Page 16 of Lycan Witch

Open your eyes, girl.

My wolf’s voice is commanding and stern, and the smell of patchouli fills my nose. My eyes snap open, knowing only one person who smells like that.

A young Monique paces across the floor of a penthouse apartment, the Boston Skyline framed by the large windows behind her. We must be in the high priestesses’ Harbor apartment. I look around the space, furnished lavishly with lush carpet and simple yet delicate decor—paintings of misty forests, candles and crystals covering the tabletop. A stack of black tarot cards sits on the coffee table.

“Sit,” Batya says, staring at Monique with her icy blue eyes. Her deep red hair is cut to her shoulders, and her long nails tap the deck again.

Monique reluctantly sits, glancing to the end of the couch where a small baby sleeps.

“What question do you seek?” Batya asks, shuffling the deck slowly.

“You already know why I came here.” Monique sighs when the oracle pauses shuffling and narrows her gaze. “Alright, alright. I… came for my daughter. Something isn’t right. Her fingers are so… hot.” She chews on her bottom lip, staring over at the infant until Batya sets three cards down.

Batya closes her eyes, then flips over each card one at a time. The Moon. The Devil, but it’s upside down. Strength. Brows furrowed, she pulls three more from the deck. Eight of cups. Ace of spheres. The Lovers.

“What is this?” Monique asks, glancing from the cards to Batya.

Batya sighs. “You have fears hidden inside you. You must cleanse yourself, be able to trust your intuition without clouding your judgment with dreams and imaginations.”

“This isn’t about me. I-it’s about her.” Monique points at the bundle, her finger trembling.

Batya glares at her. “Hush. The cards show you.” Glancing at the set before her again, she continues. “There is a great struggle coming. The cycle will break. The chains must fall, and then great power will flourish. This change will bring what was missing, and the unpredicted pairing will fill the void. Together, they will create a new world.” Frowning, she pulls one last card—the Tower—and gasps. “But catastrophe is looming on the horizon.”

Fear shadows Monique’s face, her shoulders tensing to her ears. “I have to go,” she whispers, moving to scoop up the crying baby. “Shh, Adara, shhh,” she coos impatiently, as she rushes out the door.

Batya watches her leave with curiosity, pulling a card off the top of the deck without looking. “The Fool,” she muses, a smile breaking across her face. “How amusing. What we come as, we end as, but, oh, so much potential.” She taps her chin with the card, looking at the still open door. “So much potential.”

The room spins again, and I reach out, grasping my wolf’s fur as I remember where we are. “What’s happening? Why are we seeing this?”

Shh. Watch.

The kitchen of my childhood home materializes before me, and Monique stands watching from the doorway as a toddler wanders around the living room. She holds a phone to her ear, watching the younger me play with blocks.

“It’s wearing off,” she hisses into the phone. “Her power is growingagain. She melted her pacifier yesterday!”

She runs a hand through her hair, pulling at the soft blonde curls.

“Can you please bring me another dose? I’ll strengthen it with my own spell.” A pause. “Iknowhow dangerousit is. I didn’t ask you for yourgods damn opinion.” She slams her hand against the wall, making me jump. “Just bring it. I have to suppress this power for good before she ruins everything!” She hangs up and throws the phone across the room, shattering a window in the kitchen and making the toddler scream.

Snapping my attention over, I see two wood blocks on fire in her tiny dimpled hands.

“Adara, no!” Monique snaps, and the vision fades.

The spinning doesn’t affect me as badly when I’m thrown back into the snowy clearing. Tears threaten to spill down my face, and my wolf steps forward and rests her chin on my shoulder. I bury my face into her fur and cry—heavy, heart-aching sobs threatening to shatter me.

I’m sorry…Do you understand now?

Sniffling, I pull away and wipe the heel of my hand across my cheeks. “That my mother has hated me my entire life? Yeah, I got the picture pretty clearly.”

My wolf huffs.No, that you’ve always had power, so much that she’s feared you since you were just an infant.

Startled at her tone, I look away and blink back the rest of my tears. Revisiting the two visions, I know that it was obvious. But still, I mourn for the childhood I wish I’d had, the mother I needed. “I… I saw.”

Don’t let her smother you any longer. Don’t let her win. You have to remember the cards, girl. The Lovers. The Strength.

My mouth goes dry, knowing she’s talking about Gideon. The Lovers has always symbolized perfection in romance, balanced and compatible, the epitome of happiness and love. Soulmates.

You have to believe in yourself. In me. In our power.She nudges my shoulder with her snout.We were meant to be, just as surely as we were destined to be mated with the alpha. Claim it.

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