blood drained.” He waggled his finger. “It’s the agreeing part that’s important. It’s why they are an endangered species. Most humans won’t agree to it.”
“I honestly don’t know why the council protects them. They are vile.” She shivered. “I’m sorry, that was a bad analogy.”
“But I get your point.” Now, he had an interesting dilemma. He wasn’t sure if he should even bring it up because he didn’t believe in it for two reasons.
First, it meant imprinting would be involved, which hadn’t happened. He would have known it the second she walked into the room.
It didn’t matter that he felt a strong pull toward her. Stronger than any other woman or creature he’d ever been attracted to. Imprinting, no matter when it happened, was a connection that a wolf felt to his or her core. It was rare that a wolf did it before coming of age. But it did happen. It wasn’t anything that the wolf had any control over. It was written in the stars. It could be rejected if the imprinting was done with a different species.
But it was still something that was meant to be. Something that was part of a bigger picture and that bond would be nearly impossible to break.
He’d been in the same space as Amanda twice.
He’d been an adult the first time on that airplane, and he would have felt it. His heart would have connected to hers. Itwould have been earth-shattering. It would have stopped him dead in his tracks and from that day forward, his sole purpose in life would have been to love and protect her.
While he thought a lot about her after that emergency landing, he’d been able to go on with his life.
Imprinting certainly hadn’t happened today. However, his hunger to be with her grew. He couldn’t stop thinking about taking her to bed, and he did have an overwhelming need to protect her, but that could be because of the fairy dust and the fact he was indeed an alpha.
Not to mention the dust was getting bolder and stronger.
“Have you ever heard of the Legend of the Fated Moons?” He decided asking the question didn’t mean anything. Besides, he was curious if she’d ever heard it before and put any stock in the myth.
“No. Why and what is it?”
“It’s something that all wolves are taught. I believe now that the wolfairies are here, fairies are also told of the legend.” He shouldn’t be surprised that witches weren’t being schooled in the legend, even though it affected them. He wondered what her father knew of it.
She shifted, taking another slow slip. “I’m intrigued.”
“You might not be after I tell you about it.” He chuckled. “Supposedly, once the last set of wolfairies are born, and Trask continues on with his line, a double moon will appear. When that happens, a new pairing will be formed between a wolf and royal witch fairy, creating wizard and witch wolfairies.”
She poked his biceps. “Now you’re just messing with me.”
He gulped his wine. “It’s crazy, right? But I first heard the story when I was just a pup. I figured it was merely a myth. Kind of like the Legend of the Princess and the Wolf, but that one turned out to be true. As did the Legend of Toldar.” He arched a brow. “I honestly don’t know what I believe.” He took herhand as more dust slowly lifted from her fingers. “But what am I supposed to make of this when you’re a royal witch and also a fairy?”
“Next thing you’ll tell me is that you’re the wolf in this scenario.” She jerked her hand back.
“That would be insane, and no. That’s not what I’m implying. If anything, my role would be to protect you. But something triggered your dust in Paul’s office, and I was the only wolf in the room.”
“That was the first time I noticed it. Maybe it’s happened other times. I mean, with my mom, it’s often so tiny most don’t even see it.”
“That’s possible.” He wanted to believe he had nothing to do with bringing out the dust. But he couldn’t shake everything he’d seen in Trask’s little green ball. Or the deep emotions that had settled in his soul. “I know you don’t want anyone to know. But we need help containing this, or shooting this movie will be a problem.”
“What do you suggest?”
