Chapter 13 - Annika
“That is the pack hall,” Anastasia says as she points out a large cabin nestled in the rocky mountain, logs built from the ground up used as stilts to keep the structure upright.
It’s a beautiful monument hidden in the valley, boasting floor-to-ceiling windows on one side that open up in the direction of the sunset.
“It’s often used as a gathering place for pack meetings, or when there’s a ceremony or celebration. ”
I nod thoughtfully, my mind drifting to a place I wish it didn’t go. But after spending nearly all day exploring the valley on the east side, where the Silver Stone Pack resides, with Anastasia, who has been nothing but kind to me, I don’t feel weird when I ask, “Is that where weddings take place?”
There’s a strange pause, as if Anastasia is peeling back the layers of my question, and that’s when I realize why I asked it at all.
I can’t help but feel dejected because out here, there’s a stunning space for a ceremony, and yet, I’d been reduced to hastily signing a marriage license within the confines of Heinrich’s cabin.
“Yes,” Anastasia finally sighs, her head hanging with the regret she must be feeling on my behalf. “I know what you’re thinking, Annika, and you must know that there’s a reason why he didn’t plan a big ceremony.”
“I’m not surprised,” I chuckle indifferently with a casual shrug. “It was only a question.”
I force a smile on my face when she looks up at me, but there’s disappointment in her blue eyes.
“You and I both know that it wasn’t simply a question,” she challenges, head cocked to one side.
“What he did was unbelievable. Unforgivable, even. And while I don’t agree with kidnapping you and forcing you here against your will, I know why he didn’t plan a big gathering with the other werewolves. ”
“Why?” I find myself asking, ignoring the tiny voice in my head that wants me to put this conversation to rest, that wants me to ignore how curious I am about the man I just slept with.
“Because no one here knows that he runs a million-dollar company in the city. Not even his own father. If I know Heinrich, I know he was just trying to protect the other life he lives. He didn’t want to risk having it revealed to everyone here. Not until you knew it was a secret.”
I frown at the blonde-haired woman. “Not even his father knows? So, he keeps his wolf identity hidden from the human world, and his human identity a secret from the wolves. Why?”
Anastasia sighs. “Because it was my brother’s bright idea to take our medical research to the human world, and help humanity.”
“Heinrich told me a little about that,” I say softly as regret lodges in my throat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s okay,” Anastasia shrugs, then nods to the cobblestone path that leads to the hall. “Wanna go check it out?”
I nod, then follow her down the path. “I still don’t understand. Did he think I’d go in there and reveal his secrets? Tell them I’m his personal assistant, and oust his human life to the wolves?”
“Wouldn’t you have done that?” Anastasia asks with a coy smile, and I sigh defeatedly.
“Probably.”
We enter the pack hall, and I’m mesmerized by the lavish trimmings of gold all around, coupled with the vines hanging from the ceiling, draped along one side of the hall to give it a natural appeal that meets the mysticism of the shimmering treasures of trimmings.
It is a stunning place, and as I watch Anastasia gracefully waltz toward the stage where a piano sits near one corner, I find myself following her to do more investigating.
Curiosity might have killed the cat, but if I’m about to die, at least I’ll go down knowing the truth about the werewolves, about Heinrich, and about me.
“Heinrich told me something quite alarming,” I confide to Anastasia, suddenly feeling as if I can trust her. She seems to have that effect on me, despite my previous inhibitions and reservations toward her.
Perhaps it’s because we spent the day together, and I was blinded by my hatred toward Heinrich that I projected onto her previously, but I’ve realized that she’s the kindest soul, and the only one I can speak to since I don’t have anyone here in the valley, and I can’t speak to my sister.
Anastasia settles in at the bench, then turns toward me. “What did he say?”
When I hesitate to respond, she nods slowly in recognition.
“Oh, he told you about that, didn’t he?”
I purse my lips first before I say anything. “Define that.”
“He told you that you’re a witch, didn’t he?”
I grimace because the word feels too heavy. “Yeah. That’s what he claims.”
“He’s not lying, you know? About you being a witch…” she laments calmly. “You must have done something that felt too strange to be explained logically, and that’s why he told you. Am I right?”
“I still don’t think I did anything. He’s a magical werewolf. It had nothing to do with me.”
Anastasia suddenly reaches out and takes my hand in hers, the swift movement sending a pulse of awareness coursing through my veins, startling me with a gasp.
“It had everything to do with you, Annika. Heinrich and this pack have been losing strength ever since the demons began attacking three years ago. The majestic powers he once wielded have been depleting, and so is his ability to heal. But you did it—you healed him. He told me what happened when you touched him. And it’s only because you’re a witch. A healer, too.”
“Healer…?” I frown. “Aren’t you a healer…?”
Anastasia nods. “I am a healer, yes. And so are you. But your powers are a little different than mine. You have the ability to wield fire, if you would like.”
“Fire?”
Anastasia nods again. “You are the descendant of the wolf pack that was wiped out by the demons decades ago. The alpha of that pack was mated to a witch, and they had a child together. That child was saved and grew up away from the world of the werewolves, and it is suspected that the witch coven he was linked to did something to stop his shifter abilities. Perhaps even his magic. It is being reawakened in members of his bloodline, in the wake of the demons’ reappearance in our world, and the subsequent attacks on the wolves in the valley. ”
Every word Anastasia speaks sounds like truth—I feel it in my bones, even if logic is trying to tell me otherwise.
She stares at me as if gauging my reaction, gently drawing her hand away to reach into her purse. She takes out a pocketknife, unclips the blade, then holds the sharp tip to her palm.
“What are you doing, Anastasia?” I ask in horror, but she smiles at me, almost appearing crazed and masochistic, considering she’s about to cut herself.
“I am showing you what it means to have healing abilities. You don’t only wield fire for the sake of destruction, but you are a gifted healer, too.”
She proceeds with cutting a neat slice into her palm, and blood trickles out from the gash, only for the two ends to crawl over the blood and weave together, leaving a faint line where the cut used to be.
My jaw drops because I’m seeing exactly what it means to be a healer, while recalling what happened when I touched Heinrich last night on his arm, where he’d been badly injured.
***
Anastasia had given me a lot to think about, and I can’t get the sight of her healing right before my eyes out of my mind. Standing in the kitchen, gazing absentmindedly through the window at the valley ahead, all I could think about was seeing blood, and then watching it disappear.
I pick up the knife from its sheathing holder, suddenly intrigued by everything I learned today, while in my mind remains the question of what this double life Heinrich has been living means for me. Could it be possible to be both a witch and a human?
I’m more curious about the witch part, and that’s when I press the blade to my palm, wondering just how much of those healing abilities I have.
I’m about to apply more pressure, vision tunneled on the spot that will draw blood, when the knife is ripped out of my hand, and flung aside in a violent clatter to the ground.
“What are you doing, Annika?” Heinrich roars at me, and I snap out of whatever daze I’d been in to see him glaring at me with disbelief in his eyes.
“You want me to embrace being a witch, don’t you?” I scoff, turning back to the sink. “That’s what I’m doing.”
As I reach for another knife, Heinrich catches my wrist and stops me. “Not like this, you’re not,” he speaks in warning. “You won’t go around hurting yourself to figure out your powers.”
I snatch my hand out of his grip, narrowing my eyes at him. “It’s what I must do if I can see my sister again, right? So I’m willing to do whatever it takes. That’s my condition for helping your pack with my powers. I will live a double life if I must, but I want to see my sister again.”
Heinrich doesn’t respond to my demand and just stares at me blankly, the golden flecks in his eyes around his pupils swirling like a vortex and spreading over his greener irises.
I frown at him, but it’s like he’s seeing beyond my face, and then he breathes again as if he’d been holding his breath, eyes focused again.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” he says, grabbing both my shoulders and staring deeply, worriedly, into my eyes.
“There’s a demon sighting on our borders, and I have to take care of it.
I promise we will continue this discussion.
Just promise me you won’t leave the cabin.
Whatever happens, whatever you hear, stay inside. ”
There’s enough concern in his trembling voice to believe that he’s leaving, not to deny my demand, but because there’s really trouble out there. I nod, becoming worried the moment his hands leave my shoulders and he spins on his heel and rushes out through the front door.
Suddenly, this thing with the demons sounds more serious than I thought earlier, and I gnaw on my bottom lip with worry, hoping he doesn’t return injured again. Or worse, dead.
I know I shouldn’t care, but I do. That’s what frightens me the most.