Chapter 293
[ 1,030 words ]
~Samantha~
I woke up to the sound of whispering but tent was empty except for me. Dominic was gone. And more importantly, the twins were gone.
“Oh what trouble are they in this time?”
I shoved out of my sleeping bag and scrambled outside. Dawn was just breaking, painting everything gray and cold. The camp was quiet except for..
There. By the dying fire. Two small figures huddled together, passing something back and forth between them.
My mother’s necklace.
The wolf claw necklace I’d hidden under my pillow specifically so they wouldn’t find it.
“Devon. Diana.” My voice came out deadly calm. “What are you doing?”
They both jumped like I’d screamed. Diana tried shoving the necklace behind her back. Devon stepped in front of her.
“We were just looking!” Devon’s voice cracked.
“Just looking at the thing I specifically hid from you?” I walked toward them, and they backed up. “The thing that’s been nothing but dangerous since the second we found it?”
“But Mom.” Diana started.
“No.” I held up my hand. “Give it here. Now.”
Diana clutched it tighter instead. “We can help! We know we can! The necklace showed us things.”
“I don’t care what it showed you.” I reached for it but Diana twisted away.
“You never let us help!” Her voice went high. “You always say we’re too little but we’re not! We purified those wolves! We made the wands! We can protect this too!”
“Grandma was doing magic stuff from a young age! Maggie told us!”
“Your grandmother also died fighting shadow magic, so maybe she’s not the best example right now.”
The second it left my mouth I regretted it. Both twins’ faces crumpled.
“Sam.” Dominic’s voice came from behind me. I turned and found him standing there with Killian, both of them clearly woken by the yelling. “What’s going on?”
“Your children stole my mother’s necklace.”
“Our children,” he corrected, moving past me toward the twins. “And we talked about this. That necklace stays hidden until we understand what it does.”
“We do understand!” Diana held it up and the claw caught the early light, gleaming dark and sharp. “It shows us where the bad stuff is! Where the shadow magic is strongest! We can use it to find..”
“You can’t use it to find anything because you’re going back to the manor.” Dominic’s voice had gone Alpha flat. The tone that meant the conversation was over. “Both of you. Today. Reynold will take you,”
“NO!” Both twins screamed it at the same time.
“This isn’t a discussion.” Dominic took another step forward. “Give your mother the necklace and go pack your things.”
“We’re not leaving! We wanna stay with Mom! We wanna help!”
“You want to help? Then obey.” Dominic’s eyes flashed red for a second. “Go. Pack. Now.”
The Alpha command leaked out at the end. I felt it press against my shoulders and I wasn’t even the target. The twins swayed, their wolves instinctively responding to the order.
But Diana’s hands just gripped the necklace harder.
“We can protect it,” she whispered. “Please let us protect it.”
“Diana.” My voice softened despite myself. “Baby, I know you want to help. But this thing is dangerous.”
“Everything is dangerous!” She was crying now. “The shadow wolves were dangerous and we helped! The tomb was dangerous and we helped! Why won’t you let us help now?!”
“Because I’m your mother and I said so!”
Wrong thing to say. I knew it immediately. Diana’s face went from sad to furious in a heartbeat.
“You’re being mean!”
“I’m being a parent!”
Devon cut in. “You’re scared we’ll get hurt so you won’t let us do anything!”
“Of course I’m scared you’ll get hurt! That’s my job! Being scared so you don’t have to be!”
Diana protested. “We’re scared all the time! We’re scared the shadow magic will get you! We’re scared Dad will get hurt again! We’re scared Uncle Killian will die from his curse! We’re scared scared scared and nobody tells us anything!”
The admission struck my nerves. I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
Killian moved then, stepping around Dominic to crouch in front of the twins. “Hey. Look at me.” His voice was gentle. Nothing like the Alpha command Dominic had used. “I know you’re scared. That’s okay.”
“Killian.” Dominic called his name sternly.
“Let me finish.” Killian didn’t look away from the twins. “But being scared doesn’t mean you have to fight everything yourself. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is let the adults handle it.”
“But you need us!” Diana insisted. “The prophecy said..”
“The prophecy said a lot of things. Doesn’t mean all of them happen right now, today.” Killian held out his hand. “How about this. You let me hold onto the necklace. Keep it safe. And you two stick close to camp. Deal?”
“Absolutely not.” Dominic’s voice cut through before the twins could answer. “You’re not touching that necklace.”
Killian stood up slowly, turned to face him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Dominic moved between Killian and the twins. “That necklace stays with Sam or me. Nobody else.”
“Nobody else meaning me specifically.” Killian’s voice went flat. “Just say it, Dominic. You don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone who’s been compromised by shadow magic to hold a powerful relic that Black Moon is probably tracking.”
“Compromised.” Killian laughed but there was no humor in it. “That’s a nice way of saying you think I’m going to betray you.”
“If the curse takes over? Yes. That’s exactly what I think.”
“Dad! Stop being mean!” Diana cried.
“I’m not being mean. I’m being realistic.” Dominic didn’t look at her. “He’s a liability. Has been since the curse started spreading. And now you want me to hand him something that could lead Black Moon straight to my family?”
“Your family.” Killian’s hands clenched. “Funny how it’s always ’your’ family when you want to make decisions. But when Sam needs help, suddenly I’m family enough to risk my life.”
“You volunteered for that.”
“Because someone had to! I don’t expect a control freak to understand!”
“Killian.” I tried to interrupt but Dominic talked over me.
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