Page 74 of Forced Plus-Size Mate
I sigh, looking out the window and seeing nothing but darkness. “Yes. I know. We came all the way here for a purpose, and now it looks like it was all for nothing.”
“We were supposed to be here for love,” Nell says. “Is everything okay with you and Body?”
“Good,” I answer. “Too good, and it sucks. How can I claim my happiness, when so many people have to get hurt for me to have it?”
“I’d never discourage you from following your heart,” Nell says. “But I fear you’re right.”
We drive to the bakery, where all the other witches are sitting at an indoor table. Entering the room feels like walking into an ancient tomb, or even a morgue.
The air is so heavy with loss and regret.
As I sit down, I look around the table at my sisters. It feels alien and wrong that I can’t feel their energy or sense their auras. From the anxious looks being exchanged around the table, the others feel exactly the same way.
“Has anyone got any power?” I ask, too defeated to say anything else.
Around the circle, all the girls except Lucy shake their heads.
“Since the night of the battle, I’ve been in a steady decline,” Georgia says. “I can’t even move a spoon in a cup, or light a candle without a match.”
“My powers are just fine,” Lucy says with a frown. “I don’t understand why this is happening to you.”
“I do,” I say, the words heavy in my heart. “We’ve been selfish, and the goddess is punishing us.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Zoe snaps. “The goddess loves us. She wants us to be strong—”
“She doesn’t want us to pursue our own interests to the detriment of others!” I say, holding back my rage. “Joining with the wolves has caused a terrible rift between them. People havedied. We can’t continue down this path, not when people are getting hurt.”
Tears spill down Zoe’s cheeks, and her lip trembles. “Grant had to go back to Silverton,” she blurts out. “I don’t know what happened to him, if Decker took him or if he went by choice. I have to see him again, I have to know—”
“No,” I cut in, knowing I’m being cruel but not caring. “If you want to keep him safe, the only thing to do is leave.”
“What?” Lucy gasps. “What are you saying?”
“We came to see if we could get our powers back,” Nell says. “And we did, but if the cost is blood and innocent lives, then it’s not worth it. We have to leave.”
“If what you say is true, then why are my powers still strong?” Lucy demands.
“Because the conflict started with us,” I say. “You were safe here, for almost a year. It wasn’t until we came to town that the wolves turned on each other. We are the deciding factor.”
A few witches around the table nod in agreement. I can see that they made up their minds before we even started the meeting, just like me and Nell. Most of the others seem undecided, though Zoe, Alisa, and Tara are absolutely distraught.
“I can’t leave,” Zoe sobs. “Not until I know if Grant is okay.”
“I won’t go, either,” Alisa says determinedly, her face stony with pent-up anger. “I don’t know yet if I truly have a mate, but I’ve been getting close to someone here, and I won’t abandon him.”
“Nor will I,” Tara agrees. “You can’t make us go.”
“How selfish can you be?” I shriek, losing it. I stand up and slam my hands down on the table, glaring at the others. “You say you love them? Then love them enough to save their pack—their lives. Do you think I want to go? I have missed Body every single day of my life. The last thing I want to do is leave him, but it’s the only way to keep him safe.”
Now Tara and Zoe are crying. Alisa looks stubborn and angry, but I know she’s wavering.
“And our powers?” Hildy asks. “That’s why we came back, after all. What happens to our powers if we don’t marry wolves?”
“They may never come back,” I reply miserably. I sit down slowly, running my fingers across the tabletop listlessly.
Not so long ago, I would have shattered the table to pieces with an outburst like this. Now I am cut off completely from the power I always assumed was my right, when it has always been a privilege I don’t deserve.
“What should we do?” Georgia asks. “Are we just going to sit here and argue, or do you have a plan?”
