Why is he acting like this now? Despite me staring at him, Liam is still stubbornly staring at his sisters-in-law, not me. I don't like that at all.
"Mara," says Nathaniel Black, "it would mean you're... kind of our half-sister."
"Yeah, I caught on to that part," I retort. "However, did anyone else catch the part where I only have her powers, not her body? Or is it just me?"
"W-well, we are not sure about anything..." mutters Nora.
"Why did you call yourself Mara, then?"
I glare at Liam. Now he's looking at me, and to talk to me like that too? They all take one step away from us, probably a bit embarrassed about the situation, but right now, I don't care. I'm not ready to take this kind of attitude, not from Liam. Why the hell is he mad at me all of a sudden? He was protecting me not five minutes ago, now he's staring at me as if I'm some gross monster!
"I don't know," I retort back. "Like a shit ton of things, I don't know. I don't know why I woke up with that name in mind, or why I have no memories. I don't know why the hell I'm paired with a guy who could be the half-sibling of a deceased witch whose powers I'm using, but as far as I know, I'm still getting answers, and waiting before judging a fucking thing!"
"Mara, maybe the whole let's-find-who-I-am thing is a funny little quest for you, but this is fucking serious! You carry the name and parts of that witch's child! I feel sick about how my father treated that witch, but–"
"Her name was Nephera!" I suddenly yell.
Liam stares at me, shocked at my reaction, but I'm so fucking done now.
"Stop with ‘that witch’ thing!" I go on. "We have damn names, all of us! Why is it that the only one you can use is Sylviana? All of you! That witch, this witch, the witch! Do I always call you guys werewolves, that wolf, wolfie guy? Or is it because it makes it easier to forget we are actual living beings as well? Yes, her name was Nephera, and yes, she was evil and a mean bitch, but she wasn't just a witch! Stop linking us all together like we're the same kind of freak! Witch is not my identity, it's part of who I am, and as far as I know, I am not Sylviana, I am not Nephera, and I am not her baby!"
A long silence follows my words as they all go quiet. Even Selena lowers her head, they all know I'm not just talking about Liam's attitude at this point. Yet, he's the one I'm most mad at.
"If you could forget for a minute that I'm a witch, you'd see that finding my real identity is not a fucking joke to me. Yes, I'm shocked that I'm somehow bound to your unborn half-sister, and I don't know anything about that! However, one thing I do know for sure is that I'm bound to you! For Moon Goddess knows what reason, I'm bound to you, not anyone else! I don't know about Clarissa Garnett, and I don't know about Mara either, but I do know the feelings I have for Liam Black are real!"
The more I talk, the more his anger seems to dissipate. He still has that darkness in his eyes, but it looks different. We are no longer that playful couple from earlier. I feel like we collided before we could even find out which part of the puzzle we are, and it's now brutally coming back to us.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm down.
"Mara, I'm–"
"No, listen. I don't know what my relationship to...thatMara is for now, okay? I don't know why I woke up with that name, and I still don't know what happened to Clarissa either. I'm still looking for answers, and if you're not ready for what I might find, I can just do this alone."
Without letting him answer, I turn around and finally go to Kelsi's side. I'm just too angry to even listen to his answer now. I'm tired, worried for my friend, and fed up with all this shit. I haven't had time to put everything I learned today together, and I feel like everyone is back to sending daggers at me because of what happened, because there was another witch attack and once again, it was my fault, somehow.
Thankfully, Kelsi is just unconscious. Ben covered her during the previous wave, and aside from a mean bump on her head, she looks fine. We help her get back to her senses, slowly, but she just seems a bit lost and groggy.
"...I think it's better we go back for today," sighs Selena. "Seaver can... Where is that idiot, for starters?"
I turn to look, and a young pregnant woman arrived at the docks, leaning over a big gray wolf. Selena walks up to her to explain the situation, but this is werewolf business, and I've had enough of that lately. I help Kelsi get back on her feet, Ben’s fidgeting next to us, obviously worried.
"I'm fine... Oh, my head... It hurts... Is it ugly?" she asks with a grimace.
"Kind of? Boo, you're going to need ice."
She chuckles despite the pain.
"You called me boo... Oh, I'd love some ice cream right now..."
"No, Kelsi, I meant some actual ice. Are you sure you don't need a CT scan or something? Shall we stop by the hospital and have Bonnie look at you?"
"No, no, I'm fine..."
I'm not sure of that, but she doesn't seem completely lost either. Nina, who must have been hiding during the attack, comes out of her shop to bring us another pack of ice for Kelsi's forehead. Meanwhile, I can't help but listen to the werewolves, who have apparently decided to ignore the private matters for now and focus on the big ones.
"Seaver's handling this for now," says Selena, coming back, "but I don't think that witch will be coming back anytime soon."
"We can never be too sure," sighs Nora. "I will go check on the tree right away. You should watch out for the north border, if anything happens again, she can use the river there against us..."
