Chapter 11 - Rissa
Hugging my arms across my chest, I make my way toward the north side of the village, having to walk through the village square on a busy Friday morning.
Passersby greet me warmly—those who know me from the clinic—but I feel so disassociated that I barely acknowledge them in my quest to find my so-called friends.
I’m not looking forward to seeing them, since they kept a secret from me and let the Elders spring the news of Yvonne’s vision on me without warning. It still hurts that they couldn’t trust me enough with the information, but I’ve decided that I have to face this.
There’s no avoiding them now that I’m back in Girdwood.
Perhaps trying to run away wasn’t my greatest idea, since the demon remains at large out there.
But fighting the demon when it left Alpha Brooks for dead was what cemented something I always stood for—to heal others is my life’s purpose, and I can’t refuse my powers when they allow me to heal the people I’m most compassionate toward.
That’s why I have to find Aurora and Yvonne, so that I can better understand my powers.
When I arrive at Aurora’s house—a newly built structure Alpha Elias had the pack build after she burned down his old house when she was trying to practice her magic—I’m about to knock on the door when it’s suddenly pulled open.
“Rissa Rudolph.” Alpha Elias clears his throat and straightens up, probably trying to mask everything he knows with a flat expression. Just like when he called me in to be his mate’s caregiver during her pregnancy, he tries to remain neutral, but I can see right through him.
Back then, he was hiding the fact that he cared about Aurora. Now, he’s hiding the fact that he knew all along about Yvonne’s vision, and the mate bond with one of his sub-alphas.
“Alpha Elias.” I bow my head curtly. “Is Luna Aurora home?”
“Y-yes,” he says as he steps aside. “She’s in the magic room.”
I nod as I tentatively step inside, and for the first time since their new house was built, I feel like an intruder.
Shivering into myself, I head to the magic room below the ground floor, taking each step carefully as I try to douse the flames of my anger with every descending step.
But the moment I rap on the door with three rhythmic knocks to signal that I’m no stranger to the magic room, I feel my anger surfacing again.
I have no right to be angry with the main luna of the pack, but I can’t help myself.
I’ve supported her through so much since she became Alpha Elias’s mate, but she let me down in a heartbeat.
The moment the door is pulled open, and she sees me standing on the other side, her brows knit into a weary frown.
“Oh, Rissa! Thank Goddess, you’re—”
“Save it,” I cut in coldly, raising a hand. This isn’t something I would normally do, but I can’t seem to resist showing her just how upset I am. She had it coming, after all. But it’s so out of character for me that even I’m surprised.
Lowering my hand remorsefully, I notice that the main luna has her head hanging.
“Rissa!” Yvonne’s voice comes from somewhere inside the room, and I look up to see her hurrying forward. “Oh, my Goddess—” she begins, but I cut her off, too.
“You don’t need to feign your concern about me, Yvonne,” I snap bitterly, irritation driving me on as I glare between the two of them.
“You knew what was gonna happen, and you said nothing to me for months.” I set my firm glare on Aurora.
“You knew about it when you called me to the pack den. And you said nothing.”
The weight of emotion sprouts tears in my eyes as I wait for some kind of response. Both lunas exchange wary glances at each other, and Yvonne is the first to speak up.
“I am truly sorry, Rissa. I waited to say anything only because in my vision, I was told it wasn’t the right time,” she sighs and hangs her head solemnly.
“When I felt it was, I went to the Elders, and that’s when they called you in.
I didn’t think it was gonna be so soon, or I would have come to you first.”
“What about you?” I ask as I narrow my eyes at Aurora.
Aurora avoids meeting my eyes, keeping her gaze pinned to her shoes despondently. “I’m sorry, Rissa. I didn’t think you’d react that way. The Council had already decided that the Elders would break the news to you. I was hoping you’d come to me.”
“So you wanted it to be a surprise?” I chuckle dryly as I step into the room, inspecting the large amethyst crystal set on the pedestal for the witches to train their magic skills.
I’ve often watched the two of them practice in this room, having no idea that I had similar gifts in me.
The feeling is bittersweet, since most of the overwhelming feelings have subsided since encountering the demon last night. I’m beginning to accept that this is my fate, bearing these mystical gifts.
What remains is the aftermath of being betrayed by the witches I’d trusted.
“I didn’t think you’d run away,” Aurora whispers from behind me, and I can hear the remorse in her voice.
“What did you expect me to do? Rejoice at the news?” I scoff bitterly, but my shoulders slump in defeat.
“Did you think that I’d be happy that I have all this power…
?” I look down at my palms and remember what it feels like to have the power come through them, feeling a tear slide down my cheek.
“Why did you have to keep it a secret from me?” I try gulping on the lump forming in my throat, but it’s too much to bear, and I end up sobbing with the weight of everything that’s happened over the past few days.
In such a short time, my life has changed, and I’ve never felt more alone than I feel right now.
But the loneliness is short-lived when two pairs of arms wrap around me, welcoming me into a sisterhood I never thought I’d be a part of.
I never thought I’d be here, fitting in with an odd pair of lunas, yet I’ve never felt more invited by the warm embrace of the witches who serve as the lunas of this pack.
They console me while I sob to my heart’s content, finally finding the safe space in which I can release these pent-up emotions and realize the magnitude of the responsibility I have to the pack.
Aurora apologizes for not telling me that day, and I believe that she had only good intentions. Yvonne apologizes for keeping her vision a secret all these months, and I forgive them both.
I don’t have a choice. I need both of them now more than ever before. For the first time in my life, I feel seen, held, understood. And the pack needs me.
Sniffling, I pull back and giggle nervously. “I’m sorry for being angry at you.”
Aurora reaches out and cups my cheek with a deep look of tender concern in her eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry, Rissa. I know it’s a burden to carry, and Yvonne and I have both been there. But you have to know that we’re here for you, and will be there every step of the way.”
“We’re just worried about you,” Yvonne adds, and I offer her a terse half-smile.
“I’m fine,” I tell her as I wipe at my cheeks. “Encountering the demon dog was…a lot…” I giggle nervously again. “And I just wouldn’t want anyone in the pack to go through that. That’s why I want to do everything I can to help. We need to defeat the demon.”
As soon as I say those words, my resolve strengthens. When I fought the demon before and healed Brooks, I knew that there was no way to run away from my fate. Healing and helping others is what has always given me a purpose in life, and now that I have magic powers, I want to use them for good.
Aurora and Yvonne smile proudly as if they were waiting for this moment.
“Does that mean you’re ready to train with us?” Aurora chuckles lightly as she raises a playful brow.
I smile in response and nod. “I’m ready to be shown the ropes.”
***
Feeling chuffed after a day spent training, I make my way back to the south side of Girdwood, the claws of anxiety washing over me when Alpha Brooks’s house comes into view.
I’d been so distracted with training that I’d forgotten all about my new living arrangement. How am I supposed to face Brooks after everything that’s happened?
Luckily, neither Aurora nor Yvonne brought him up today. I guess that they’re avoiding the subject of my mate bond until I bring it up myself. It’s not something I can avoid forever, since he has me living in his house now.
The only reason I didn’t deny his offer is that, truthfully, I’m afraid of being alone out there near the woods while the demon is out there, waiting for any reason to attack.
There’s also the part of me that can’t seem to stop thinking about Brooks, wanting to be near him for some strange reason, despite how much I hate him.
Perhaps it’s because I want to get back at him, make his life a misery because of what he did to me in the past. I know it goes against everything I stand for, but getting an ounce of revenge on him would be satisfying enough to get closure on that past now that the Elders have forced us into a mate bond.
Is that what this is?
Revenge?
The mate bond with Brooks remains something I can’t accept. I have to muster the courage to face him again as I near his house, taking a deep breath to put myself together.
“Rissa Rudolph…” a female voice purrs behind me, stopping me in my tracks.
I turn to find an old classmate at the bottom of the path leading to Brooks’s house, a confused frown furrowing my brows.
“Emily…?” I call back, wondering what she’s doing out here.
Because of what happened the night of our graduation, I’d been avoiding everyone with whom I’d once been friends after Brooks humiliated me in front of them.
Laura, Emily’s best friend, had used my humiliation as leverage to sink her charming claws into Brooks’s ego that night.
They were so quick to follow his lead and make fun of me, breaking my spirit and continuing the chastise me as the pack’s omega. The memory of that night resurfaces to send a shiver down my spine, as cold as their hostility toward me.
Emily has been shunning me ever since, so what does she want now?
She saunters forward, her chin held high in a haughty manner with a malicious glint in her eyes.
“Is it true you’re Alpha Brooks’s mate now?” she purrs with malice on her tongue, then scoffs. “We’ve heard the soldiers talking, so you can’t deny it.”
I cross my arms and remain as calm and collected as I can be. “What is it to you, anyway? It’s my business, after all.”
Emily scoffs again. “Are you blackmailing him?”
“Blackmailing?!” I chuckle at the ridiculous statement. “Why would I be blackmailing him? He’s an alpha.”
“Exactly!” Emily sneers. “Why would he choose you as a mate when we all know you’re the pack’s weakest link?”
Out of nowhere, Brooks roars from behind me, his thundering footsteps echoing down the path.
“What do you want, Emily?!” he snaps at the she-wolf, whose eyes widen when she spots the alpha coming up behind me.
Large, protective hands settle on my shoulders as his heat envelops me, stunning me with his imposing presence.
“Is Emily bothering you?” he asks sternly in my ear, and I shudder in response.
It’s Emily who verbally responds as she plasters a fake smile on her face.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Brooks. I was just—”
“What?!” he snaps at Emily, cutting her off with disdain on his tongue. “You were just badgering her like we’re still in school? Don’t be a fucking child, and go home, Emily,” he spits venomously, and Emily gasps.
She exchanges one glance with me, as if to warn me that this isn’t over, before spinning on her heel and rushing off. When she’s gone, I’m more aware of Brooks’s hands on me, the heat from his fingers shooting through me.
I hate the feeling, considering that the way Emily treats me is only because he’d belittled me in front of them in the past. I quickly shrug his hands off my shoulders, stepping out of reach and turning to him to fix him with a glare.
“What was that about?!” I snap, throwing my hands up. “I could have taken care of her myself!”
Brooks looks hurt, as if I’d just smacked him across the face, flinching at my words and staring at me disbelievingly. “I was helping you, Rissa. I—”
“I don’t need your help!” I cut in with anger seething through my vicious tongue. I don’t know where this fiery rage is coming from, but I know that it needs to be let out at the one person who deserves it. He knocked me down when I was helpless in the past.
I’m not helpless anymore. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much!” I growl as my parting remark before turning away and marching toward his house.
He’s not doing me any favors, if that’s what he thinks. But I have to leave the scene of the crime before it intensifies, and I head inside and make for the bedroom, where I find boxes of my belongings from my cottage waiting for me inside.