Chapter 16 – REGINA #3
"It's a long story."
"I have time."
I drag a hand through my hair, trying to figure out where to even begin. "I left Kyle," I say finally. "For good this time."
"About fucking time," Cadence says, and I can practically hear her trying to choke down the “ I told you so ” that must be burning a hole in her throat.
"Please don't," I mutter. "I know, okay? I know you were right about him. About all of it. I just... I can't hear that right now."
There's a pause, the silence heavy with all the things she wants to say but is holding back. I love my sister fiercely, but subtlety has never been her strong suit. Everything with Cadence is big, loud, and colorful. Not just her perpetually changing hair colors, either. She’s like fireworks in human form.
"What happened?" she asks finally, her voice gentler.
"I caught him with Rebecca." The words still burn in my throat. "In our bed."
"That motherfucking piece of shit," Cadence hisses. "I'll kill him. I'll literally kill him. I've still got those poppets Aunt Meredith taught us to make. I'll stick pins in his dick until it rots off."
Despite everything, I feel the corner of my mouth twitch upward. "I'm pretty sure that's not how poppets work."
"Don't underestimate my rage," she counters. "Or my creativity."
“I would never. Besides, he lost an arm. So he does have one less appendage than he used to.”
“He fucking what, Regina?”
“If I talk about that right now, I’m gonna get sick, and I need to eat something tonight or I won’t be able to keep my glamour up,” I grumble into the phone, picking at the edge of the blanket.
"Where are you now?"
"Stormvale."
"Stormvale? What the hell are you doing in Stormvale ?"
"Neutral territory. I figured it would be harder for him to find me in a bigger city."
"Did it work?"
I think of Kyle's dismembered arm lying in the grass, vines already beginning to reclaim it. “Um. Sort of…?”
"You need me to come get you?" Cadence asks. "I can be on the next flight. You can stay with me until we figure this out."
"No, it's okay. I've already found a... solution. Maybe."
"A solution to what? The Kyle problem? The coven bond?"
"Both, hopefully." I close my eyes, trying to figure out how to explain my current living situation without sounding completely insane.
"Okay, I'll bite. What's the solution? You found another coven that fast?" She isn’t even bothering to hide her suspicion, and I know why. Because she knows the odds of me finding people that will put up with my “situation” are fucking low, siphon or not. I’m still bonded to the coven, and I look like a freak.
A freak who uses sex magic. A winning combo.
I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything at all, caught between the urge to lie and knowing my sister will see right through it.
"Regina." Cadence's voice shifts into big-sister mode. "What coven?"
"It's not a coven," I admit quietly.
“Then what is it?” She groans. “Don't tell me it's vampires.”
“It's not vampires.”
"Then what... oh my gods.” She falls silent for a beat, then bursts into laughter. "Very funny, Regina. For a second I thought you were going to say shifters."
I don't respond.
Her laughter cuts off abruptly. "Regina. Tell me you're not serious."
“It's shifters.”
"Regina!" Her voice lifts an octave. A second later, she takes a deep breath. "Okay, I've collected myself. What kind of shifters? Cats? Bears? Fucking beavers ? Because I know you’re not shacking up with?—”
“Wolves,” I confirm flatly. "Temporarily."
Her silence says more than words could. But I know she still has plenty of those left.
"Have you lost your fucking mind ?" Cadence shrieks suddenly. "After what happened to you? After what a werewolf did to your face ?"
I cringe, holding the blaring phone away from my ear. "These are shifters, not werewolves," I correct automatically even though it's a distinction that doesn't mean all that much to me. "And yes, I'm well aware of the irony."
"Irony? IRONY? You're living with wolves , Regina! The same kind of monsters that nearly killed you!"
"Different kind," I reiterate. “Werewolves are cursed. These guys are born shifters. They have control over their transformations.”
"Oh, well that makes it totally fine then!" Cadence's voice drips with sarcasm. "I'm sure they're perfect gentlemen who would never, ever rip your throat out and eat you while you’re still twitching.”
"They..." I pause, considering my next words carefully. "They say I'm their mate."
Dead silence on the other end of the line. I can practically hear Cadence's brain short-circuiting.
"Their what now?" she finally croaks.
“Mate. As in, magically destined partner or whatever.” I sound as skeptical as I feel, which is saying something.
She groans. “You can't be serious.”
"Trust me, I'm finding it hard to believe myself."
"How many of them are there?"
"Four."
"Four wolves?" she echoes in disbelief. "Are you in a fucking BDSM werewolf romance novel right now?"
I pull the phone away from my ear again. Sometimes I swear she has supersonic voice powers. “Could you please stop shouting? They’re wolves. They can probably hear you.”
"Regina." Cadence's voice turns deadly serious. "I want you to blink twice if you're being held captive and forced to say these things."
I roll my eyes even though she can't see me. "We're not on video, and I'm not being held captive. It was my choice to come here."
"Your choice," she repeats flatly. "To live with four werewolves?—"
"Wolf shifters ."
“—who think you're their magically destined bride or whatever. After everything you've been through. Did you hit your head when you were running away from Kyle? Should I be checking you for a concussion? Are you insane? Do you need meds, Regina? I know a damn good therapist who can?—”
"I'm taking things one day at a time," I say, suddenly completely fucking exhausted. "Look, I really can't get into all of this right now. The pizza's going to be here soon."
" Pizza ?" Cadence sounds like she's having an anaphylactic reaction to my life choices. "You're casually eating pizza with wolves ?"
“I have to go,” I say, not bothering to hide my irritation now. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
"Regina—"
“Love you, Cadence. Talk to you later.”
I hang up, cutting off whatever else she was about to say. The phone immediately buzzes again as she calls back, then calls back again, but I silence it, tossing it onto the bed.
I love my sister to death, but sometimes the only choices are bad ones. At least these wolves seem genuinely invested in helping me break the coven bond. And if they turn out to be lying, well... I'm already intimately familiar with betrayal.
What's one more?