Page 32 of Hunted By Wolves and Shadow
Chapter 15
Wolf
She never came back. I waited and waited in the Mist, fear and agitation and loss all warring inside me, but Emi never reappeared. I had no idea if she was alive or dead. I couldn’t think of it without my heart shredding.
I tore the house apart. Emi was gone, and there was nothing I could do about that, no matter how much I wondered who that man was or what had happened to her. People didn’t vanish into thin air without magic. Having magic would explain how he was in the Mist without becoming a monster, but I'd never heard of a male gemstone witch. It was only ever women.
It didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered. I had to move on.
Forget Emi. Forget the hope she’d given me.
Forget the things I’d started to feel.
I threw myself into my task, no longer cautious in my search as I ripped apart furniture and tore into walls. The Ruby Witch lived up to her evil reputation at every turn.
I found stashes of gemstones, vials of poison, keepsakes, and tokens tucked away like trophies of past curses. I didn’t letmyself wonder about the people who’d suffered under those curses, because none of them were the one I was here for. I didn’t let myself think or feel.
All I wanted was to leave this place and its memories behind. The three witches told me it would end with me. I’d killed for this. Echoes of Ruby’s death and her final taunt, “You’ll never be free,” would haunt me to the end. I’d made Emi hate me. I’d surrendered to the monster.
For what?
So three witches could take out their competition? For some kind of revenge? A game? Why?
I couldn’t slink back to the enclave without an answer.
I spent days searching without sleep, tearing up the garden, too. When the Mist pulled at me, I worked harder. When I caught glimpses of Lynx or Bear through the trees, I retreated. Beating wings drove me inside. I couldn’t let Robin or Hawk see my disgrace. The cottage was a mess, every table overturned, every cupboard emptied, every cushion torn open, and I found nothing of use.
I felt nothing but the absence of Emi. I missed the sounds of her puttering in the kitchen, whipping together something to bake whenever she was overwhelmed. I longed for a glimpse of dark red hair. A flash of red in the forest sent my heart skittering until Fox poked his furry nose out from the bush and dashed that terrible hope. He was checking on me, they all were, but none of them came in to the clearing. The Ruby Witch’s legacy had left too strong an imprint on us all. This was my burden to bear, and mine alone.
When I finally slept, I passed out on the couch with the pillow that smelled of warm vanilla clutched to my face.
Eventually, I had to admit Emi wasn’t coming back and I wasn’t making any progress. The Mist’s claim on me was asearing fire I could no longer put off, so I stepped outside to surrender to it.
For several more days, I wandered the woods, hoping to stop feeling...so much.
Finally, with my tail between my legs, I returned to the enclave. It was time. There was no end to this, and I owed it to them to explain. To apologize. They were my family and all I had in this life, so I returned to the only home I remembered.
I slipped through the wall of towering branches that held back the Mist, hoping to slide inside unnoticed. But Fawn and Moose called out welcomes as I grabbed trousers and a tunic and jerkin from our stash. Their calls were too friendly. Too happy. They should blame me, but…they didn’t?
That set off a chorus of “Wolf,” and “He’s back,” from around the enclave. Fox’s insolent, “Finally,” cut deeper than the rest.
Lynx rushed over and threw his arms around me. “We knew you’d come back, mate. Never doubted you.”
Robin’s small but mighty arms circled my waist next, and she hung on until I worried for the integrity of my ribs. Then she yelled at me for going after the Ruby Witch myself without taking her along.
“I hardly think a robin would have been much threat against curse magic. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt,” I soothed.
What I’d really wanted was to spare them from what had to be done, so none of them would have to feel what I felt now. I didn’t want anyone else to give more to their monsters than they had to. And now that I’d failed, I wouldn't wish this lingering guilt on any of them.
A jab to my upper arm reinforced Robin’s indignation. “Quit underestimating me. I could have been your distraction. Bear would have backed you up.”
The man in question solemnly nodded his big head beside her.
“We all would have,” Robin insisted.
I blinked back the sting in my eyes. “I was just trying to follow the prophecy. They said it was for the wolf of the woods. That’s me. No need to risk the rest of you if I was enough. Except I wasn’t enough. I’m sorry,” I said, my head hanging.
