Page 46 of Reclaiming His Lost Mate
In a flurry of activity, I quickly washed up the tea things and herbal equipment before Tommy arrived. He was busy with supply runs to restock shops in the surrounding area, so he only honked the horn of his truck as he stopped outside the shop. As I opened the door, Mia trotted in, skipping over to the counter and dropping her schoolbag with a cheerful thud. I waved to Tom as he pulled away, and then I closed the door and turned my attention to Mia.
“Mommy’s had a tough day, baby,” I said to Mia as she whirled in. “How about we shut up shop early and have a movie night?”
She jumped up and down. “Can we have pizza?”
That was definitely the kind of easy dinner I was in the mood for. “Sure can!”
But before I could call this day done and curl up on the sofa withMia, the last person I wanted to see was suddenly letting themselves in: Marissa.
Shock hit me in the chest, and a stone seemed to sink in my stomach.
An instinctive wave of protectiveness surged through me as I quickly shielded Mia. “Go to the kitchen, Mia,” I instructed, my tone taut.
Mia’s wide eyes reflected my unease, but she obediently backed away through the beaded curtain and into the kitchen. As the beads clinked softly behind her, I turned my full attention back to Marissa, my skin bristling protectively, every nerve ending screaming at me to defend what was mine.
As Marissa stepped closer, her presence was like a time bomb ticking down. The damage I’d just finished repairing from the dark magic she’d contaminated my products with still lingered like a bitter aftertaste. But the wave of tiredness I’d felt retreated as my body pounded with adrenaline, knowing Marissa must be here to attack me again.
"You're going to regret doing what you have to my business," I warned, my voice low and deadly, a growl rumbling in the back of my throat. I fisted my palms, ready to defend myself and everything I loved. I thought of the way Lyvia and Seraphina had rallied around me all day, the thought of them solidifying my confidence. “Whatever vile magic you’re planning on unleashing, know that my friends and I will fix it.”
Marissa's grin grew, her eyes sparkling with wicked delight as she approached me. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with malevolent intent. "Oh, Selina, I don’t need to do anything else," she purred, her voice dripping with condescension. "I’m only here to check that you learned your lesson.”
I scowled. Did she think that infecting my business would keep me away from Alexis? I gritted my jaw, refusing to be cowed by her. “If you think you can threaten me away from Alexis, you’re deluded.”
Far from looking pissed off, the same self-assured smirk cloaked her features. “You’re seeing this all wrong, Selina. What I did to your little business wasn’t a threat but a kindness.” My expression tightened, butMarissa had always loved the sound of her own voice and plowed on. “Alexis needs a Luna devoted entirely to the Shadow Moon Pack. If you're determined to be with him, you need to give all this up.” She looked around, that wrinkle to her nose mocking me and the shop I loved. “I've always been willing to dedicate myself wholly to him. Can you really say the same?"
Her words cut deep, striking at the heart of my doubts and fears. I felt a fissure open within me, a chasm of uncertainty threatening to swallow me. Had I been blind to Alexis's true needs? Did he expect me to sacrifice my business for him and his pack? Confusion and doubt crossed my face. Her words were too pertinent, resonating with the personal doubts I had been battling with recently.
Marissa's eyes gleamed with triumph as she saw the hesitation in my face. "I mean, how well do you even know him if you don’t know that about him? It was one of the first things we bonded over." The way she said that word "bonded" sent a shiver down my spine, reminding me of the dark magical chains she'd inflicted on Alexis. The memory of his pain and suffering flashed before my eyes, and it was just what I needed. She’d managed to get in my head in her usual manipulative Marissa way. Conviction crystalized in my veins, and I knew I had to get her out of my shop and away from Mia and me before she could cause any more harm.
“Get out of my shop, now!” I growled.
Marissa let out a cold, mirthless laugh, sending shivers down my spine, its edge announcing that she knew she’d gotten under my skin. She turned around and swept out the door that swung shut with a heavy thud. I stood there, reeling, my mind spinning, her unwanted visit still swirling around me like stale smoke.
My breath came in shallow gasps, and my body was locked in a rigid coil of uncertainty. Gradually, though, my muscles unfurled, the tight knots in my neck and shoulders loosening. It took a few heartbeats for reality to ground me.
Was Marissa telling the truth about Alexis? Did he want me to be a Luna and nothing else? The weight of the day settled on me, crushing me beneath its oppressive weight. I felt the need to know whether what Marissa said was true. What if the future I'd been imagining, onein which Alexis and I were together but I still had my shop, was nothing but an illusion, a fantasy constructed on quicksand?
The need ate me up, and suddenly, I needed to know the truth. One way or another. I took my mobile out of my jeans pocket, scrolling to the first name in my address book: Alexis, the person I realized I had been pinning so much of my hopes and dreams on. I needed to know if he felt the same.
He picked up after the third ring. “Selina,” his low voice, even amidst all my worries, sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine, his gravelly tone reminding me of his calloused palms and of the scratch of his stubble on my thighs. Oh, how I missed him. But the worries that had been crowding my head these last few days since his request, and now fueled by Marissa’s comment, made me blurt out, “Alexis, I can’t be what I’m not. I need to know whether it’s true that you want a Luna who’s completely dedicated to you and your pack?” The words tumbled out of me, and my heart rattled against my ribcage as I waited to hear whether it was true, whether Alexis and I had been kidding ourselves.
But before Alexis could say anything, I noticed the breeze moving the beaded curtain.
Panic thumped through me.
“Mia?” I shouted, hurrying into the kitchen, my feet working of their own accord. I tore through the beaded curtain toward the gaping back door.
“Selina? What’s wrong?” Alexis’s gruff voice sounded.
But the lump in my throat made it impossible to respond.
Please just be outside, playing.
“Where’s Mia?” The urgency in Alexis’s voice mirrored the blood drumming in my veins and the adrenaline flooding my body.
My gaze darted around the small garden to the flattened grass, where only half an hour ago, witches had sat. I wanted to see Mia pretending to pick herbs or fight the evil Alpha Reginald. But there was no pretending out here: the garden was empty.
“Selina, answer me?” Alexis demanded on the other end of the phone.
