Huntress

Chapter 73

It didn't make sense. It had been a dream. Nothing more. No matter how real it seemed, no matter how much hope it had given me then. And that couldn't be the same book. Because all of that had been the figment of my imagination. Just like visions of dancing in a forest with Ryder, just like being stabbed and hunted by various members of the family. My mind had been in a state. It couldn't be trusted.

"You guys are still together? Even with the mate bond broken?" Keiko asked, her voice soft despite the rigidity of her question.

"Yeah, we are," Ryder answered. "It's different, but not bad. And it's a choice now, not fate or something like that. Now, we're just kind of...learning each other all over again."

"Hmmm, interesting," Ajax muttered under his breath. "Maybe that's something I could bring up to council next week. We always get a lot of flak for the fact that we are paired off by the moon goddess. The others think that we wouldn't have the balance that we do if we were mated, if people weren't forced to tolerate each other for the mate bond."

I wanted to watch Ajax, but my gaze flickered to the book repeatedly. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. There was no way.

"Well, we would have killed each other without it," Ryder pointed out. "Even with the mate bond, I asked you to pull in Hades. And she definitely eyeballed a few knives while I was in the room."

"Well, I'm still going to take it to council. If they're going to make supernatural beings feel corporate, I might as well try and contribute something," Ajax explained. The rest of the items that had spilled from the suitcase had already been tucked away safely back inside when he reached for the final item. It was like his very breath rattled him as he extended for the blue dyed leather.

"What is that?" I blurted.

Ajax got a hold of himself, his fingers pulling the book off the floor as Keiko answered, salt coating each word, "A waste of space in luggage. It was perfectly safe back in Denver. I have no idea why you felt like you needed to bring it here with you. I've been with you for years now and I've never seen it leave the library once." For extra effect, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I was hoping to bring more of my own clothes up here since we're obviously going to be staying for a while."

If her annoyed gaze and Ryder's casual motions were any indication, neither of them were particularly influenced by this book. But when Ajax moved to close the suitcase, running his fingers over the cover, I yelped, "Don't." The idea of it being locked away, being taken away from me before I was even able to glance through, made my gut tighten.

"It's pretty old, but not so old and so damaged that it's going to fall apart if it stays here—"

"I don't know why you brought it anyway," Keiko pressed hotly.

Ajax took a moment to glance at the ceiling then, his throat working as he swallowed. I was surprised to see blush coating his cheeks. He didn't even blush during those time when he thought I was in a dream state and he let Keiko press him against the wall, kissing his neck. "I already told you, I just felt like I needed to bring it."

"I'm surprised you haven't memorized it. It's still taught to pack schools, isn't it?" Ryder asked.

"I know every word in there. I memorized it early on."

"Then why is it here? You said it yourself, it's old. It should stay in the climate and humidity-controlled library," Keiko insisted.

"I want to read it," I announced.

Ajax stiffened. Keiko raised a single dark eyebrow.

"It's not exactly a thrilling read, my love," Ryder murmured.

"I know. But I want to read it."

Ajax hadn't loosened yet, his eyes narrowing on me. "It's not just some book you can buy at a big box store. This book is said to be an original. It's incredibly valuable to the werewolf community."

"Oh, for fuck's sake Ajax, you brought it all the way over here. If Georgia wants to read that dry toast, then let her read it," Keiko snapped.

I wasn't sure if Ajax would protest when his thunderous wife was demanding, but I couldn't risk it. "I think I need to read it."

The king was unyielding when he met my gaze. His jaw set, mouth pressed into a line. Long gone was the playful wolf who had tumbled around in the leaves. "Can you tell me why?"

I didn't want to. The thought of explain my dreams to someone not only made me feel silly, but also made me defensive. What I had seen had been just for me. I didn't know if others could see her. Or if any of it had even been real. But the book was here. Because Ajax felt compelled to bring it, beyond something that he could understand...

"I think I spoke with the moon goddess."

"Well, that's impossible," Keiko snorted.

Ajax held up a single hand, the gesture more automatic than intentional, not allowing his eyes to even flicker from me. "That's a pretty bold claim to make, Georgia, especially for someone who was a werewolf hunter not that long ago. Our goddess has never appeared before anyone before and I doubt that if she could show herself, she would do it for someone who slaughtered us."

Ryder's lips curled in a snarl, but I ignored him. This wasn't about us right now. "I can't say for sure. It's not like I was in a great state of mind. I dreamt about a lot of things like Keiko killing me, like Ryder leaving me, like Hades hunting me down, but this dream felt different. I wasn't dreaming about something I already known or people I had met. But with her, it was all new. And it wasn't something that I felt like I could dream up. There was too much detail and it felt so..."

"Tell me about her," Ajax ordered.

I hesitated then. It would sound foolish. All of it. there was no way they could believe it. But I had spent months unable to speak and I had been screaming to tell them all these things then. Even in my haze, I had thought that the kind, sweet woman would be the salvation.

"Her skin was purple," I began.

Keiko winced like it was conformation that I had gone insane. Ryder let out a little breath, but I didn't look over to see his expression. Because Ajax was transfixed with me and it was the king's intensity that gave me strength. He felt compelled to bring the book. I felt compelled to tell him my truth.

"And I think she had these little constellations on her cheeks, like freckles. Her hair was the perfect shade of silver. It was like..." I cast a glance towards the man who had once been my mate. The man who was still my partner despite everything. "Her hair was the colour of Ryder's eyes when I was mated to him." Though still steely and strong, they didn't glow like they used to.

It was crazy. I knew all of it was utterly unimaginable and saying it out loud just made it worse, hearing my voice echo of the walls of the cabin. But my past self would never forgive me if I became a coward now. I did not overcome all of this to back down from a little embarrassment. I just needed confirmation. I needed something to validate what I had seen.

"There was a werewolf king," I said, letting my head fall into my hands as I thought "Andrew. No, I don't think it was Andrew. Maybe it was Angus." That didn't seem right either, but the name eluded me. "It doesn't matter, I guess. He had dark hair, almost black. And his wife – or mate—was a little blonde woman. The moon goddess told me that they had a human friend. The human never had wolf drain in the years they were together. And the friend's wife, she was something too. A mermaid, maybe?"

Ryder was silent, just gawking at me.

Keiko, who had looked mightily unimpressed with everything before, suddenly engaged with me. "Are you talking about King Archer and Queen Willow?"

"Maybe. I just remember that she was beautiful and that he held her so possessively to him."

Ajax swallowed hard. "I think you need to tell us everything you can remember."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

If you could do anything in the world as a career, what would you do?