Chapter 2
Effie Harlow
“You froze everyone?” I asked, unsure on how I felt about her tactic. While I understood it, I also didn’t like that she had the ability to incapacitate so many powerful people—that power was a threat to my mates. My wolf let out a growl from my throat at that, one I couldn’t cover this time.
Mona offered me an understanding smile as she walked closer to us, her gaze moving over the rest of the room.
“Yes. Unfortunately, despite my threats, I don’t trust those with true magic to keep their mouths shut.
What I need to tell you, the knowledge I need to give you…
is so incredibly important, Effie. Something that I can only entrust to you and your mates. ”
When she reached us, her words truly hit me now that I wasn’t distracted by the rest of the room—the reality of what she was claiming and the absurdity of it slammed into me and caused my eyes to sting with tears.
More than anything there was heartbreak because the concept of me having a mother… it just seemed impossible.
Realization filled her gaze as she let out a slow exhale, her brow furrowing. “I am so sorry. I’ve made a mess of this, and now you are more confused than ever.”
“Rightfully so,” Julian growled. Coffin’s magic sparked the air, causing the hair on my arms to lift as a shiver rolled over me. I tensed slightly, knowing that he would react poorly to the threat Mona posed.
“Julian…” Ryder warned.
“It’s okay,” Mona assured my mate. “All of you have a right to be upset at me for making your mate anxious, but unfortunately this situation is unavoidable. It’s been far too long, and too many transgressions have come to pass—ones I could only watch from afar.
Still, no matter how I approached this, Effie would have been cautious. ”
My eyes widened. She could only watch from afar? Like, she hadn’t been able to step in and fix whatever had led me to the Whitepaw pack? How had I even gotten in the position where I had to have Julian bite me? What had happened before that? I nearly groaned in frustration. Why couldn’t I remember?
I had so many questions, but in true form, I could barely open my mouth, let alone put words to my thoughts.
“What do you need to tell me?” I managed to ask.
“Please, sit.” She motioned towards our table and snapped fingers.
A chair appeared out of thin air beneath her, allowing her to sit elegantly.
I slowly sat down, and my mates followed with the exception of Tore, his large frame shadowing me as he stood protectively behind me.
Once again, there was that energy vibrating off of him, the one he was attempting to hide from me.
I didn’t want that, though, especially now that we were mated fully.
I wanted him and all of my mates to act exactly as they felt.
Like right now I could tell none of them felt truly happy about this situation, probably because it felt like they were letting their guards down by sitting to talk to this strange woman.
Mona continued, “I don’t have much time here—truth be told, I’m not fully here, so we must talk before I have to leave.”
Caedmon’s hand tightened in mine, Ryder’s hand wrapping around the back of my neck in a soothing, comforting move.
Between the three of them I felt insulated, and I found myself wanting to extend that energy to Julian, who was nearly buzzing with conflict and tension as Coffin tried to push forward.
Dakota, on the other hand, was suspiciously quiet as he attempted to make sense of the situation.
Unfortunately, the instincts I had started relying on, especially while at Silver Falls and experiencing so many news things, were quiet when it came to this woman.
Mona spoke after a long moment. “I understand your confusion and frustration, Effie. I need you to listen to what I’m going to tell you though. You can decide whether to believe me or not after, whether you feel like you can trust me, but can I at least guarantee your ear?”
“Yes,” I whispered. Because while this situation was more than complicated, I wanted to know more. I wanted to at least try and discover if there was any validity behind her story.
I had to admit though, the longer we were together, the more I realized that we did look similar. There was the blue hair, though hers didn’t have an ombre effect like my own. Our eye color was very similar, as were our features, specifically our noses and their freckles.
I just wasn’t sure if we truly did look alike or if I was only seeing things I wanted to see. I would have to ask my mates’ opinions.
“First, before anything else, I want to assure you that everyone in the room outside of the six of you and those who have true magic will not remember me arriving. They will remember the announcement of your being mates—a celebratory moment—and then Hastain threatening to attack you, which is where they will be unfrozen. You’ll want to react to that accordingly. ”
“Why do you have to remove their memories? Just because others would agree with his idea?” Tore clarified.
“Many would have agreed with Hastain because of the power he has, and while the idea may have ultimately been shot down tonight, the seed would have been planted.” She paused, giving us the opportunity to absorb the implications of high-ranking members of the community thinking that breaking others’ mate bonds against their will was an acceptable practice.
“So better to just remove it.” She waved her hand in explanation, as if wiping a slate clean. “They don’t want to remember me appearing anyway—true magic always confuses things, especially when it comes to those who’ve never experienced it before.”
“Right…” I whispered, drawing out the word. “What are you, exactly? Why do you have true magic?”
“I’m a goddess.”
My mouth opened in surprise. “Oh.”
“I thought the divine realm wasn’t accessible, that it had been closed both ways,” Ryder said, confused. Hadn’t he said the gate had been closed for centuries?
“It is closed,” she agreed, “which is why I’m not really here—I’m projecting myself with my magic.”
“Because what you need to tell me is so important?” I asked, and she nodded. “That…that must take a lot of power.”
“It does, but it’s worth it to finally see you. It hasn’t been the right time for so long, but being able to see you like this, all grown up…it’s amazing, Effie.”
I swallowed, emotion clogging my throat as I let out a shaky breath and looked down at my hands, which I put on the table. “So…are you saying I’m from the divine realm?”
I had to assume that was what she meant…I just had no idea what to even think of that.
“Exactly,” Mona agreed. “When I asked you to come and meet me, I was going to tell you that first, but then our seer saw what Hastain was going to do tonight and I had to interfere. Unfortunately, I was a bit too late to catch him before he could even suggest it, but I can at least fix it to some extent. The opportunity to appear like this only comes around every two years or so, so my timing was a bit off.”
“I think you had an impact,” I murmured, thinking about the shocked faces of everyone around me. Julian chuckled softly, but it was edged in tension.
“There’s nothing I hate more than a bully,” Mona said, shooting a look towards Hastain’s frozen form. “Unfortunately he is so much worse than that. Which is part of what I needed to talk to you about.”
Her tone became even more serious, and anger filled her expression.
“A darkness is infecting Silver Falls University and the wider shifter community. There are so many people like Hastain spread throughout the country, and what he’s started here, what he’s deemed acceptable here—which amounts to trafficking shifter females—is not only expanding but becoming normalized.
Your situation, Effie, will now be considered a success story to people like him.
If allowed to grow, this will become a full industry as it has in other places across the globe. ”
Nausea hit me as I considered that reality.
“We can’t afford that,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “We can’t afford to have our females put in that position. To be sold for profit, their quality of life subject to the whims of the highest bidders.”
“So how do we fix it?” I asked, horror slamming into me.
“True magic, real magic, needs to return to this world to counterbalance the hierarchy,” she explained passionately, “before everything is mutated into the dark monstrosity that Hastain and others like him would love to see…which is where you come in.
“I am here to ask something of you, Effie. To request something. With the knowledge I’ve given you, I need to entrust a responsibility to you—I need you to open the gate and restore the connection between Earth and the divine realm. Only true magic can defeat the darkness infecting Earth.”
The breath whooshed out of me. I slid a hand up to my chest, feeling my heart nearly beating out of my chest. The hope she was staring at me with was almost overwhelming.
“Is this a fucking joke?” Dakota demanded, causing me to jolt. Mona cast him a cautious look, having expected his reaction.
“Dakota…” I drew out, wondering why he looked so pissed.
“He’s right to be mad,” Tore rumbled, running a hand through my hair in a comforting way despite his voice filled with anger. “Effie, this woman has shown up out of nowhere claiming to be your mother—and is now requesting something from you. It’s bullshit.”
“She’s trying to use you,” Julian agreed, his gaze narrowing.
I was surprised by their analysis but…they weren't wrong. Any sense of hope or happiness from meeting Mona was being replaced with hurt. Were they right? Was she just using me? Why wasn’t she denying what they were accusing her of?
“Are they right? Is this the only reason you’re here? ” I asked her softly.
“It plays a very large factor,” she admitted.
Ryder’s voice was colored with surprise, his jaw tight as he spoke up. “Opening the gate is impossible.”