I went to see Lena and was surprised that the guards let right in. I t Lena on the garden patio. She sat in a lounge chair with an umbrella shading her from the sun, looking like a true queen.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Did you make it through your work-study day?” she glanced at from under the brim of a sun hat and grinned.
“Um... yeah. You’ve been waiting for ?” I sat down in the chair next to her.
“When I connected with the Moon Goddess to understand your power, it allowed to retain my mories in this tiline. Honestly, I thought you’d co right here.”
I sighed with relief. At least, I wouldn’t have to explain everything all over again. For the first ti since waking up in this tiline, I was hopeful I’d actually find Lucas.
“I didn’t know if you’d rember or if you even knew .”
Lena nodded. “Well, we have so things to talk about. This tiline isn’t like the previous one.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that.” I shuddered and rubbed my arms. It still creeped out that Stone made his girlfriend.
I shook my head quickly and pushed those thoughts away.
“Do you have the future orb?”
I pulled it out of my pocket. “Yes. I got it first thing. Do you know where I can find the past orb in this reality?”
“The Northern Library Project never happened in this tiline. To my knowledge, the orb still remains buried there.”
Again, I felt a wash of relief. Getting the past orb was going to be easy.
“You have no idea how huge of a relief that is. No one will be looking for it or guarding it.”
“Sasha, be careful. Just because it hasn’t been unearthed yet doesn’t an there aren’t others looking for it. There are many powerful witches who might sense the presence of a magical artifact.”
I grimaced. Lena was right. Just because things felt easier this ti, I couldn’t drop my guard. Morianne was still around, and I didn’t know what she rembered or what her plans were.
“You’re right. I can’t let myself get reckless.”
I rolled the orb between my palms thinking about what I needed to do. My first goal was to find Lucas. If I went after him carrying the orb around, I’d be a major target. I needed to ensure the future orb was kept safe.
“Lena, can you take the future orb and hide it?”
Lena arched an eyebrow at . “You do rember that soone made it into the vault and stole this orb in the first place, right? There’s no investigation in this tiline.”
“I understand. I’m not asking you to put it in the vault. I want you to keep it on your person, never let it out of your sight.”
“That’s a tall request.” Lena frowned slightly.
“I know. I’m sorry to ask but... I need to find Lucas Black and if I take the orb, none of us will be safe.”
Lena straightened up. “Sasha, I don’t think you should go after Lucas.”
“What? Why not? He is my mate. No matter what tiline we’re in, we need to be together.”
“In this tiline, Lucas isn’t the sa Lucas you knew. He doesn’t have his mories.”
“That’s okay. He was able to recover my mories. I can get through to him.”
Lena’s eyes darted back and forth and she licked her lips. I realized she was nervous about sothing and it had to do with Lucas.
“What aren’t you telling ?” I narrowed my eyes.
Lena sighed. “I can tell you how to find Lucas but Sasha, I want you to really think about this. It might be better to wait until you get back to your tiline.”
“Why? Stop dancing around my feelings. Just tell what’s different in this tiline!”
Reluctantly, Lena nodded. “Lucas has been kicked out of the family. He’s a pariah, a disgrace.”
I gasped and shook my head. “No! How? Why? How could you turn your back on your own cousin?”
“He gave us no choice. As soon as he got his wolf, he went rogue. That kind of image isn’t appropriate for a prestigious family like mine.”
“You’re image!?” I stood up and threw my arms in the air. “What about him?”
“He didn’t want our help and he made it clear that when he was leaving, he wasn’t coming back. I’m sorry, Sasha, but the Lucas you knew isn’t the sa Lucas in this reality.”
“I told you I can get through to him. Tell where I can find him.”
My heart galloped in my chest. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could Lucas’s family disown him like that? He didn’t want to play by the rules, so what? They acted like they were all pristine and perfect and he was the bad seed.
“The last I heard Lucas is in the Light Realm. The one person who will be able to tell you where he is, is his mother, Maeve.”
“Is she still in Winter Forest?”
Lena nodded. As I turned to leave, she stood up and took her sunhat off.
“Sasha, I know you want to believe that you can get Lucas’s mories back. Maybe you can. Just... don’t expect him to be anything like your Lucas.”
A shiver ran down my spine and all the heat left my body. I couldn’t help but wonder what Lucas had done in this tiline. Why was he so different? Lena seed like she was scared of him more than anything.
“I will get through to him,” I insisted.
***
Maeve was waiting for when I made it to Winter Forest.
“Queen Lena called ahead and told you were coming. She said you’re looking for Lucas.”
She held her arm out to and ushered inside.
“Yes. Lena said you’d know where to find him.”
Maeve pursed her lips and led to the dining room. She set out iced tea and cookies before I got there. It looked like a setup, like she planned to bribe or console in so way.
We sat at the table together, but I didn’t touch the tea or cookies.
“I’m surprised that you want to find him. Lena tells you’re a student with a good life in the Dark Realm.”
“It’s complicated. But I know Lucas is my mate and I want to help him.”
ave nodded slowly and studied carefully. “You’re his mate?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t see my son anymore, but I do hear from him from ti to ti. Before going to find him, you need to be sure that’s what you want.”
“I’m sure!” I snapped.
I was so tired of everyone telling I didn’t want to find my own mate. Of course, I wanted to find him. It was more than that. I needed to find him. I just knew that we needed to work together to get back to our own tiline.
“What did Lena tell you about Lucas?”
I sighed. She really wanted to take the long way....
“She told that when he got his wolf, he turned rogue and the entire family turned their back on him.”
Maeve stiffened and pursed her lips. “That’s not exactly how it happened.”
She paused dramatically and sipped her iced tea. My stomach growled and I grabbed a cookie, nibbling on it. I’d been so focused on my quest, I’d forgotten to eat.
“When Lucas was younger, he was attacked by rogues. They nearly killed him. I can’t imagine what he had to do to survive and fight them off....”
“I know he went through that,” I admitted softly.
“Well, Lucas never recovered from the attack. He turned angry and hostile. There were many reputable wolves he attacked unprovoked and others he accused of being after him. It was hard to talk to him without sparking his temper, no matter what the conversation topic.”
I put what was left of my cookie down, my appetite vanishing. That didn’t sound like the Lucas I knew, but I was starting to understand why he’d been cast out. It wasn’t just because he didn’t “fit the image.” He was dangerous.
“I tried to be there for him, as did Oliver, Lena, and King Xander. Lucas pushed us all away with more and more anger and violence. Do you know what it is like to be afraid of your own son?”
Her eyes widened and she stared off into space.
My heart sank. The picture she painted of Lucas was all too clear.
“Finally, we told him that if he didn’t curb his anger and violence, he wouldn’t be welco in this ho, village, or in our family. Lucas chose to leave and beco a rogue, forgetting everyone who cared about him.”
Silence filled the room. My heart hamred in my chest and ears. The only other sound ca from the ticking of the second hand on the clock.
“He’s lost his way and he’s a dangerous person to get close to, Sasha.”
“What did the family do for him? Did you ever try to help him or–”
Maeve held up a hand, cutting off. “Of course, we tried. When Lucas got attacked, he ca back a different person. There was no getting through to him. Lena even tried to heal his anger and pain with her Moon Goddess power... and he resisted completely. He doesn’t want to change.”
“We’ll see about that,” I muttered.
“Sasha, he’s unpredictable. Please, be careful.”
I hated all these people telling I needed to be careful. Lucas was my mate, and I had to trust that mate bond.
“I’ll be careful, but I know that Lucas and I are mates. I believe the mate bond will help him find his way.”
Maeve smiled warmly and covered her hand with mine.
“I hope you’re right. I’d give anything to talk to my son again.”
“Can you tell where he is?”
“Lucas was cast out of Winter Forest, but he still has a ho on the outskirts. At least, he did a few years ago. That’s where you should start looking for him.”
“You haven’t talked to him in a few years?” My heart clenched.
In my tiline, Lucas wasn’t that close with his family, but he still appreciated his mother and had a relationship with her. How had things gotten so ssed up in this reality?
The Lucas I knew survived the attack and was able to overco his anger. It made him a stronger shifter and a leader, not a mindless rogue.
Even though I felt confident that I’d be able to find Lucas and get his mories back, a part of worried he wouldn’t give a chance.
Would he attack first and ask questions later?
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