Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
‘It wouldn’t be something she could undo,’ Thad cut in, a hard glint in his moss-green eyes – the only physical trait that the twins had inherited from him. ‘You’ve seen what happens to witches who turn werewolf and regret it. They miss their connection with their magick so much that they start fighting their new reality – shifting as little as possible, resisting the urge to run with their clan on full moons, isolating themselves from other werewolves.’
Emberlyn had witnessed for herself just how tortured these people could become. Some had turned up on her doorstep, hoping she might know some spell that could reverse the Change. Unfortunately for them, no such spell existed.
‘We’d like you to talk to Paisley,’ he continued. ‘She listens to you. She heeds your advice. Tell her what a terrible idea it would be to give up being a witch.’
Emberlyn inwardly sighed, wondering if maybe she should have seen this coming. Neither Ethel nor Thad ever asked her for anything, but she supposed it wasn’t a shocker that they’d beat back their dislike of her if it meant getting what they wanted in this.
‘I’ve spoken to Paisley about this many times,’ she told them. ‘Since she was a teenager she has talked about taking the Change one day. I suspect it’s partly because she doesn’t feel properly accepted by the coven – not only for being a twin, but for not being a strong witch. She feels she has nothing to lose here.’
Ethel frowned. ‘Of course she does! She would have to live without her connection to her magick. Can you imagine losing yours?’
‘No, but I’m not Paisley. What’s right for me isn’t necessarily what’s right for her – and vice versa.’
‘If you really care for her, you will convince her not to go through with it,’ Thad stated.
‘The only thing I’ll ever convince her to do is what will make her happy.’ She couldn’t understand how they couldn’t want the same for their daughter.
‘And you truly think that becoming a werewolf would make anyone happy?’ Ethel scoffed.
‘It did the trick for Kage,’ Emberlyn pointed out.
Thad’s face went rock hard. ‘We’re not talking about him.’
Dear Lord. ‘You both take it as a rejection that they chose to take the Change. A rejection of you, your family and their birthright. But this isn’t about you. It isn’t in any way a rejection of anything, it’s just a pursuit of fulfilment.’
Ethel’s thinly plucked brows snapped together, incredulity gleaming in her gaze. ‘Fulfilment?’
‘Yes. And you should want that for them, whatever form it comes in,’ Emberlyn insisted. ‘If you can’t give your stamp of approval then don’t, but at least make an effort to sustain a relationship with them. Giving Kage the silent treatment is pointless – he can’t undo the Change, and he doesn’t want to. All you’re doing is pushing him away, and you’ll do the same to Paisley if you don’t respect her choice either.’
Ethel’s expression turned sour. ‘You seem mighty supportive of their choices. Did you encourage them to do this?’
‘The only thing I encouraged them to do is not live to please others.’ But it didn’t surprise Emberlyn that they’d look to blame her.
‘Well of course you would. You make no attempt to please anyone but yourself,’ Thad sniped. ‘I should have severed their friendship with you when they were children.’
Emberlyn gave him a hard smile. ‘You could have tried. It wouldn’t have worked.’ Hearing a vehicle approach, she glanced over her shoulder. ‘Ah, here’s your son now.’
If the couple were tense before, they turned even more rigid and standoffish then.
Emberlyn felt sad for the twins. She didn’t have a fondness for either Ethel or Thad, but she wished they’d get over their funk already. They did love their children. They just wanted to micromanage their lives.
As Kage parked his car near Emberlyn’s, she half-expected his parents to scamper – if only in another show of disapproval concerning his ‘alteration of lifestyle’. But they didn’t move a single inch.
Exiting the vehicle with a plastic carrier bag in hand, he flicked his parents a brief glance and then focused on Emberlyn. ‘Brought you something.’
She smiled. ‘I’m intrigued.’ She fell silent, giving his parents a chance to say something; hoping they’d make some overture toward him. Instead, they turned without a word and made their way to their car, the assholes.
Kage only rolled his eyes, but she wasn’t so sure he was all that blasé about it.
‘Let’s go inside,’ she urged as she walked up the path.
Following her, he said, ‘I heard from my cousin that my parents were heading to see you, so I hauled ass here.’
Ah, bless him. ‘While I appreciate you being protective, you didn’t need to drag yourself here – it wasn’t a big deal.’ As she reached the porch, the front door opened for her in welcome. ‘It’s not like they would have hurt me.’