Forced Plus-Size Mate (Silver Meadows Wolves #6)

Chapter 3 - Amanda

Anxiously, the other witches and I wait for the new moon. Where the full moon is bright and illuminating, the new moon shows what is hidden and invites us into the darkness to discover buried secrets.

Even though it’s only a couple of days, my impatience rises by the second. Living with Lucy and Peter is comfortable, but it also grates on me for reasons I don’t fully understand.

Or, maybe, that I just don’t want to admit.

On the night of the new moon, as we eat an early dinner, I have to admit to myself that it’s their easy interaction with each other that makes me uncomfortable. Peter and Lucy share quiet looks, smiles, and warm words that show how connected they are to each other.

And I know I’ll never have a relationship like this.

“You’re very quiet, Amanda,” Peter remarks. “Would you like some more bread? Maybe another drink?”

Before I can say that I’m fine, Lucy waves her hand, and the wine bottle lifts off the table, drifts through the air, then gracefully tilts towards my glass and pours without spilling a single drop. With a snap of Lucy’s fingers, the bottle returns to its place with a gentle thump.

“That’s just showing off,” Peter laughs.

Lucy shrugs and winks at him. “I’ve never been able to do things like this before. It’s just kind of fun.”

“Can you do that, Amanda?” Peter asks, turning to me. I know the question is innocent enough, but it cuts straight into my chest.

“I used to,” I answer in a small voice. I look down at my plate, focusing very hard on cutting apart a tomato so I don’t have to think about his question.

“But you’re Lucy’s mentor, aren’t you?” he asks. “Surely you’re more powerful.”

“Peter,” Lucy says softly as she reaches over to stroke his arm.

“Oh,” he mutters. “Sorry, Amanda. I forgot there was some issue with your magic. Do you know what caused it?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” I mutter, looking up at the clock.

“Almost seven,” Lucy says. “Should we call the others?”

“Yes,” I answer. “By the time we get out on the mountain, it will be pretty late.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be exactly midnight, just near to it. The spell should still work.”

“I’ll get some supplies,” Lucy says. “Are you sure you want me to do it?”

“You’re the only one who can,” I say with a sigh. “We tried so many different spells before we decided to come back, and none of us have enough magic to make it work.”

“I wonder what’s so special about Lucy,” Peter muses. “Well, what might be special about her that I don’t already know.”

“Yeah, I wonder,” I mutter, an idea beginning to form in my mind.

No! Not that. Anything but that!

Lucy goes to collect her things, and Peter and I clean up. He talks about the bakery and his work with the young wolves. I try to pay attention, but I’m too preoccupied to really listen. Little Isla gurgles in her high chair, and Peter picks her up and snuggles her against his chest.

“Would you like to hold?” he asks, extending his arms towards me. Isla gurgles, waving her sticky fingers.

“I’m okay, thanks,” I say. “I’m not really good with babies.”

“No one is, until they have one,” he answers, hoisting her back to his hip. “Don’t worry. She does bite, but she doesn’t have any teeth yet.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, laughing in spite of myself. “Does that mean she’s a wolf?”

“No clue,” he replies. “Might be a witch, a wolf, neither or both. It’s not really important.”

My smile grows, especially as I remember the kind of man he used to be.

If he could change this much, then, maybe…

Stop it!

“Okay, I’ve got my bag,” Lucy says. “Every single witchy item I could possibly need. The others are ready. Some of them have met in town, so we won’t have to make too many stops.”

“Sounds good,” I reply, putting away the last of the dishes.

Peter and Lucy exchange a few words and a cute little hug, with Isla sandwiched between them before we leave. I have to harden my heart again, reminding myself why I’m alone and can’t ever take a partner.

I’m happy for them… but love betrayed me. I can’t risk my heart again. I wouldn’t survive.

We take the coven’s minibus and pick up the other girls before driving to the main camping ground. From there, we hike out into the wilderness. The trip starts with lots of enthusiastic chatter and good spirits, but it quickly shifts into muttered curses and grumpy comments.

“I stubbed my toe!”

“Don’t tell me about it, I nearly broke my ankle on a tree root.”

“Yeah, well, at least you didn’t almost get decapitated by a tree.”

Just as I’m about to tell the girls to calm down, I slip into a hollow and almost fall flat onto my face. Lucy cries out and hurries over to me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I grumble. “Just grazed a bit. What the hell is happening? It’s like the forest is attacking us.”

“I’m doing fine,” Lucy says, puzzled. “Nothing’s getting in my way, and I can see pretty well.”

“It’s a moonless night!” one of the girls exclaims. “What do you mean, you can see?”

“I just… can,” Lucy says, shrugging.

Again, an idea—a potentially important one—buzzes around in my head. I refuse to entertain it and put all my attention into finding a suitable spot for the ritual.

“I can’t wait to get my magic back,” one of the girls moans. “I’ve never felt so helpless!”

I couldn’t agree more.

Thankfully, we come into an open clearing where there’s a perfect view of the starry sky above our heads. All thirteen of us sit in a circle around Lucy as she lights a small fire and sprinkles dried herbs on it to make thick, fragrant smoke.

I watch the heavy curls floating upwards, painting the air around us with decorative patterns that look like writing in the sky. I should be aware of Lucy’s magic. I should be able to feel it in my bones, and on my skin.

But I can’t feel anything!

Lucy moans, a low, painful sound.

“What is it?” I ask, leaning forward.

“So much darkness,” she murmurs. “It’s in the past, and stretching towards us right now. Our paths are hidden, broken, covered in shadows.”

Around me, frightened whispers erupt as everyone reacts to Lucy’s words. No one moves from the circle, but the girls reach out to each other, their voices rising in the still, cold air.

“Lucy, tell us what you see!” I demand, desperate to run to her but knowing if I move, the spell will be broken.

Lucy moans a little, rocking back and forth. She looks up, and the line of smoke curls around her body, wreathing her in tendrils that spiral up into the sky.

“I see… a break between you and the forest,” she finally says. “None of you are connected to the mountains, or to nature. Your magic has become dormant because your link with the earth has become weak.”

“That’s ridiculous!” one of the girls cries. “We spent years living in the wilderness, away from civilization! How can we be disconnected from nature?”

Lucy shakes her head, blinking slowly. Her eyes look pale and sightless. “All that time, your magic was dying, and you didn’t even know it. Magic slowly drew away from you, until there was nothing left.”

The other girls keep calling out questions, their voices a combination of disbelief, anger, and fear. Everyone is taking this news differently, but the one thing we all have in common is shock.

“Lucy, what can we do?” I yell to make my voice heard over the others. “Tell us how to fix it!”

The figure in the center of the circle doesn’t even look human now. Lucy’s head is thrown back, staring at the sky with her arms trailing by her sides. Through the darkness and shifting clouds of smoke, she looks like a spirit, something half-formed between the real world and the ethereal.

“I see the past,” she mutters. “I can see it all. The line of our blood reaching back through the years… to where witches are strong.”

“Why are they strong?” I croak, my voice so low that she should not be able to hear.

“They are strong because of love,” she answers clearly. “Our blood is woven with that of the wild wolves. Together, we are complete.”

I hear the other girls calling out to Lucy, demanding that she explain. I just stare at the ground, feeling empty and numb.

“No,” I whisper.

“Yes,” Lucy says, her voice dull but deep. “We are meant to be together. If the wolves did not agree, if they could not see the truth… then we enspelled them and bound them to us… just like I did to Peter!”

Her voice clears, and she sounds like herself again. I see her shake her head, and the smoke disperses a little.

“Don’t break the spell yet!” I yell. “Lucy, tell us what to do!”

She chuckles, shaking her head. “You have to marry wolves and allow love into your heart, like I did. That’s why I’m stronger than ever and all of you have lost your powers.”

The circle falls into complete silence as the other girls take this in. Years ago, before we left, we only had a casual relationship with the pack. I don’t think any of the women here have issues with the wolves.

But I do. Is this my fault? Did I do this? If so, can I undo it?

“Amanda,” Lucy whispers. “Join me.”

I hesitate for a moment, then hurry into the circle to kneel across from Lucy. She takes a big handful of dried herbs and throws them into the fire, making it blaze high, sending sparks above our heads into the column of smoke.

Lucy looks up, watching the sparks trace their patterns across the stars. Smoke bleeds across my vision, showing me shadowed images and arcane symbols. I shake my head as tears begin to roll down my cheeks.

“You know,” Lucy states. Her tone forces my eyes up to hers. She looks so centered, so sure of herself, that I seem to shrink in front of her. “You know more about this than you’re saying!” Her voice has risen, and when she narrows her eyes at me. I feel like she’s seeing through me, right to my soul.

“Here,” Lucy says, handing me a small leather bag. “Cast the runes.”

“No,” I say.

“Why?” Lucy snaps. “Because you know what they will say?”

“Don’t make me do this, Lucy,” I moan. With every fiber of my being, I want to run from the circle, bolt into the woods, and never return.

“Cast the runes,” she urges again.

“I don’t want to,” I mutter.

“You would condemn your circle to a life without magic?” she asks. “The way is clear to me—I can see everything. The great rift between the bloodlines, the unraveling of our powers—it started with you!”

“I can’t,” I gasp, barely able to breathe. “I can’t do this!”

I hear the other witches start to call out to me. All of them sound angry, and I don’t blame them. Hot tears run down my cheeks as sorrow and pain collide in my chest.

Body.

Just the whisper of his name in my mind makes me cry even harder. I tighten my hand on the small leather bag, knowing that I have to cast the runes.

I have no choice. I know what they will say, but I can’t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes.

“Amanda,” Lucy whispers. Her voice is edged with anticipation, and I look up at her with alarm.

“What is it?” I ask.

“You have a mate,” she says. “The smoke shows me… that love has already claimed your heart.”

Stop.

“Lucy,” I beg, “please don’t make me cast the runes. We can find other ways to save our magic—”

“You can’t, and you know this. Even if you didn’t, the evidence is before you. I married a wolf, and I’m stronger than ever. Old Jen was right… we need the ancient traditions. They can heal us all.”

“You don’t understand!” I snap. “I left for a good reason! I could not have survived another day in this town. Whatever the smoke is showing you, whatever the runes might say, all of it is useless because—”

He betrayed me. He doesn’t want me.

“Amanda,” Lucy says, shaking her head. “It’s too late.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, suddenly terrified. “Too late for what?”

“He’s already here,” Lucy points into the smoke towards the nearby trees.

I turn around in horror, seeing the dark figure moving closer. At first, it stalks towards us in wolf form, then as he approaches the circle, the figure slowly shifts and walks upright. He pauses at the edge of the circle, and the other witches move out of the way to let him through.

He stands before me, wreathed in sacred smoke, his body lit by the flickering flames of the low fire. He seems taller, his muscles longer and leaner than I remember. Ash-blond hair that used to be cut short and spiky now curls at the edges of his ears, slightly tarnishing his “good boy” vibe.

Compared to the guy I knew in high school, this could be a completely different person. This is not a carefree, arrogant kid. This is a man, a mature creature tempered by a life of discipline and sacrifice. His expression is drawn and serious, nothing like the lopsided, mischievous grin I used to adore.

His dark brown eyes shimmer with glittering flecks of gold that seem to swirl around his pupils, mesmerizing me.

I could never forget those eyes. They are exactly as I remember.

It’s really him.

Body.