Chapter 233

“Holy goddess.” Wendy’s fingers twitched in my hair.

But Toya just nodded. “As I read more about spirit walking, I learned about the Mara.” Toya wiped my arm and caused me to hiss again.

“The Mara?”

“It means bitter soul. It’s like what you explained. A lost soul, whether they lost themselves while they were still alive, or after they died, and they wander, looking for a life to take over. If you had read more about it all, you would have been prepared.”

“Hey now.” I pulled back, but she pushed me back down.

“Lay down. I want to check your head.” Toya pushed again and Wendy helped her part my hair. “Amy.” She hissed as she saw the damage.

I laid back down, but huffed out my breath. “I read that book, inside and out.”

“There were a few pages stuck together. I don’t know why.” Toya tapped a page. “Wendy helped me figure it out.”

“I had to use a tiny bit of water around the edges to release the pages from each other. Then I used a blow dryer to dry them again.”

“Seriously?” I hissed as Toya’s fingers brushed against a chunk of my scalp. It burned.

“There were a few pages of explanation, and a few other spells that I don’t understand.” Toya got up and started to walk away. “Stay down.”

I chuckled softly. “She is demanding.”

“She was worried.” Wendy’s voice was soft. “Really worried because you screamed for us, you screamed our names, and I think this was the first time she couldn’t do anything about it.”

She came back with a brush, a comb, a spray bottle, and some scissors. “What’s that for?”

“Babe, your hair has been yanked out and cut in spots. I’m going to do my best to fix it in a way that no one will notice the bald spots.” Toya pulled me up and made me lean forward so she could sit behind me on the sofa. She brushed the tangles out of my hair. “You scared me.”

“You scared us,” Wendy corrected.

I nodded as Toya worked, but her hands froze when a phone rang. Wendy and Toya looked at their phones, but I recognized the ring. “Wendy, can you go grab my lock box? It’s my spare phone.” She nodded and ran to my room.

“Who could be calling you?” Toya continued.

“I don’t know, but not many have the number.”

The ringing had stopped by the time I got the lock box open. I grabbed it out just as it rang again. I answered, putting it automatically on speaker. “Hello?”

“Amy?” The soft voice had my insides clench.

“Lynn?” I hesitated. “What’s wrong? Why are you calling me? How are you calling me?” A little panic set in.

“Is secure,” she finished, but her voice was still soft. “Your father gave me a phone to connect with you if needed.” I breathed a sigh of relief until my brain caught up to her words.

Chapter 234

“What’s wrong?”

“Your dad, before he died…” Her words trailed off, and the punch hit my gut. She didn’t know.

“Lynn—”

“No, let me finish. I don’t have time.” Her words came out in a rush. “I had to run out here, away from Morgan. Since the king made you and Shannon stay at school, Morgan has been acting weird.”

“What do you mean? Is my mom okay?”

“I have your mom protected. I won’t allow anyone to get their claws into my Luna. But one time, Morgan tried to drug her with kudzu.”

“What’s that?”

“A herb that induces a female’s heat. If it wasn’t for the fact that we caught him before she drank it, she would have been stuck.”

“Goddess.” Wendy whispered, but Toya kept snipping at my hair.

“Are you and my mom okay?” I worried at my lip. “You can both come here. I have a place you can stay.” I didn’t even know why I hadn’t offered up my apartment.

“Your mother wants to stay. Vince and Morgan are doing something. We just aren’t sure yet.”

“Okay.” I paused. “But why did you call me?”

“Because I saw Brandon in the pack house.”

“Why were you in the pack house?”

She drew in a breath. “Because I found my mate.”

I felt my chest warm. “That’s amazing, Lynn.”

She hesitated. “I rejected him.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I found him hilt-deep inside of your sister.” Her words were flat, but I could hear the pain that it hid.

“Who?” I had the sinking feeling. There was one wolf Shannon was with in my previous life that never found his mate, either. Please don’t be him, I prayed to the goddess for this little tiny shred of hope. But in the next sentence, Lynn shattered it.

“My mate was the beta to Brandon. My mate was Derek.”