Page 30 of Fated Moons
“Feeling better?” her father asked with a kind smile. He’d always been a generous man. He wasn’t the kind of person to be quick to judgment. Always giving most the benefit of the doubt.
Especially his sister, Alley, who could be a difficult witch. Always on the outer fringe of their coven. Aunt Alley didn’t like change and while she’d been less outspoken since the birth of the wolfairies, in private, she loathed the creatures.
“Better is a relative term. I feel clean. How’s that for a start?” Jackson rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’d say a good one. Eat up.” Her father waved a fork in the air. “You both need the nourishment.”
“I plan on it, but I need to understand what the hell happened last night.” Jackson’s gaze darted between her and her father. “I was aware of the conversation between you and Trask, but honestly, it’s all a blur.”
Her heart swelled while his stare lingered a little longer, the corners of his lips tipping upward.
“You look beautiful this morning,”Jackson projected.
“Thank you, but you already said that, and I don’t think it’s nice to speak like this right under my father’s nose.”
“Well, if you change your mind, we can always have a private conversation this way.”Jackson raised his mug and blew.
“I like a man who is direct,” her father said.
“I see no point in beating around the bush, considering your daughter almost died,” Jackson said, patting her leg under the table.
She should have batted his hand away, but instead, she took it and squeezed it. Fairy dust floated into the air and coated his body. “I don’t think I will ever get used to this.”
Jackson rubbed his shoulder. “I think I will.” He rolled up his sleeve. “It’s got healing powers. Look.”
She leaned forward. “Interesting.”
“According to Trask, fairies can heal others. Mostly their mates or their bloodline.” Her father arched a brow. “But you want to know more about last night, so let’s go there. WhenAmanda tried to take a peek at your inside aura, she hit a blocking spell that Trask and I’ve come to find out was cast on you as a child,” her father said.
Jackson narrowed his eyes. “I’ll ask about looking inside me later, but for now, what is a blocking spell? And what is it blocking me from?”
“In our culture, it would be connecting with your soulmate. In yours, it would be connecting with your fated mate,” her father said matter-of-factly, but with a stiff back as he rounded his shoulders. “It would have worked, except whoever cast the spell didn’t consider that my daughter is also a fairy and not a regular fairy. Even if she hadn’t looked inside your aura, the black magic would have eventually come out and had that effect on her because her fairy powers started growing. The sole purpose of that spell was to prevent you from imprinting on her, but you’d already done that.”
Jackson groaned. “And how do you know that?”
“Are you going to deny that, son?” Her father arched a brow.
“What I don’t understand is how. I’ve only been around Amanda twice, and I would have known it.” Jackson leaned back, raising his mug to his lips, but he didn’t take a sip. Instead, he gently set the cup back on the table. “It’s incredibly rare for a wolf to imprint before coming of age. But when it happens that way, it’s still known when the wolf and their mate are in the same space so that mating can happen.”
“Whoever cast the spell either didn’t know about the imprinting or wanted to prevent the mating.” Her father waved his hand dismissively. “But it doesn’t matter. We need to focus on what it means going forward.”
“I’m going to ignore the weirdness in all of this for a second, but imprinting is not a soulmate thing. It’s more of an intended kind of thing. A claim for a relationship. And fated mates are forwolfairies and those wolves who are important to…” His words trailed off and he stared up at the ceiling.
“What is it, son?” her father asked.
“Five years ago, I was summoned to the Ferguson farm. This was long before Chaz met his wife or the wolfairies were ever conceived. Titus offered me refuge. He asked me to move back here, and Trask believed then that this was where I belonged.”
“Trask is a hundred times more powerful than I. He also has the gift of visions. I don’t. I can’t see the future or even have a sense of what will be. But I do believe in soulmates for all creatures and when we find the perfect match, it’s nothing short of spectacular,” her father said.
“Daddy, now is not the time to go into your love-at-first-sight fairy tale.”
“It’s not a fairy tale, and it happened to me and your mother.” He lowered his chin.
She rolled her eyes.
“Let’s say your theory is true, and Amanda and I are soulmates. Or in wolf terms, fated mates. Why did she freeze like that when she looked inside me? And just for the record, that is creepy, and I’d appreciate it if you never did that again.”
“I can promise that I won’t,” she muttered.
