Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sienna
The Moonvale convoy comes up the long driveway at half past two on a bright, cold afternoon, and I am on the front steps of the estate house before the last vehicle has cleared the gates.
I hurry down the steps and across the gravel, my pace quickening when I see Violet opening the rear door of the lead car. By the time her foot touches the ground, I’ve already thrown my arms around her. Her embrace wraps around me so tightly that not even a sheet of paper could fit between us.
“It’s so good to see you in person!” I breathe. “Oh, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Violet.”
She pulls back, demanding, “Let me look at you.”
Her hands stay at my upper arms as her eyes move over my face, noticing the color of my cheeks, the sleep I have not had. Then, her gaze drops to the collar of my blouse and stops. Her fingers come up to pull the fabric down an inch.
She finds the mark of the curse.
Emotion flickers in her eyes as they meet mine. “Does it hurt?”
I shake my head. “So far, it’s been fine. It has been spreading a bit, as if its roots are expanding. If you pay enough attention you can see it moving.”
My friend peers at my neck. “Yeah. I don’t like this, Sienna. You were supposed to find your mate, not his family baggage.”
A short laugh leaves my lips. “Oh, I’m so glad to have you here. How is Anne?”
“Pregnant,” Violet grins. “She really wanted to come. She even tried to sneak into one of the cars, but Kain dragged her out.”
“She’s pregnant?” My eyes widen. “She never told me.”
Violet blinks. “Oh.” She winces. “Crap. I forgot. She was planning to surprise you when you return. She’s going to kill me. Don’t tell her I let it slip!”
I grin. “Let what slip?”
She chuckles, but then, her smile fades. “We’re going to make sure nothing happens to you. Mom has been looking into the witches she met during her travels. If nothing else, I will get one of them to mentor me. I’ll do everything I can to break this curse. You are not going to die.”
The conviction in her voice and the way she clutches me fill me with warmth. “Thanks, Violet.”
Her gaze lifts past my shoulder, and I turn my head to see Lucas approaching us. Violet’s eyes narrow at him, but he doesn’t flinch.
“Did you have to mark her?” she asks him accusingly.
“Violet!” I hiss, embarrassed.
She releases me and takes a step toward Lucas, ready to pick a fight. “You could have slept with her without giving her the damn mark—”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Darius walks up behind Violet and pulls her into his chest. “He may be your friend’s mate, but he is also the hosting alpha.”
Violet glares at Lucas but shuts up.
He shakes his head. “No, no. I understand your luna’s grievance. I should have been more careful.”
“It wasn’t his fault, Violet.” I walk over to him and thread my arm through his. “Lucas tried to prevent this. But I didn’t understand, and we were both upset, and things got out of hand. Don’t blame him. I was an equal party to it.”
My friend stares at me. “You’re defending him?”
I give her a small smile. “Well, he is my mate now. I’m not going to throw him under the bus.”
Darius gives me an approving look before turning to Lucas. “It’s good to see you again. Although, I wish the circumstances were different. I heard about your task force. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Lucas’s jaw tightens, and I feel the flash of grief through our bond. “Thank you. They were good men.”
“What happened?”
“They were sent to locate witches. They stumbled upon something. We’re still looking into it.”
Darius nods, tucking his hands in his pockets. “If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you.”
Darius’s eyes find me again, and he gives me a small smile. “Sienna. How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay,” I answer honestly. “The curse mark has spread a little. Other than that, I feel fine.”
His lips press together, but he doesn’t comment.
The second car’s door has finally opened. Lillian steps out onto the gravel in a long, charcoal traveling coat and low boots, with her hair pinned at the nape of her neck and a leather satchel across her body. She walks over to us and runs her eyes up and down my body as if she has X-ray vision.
“You look well.”
When she was mated to Darius’s father, Violet’s mother was the perfect luna: firm, no-nonsense, graceful. She hasn’t changed much since Darius killed her husband. Maybe more relaxed, some of her stiffness having softened.
“Thank you for coming, Lillian.”
“Of course, Alpha Steele.”
Lucas inclines his head. “Always a pleasure to see you.”
“I doubt that,” she murmurs wryly. “Let’s go inside.”
Certain staff members have assembled in the entrance hall by the time we come through the door.
Monroe at the foot of the stairs. Two younger men at the side doors where the guests’ luggage is already moving.
One of the housekeepers, Marian, ready with a stack of warm towels.
Lydia is at the center of the space, her tablet pressed against her chest, her hair smoothed back, and the warm, professional smile already in place.
She steps forward.
“Welcome to Silvercrest. I’m Lydia. I run the household for Lucas. We’re very pleased to have you here. Your rooms are ready for you; the staff will take you to them.”
I’m about to tell Violet I’ll show her to her room when I see Lillian staring at Lydia.
“You look awfully familiar,” Lillian says.
Lydia laughs lightly. “I have that kind of face. Why don’t I take you to your room? Alpha Moonvale, you and your luna have the room next to hers.”
“Darius and I will be in my office,” Lucas tells me. “Why don’t you make our guests comfortable?”
Our guests.
He’s talking to me as if this is my home. For a moment, I try to process that. Until he spoke those words, a part of me was still expecting to go back to Moonvale. As Lucas walks away, I stare at his back, reeling.
Home.
This is my home now.
“Sienna?” Violet takes my arm, worried. Lillian and Lydia are already climbing the stairs. “You okay?”
I blink. “Yeah. I just…It just hit me that this is my home now. All this time, I was looking forward to going back to Moonvale, and now, I can’t…” My voice trails off.
My friend puts her arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. “Moonvale will always be your home, Sienna. You will always have a place to come back to. Don’t ever think like that.”
I sink my teeth into my lower lip. “You’re right. I just got a little emotional. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact I’m mated to the alpha here.”
Violet hugs me tighter. “Things are happening really fast. Give yourself time to get used to it all.”
I nod. “Yeah. I know. I’ll be okay.”
Violet’s hand finds mine. “Show me where I’ll be staying.”
“Come on.”
Her room is at the top of the east wing staircase. Violet closes the door behind us with her elbow, drops her bag at the foot of the bed, kicks her shoes off, and walks straight to the window, which looks out over the back lawn.
“Finally, we’re alone,” she says, turning to face me. “Let’s talk. How are you, really?”
I sit on the edge of the bed, sighing. “I’m fine.”
“Sienna.”
“I am,” I insist. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “Try that on me one more time.”
I trace a pattern on my skirt for a moment, feeling Lucas through the bond, a quiet, steady presence. “Honestly. Things are better. We talked. He apologized for everything. He’s been good to me ever since.”
“And the mark of the curse?”
“I already told you. It’s a little bigger. I’m sure Lillian will look at it tonight.”
“How about you and Lucas?” The question is blunt. “How’s your relationship?”
I want to say “fine,” but I just look at the rug instead.
“Sienna, you’ve changed.” There’s a hint of upset in Violet’s voice. “You were never this quiet or restrained.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “It hasn’t been easy, Violet. I guess I’m still trying to navigate…everything.”
“Are you unhappy?” She crouches before me, worry in her eyes.
I purse my lips, trying to figure out the right thing to say. “No. I don’t think so. But things between Lucas and me aren’t exactly amazing, either.”
“What’s wrong?”
I swallow and look up at her. “He won’t sleep with me.”
Violet’s eyes go wide. “What?”
“Aside from a kiss on the forehead at night and his hand at my spine when we walk into rooms, he won’t touch me.” Heat climbs up my neck. “We share a bed, but he sleeps with his back to me. He takes cold showers and won’t touch me.”
She blinks twice. “So, seduce him.”
“Vi.”
“What, Sienna? He’s your mate. He marked you. You live together. Get on top of him! Problem solved. If I had been in your position, you would have said the exact same thing to me.”
My gaze drops to the rug again. “Yeah, I know. But I’m scared.” The words surprise me when they leave my mouth.
Violet’s expression changes to one of confusion. “Of what?”
“Of him saying no.” My voice is small. “Do you know how horrible it makes you feel when you’re constantly rejected by the one person who’s supposed to want you?
It destroyed my self-confidence. I hate who I’ve become.
I know he had to do what he did. I understand that, but him rejecting my body now…
I can’t ask him why because every time I open my mouth to ask, I remember the times he pushed me away, and the words get stuck in my throat. ”
I press the heels of my hands against my eyes.
“In the grand scheme of things, I know this sounds very self-obsessed. There are rogues. There is a curse. There is a witch we have to find and a black mark crawling up my neck, and I am sitting here whining about not getting laid. I know how it sounds.”
“Stop.” She sits down next to me, and her arm comes around my shoulders. “It doesn’t sound nearly as bad as you think.”
“But still, bad.”
“No, listen.” She pulls me a little closer.
“The rogues and the curse are separate from this. They are real, and they are big, and we are going to deal with them. But this is also real. You went through hell with Lucas for a month, and your wolf is bruised from it. That he has decided not to touch you for whatever noble reason is just making it worse. You’re allowed to be hurt by it.
You’re allowed to be scared because of it. ”
I lean my head against her shoulder, and she takes a deep breath. “I understand your hesitation. But you have to understand that rejection exists outside the bond. You two are together now. He has no reason to turn you away. You need to ask him what his problem is. How he is with you otherwise?”
“He’s good to me,” I say, nodding. “He’s calling me Luna in front of the staff. I can feel his love for me through the bond. He hasn’t said it out loud in a while, but I can feel it. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t want me.”
“There is no way he doesn’t want you. The cold showers are evidence enough.”
We both laugh at that.
“Okay, fine,” she continues. “Don’t ask him.
If he’s trying to put on some noble act, make him regret his decision.
Just start showing him what he is missing every night he sleeps with his back to you.
You are a beautiful woman, Sienna. And lingerie is a woman’s best friend.
Trust me, he’ll be drooling all over you. ”
Another laugh escapes me.
“Darius is obsessed with me in lingerie. I can’t even wear a piece more than once because he tears it off me. He buys things for me himself. Everyone at the store knows him at this point.”
“Pervert,” I say with a smile.
“For me, he is.” Violet grins back at me. “That’s the fun of a mate bond. There’s no judgment. Nothing. We are one. You and Lucas will get through this, Sienna. The circumstances of your mating were not ideal, but now you’re together. Whatever hiccups there are, you’ll work through them.”
I nod, though I’m still not convinced.
“Either you wait for him to come to you,” she adds, her voice gentler, “or you go and get him. I have known you for a long time, and I have never seen you wait for anything that was yours.”
My throat closes up. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She squeezes my hand. “I’ll take a quick shower, and then, I need coffee.”
Violet is ready in half an hour. Her mother comes out of her room at the same time, also freshly showered.
“Let’s have something to eat,” I suggest, “and then, we’ll fill you in.”
We’re walking down the main staircase when Lucas reaches the foot of the stairs, his phone in his hand. The look on his face stops me on the third step.
“What is it?”
He looks up, the phone going into his pocket. “They’ve found someone.”
My stomach drops. “What do you mean?”
“A witch, whose entire family has apparently lived in that village for generations.”
Behind me, Violet inhales sharply.
Lillian frowns. “How far?”
“Seven hours by car. Three in wolf form,” Lucas answers. “They haven’t made contact with her, but they’re asking around.”
Lillian meets his gaze. “Let’s go, then.”