Page 53 of Redeem Me
Chapter 41
Tracey
Was this how my brother had felt when he was here? Like an outsider? I had always been an outsider with him, but now it was different. I was different. The world around me was different. Trying to make sense of it all just confused me further.
The pack was scared of me. I could see it on their faces, in their auras, and smell it in the air. The witch and the wolf. The only ones that didn’t see me that way were Rafe and the guardians. They still treated me the same, even though it was sometimes annoying. I was thankful for some bit of normalcy while I tried to get my bearings through all of this. It felt next to impossible but I held my chin up higher as I walked to Granny’s.
Carden was waiting for me at the front of the house. Today he was watering her garden. He shot me a sweet smile before he looked back down at his duties.
The rest of the pack didn’t want him here any more than they wanted me or the witch children running around. Though the witch children had started to grow on them more than I had or Carden. Some of the wolves were older than even Granny. Their immortality had served their bodies well but not their brains. They refused to grow in their thinking or understanding. Granny seemed to be the only progressive one out of the bunch.
“Good morning, Carden,” I tried to not sound grumpy. It wasn’t his fault he was here. But he helped Granny more than anyone else did and I knew that she appreciated him being around.
He bowed his head. “Good morning, Tracey, how are you feeling?” I tried to blink past the bright gold strands weaving around him but it was no use. No matter what Granny taught me about blocking auras and magic in the air wasn’t working. It was like my brain and wolf were entirely too stubborn. But I had faith in Granny. She was here in this pack for a reason. She had helped all of us since we were pups.
I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m feeling fine, thank you.”
The wood on the door was worn beneath my hand as I pushed it open. The first thing I noticed was the smell of artificial Mac & cheese cooking. I scrunched my nose in disgust. My granny would never. But when I turned around the corner in the hallway, toward the kitchen, I saw the culprit behind the fake cheese fiasco. My mother would have a fit. Mac & cheese was better when it was made from scratch. Granny had been the one that had taught her that.
A little blonde girl stood on a chair beside the stove while Granny twirled her finger in the air beside it. The spoon spun lazily in the pot. The little girl watched in awe. It was a party trick I knew well from when I was a child. Granny had always cooked with her magic. It was the one thing I had missed as I had gotten older.
They both turned to me at the same time. It wasn’t an unusual thing for the witch kids to be around her cottage, but not many were brave enough to step foot inside. Older witches and their strong auras were known to scare children off. I knew that all too well with my own brother. He had been terrified of Granny as he had grown into his power.
The little girl had the audacity to turn her nose up at me. “And who are you?”
I barked out a laugh. “Excuse me?”
The child hopped down from the stool and pinned me with an indifferent stare. “Your aura is strange. It’s not like the rest of the witches.”
Then in my mind.“Why are you so different? What is it? What can I find in your head?”
I slammed down the mental wards Granny had taught me to put up. She blinked rapidly. “I wasn’t finished.”
“If you don’t learn some manners, you’ll be tossed out onto your head and the last thing you’ll be worried about is other people’s minds,” I snarled.
“Already going head to head with the little she-devil, I see,” Carden said from the doorway.
I had to calm the wolf inside of me. “You could have warned me.”
“And miss that look on your face? I don’t think so. She’s a spitfire, isn’t she?” Carden leaned against the doorframe and grinned.
The little girl’s brown eyes watched him just as warily as they watched me. “My name is Valentina, not spitfire.”
“It’s nice to meet you Valentina, but if you don’t stay out of my head, you’ll learn to regret it.”
Granny lifted her eyebrow at the small girl. “You heard her.” Her eyes moved to mine. “We are working on her manners and the use of consent. She isn’t used to either. In the hell they were kept in, she had to use her magic to protect the other children. She would rifle through memories to see who was a friend and who was foe.”
My lips twisted. “Don’t forget, I’m the one that rescued you.”
Valentina smiled softly. “I will not forget but I know not everyone is to be trusted.”
Granny grinned. “She is only worried about self-preservation.” She ran her hand down the girl’s straight blonde hair. “Fix yourself some lunch and we will begin our lessons. I have requested a few grimoires from the archives. I should be able to help you with this unusual and incredible magic.” She winked.
Granny motioned me to follow her. Carden bowed his head to her as we passed. “I’ll try to keep her out of trouble.”
“I don’t think you’ll be enough to do that,” I muttered.
Granny snickered and I felt this overwhelming emotion inside of my chest. The kind of emotion that makes you want to hug the other person.
