Chapter 13 #2
"Won't it?" Iris set the black rose on the bar with care. "Tell me, wolf, have you ever seen a witch go nova? Have you ever watched someone you love burn from the inside out because they were too proud to accept help?"
"Stop," Lily whispered.
"We've prepared everything," Willow said. "The ritual circle is ready. It won't hurt, Lily. You'll just feel... calm. Controlled. Safe."
"Don’t you mean empty?"
"You'll feel alive," Sage corrected. "Which is more than a lot of witches can say."
Ryker materialized from the back, Shaw and three other pack members with him. They surrounded the coven witches.
"The lady said she doesn't want your help," Ryker said.
Iris looked around at the wolves with sadness. "You're going to let her die for pride? For some misguided notion of freedom?"
"We're going to let her choose," Gray said.
"Choose?" Iris's composure cracked. "She's not capable of choosing! Look at her—she's shaking. Her magic is hemorrhaging. By midnight, she won't even remember her own name, let alone be able to make rational decisions."
"Then I'll make them for her," Gray growled.
"You?" Sage laughed bitterly. "You've known her for what, a week? She is one of us.”
"You want to bind her."
"We want to save her!" Willow's tears flowed freely now. "Lily, please. Remember when you were little? How you'd make flowers bloom in my hands? How we'd sing together during rituals? We're your family."
"Family doesn't force—"
"Family does what's necessary!" Iris's voice rang with authority. "Even when it's hard. Even when the one you're saving hates you for it."
She moved toward the door, Sage and Willow following.
"Midnight," Iris said, gently again. "Come willingly, child, and the ritual will be gentle. Make us force you, and... well. Sometimes harsh measures are required to save a life."
"If you come near her—" Gray started.
"We'll do what we've done for three hundred years," Iris interrupted. "We'll protect our own. Even from themselves."
They left, but their words lingered.
The moment the door closed, Lily's knees gave out. Gray caught her, pulling her against his chest. He vibrated with rage and confusion.
"Back room," he ordered the others. "Now. Nobody comes in."
He carried her to his office and shut the door with his shoulder. Pressed her against the wall, his body caging hers.
"How did they find you?" His voice was low, dangerous. "You've been hiding for weeks. How did they know where to look?"
Her stomach dropped. "My magic." She gestured at the vine-covered walls.
“I tried to keep a low profile and protect against this. But around you, sometimes it has a mind of its own. Every surge I couldn’t control, every flower that bloomed without intention—likely sent out a signal whether I wanted it to or not.
Gray's eyes narrowed. "Your magic led them here."
"Magic calls to magic. The stronger it gets, the easier it is to track." Her voice caught. "And being here, with you, with the pack, I've never felt this powerful. I've never felt this... free. But that freedom is what drew them."
"So, by keeping you safe, by letting you be yourself—"
"You made me findable." Her vision blurred. "I should have been more careful. Should have suppressed it better. But working with you, feeling happy for the first time in years, I let my guard down."
Gray went still for a moment. "Good."
"Good? How is any of this good?"
"You were happy and free. You were using your gifts instead of hiding them." His hands framed her face. "I'd rather fight thirteen witches than watch you dim yourself for fear."
"You don't understand. What they want to do, it’s worse than I told you."
"Then tell me the rest. What are they trying to do?"
Her throat closed. She’d heard the worry in their voices, saw it in Willow's tears. What if they were right? Was she thinking only of herself?
"They think they're helping. They believe it."
"Helping how?"
"By making sure I never hurt anyone. From losing control like..." She touched the crescent scar on her wrist. "My mother died when her magic went nova. They're scared it’ll happen to me."
"They're scared, so they want to do something to you that makes you say you'd rather die?"
"What if they're right, though? What if I am dangerous? Look what I did to your building, and that's just the beginning. Tonight, when the moon is full—"
"Tonight, you'll be with me." His forehead touched hers. "Whatever happens, we face it together."
"My magic is getting stronger every hour. By midnight, I'll be a lighthouse for any witch within a hundred miles."
"Let them come." His thumb traced her jaw. "The entire coven wants to show up. Fine. They'll face the entire pack."
"That’s not fair."
"No. I don't care what they think is best for you. I care about what you choose. So choose. Do you want their ritual?"
"No, but—"
"No buts. You said no. That's all that matters."
Ryker knocked hard. "Boss, we've got another problem. The hunters are back, and they're asking about the women who just left. And the coven's setting up some kind of circle in the woods by the festival."
Gray snarled but stepped back. As he opened the door, Lily caught his hand.
"They think they're saving me," she said. "That makes them more dangerous than if they just hated me."
His grip tightened, sparks dancing between their fingers. "Then we'll just have to prove them wrong."
The black rose still sat on the bar, looking like a funeral flower.
And maybe it was. Either her funeral or the funeral of who she'd be after the binding.
Midnight was coming, and with it, a choice between two deaths.