The Witch’s Daughter (Fated Destinies II #1)

Chapter 1 Trish

Trish

It started with a death.

Not that her death was sudden or anything. My gram could see the future, so she knew what was coming, and that was about as awful as it sounds.

After years of holding it together for her children, then her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and the influx of wolf-witches born in our region, her big heart finally cracked.

First, she gave away her things. A cauldron here. A teacup there. Her knowledge in bursts and hurried lectures to the group of young wolf-witches she’d gathered at her doorstep when I was a pup.

Then she spoke her final wishes.

I can still hear her making me promise to take care of my sisters. Of course I would. Us Cerberus girls stuck together.

Hadn’t she always told us that?

Gram tried her best to prepare us for a life without her, rushing through my magic training and leaving her legacy in the magic of those around her.

Still, the day she died was a shock to the system.

Until that moment, I hadn’t known anyone who crossed death’s door.

Ironic, because our history was steeped in death.

Cerberus wolf pack was haunted by the ghosts of our ancestors who’d fought against the purist humans—and then each other—long before my sisters and I were born.

It was violent and brutal and not at all like the boring life I’d grown up in, playing in the woods as wolves, and then connecting with other wolf-witches my age under the care of my gram.

I tried to be happy for her. None of us wore black to the funeral as per her request. It was a beautiful, sunshiny day when she left us. The day she’d finally been able to return to the loving arms of her deceased fated mate, if the gods or whoever was running the afterlife allowed it.

But all I could see was the fear on her face when she made Jaxon promise to take care of me too. I was only fourteen at the time, and anxious to run off to find my fated mate like all the other wolves my age were doing. I still can’t believe what a stupid, naive little pup I was.

But it didn’t take long to realize what my gram had done.

She’d bound us all together, putting chains on my feet that kept me grounded in Cerberus pack just like her body would be forever buried here.

I stood at her grave, holding my triplet sisters’ hands, as our mom spoke a blessing over the earth.

That day, I pretended not to see my dad or Aunt Alpha Kera cry.

And I released Jaxon from his vow.

It was the least I could do for him.

Because the day my gram died was the day everything in my life shattered.

That was the day my magic broke.

*

“Moon water, mica dust, and… almond extract.”

That can’t be right.

I frowned as I reread the page in my gram’s old grimoire, checking the list to make sure I’d pulled the right ingredients off the shelf. Herbal magic could be tricky. It was the easiest to understand, and most anyone could use it, but one wrong leaf and it could all turn into a disaster.

Ask me how I know.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help?” Mom stood in the back of the kitchen, wringing her hands.

Sage Cerberus—witch extraordinaire and owner/chef of the café that fed our whole pack—was definitely the person to ask for help in situations like this. But I was twenty-freaking-four-years-old and didn’t need my mom to save me.

“I’ve got it.” I carefully measured out the almond extract, only spilling a little over the side of the spoon.

Are you sure about that? My wolf, an ever-present force in my mind, closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see the mess I was about to make.

Quiet, I hissed at her.

“Okay, well, can we talk about the summons?” Mom asked, standing on her tiptoes to look over my shoulder. She was tall by human standards, but my sisters and I had our father’s Cerberus wolf blood, so we towered over her.

“I’m trying to concentrate,” I said as politely as I could. Despite her size, she was terrifying when she felt we were disrespectful.

“It’s just that…” Her voice trailed off as I pinched a small amount of mica from the jar.

Knowing she was about to comment on my magic, I sent her back to the mysterious summons. “I’m not going.”

“Tisiphone Cerberus,” she scolded, using my full birth name. Only she and one other person did that. I usually went by Trish. “It’s time for you to get out of here and meet some other witches. Go enjoy yourself.”

“You should go instead.” I measured out the flour spoon by spoon, because I knew how to read a recipe.

“I’m not going anywhere your father can’t go,” she said.

“Then why do you think I need to go?” I sifted the dry ingredients together. So far so good.

Famous last words.

“Because you need to live a little.” My mom threw her hands in the air.

I whisked the bowl away before she could accidentally touch it.

“I am living. In fact, right now, I’m getting ready for a meeting this afternoon with the various wolf-witches that have been called to our territory for some sort of discussion on this mysterious summons. Know anything about that, Mom?”

She looked at her feet.

Just as I thought.

The arrival of this scroll only made my life more difficult. Mom had already been breathing down my neck, trying to get me to go to the Halley’s Comet magical festival as a representative for the Cerberus pack, and then the summons showed up.

It was nuts.

And I, for one, had enough crazy in my life.

I pushed a piece of my sweaty teal-colored hair out of my face. It’d taken years and multiple magical disasters, working through every color of the rainbow and getting stuck on a puke green for months before finally getting it this hue.

If that wasn’t an adequate representation of my magic and proof as to why I didn’t belong at a festival full of witches, then I had no way of convincing anyone otherwise.

Mom’s honey-brown eyes, which mirrored my own, rose to meet mine. “You know I care about you.”

“I know.” I sighed. “Go ahead and say what you want to say.”

“You really shouldn’t put mica powder in something you want to eat,” she rushed out.

“Ha,” I laughed. “Joke’s on you. It’s food-grade and I meant to put it in the cupcakes.”

I stirred faster, wishing the oven in my cabin wasn’t out of commission so that I could’ve finished these in secret.

“Cupcakes….” Mom’s eyes widened. “Are these for someone’s birthday?”

As if the wax candles and fancy basket on the table weren’t dead giveaways.

“Maybeee….” I dragged out the word as I reached for the salt I’d forgotten to add.

“You are not going to poison that nice Alpha,” Mom cried.

“Don’t be so dramatic. I won’t actually hurt him. It’s just a prank.” By the wince on her face, I assumed I’d added too much salt.

Oops.

Maybe we should let her take over.

“Trust me.” I pulled out the muffin tin. “I have a really good feeling about these.”

Not that my intuition had been all that spot on lately. It used to be loud. Now it was more of a quiet whisper that had me doubting it even existed, probably hanging out somewhere with the powers I’d lost.

I hated that Mom was watching. It made me nervous. But I was in too deep to back out now. That was the problem with this small pack and our even smaller family. We were everywhere. Together.

Forever.

A tiny part of me did want to go check out this magic festival, but despite my mom’s urging, I didn’t think she actually wanted me to leave. She’d be too worried. I was worried and I wasn’t even going. What if I totally embarrassed myself?

But why did the summons come for me?

It was a question I’d kept asking since it’d arrived on our doorstep and Mom handed the scroll over. I wasn’t powerful. Not anymore.

Still…

You’re making a mess.

Damn it. I cleaned up the excess batter and slid the pan into the oven, wiping more sweat off my brow. Baking should not be such an Olympic event.

“See? No worries.” I smiled with all my teeth.

She took a seat at the kitchen table. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Not really. “I’m assuming that’s what the meeting will be for this afternoon.”

The other wolf-witches in the region who’d gotten summonses had been contacted by my Alpha, so my presence was also required.

The details on the gathering were still murky, though.

Despite Alpha Kera saying that my sisters and I were the “Future of Cerberus” for basically our whole lives, she still kept tight reins on the pack.

“Are you nervous?” Mom asked.

I shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of them.”

Jaxon still came around when he could, and we’d visited Cadejo territory for his Alpha Ceremony last year, but even that relationship was strained.

“I think… And hear me out… I think it’d be good for you to go with them.” Mom’s smile was gentle.

My gaze narrowed. “I was right. This is an ambush.”

“Who’s ambushing who?” The front door swung open and Meg came inside, followed by Alec.

Crap. I thought I had more time.

“No one is ambushing anyone.” Mom stood up quick, blocking them from entering the kitchen. “What are you two doing here so early?”

Bless Mom and her shortness, but Meg saw right past her. “We’re going to be late for work,” she said.

“And why is Trish in the kitchen?” Alec arched an eyebrow, amusement dancing on her face.

As far as identical triplets went, we couldn’t be more different. Meg was an alpha wolf and radiated dominance, even though she was the sweetest of us all. She kept her hair shorter than me and Alec, but long enough to tie back out of her face.

They both had the unruly mess of Dad’s curls and Mom’s soft brown color, whereas mine was this beautiful teal that I was NEVER messing with again.

Though I’d been thinking pink might look nice… Someday.

My sister Alec was slender for a Cerberus female and it made her features stand out more sharply than ours.

It served to fool unsuspecting challengers.

I’d never seen anyone beat her in a fight, even my alpha wolf sister Meg, but Alec was a sigma wolf like our father, so she didn’t care about taking over any pack one day, much to Alpha Kera’s frustration.