“Who is the kid?” I asked when we got to the tree line that split my Granny’s cottage from my parents’ property. She wasn’t a wolf so she wasn’t permitted to own land with the pack but my parents had given her enough land to do what she needed then planted enough trees to give her the privacy she craved after my grandfather passed away.
“Her mother was the one that sacrificed herself so the kids could be found,” My heart was immediately in my throat. “She will have nowhere to go. I can’t find a coven that has mind jumpers.”
“Mind jumpers?”
Granny sighed. “Yes, she can take over a person’s mind, read their thoughts, and go through their memories. She is a rare witch. No coven will take her in when the children go back to their parents. They will be too afraid of what she is, what she can do.”
I frowned. “And you won’t be afraid?”
Granny smiled. “No, she is no worse than you or your brother. Her power is different, not bad. I am doing what I can to teach her about it. If I can find another like her, it would help but I don’t think there are any.”
“Must you always take on the outsiders?” My mind immediately went to Carden. He had been offered a place in the pack, he had sworn to the Alpha, but he had stayed glued to my grandmother all the same.
“The only way that child will be dangerous is if she doesn’t know love. When she finds out what happened to her mother, there is no telling how she will react. She is going to need allies in this world. I don’t think she was ever with a coven before they forced her with all of these children.”
I pressed my hands against my face. “She hasn’t told you?”
Granny shrugged. “Why would she? She owes me nothing.”
I shook my head. “Fine, but you need to get more information on her before this becomes more permanent.”
Granny lifted one eyebrow in contempt. “Are you telling me this as my granddaughter or someone with higher authority in the pack?”
I clenched my jaw. “I don’t know why I’m telling you at all. She’s dangerous, so just be careful.”
Granny touched my jaw and forced me to look at her. “If you think I haven’t faced off with her kind before, then you would be naive. I have come across much more danger in my entire life than that child. I faced off against the pack you love so dearly. I took down an entire army when the witches of my first coven were hunted. I have evaded spies, the mafia, and plenty of other magic races that are now long gone.”
“Why do you care so much?” My throat was thick. I didn’t know why I cared so much. What was the child to me? Nothing. There was a whisper in the back of my head that said she would take my granny from me. It was jealousy rearing its ugliness. Granny noticed it at the same time I did. Her brows softened and she took a step closer to me. She held her hands out and I was immediately in her arms. She smelled like lavender and mint today. Thankfully there was none of that fake cheese smell clinging to her.
“I care because I see you and your brother in her eyes.” Her voice broke as she held me. “I see a child that needs me, needs us. I don’t know why I feel connected to her like I do but I know she will bring change to the witch community.”
I pulled back slightly. “What is wrong with the witches?”
Granny pressed her lips together. “There are many things wrong with them. They live on power highs. They no longer care if the world knows what they are. We once lived in secret for a reason but now most of them are getting caught. Either they want to be caught or they don’t know any better.”
“But that doesn’t concern us.” I tried to reason with her.
Granny raised both brows this time. “You don’t think so? What do you think will happen when the witches are captured or they are all gone?” She poked my chest. “You will be hunted next. My own children and grandchildren will face another war, another witch trials. I can’t stand to see history repeat itself but it will.”
“Can’t the council of the witches keep them from doing this?”
Granny took a deep breath. “The council of witches has been gone for a long time. The archives lay empty. Something is coming and I don’t want you to have to face it alone.”
