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I tucked the blanket around her and then fluffed the pillows. I grabbed another blanket, seeing as she was shivering again. “It's a simple ritual. We just need to find a witch to do it.”
She lifted her head. “And if we aren’t mates, I get rejected?
I shook my head. “We'll figure all of that out later. Let's just try to get a witch first.”
“I am sitting right here.”
“Adrian said it has to be a third party.”
She propped herself on her elbows. “When did you talk to Adrian?”
I climbed into bed next to her and wrapped my arm around her stomach, feeling a strong sense that I needed to protect her belly. “Earlier. You were asleep.”
“Why didn’t you take me with you?”
I closed my eyes and rested my head on her chest to feel her breathing. Such a calm sense of connection came over me then. I didn't want to ever lose this kind of position with her, but I didn't want her to be led into a life where she wouldn't be happy. “Because you were asleep.”
“Next time, wake me up. I like being part of meetings.”
“Yes, Cherry Pie. I’ll make sure to do that. Next time.”
No, I couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option. What was I supposed to do as her alpha?
What was I supposed to do as hermate?
Chapter 20 - Faye
Two weeks spent searching for a witch had me looking like an absolute mess. There wasn't a witch in the area that seemed to want to do anything for this pack. I was sure it had something to do with their reputation with traditions and the fact that demons were attracted to this place like moths to a porch light. The Silverfangs had a history of mistreating women among other things. Although things had gotten a lot better since Hector took the helm, I wasn't sure what other changes he would make to ensure equality.
But that was the last thing on my mind right now. At this point, I was subjected to an internet search that didn't really bring up a whole lot of helpful responses. Given that we were near Point Pleasant, everyone had an opinion on what was haunted and what was not.
Many people purported to be witches but weren't the least bit qualified. On top of that, I had been having the same predictive dream for the same time I had been searching for a witch. It made me nauseous. Shoot, even just staring at the laptop monitor was making me nauseous.
I sat at the kitchen table on a chilly October evening with my forehead in my hand and my right finger on the cursor pad. The laptop was the only light in the room. Other light sources had been extinguished because they were just giving me a headache. I had been getting so many more headaches lately. I had been craving lots of different types of food. Even when I was nauseous, I wanted a giant milkshake with French fries dipped inside of it.
They couldn't be just any French fries, either. They had to come from a local fast-food burger joint that was so obscureit didn't exist in any other state. This place could only be found in West Virginia, and it was one of the few things that was part of my childhood. It was one of the few things that my parents would allow me to have.
I clicked through another disappointing round of search results. I wanted to call Kylie about it and maybe even ask if I could borrow Regina, but I was worried about the reception. I hadn't exactly welcomed Kylie and Fred when they were here.
I didn't think I'd done a very good job at explaining things either. Kylie had sent me a few worrying texts, saying that she was concerned about me having a case of Stockholm Syndrome.
I stared at my phone as it lit up with a new text preview. I could tell that there was a bigger paragraph attached to that sentence.I think you have Stockholm Syndrome.
I loved that my best friend was direct, but I hated that she had said something like that. She was here with us. She saw how I interacted with Hector. Couldn't she say that things were a lot better than they seemed? She, of all people, knew what it was like hiding secrets. She, of all people, knew what it was like mating with a person that you weren't sure about.
The more I thought about it, the more nauseous I became. It became so intense that I bowed over the laptop in preparation to throw up on the keys. I covered my mouth with my left hand and held my stomach with my right as I ran out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and up the stairs to go to the bathroom.
Into the toilet went my entire dinner. Pretty much two entire steaks, a whole plate of bacon, and enough biscuits to make a country kitchen jealous. A giant slice of chocolate cake had gone in there as well. But the way everything came out was all mashed together. Nothing was distinguished. It felt so much like my feelings. I shuddered as I flushed the toilet and thenwent to rinse my mouth out. That was two weeks in a row that I was throwing up without a fever and without any sign of being sick in any other way.
I stared at my reflection.
A couple of weeks ago, I forgot to ask Kylie about my calendar. I didn't even have my original phone. I had a new phone, one that was full of apps that I didn't really use. I couldn't remember my password for my period app, so I was kind of in the dark about that. I bowed over the sink as another round of nausea hit me like a truck.
I’m so stupid. How could I forget about my period?
I guessed periods weren’t worrisome when they weren’t happening. Between the parental drama and the demon attacks, I hadn’t had much time to think about anything else. But now that I knew for certain that Ihadmissed my period, I needed to find out why.
Even though I had an idea.
