Owen

I watch as Grace stomps towards the center of the pack, my heart racing as my wolf snarls in my mind. Watching our mate walk towards danger is hard enough, but not doing it by her side is even worse. I watch as the wind dies down, the storm clouds begin to dissipate and I blink as the sun shines through again. The pack is quiet.

Creepy quiet.

Stillness isn't good for werewolves. We enjoy constant banter, movement, activity. Nature is never quiet, but it seems this new force has brought a stillness to our home.

As if the earth can sense the danger. The evil. It needs to go.

I follow Grace, staying a few feet behind her, my arms crossed over my chest. A woman appears out of the billowing wind. Dark hair, sharp nose and jaw. She looks much too skinny, not so much a woman but more like if a spindly spider were to take human form. The thought makes my skin crawl, but that's not the creepiest part. The creepiest part is her eyes. They are an unnatural misty grey color, but there is no life in them. She looks hollow, like a corpse. My skin prickles in awareness as my wolf takes in the obvious threat.

"Grace. Darling." Her voice is high pitched and grates on my nerves, like nails on a chalkboard.

"Mother." Grace responds, not bothering to hide the contempt on her face. I try to steele my surprise, but can't stop the sharp inhale of breath as the realization crashes over me. I never would have thought this woman could be Grace's mother. Grace looks nothing like her and for that I will be eternally grateful.

"Is that any kind of welcome to give your mother? It's been... what? How many years?" She asks, the fakest frown on her face as she pretends to be sorrowful at the thought.

"It's been five years, mother. Five." Grace responds boredly, but I can feel her fear through our bond.

The terror.

She's scared of this woman. I'm not sure why, but she is.

"Time goes quickly when you miss your daughter every day." The woman says a pathetic pout on her disgusting face. Grace scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest, standing tall with her chin held high.

I fucking love that woman.

"What are you doing here, mother?" Grace asks, her tone hard. The woman sighs and her shoulders drop.

"Well, darling, we have a bit of a problem." The woman says.

"What problem is that?" Grace asks and I take a step towards her, just wanting to be closer to her but I know what she said is true.

You can't fight magic with claws and teeth.

"Well, that vampire coven you destroyed was under my protection." The woman says and Grace gasps as I watch the scene in front of me with confusion. My body vibrates with anxious energy, ready to strike whenever necessary.

"Why were you protecting vampires?" Grace asks, cocking her head to the side. Her mother lets out a humorless laugh and waves her hand in the air in a condescending way. I see Grace stiffen, obviously annoyed with the movement.

"You know me, dear. I'll do just about anything for the right price and the vampires were willing to pay. They had a mission and were willing to do anything to get it." The woman looks at me with distaste and I have to bite back a snarl. "I see they failed." She says, her voice dripping with venom. Grace takes a step back towards me, but doesn't take her eyes off of her mother.

"I don't see what this has to do with me." Grace says, obvious annoyance dripping from her tone. Her mother scowls at her in response.

"Grace, honey. You know my greatest asset is my protection. I charge quite the fee for it and if word spreads that a coven that was under my protection is now just dust in the wind, well sweetie, that's bad for business." Her mother says. She speaks to Grace as if she's a five year old and the disrespect makes my hackles rise. I can feel irritation through my bond with Grace, but her face remains impassive.

"I didn't realize they were under your protection, but even if they were that wouldn't have changed how we handled them. They were a threat." Grace says with a shrug and her mother's eyes harden as she glares at Grace. I take another step forward, my front nearly flush with Grace's back at this point. Her mother notices the move and her eyes dart between us, trying to figure out the dynamic.

"Surely you don't mean that. You're not a werewolf, Grace. They were no threat to you." She says and a low growl emanates from me despite my attempts to keep it back.

"I don't feel like going into a discussion about the decisions I've made. Just tell me how to get you to leave." Grace says and her mother looks afronted.

"After all this time, this is how you treat your mother? I thought you might be at least a little pleased to see me." The woman says, placing an offended hand to her chest as she gapes at her daughter.

"I hoped to never see you again, quite frankly. So this reunion is a little... premature." Grace says and I can't help the smirk that flits across my face. Her mother's face hardens at Grace's words and she sneers at Grace.

"Ungrateful little brat." Her mother spits at her and I growl, my lip pulling back in a sneer.

"Watch your tone." I snarl and her mother's eyes snap to mine. If looks could kill I'd surely be nothing more than ash.

"The only reason I allowed you to leave was because you assured me you wouldn't be a problem. That you wouldn't use your magic. You went back on your word, Grace." She says, punctuating every word with an icy tone.

"I never said I wouldn't use my magic. Clearly this is a simple misunderstanding. I apologize for causing you issues. It won't happen again. Feel free to leave." Grace says boredly and I have never been so proud of her. Her mother lets out a humorless laugh and my eyes focus on her again. I hear a door open and close and can smell Liam and Gavin, but don't take my eyes off the threat.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, dear. A threat against my power has made itself known. I have people questioning my strength. My power. You know I can't stand for that." She says and a sinking feeling of dread coils through my body. This is no normal family reunion, or even an unfriendly one. This woman means to harm Grace, I can feel it. Grace's body stiffens in front of me and I reach out to stroke my hand down her back, silently letting her know that I'm here.

That I will always be here, even if I need to stand behind her.

"Mother, it's not my responsibility to fix the damage done to your reputation. How I use my magic is of no concern to you." Grace says firmly. Her mother huffs, obviously annoyed.

"The only reason you have magic is because of me. I spent years of my life training you, sculpting you, building you to be the perfect witch. The closest thing to my twin that I could get and how do you repay me? You run off to live like a worthless human! Your magic is my magic, Grace. You'd do well to remember that." Her mother spits, her words dripping with venom and another feral growl leaves me. Grace reaches back to rest her hand on my arm and it does little to calm me.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I didn't want the power? The magic? The responsibility and danger that comes with it? Maybe all I wanted was a mother! A real one!" Grace shouts back and I feel a twinge of pain through our bond. It makes my heart ache for the childhood she lost because her mother was obsessed with power.

The woman scoffs at Grace's words and waves her hand in annoyance.

"Grow up, Grace. Playing the victim will get you nowhere with me. The way I see it you have two options." She says darkly and Grace rolls her eyes, but I hear her heart begin to pound loudly in her chest.

"And what are those?" She asks.

"You could come with me and rejoin the coven. If I show people that the witch who overpowered my protection is not only my daughter, but a member of my coven it could go far to smooth things over." My wolf nearly takes over at the suggestion of Grace leaving. I clench my fists and she must sense that I'm about to lose my shit because she closes the little distance between us. I put my hands around her waist and her mother's eyes darken at the move, clear disgust etched all over her wicked face.

"And the other option?" Grace asks, her body trembling against mine.

"I kill you."