Page 74 of Magical Mayhem

I leaned forward, realizing he was telling the truth.

“She’s been here twice already,” he went on. “That means she’s close. She wouldn’t stray far, not now. But, Maeve…” His eyes cut back to me, storm-dark and steady. “You shouldn’t just start searching for her.”

The firmness in his tone startled me.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because she doesn’t want to be found,” he said simply. “The Silver Wolf obviously only comes when she chooses. She isn’t a thread you can pull on, isn’t a trail you can track. If you start looking, you’ll just stir the shadows harder. You’ll draw Malore’s attention, and worse, you’ll draw hers. And trust me, Maeve…” He exhaled sharply. “She can’t be trusted.”

The words silenced me. I stared at him, at the sweat darkening his hair, at the faint tremor in his jaw, at the way his hand twitched against the quilt as though the curse wouldn’t let him rest.

He wasn’t wrong. He rarely was, when it came to survival.

But survival wasn’t enough anymore.

I let the quiet stretch between us, the fire popping softly in the hearth. Then I asked, very carefully, “What if we didn’t go searching?”

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“What if we lured her here?”

Keegan blinked.

I pressed on, words tumbling faster now, gathering momentum the way thoughts always did when they finally clicked.

“She’s here for a reason, Keegan. She’s circling Stonewick because she knows what’s at stake. Maybe she’s waiting for something, waiting for the right call, the right sign. What if we gave her that? Enticed her to come to us instead of chasing her through the Wilds like…like fox and hound.”

Keegan’s lips twitched, though it wasn’t quite amusement. More like disbelief. “Entice her? You make it sound as though she’s a cat you can call with a saucer of cream. Don’t forget she abandoned Stonewick. She can’t be trusted. Just because she got a bit of delayed parent guilt doesn’t make her useful.”

I smiled faintly, though my chest ached. “Very true.”

He shook his head, letting his eyes fall shut briefly. “She doesn’t wait for anyone.”

“Then what do you call this?” I asked softly. “What brought her back?”

His eyes snapped back open, glaring, but the sharpness in them couldn’t hide the truth. She was close. Too close to call it coincidence.

Keegan sagged back into the pillows, his breath rattling slightly. “Maeve…”

I reached for his hand, resting mine lightly atop his. “You said yourself she’s near. And you know she’s aware of what’s happening—Malore, the Academy, all of it. So why hasn’t she shown herself fully? Because she’s waiting. Wolves circle before they strike. Maybe she’s circling us now.”

The firelight flickered over his face, shadows deepening the lines of exhaustion. For a long moment, he said nothing.

Finally, he rasped, “Even if you’re right… what do you think you can offer her that would make her step into the open? She turned her back once. She might again.”

“Maybe not an offer,” I said slowly. “Maybe a truth. The land itself is mending, Keegan. Nova said it. Ardetia said it. We’ve seen the Academy open and thrive, and Stonewick village invite guests in droves. The factions are circling back together. Witch, fae, and shifters reuniting. Stonewick is pulling its threads tighter. Your mother is part of that weave, whether she admits it or not. If she wants to be part of saving it, she’ll come.”

Keegan’s jaw clenched. “And if she doesn’t?”

“Then at least we’ll know.”

The silence that followed was so thick it pressed into my ears. The shadows outside the window writhed harder, as though they didn’t like the sound of this at all.

Keegan’s fingers twitched against mine, his strength faltering, but his eyes holding steady. “You’d gamble on her, Maeve? On the woman who left me bleeding in Stonewick’s ashes, who abandoned everything she claimed to protect?”

My heart cracked at the pain in his voice, raw and bare.

“I’d gamble on Stonewick and the Academy,” I whispered. “And if that means gambling on her… yes. I would.”