Page 39 of Witch’s Wolf (Bound by the Howl #2)

39

ERICA

“ E rica! Erica!”

The desperate cry rings through my head, jolting me awake. My fingertips fumble with the edge of the sheet as I snap my eyes open. A purple glow bleeds across the white fabric. Confusion spirals, heart pounding, I push myself upright and scan the room.

She’s here.

At the end of my bed, she floats inches above the floor, her fingers interlocked over her stomach. Her purple cloak billows around her and that eerie light surrounds her, pulsing unnaturally. I breathe faster as sleep fades and my eyes focus on her.

“Oh, sweetheart…” her voice drips with saccharin sweetness. “Look at you, all grown up.”

“Roberta,” I breathe her name, clearing my throat. “What do you want?”

“No, no, no,” she admonishes, wagging a finger, her smile sharpening at the edges. “It’s ‘Mom’ or ‘Mother’ to you. You’re my child. That will never change.”

“That’s not an answer,” I say, voice tight. “Do you need me to repeat the question?”

“That won’t be necessary, darling. I heard you the first time,” she says, tilting her head, studying me. “I wanted to check on you. See how you’re doing.”

I laugh. It’s sharp and humorless, more a bark.

“I’ve been better,” I say, pulling my knees to my chest. “This feels rich, coming from the woman who abandoned me. Where were you for the last twenty-two years?”

“I didn’t abandon you,” she counters, her voice smoothing into something more serious. “I left you with my mother. I knew she’d keep you safe until I was ready to come back to you.”

“Ready?” I ask, the absurdity of her words sends my voice up an octave or more. “Ready for what? You’re not making sense, Roberta .”

I emphasize her name because it’s the one thing that gives me any sense of control over the shit show that my life has become. It was supposed to be easy. The hard part was supposed to be getting Sam to accept me, not this shadowy crazy nightmare that came out of nowhere.

“It’s Mom!” she screeches, her eyes widening as her hands curl into fists. The sickly glow flickers dramatically in response to her anger. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, then lets it out slowly while unclenching her fists. “You must understand, Erica. Your father and I hadn’t discovered our full potential. We couldn’t while raising you. It would have taken too much of our time, drained too much of our energy.” She presses her lips together in something that looks almost mournful. “Your grandmother dedicated herself to raising me and she died weak and ignorant of what she was truly capable of. I couldn’t do the same.”

“Oh yeah,” I say, my tone mocking, despite the threat I know she is. “Poor Alison, she died without ever knowing she could have been capable of decapitating two shifters. Why, Roberta? What the hell did you do it for? They were innocent. Those people had families, children.”

“People?” Roberta scowls, the eerie glow around her flickering. “They’re not people, Erica. Never were and never will be. They’re like that animal you were taking up with.” Her lip curls in disgust. “What were you thinking? Seriously Erica, did my mother not teach you better than to lay with an animal?”

Rage ignites in my chest, white-hot and blinding.

“That man has been there for me more in a month than you have in all my life!” I shove the sheet aside and swing my legs off the bed. “You watch your mouth when you talk about him, you hear me?”

My voice is low, shaking with fury as I take a step closer.

“Or what?” She tilts her head, smugness oozing from her expression. “You’ll hurt me?” A soft chuckle escapes her, cold and condescending. “My God, Erica… you have the poorest taste in men. That first one, Michael wasn’t it? He was so far beneath you. You could have had the richest, handsomest man in New York, and you choose the son of a plumber?” She scoffs, shaking her head like I’m some silly little girl. “He was easy. Disposing of this… thing… you’re dating now, not so much. He’s harder to kill than I expected.”

My breath catches. The floor tilts beneath me.

“You…” The word barely makes it past my lips. My throat tightens, my stomach twisting into a cold knot. “You killed Michael?”

“Not directly,” her smug smile twists my stomach. “I was in his head, just a touch, enough to make him barrel down that road.” Her lips curl into something almost ecstatic. “En Camino De La Muerte…” she laughs, it bursts from her throat as she tips her head back. “I absolutely adore that road.”

“You stupid, stupid bitch…” the words tear free of my throat, raw and burning. My fists clench at my sides as I tremble with fury. “I was in that car too. I could have been killed. Did that ever occur to you?”

“Yes, of course it did sweetheart,” her smirk deepens as she fixes me with her eyes. “You’re my child. Of course, I considered that possibility.” She lifts a hand, examining her nails with casual detachment. “Which is why I was in your head, too. I was the one who made you jump out of that car.”

My breath shudders. My heart pounds so hard it rattles my ribs.

“You killed him,” I whisper, voice sharp, cutting through the space between us. My chest rises and falls too fast, my vision narrowing on the monster wearing my mother’s face.

“I was in love with him, and you killed him.”

“As I will your beloved abomination,” she vows, her dead eyes flickering with something colder than hatred. “Rest assured, my daughter. I will kill each and every one of your lovers until I’ve made sure you’ve selected someone worthy of you.”

“Like hell you will.” A growl rumbles deep in my chest. I thrust my arm forward. Power crackles beneath my skin, and with a twist of my wrist, she’s ripped backward. Her body slams into the wall, hard enough to make the floor tremble.

She gasps, her tongue darting between her teeth in shock. I step forward, my pulse roaring in my ears.

“You won’t touch him again. Ever.” My voice is low, steady, deadly. “Come back to Dawson, and I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”

A snarl rips from her throat, her wicked gaze flicking from my eyes to my outstretched hand. Understanding flashes in her expression, but this won’t be enough to stop her. She sucks in a sharp breath, and then?—

Boom.

A shockwave explodes from her body, slamming into me like a freight train. The world tilts. The air vanishes from my lungs. In the blink of an eye, I’m airborne for a moment then crashing down between the desk and my dresser, shoulders barely an inch from the wall.

“Well, well, well…” Roberta smiles with interest, gliding toward me with slow, deliberate steps. “At last, my daughter has awakened. Only she picked the wrong target.”

My breath is ragged, my muscles lock in place as she towers over me.

“You know what would have happened if I didn’t have total control over what I just did?”

“What?” I ask, gritting my teeth.

“Your bones would have been shattered,” she murmurs, stopping just two paces away. “Shoulders, ribs… maybe even your pelvis. Pulverized.” Her eyes gleam with something twisted. “This is our true power, Erica. You want to turn from me? From this? Refuse to embrace it? Fine. That’s your choice. But don’t expect me to accept that beast as your boyfriend. No daughter of mine will lie with a dog.”

My hands curl into fists against the cold floor.

“It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week,” she says, her voice dark and venomous. “But know this, I will kill him and anyone else who gets in my way.”

The room crackles with tension, the air thick and suffocating.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Then she’s gone. The invisible grip on my limbs vanishes, and I collapse. Knees slam into marble, pain jolting up my legs. A strangled cry bursts from my throat, raw and broken. My chest heaves as I suck in air, as if I’ve been drowning this entire time.

She’s not going to stop. She’s not going to spare anyone.

The mighty shifters of Dawson, powerful as they are, are vulnerable to her. She already killed two of them and she has Sam in her sights. My Sam, and for all his strength he doesn’t stand a chance against her wrath.

If I am going to have any chance of protecting him, I have to act. Now.