Chapter A NEW PLAN
Bella's pov:
Seeing Halle in the flesh made me feel a bit relieved. For the first time in a while, it seemed like my plans were falling into place.
"Bella, we need to talk," my mom said calmly, sitting on the bed. I tried to keep a neutral expression, waiting for the lies she was about to feed me.
"You cannot stay with Hazel." When she said this, my eyes widened, and she reached for my hand. "Halle said you needed to tap into your vampire side for a few months. The treatment she was going to give you would weaken your wolf since you were constantly in that energy."
Her words made little sense, a fine taste of beautiful nonsense. I took a deep breath, then pulled my hands away from
her.
"I don't understand, and I'll never understand why you do these things to me, but do I have a choice?" I asked, searching her eyes, wishing she'd solve just one of the puzzles that bugged my life-hers.
How many years of lies had she hidden behind those eyes? I asked myself as I stared at the woman I happened to be a spitting image of.
"I'll leave you two now," she said, standing up to leave. Halle kept her eyes on me until my mother shut the door behind her.
She took out a few things from her bag, then began mixing, pounding, and grating on some weird stuff, making me curious.
"Are you ever going to tell me what you're about to give me?" I broke the silence between us, and she glanced at me with her brows drawn down. I pressed my lips into a hard line, throwing my head back onto the pillow.
I had tried to go easy on her at first and not come off too strong, but it seemed like that purpose was defeated, and she still saw me as too strong.
"So..."
"Does a magician ever reveal their secrets?" she said, making me go silent again.
Then she got to her feet and handed me a cup filled with a green bubbly substance. I looked at it for a moment, inching my nose closer to it, noticing a sweet smell.
"Take it already," she sighed, pushing the cup into my hands. I grabbed it.
I held the cup for a moment as she turned her back to me. I couldn't tell why she was being so haughty, but I wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Look, I know my mother lied, and you didn't ask her to keep me in a separate room for any treatment like that," I said, causing her to turn around with a raised brow.
"You know nothing, child." She walked back to my bed. "Will you drink that, or do I have to force it down your throat?" she asked. I took a deep breath, chugging down the sweet-tasting substance, which almost burned my tongue with its hot, stinging sensation.
"How do you feel?" she asked. I belched slightly, setting the cup on my nightstand. I ran my hands across my belly and realized the aching had stopped.
"Better."
"Good, then we'll wait a few minutes, and you can eat something solid," she said, and I nodded. She walked back to her bag, packing up what she had used.
I knew I wanted to come off soft to her so she wouldn't panic, but the moment she zipped up her bag and grabbed the handle, I spoke firmly.
"Hazel is under the spell of a witch, and she needs your help. I know my mom lied because Hazel's the one who asked me to change rooms." She paused at once, then turned around, gripping her bag hard.
"What is the name of this witch? And why didn't you tell me that first?"
"Nyx," I said, swallowing hard as she tossed her bag onto the floor.
"Must be a new generational witch, because I haven't heard of her."
She took a deep breath, placing a hand on her forehead.
"Where is she? I mean Hazel. I need to see her right now," she said, and I shook my head.
"It isn't as easy as you think. We have only about an hour before the gates close, and after that, you can't get into the school."
"Then we must tell your mother." I got out of bed immediately.
"That's not the best thing to do." She raised a brow when I said this. "I may be young, but I remember what happened at the Dusk pack. What you said to me-and if I'm supposed to cause a change in the future, then you might as well start trusting me now. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it immediately. I love Hazel, and her well-being concerns me as much as it does you."
When I said this, her expression softened.
"Find a way to get her to this house, so I can unbind her from whatever spell she's under. I've waited so long for this to happen, and I think she needs to know more about her heritage. The Baudelaire's have hidden it from her for too long."
I nodded right away, but my mind wandered, curious about what she meant by that. I wanted to ask, but I didn't have time to dive into the Baudelaire family lore.
"My house is off-limits to Hazel and my mates, so how will they..."
"I'll put everyone into a deep sleep so the ritual can proceed. Now do as I have said."