Nora suddenly bursts out laughing, making me jump. What the hell did I say that was so funny? She takes a few seconds to calm down, and I'm a bit nervous. Did I say something stupid or what?
"Sorry," she says. "It's just that... your sentence... I think I relate to it so much, it's a bit funny."
I try to remember what I just said, and suddenly, her own story comes back to mind. Right... They did say she came from the slums and raised to her position almost overnight. No wonder she felt this was relatable. I shake my head.
"It's not the same thing. You knew you were a werewolf, and what a werewolf was! I am starting from nothing."
"I didn't shape-shift until I was seventeen, you know. Compared to my son, I'm a very late bloomer. I only found out the truth about my family and my lineage around that time too."
I sigh, biting my thumb nervously again. Damn, I need to stop doing that. I take a deep breath.
"I get it, but I don't–"
"You're going to find answers, Mara. Maybe you are just trying too hard to be someone else. Sometimes it's more about the journey than the destination."
"I'm not... I don't have a starting point. This isn't a journey, it's a sandpit. If I knew what to do, anything at all, I'd gladly do it. But for now, my only direction is being used as a barbecue or signing up as a firefighter. There is nothing much about being a witch that I have been able to find so far, I'm trying to find the smallest clues, but..."
I sigh and look at the tree.
"If... if she really meant for me to come here, to take over Silver City and help you, why didn't she give me any clues? I'm just... lost. All of the time. My own family is a pathetic mess and close to non-existent, except for my elusive but overbearing sister. I just found out that my only friend is basically a spy, and Bonnie and Ben work for you werewolves. I am absolutely nobody so far."
Nora makes a sorry expression, finally nodding to my words. I bet she heard about all of this already, from Selena most likely. Her eyes go back to the tree.
"...What about Liam?"
I blush a bit.
"What about him?"
"You feel a connection, don't you?" she asks gently. "I saw it... in the way you looked at him. You and Liam might have more in common than you think."
"An obsession for witches?" I scoff.
Nora chuckles.
"Well, that's a start!"
If only he wasn't trying to run away from me all of the time. He hasn't been very cooperative so far. Yet, I keep repeating to myself that he did come to help me... twice. First, at the university, he appeared out of the blue to help me. Secondly, in that fire. What kind of guy runs into a fire to save someone they have been trying to avoid? A lot of this doesn't make much sense to me...
"I really think you should try talking to Liam. He might be the one you need to help you. He does know a lot about witches, so if you can convince him..."
So far, I have been thinking about how to actually capture this guy and trap him to make him talk. He is annoyingly nice but enigmatic, and as I am slowly finding out, patience is not my forte.
"Maybe I need to be a bit more... convincing." I sigh.
"Oh, feel free to chase him all you want. He hasn't been helping much with the packs lately, his brothers will be happy to see him busy instead of just roaming around..."
"How come he isn't... you know, an Alpha like them?"
"He is an Alpha, he just... doesn't feel like leading a pack. Liam has been in Damian and Nathaniel's shadow most of his life, I think he just... might be struggling to find his own way. He likes to have some alone time, and it's been worse since... the war."
I nod, understanding a bit. He does seem like a loner. Somehow, even though it's his family, he didn't seem to fit in during their family time earlier. I remember a detail I'd been meaning to ask about.
"His eye..."
"He lost it in the war too. It was an injury caused by magic, so unfortunately, I wasn't much help... like your burn marks, I suppose."
I glance down at my charcoal-tainted arms. I guess it would be too easy if the Luna's healing power could heal everything. I don't really mind, though. These markings are a part of me... somehow. Plus, I am learning to live with them as proof that I am a witch. If anything, I'm learning to be proud of them.
