Dani shakes her head. “Not this time. Undoing a deceased witch’s spell can only be done under very specific circumstances. Soleil was under sanctions so it’s not her spell per se, but it was done on her behalf, so we’ve got some leeway. We don’t know the coven the witch who helped was from. Aphra didn’t know either, it was some big secret, but she was formidable. We’ve had some clues and we’re on it, but … anyway, all that detail isn’t important to you. Basically, our coven should be able to fix it. It’s delicate, like pulling a thread on a knitted blanket, but making sure you stop at the right spot in a way that won’t unravel the entire thing. If anyone alive has those skills, it’s Aunt Mimi.”
I blow out a relieved breath, then ask, “What about Cicely?”
“That’s not as easy as undoing a spell, unfortunately, and undoing spells isn’t easy.”
“Yikes. I sure hope Cicely gets through this okay.”
“From what Grey and Ronnie have gleaned so far, Jared is very damaged,” Dani tells me. “Severe trauma cleaved his beast away from the rest of him. That beast is in kill mode. Sees everything around it as a threat. We’re brainstorming.”
“Is Cicely in true danger? I mean, her own mate wouldn’t harm her, would he?”
“He’s staying muzzled when he’s near her. They’ve got a big cage for him out there in a building in the woods.”
“That’s not foolproof though, is it?”
“No. And I can’t usually talk about what we do behind the scenes but because we had no knowledge, no warning about potentialproblems there I can say this much. It’s feeling like it’ll be okay in the end. Vivi sees a happy ending for them. What that looks like and whether or not there’ll be any casualties we don’t know, but we do know at the end, they’ll both be left standing together. You can’t tell anyone this, but it’s going to work out. It needs to. Their pairing is important for the big picture for this pack.”
“What does that mean?”
“Can’t tell you that. Shouldn’t have said as much as I did. I’m not a rule-breaker. But you and I are family, and good friends, so you’re in the girlfriend circle of trust.”
I smile, but internally I wince, resisting the urge to ask if me and Jase are part of that same big picture. Because if she says we are, that I have to suck it up and just let all this happen, I don’t know how I’ll cope. Instead, I focus on my best friend.
“You and me are definitely friends,” I say. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me with this three-day thing with Jase very much. Can’t tell you how much. I’m just… I’m worried about Sis. She’s really strong, kinda stubborn, and I don’t want her loyalty and strength to put her in harm’s way. Leona told me folks are saying his wolf isn’t afraid of our council. He’s fearless and deadly with terrifying teeth that could easily rip her to shreds if his wolf doesn’t recognize her.”
“I’ll give you a hint at how Fate plays,” Dani says, voice not much more than a whisper. “Look up the herbal uses of sweet cicely root.”
I open up a search window and scan through the long list on the screen pictured beside the cicely plant, something Mom definitely grows.
Dani points to a bullet point that says sweet cicely root can treat wounds and dog bites before saying, “Fate knows what it’s doing.”
“So… in that vein, does that mean Fate wants me to feel all this pain and Jase all this frustration?”
She opens her mouth, but I raise my hand. “No. Don’t tell me. I just told myself I didn’t want to know and now I’m being stupid by even bringing it up.”
“Fate has it all in hand,” she insists. “It’s gonna work out how it’s intended to. It always does. Sounds like you’re being a big help to Jared and Cicely, too.”
I found out today through census records that Jared’s pack was dissolved. We dug deeper and Joel got even further than me with his alpha-level access to legal files that included interviews with the SCC about the events that happened just before the dissolution. Jared’s first shift meant the death of his pack alpha as well as a few betas.
We were able to put a timeline together to map out the sequence of events and paint a picture. A little program I wrote to scan all our databases pulled names and locations of surviving pack members who submitted witness statements to the SCC after the death of that pack’s alpha. Jared told the guys he hasn’t been in touch with anyone from his pack since he was barely into his teens. Joel and Lincoln will be running with further research while I focus on working on my petition and legal request.
I see movement from the corner of my eye and look through the glass wall that sections the library from the entrance to the town hall; a little vestibule that we call the lobby. Malachi Carswell is coming this way.
“I’d better dash,” Dani says, taking another sip of her coffee while getting to her feet. “Good coffee.”
“Here. I’ll give you a to-go cup.” I grab one from the stack under the coffee station.
Malachi waves as he approaches. “Hi. Busy?”
“What can I do for ya?” I ask.
“Do you… um… think you could help me find a book?”
“Books are my jam, so sure.”
“Uh… Thinner by Stephen King? I couldn’t find it yesterday in his section.”
“Bachman. He wrote Thinner under his Richard Bachman pseudonym.”