Lothar had been who alerted Ronan to the warg before Nia’s howl. Wargs, on rare occasion, seemed to respect an Alpha’s presence, if they were to respect any shifter at all—otherwise, Lothar would have confronted the warg rather than seek Ronan first.
The way it stared at Rem… Perhaps she reallycanuse them. But only once she’s turned—if they could get through this fiasco, first.
Ronan heard the beating of Suna’s heart as the twins moved through the hall. Immense concern weighed down her pale blue eyes. Once they descended the stairs, the two exited the home and turned into wolves, trotting outside, all without a single word.
He followed his sister through the woods, knowing that when she was quiet and determined like this, she needed to say something in private.
They reached a small waterfall just at the breaking of dawn. He hadn’t realized that so many hours passed since Rem went unconscious. His mother was there, along with Nia and the Arch Elder Tania. There was another Elder, one he had seen before but didn’t know the name of.
Ronan turned into a man, leaves and twigs crunching underfoot as he narrowed his gaze and moved with his momentum. “What is this?”
Tania, the Arch, said, “Something is wrong with Rem.”
“Clearly,” he said, his patience thinning.
Tania’s white teeth stood out against the darkness of her skin, her fangs apparent as she spoke through tight lips. “The blood that turned black? None of the other Silvers faced anything remotely similar. I had to find the few that are old enough to remember the days before the Great Purge, when such ailments were common. It wasn’t until I finally asked Imari here,” she said, nodding to the pale Elder that stood silently next to the Arch, “Who said she has seen this only once before, and that was when they had tried to turn a human into a shifter who had been cursed by a witch.”
Ronan’s expression deadpanned. “State what you accuse, Tania. Don’t allude to it.”
Nia took a step forward, speaking with her hands, her dark brown eyes widening with certainty. “This would make sense, my liege. Rem would sometimes act funny, like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. She would get so frustrated, and even told me that if she could tell me, she would. I think this is connected to that. It would make so much sense.”
Tania gravely added, “And I think I know who cursed her.”
“Who?” Ronan and Suna echoed at the same time, their mother diligently watching.
Tania opened her mouth, but hesitated before grimly stating, “Fiona.”
Ronan breathed rapidly, his pulse quickening. He eyed the direction of home, staring only at trees. Through them was Rem, alone with Fiona. His blood ran hot with rage as his mind put all the pieces together.“What proof do you have?”
His mother quickly added, “Yes, how? Fiona is an Elder. She is ashifter.”
“Elder Witches are feasible, although so rare that we always seem to forget they could exist,” Tania replied.
Ronan faced the Arch. “Tell me directly why you think she is an Elder Witch, how no one knew, and what our next steps are.”
Tania clenched her jaw as she faced him, clearly respecting his position as an Alpha, while also balancing her authority as the Arch. “Yes… We suspected it only a half an hour ago, when Imari mentioned the black veins is because of a curse mixing with the changing blood. At first, I thought it impossible, but after consulting with others, it was reinforced that the scent of an Elder Witch is impossible to register, which means if she is old enough… She could have once been a witch who turned into a shifter long before the Great Purge, back when we lived in the Exiles, maintaining her witch’s powers. It is a dark transition and requires unspeakable sacrifices to ensure the blending of powers, but Fiona is old enough that no one would know her history.
“Scarlet has another Elder Witch, one who is completely trustworthy and well known among us, and I brought her here… To which she picked up on Fiona’s energy immediately. Fiona is using her witch’s magic right now, as we speak.”
The Elder that stood next to Tania bowed her head. She said, “My name is Imari, Alpha Ronan, as Tania mentioned. I have been with the Silvers since they arrived and found it quite odd when Fiona arrived so suddenly, and she felt abnormally familiar, in ways that I couldn’t believe. I am also an Elder Witch, you see, although that has been known for quite some time by the other Elders here, including the sovereigns. My transition to such a life was not voluntary, but I am glad it proves useful today.”
Suna and his mother watched in silence as Ronan asked, “You mean to tell me, that an Elder Witch has been among my pack this entire time, one that I did not know of?”
“Yes, and I fear that she has been the one to curse Rem,” Imari said.
“Why?” he asked, thoughts racing in his mind about Jackson attacking Rem, and Fiona there to help her ‘heal’. What was all of this related to? Was it all a ploy? Was he in more danger than he realized?
If that was true, then he’d skin every one of them.
“I do not know, but Rem is not safe with Fiona,” Tania said. “We need to go in, right now, and let Imari do what she needs to do. If Fiona isn’t an Elder Witch, then this will reveal it as well. If sheisone, then we have to apprehend her, as she cannot be trusted. And while I would say you have a right to challenge her yourself—and I do not doubt that you could successfully challenge Fiona—my liege, but with Rem in such a fragile state, it would be best if Imari and I go in for her first.”
He eyed Imari, her pale, straight blonde hair bright in the dark. His instincts begged him to trust no one at this point.
Ronan looked at his mother, her laugh lines deepened with a frown, and she nodded. He held a blink as he sighed, looking away. This was so bizarre that it felt fabricated, and yet it explained Rem’s behavior in every consideration.
She is alone with Fiona right now.
Ronan—murder saturating his veins—ignored his hesitation and said, “Do what needs to be done, and do it swiftly.”
