Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I can’t believe you were just a few towns over this whole time,” Ruby said as Callie let them into her grandmother’s home.
Now that Ruby knew about the family’s?… tendencies, the house made perfect sense.
The overgrown garden in the front, vines and leaves stretching out over the path to the door, the old apple tree with its gnarled branches, the brightly painted door and wooden shutters.
The fact that it was far off the beaten path, essentially in the woods. It was a witch’s house.
It always had been.
Ruby remembered many visits to Eloise’s house with Callie over the years. The woman always had something baking or brewing. Dried herbs and flowers were strung up in the kitchen and there was always a cat or two sleeping next to the hearth.
Ruby had felt like the little house was straight out of a story book. If only she’d known how close to the truth that was.
“I was tempted to come back to town so many times.” Callie brushed her braid over shoulder. “But I was scared I would hurt someone.”
Ruby glanced at Rafe as he hovered in the doorway. He had the same problem. Maybe he needed to spend some time with Callie’s grandma to sort his shit out too.
“Well, come on in. Grandma’s in Arizona for the winter, but she’s going to video chat with us. And I thought she might have some helpful books here at the house.”
“Grandma Eloise knows how to video chat?” Ruby asked. She’d spent plenty of time with Callie’s grandmother over the years. She could embroider a pillow like no one else, and her homemade pies were the best, but Ruby had a hard time believing that video chatting was in her wheelhouse.
Callie laughed. “She’s pretty good with it now. I taught her the last time I was out there.”
“I can’t believe she moved to Arizona.”
“Only half moved.”
“But it’s so hot there.”
“She likes the dry heat.”
They walked into the kitchen chatting like old times while Rafe followed along behind them. He looked too big for the house, stooping to get through each doorway.
“Hey, guys,” Sawyer greeted them in the kitchen. He had a stack of old books piled in front of him and was flipping through the top one.
“Hey, Sawyer.” Ruby couldn’t help her smile at seeing him here.
If only he knew how many times she and Callie had giggled over him in this very kitchen while Eloise served up freshly baked cookies.
Had they known about Eloise’s talents, she was sure they would have asked her to cook up a love spell.
But judging by the way Sawyer’s face lit up when Callie walked in the room, no magic was required.
The wind rattled the old windowpanes, drawing Ruby’s attention back to the damp, cold day.
The weather made Ruby think of another question.
“Does your grandma do weather magic too?”
Callie smiled. “No, she’s more of a kitchen witch. She puts her magic into food.”
“So that was her secret,” Ruby said with a grin. She’d never felt better than after she ate something cooked by Eloise.
“Her chicken soup is the real deal.”
“Let’s hope she can cook up something to help Lena.”
Callie ran a hand up and down Ruby’s arm. “We’ll figure it out.”
Ruby gave her a weak smile in return. We’ll figure it out had become her mantra over the past few months, and she didn’t feel any closer to figuring anything out.
But at least now she wasn’t alone.
Thirty minutes and several cups of reheated soup later, Callie’s grandmother appeared on the screen in front of them.
Ruby and Rafe sat on either side of Callie on the old sofa in the living room, the laptop on the coffee table in front of them. Sawyer was rocking in a rocking chair next to the fireplace. He’d managed to get a cozy fire going to take the chill out of the room.
“Grandma, can you hear us?”
“Oh, there you are, sweets! I see your beautiful face!” The old woman leaned toward the computer and her cheerful face filled the screen.
Callie smiled. “Lean back a bit. Okay, that’s better.”
“How are you? Do you have friends over? Don’t tell me you replaced Sawyer with that big fellow there.”
Rafe grumbled and Ruby swallowed her laugh.
“No, no. This is Rafe.”
The old woman squinted, peering through the screen at Rafe. Her eyes widened in recognition. “Devon’s son? You look just like him!”
Rafe choked on his soup.
“You knew my father?”
“Knew of him, yes. It’s important to know what’s out there.”
Ruby almost laughed at how little she knew about what was out there . Sawyer winked at her like he knew exactly how she felt.
“I heard he passed.”
Rafe grumbled in the affirmative. “A few months ago, but I’m not with the pack anymore.”
“I figured you’d be the next Alpha, but I take it that’s not what happened.”
“Knox took the position.”
“Hm.” Eloise looked like she wanted to say more, but Callie cut into the werewolf politics talk. “Gram, we wanted to get your help with something.”
“What is it, love?”
“It’s Lena.”
“Ruby’s sister? The sweet one?”
“Ha. Ha.” Ruby rolled her eyes and Eloise cackled.
“You’re the fiery one, Ruby dear. The world needs both.”
“Thanks, Eloise. But there’s something wrong with Lena.”
The old woman frowned. “What’s wrong with our sweet girl?”
“She’s uh?… well…”
“Lena is having visions. Ones about wolves and blood, but she can’t hold on to them.
Can’t tell us more than a few words.” Rafe’s voice was gruff and urgent.
He sounded like an asshole, but like a worried one.
“And Ruby was followed and attacked by a wolf, a?Highlander. He’s been back since.
I don’t know what he wants but it must be related. ”
“A werewolf attack? What is the world coming to? Or going back to?” Eloise waved a hand in front of her. “Not good, either way.” The old woman shook her head and gray wisps fell from her braid.
“Right. I’m trying to figure out what they want with Ruby.”
Chills ran up Ruby’s spine. Hearing her current situation laid out for someone else made the whole thing more real. Fear tightened in her gut. This wasn’t her morbid imagination or one of Aunt Millie’s bedtime stories or some decades-old dream. She was in actual danger.
“Do you know anything about seers? Any way we can help her?” Rafe paused, sucking in a breath. “The visions seem to be hurting her. She’s weakening.”
The old woman’s brow was knitted in concern.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of anything like this,” she said after a moment.
“My grandmother used to speak of them, how they were hunted and often killed for their knowledge. Or captured. A powerful seer could be a valuable asset. If the Highland pack has gotten wind of Lena’s abilities, they might want to?… borrow her.”
“Borrow her?!” Ruby’s heart squeezed so tight she nearly yelped in pain.
Callie put a hand on her knee and left it there, the warm weight of it helping to ease the panic just enough so that Ruby could breathe.
“Against her will if necessary.”
“But why attack Ruby?” Rafe asked. He was leaning so far forward Ruby was afraid he’d fall face first into the laptop.
“What happened during the attack?” Eloise asked, brushing her braid over her shoulder in the same way her granddaughter always did. If she didn’t feel like she was having a heart attack, Ruby would have smiled at the gesture.
“I was…” Ruby thought back to the surrealness of that night. “I was walking with Rafe, but he was a wolf and I?… didn’t know it was him yet. And then another wolf appeared and he lunged at me but Rafe?… he?… fought him off.”
Eloise’s lips twitched.
“But I’d met him before too. The other wolf. When he was a human at the bar. He called me Lena.”
“A-ha!” Eloise yelled, slapping a hand on the table as though they’d solved everything. “It’s a case of mistaken identity.”
“What do you mean?” Rafe’s voice had deteriorated into a growl.
“They’re twins,” Eloise said slowly, like Rafe wasn’t the brightest bulb on the tree.
He blinked. Surprised. Like he’d never once considered that she and her sister looked nearly identical. Like Ruby was so singular to him that he couldn’t fathom how anyone could get them mixed up.
“So…” Eloise went on, piecing it all together for them like they were a bunch of dimwitted detectives.
“Somehow the Highlanders heard about Lena. They want to use her for her gift, I would imagine. Who wouldn’t want to see the future!
And they got Ruby mixed up with her sister.
I’m assuming if you hadn’t been there in wolf form that night, Rafe, things would have gone differently. ”
“Differently how?” Ruby asked even though she was afraid to know the answer.
“Let’s just say, I’m glad he was there,” Eloise said with a gentle smile. “I don’t think that other wolf would have physically harmed you, dear, but I’m not sure you’d be sitting here with us right now.”
“Jesus,” Callie muttered under her breath.
“So, what do we do now?” Ruby asked, barely keeping it together.
“We tear them limb from fucking limb,” Rafe rasped and Ruby saw Sawyer’s eyebrows jump to his hairline.
“That’s one option,” Eloise said.
“But what about Lena?” Ruby insisted they stay on track. Rafe could go on a murderous rampage whenever he wanted, but Ruby needed to know how to help Lena, how to keep her from fading into this mysterious affliction.
“Hold on a minute,” Eloise said. “Let me see what I can find on the subject.” She stood and shuffled off screen.
Sawyer blew out a long breath from across the room. “Holy shit. You okay, Ruby?”
Ruby offered him a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Rafe grumbled softly, his intense gaze on the screen, waiting for Eloise to return. Callie’s hand was still on Ruby’s leg, and she gave it a light squeeze.
“It’s going to be okay,” Callie said but even as she said it, rain pelted the window and a rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. “Ignore that,” she said with an apologetic smile.
A soft brush of fur ran across Ruby’s calves, and she looked down to find a gray cat staring up at her with amber eyes. She reached down and scratched between its ears. The cat purred in response.
“You got a cat?” Ruby asked, grateful for the distraction.
“Oh, that’s Iggy.”
Ruby let the little cat’s purr vibrate through her fingers, focusing on that instead of her racing heart. She hadn’t seen her own cat in days, she realized now. He must be hiding from their new house guest or hanging out in Lena’s room away from the giant wolf that had taken up residence in Ruby’s.
Iggy weaved in and out of her legs before settling on top of her boots.
Eloise appeared back on the screen. She set a stack of books on the table with a thud.
“Now, let’s see what we’ve got,” she said with grim determination and opened the first one.