Nineteen

"What do you mean by stitch?" Sofiane inquired, watching the wisp of red smoke collapse back into the bowl.

David looked delirious. Like he did not want to answer Sofiane. He could put the fragmented pieces perfectly. "Sofiane, you were sure Jason's mate wasn't human, why?"

"How does that answer my question?" Sofiane changed the topic.

"Answer me!" David screeched, a bit of orange sparked in the depths of his dark eyes, like a phoenix out of ashes, and magic surged in the room like true heat. Hot flames burst out of the ritual bowl and David's determined irises flicked in Sofiane's direction waiting for a proper answer.

"She could read my thoughts," Sofiane revealed.

David was dumbstruck. He knew he couldn't be wrong but a huge part of him wished he has been wrong because it would only get worse from here. He knew he could lie to Sofiane but the Alpha had a knack for getting into unfortunate predicaments. There would be a chance he would find out the truth from another witch who did not give two fucks about the consequences. To prevent another civil war between the disgraced Alpha of the Hobbstone pack and the Alphas of the Crow pack, David knew it was up to him to give Sofiane something he could buy for the time being.

"She has two souls."David bluntly put, walking towards the ritual bowl and disposing of the mess of crisp air and stale magic. "So you are not wrong. She is not entirely human. She is a human shell with the soul of a witch."

David tried. He really did but of the many things Sofiane was, a Buffon wasn't one of them. David's half-truth did not just cut it.

"Even so, why can she read my thoughts? Isn't that an exclusivity for mates?"

The mention of mates seemed to jab Sofiane's hazy memory. His confused face morphed into shock when he fitted the missing piece. "Candice's soul... She was Candice's soul." For Sofiane, that was it. That had to be it. Candice had fought her way from the great beyond to return to him. His Candice was back.

"Except," David coughed. "I never said she was Candice."

David broke seeing that hurt expression on his brother-in-law's face. But he knew it was for the best. The Alpha had to let go of the memories of his dead wife. Choosing to remain in the past would only destroy Sofiane. He had lost half of his pack to his wife's murderer. It was a lot to process and it took even much more to heal but David was determined to ensure Sofiane let go of Candice. "Candice is gone," He added. "and no miracle is going to bring her back."

"You don't believe that David." His croaked voice forced a tear David desperately wanted to hide to stream down his cheek. "You saw the smoke! That is the insignia of the blossoms, wasn't it?"

"You saw what you wanted to see Sofiane! Yes, the soul merged with Jason's mate is a witch but that insignia would have popped out anyway. We witches are descendants of the great tree. So just let it go, Sofiane."

"No," Sofiane retorted, dangerous determination glinting in his eyes. "Fate is finally biting back Jason. The goddess returned Candice to me and fated us to meet. It's about time Jason lost something precious." With that, the Alpha stormed outside, hopping onto his motorcycle and driving off.

David watched with a hazy sight as Sofiane slowly disappeared into the distance. Once there was no reason for him to remain strong, he fell to the floor and let the bottled-up pain within him explode. The chairs and tables surrounding him flew backward like he was the positive side of a magnet. Hot tears dripped all the way to David's chin and his breath came short and ragged as he cried while screeching what bothered him the most. "Candice, why are you doing this to him?"

***

OLAMIDE

"You can't die now. you have to save him. Please, save him." That was what she told me as I continued to sink, the water entering my lungs and snuffing the life out of me. Her ethereal light refused to let me fall into the darkness. Her warm porcelain fingers clutched unto mine and she smiled watching me put up a fight. "Live."

My eyes slowly opened and I realized it was a dream. It was a familiar one though. Time had passed since I had seen the porcelain ghost trying to save me from drowning. I blamed it on the stress. I had seen people die. That ought to mess with anyone's brain chemistry. As my sight adjusted, I realized my head wasn't arched to the tough leather seats anymore. I was in a grand room. Definitely a hotel room. Jason had mentioned that much to me while we were in the drive. I had no idea what part of town we were, neither was there the insatiable urge to claim my freedom. As I scanned the lamp-light room for Jason, I wondered if my docility had something to do with Jason's motivational speech or the fear that Sofiane was still going to return to finish what he started. If I was going to be honest, it was both sides of the coin. Strange as it sounded, I was not afraid of Sofiane. It was like something within me knew he would never hurt me.

"Her brother? I can't talk to her about subjects like that Devin." I heard Jason's hushed whisper erupt from the bathroom. He was tensed and the term vampire kept chiming in his mind on repeat. Somehow my name seemed to be in the unlikely mix making me step out of the Grand bed and stalk towards the bathroom door. "She has been through a lot today Devin. I can't just drop that when she is slowly coming to understand all these as the new normal. That will destroy her."

I was naive to ignore the fact that we had access to our thoughts. He was swift to end the call with his brother once he sensed me around but it was difficult being a smooth criminal when your thoughts betray you. His thoughts went wild.

"Did she hear?"

With no reason to hide anymore, I knocked on the bathroom door and waited on him to open up. I expected him to be half-baked when he unlocked but surprise, surprise, Jason was clad in a suit. The black fabric draped off his shoulders, highlighting a frame that was compact, sturdy, strong. The only shit that did was strengthen my suspicion. He was hiding something from me and it had to do something with vampires. I was guessing werewolves weren't the only creatures that went bump in the night around here. The thought of conceding to the truth made me shudder to the bone and the hypothesis that they could also be fellows who had a grudge only made it worse.

"Hey, you." He said in a tone that hinted he was nervous, definitely not the Jason I knew. "I didn't know you were awake."

"You look like you are going somewhere?" I changed the subject, willingly playing his game

"Yes," He answered, dropping his mobile on the sink platform. "Pack meeting. With Sofiane's senseless murders, I have to pacify those who have lost their loved ones and talk strategy. You might be alone for most of this night but I promise you are safe. I've gotten a witch to place a stronger barrier spell and I have Satake keeping watch, trust me, nothing goes past him."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Ok then, I should get going," Jason said with red welts bruising his cheeks. He then walked over to the bed to get something from the drawers. When he was by the bedside, his phone chimed. The vibration made it shift from its original location and afraid it would fall into the sink, I jumped in to save it just in time to glance through the phone screen and notice a text from Devin which said, "Don't you chicken out Jason. Ask her about her brother."

Christ. My body went numb and the memories came rushing back. Memories I would kill to forget.