Who is Magpie?

Jessamine wanted answers, real answers, direct from the wolven’s mouth, but she was still angry, tired, and hurting. “I can tell he is my son, and, luckily for you, I just spent the last week professing my life in servitude to the Fae and there’s about a year I don’t remember, so there’s that mostly accounted for.”

“How astute of you,” he chuckled, but her face didn’t change.

“But I didn’t know about any deal when I was with the Fae. They treated me like I was disposable, and you people just wanted strong pups.” She was growling now, feeling angrier with every thought. “You have your heir, that I was no threat to, and land where he is safe. Why did you attack my home, my mates… I was finally happy!”

“You were happy with me!” He interrupted, slamming his fist on the arm of the chair so suddenly she jumped and he rose his hand apologetically. “I was with you through your entire pregnancy. We lived out of little more than a bedroom with a TV for nine months. When you gave birth we tried to escape, but we were caught and you sacrificed yourself to get me and Oakley out. You made me promise that I would keep trying to get you out, no matter what you said to the contrary. To get you back to us.”

Jessamine rolled her eyes like she was sure he was lying. “I only remember you as a client from the kennels, and then part of a deal to get me into a stupid party.”

A wistful smile broke over his face. “I really thought we had gotten you out that time, but after you took the key you went back. They had such a hold on you. Still, that was a great night,” he mused. “You were quite the dancer, and the dress I bought you was a perfect fit.”

“You bought me….?!” She questioned. “I was doing extra chores and training for a month to pay for that privilege,” she groaned and he gave her a confused look. “Everything I needed cost me service, pain, or dedication, from needing a new T-shirt, and meals, to my knives.“

“They put you in there to pay for necessary items?” He questioned, growing concerned.

“Not just for things, to take other classes, training, sometimes medical aid, and punishments, were all treated like any charge.”

Azural made an angry groaning sound. “I had no idea.”

“No ideee….? You rented me from the kennels!” Jessamine scoffed. “Well common sense isn’t a flower everyone can cultivate.”

He rubbed his neck painfully. “When I found out they were putting you in there I tried to find out about every open house and have someone bid to keep you out of harm. The term ‘rogue’ doesn’t exactly mean wealthy. We have homes now and a community, but back when this started we only had what we could steal. My father dealt with the negotiation back then, he….”

“Thought that it would toughen me up, prepare me for life, and make me grateful.” Jessamine cut in, flicking her nose towards a photo on his desk. “I recognize him. He talks loud.” She turned around, kneeling on the bed, and pulled the back down on her dress. “The burn was his handy work, but most of the time he only left bruises.”

Azural came up behind her and touched the scars, but she smacked his hand away.

“He’s dead,” he muttered. “I challenged him for the pack when I found your blood on his shirt. When I found out you were pregnant I begged him to get you out, even found this land with my uncle, abandoned… but he ‘had a plan’. Power, land, wealth…. They used us, we used the Gilan’s, everyone had a hand in someone else’s pocket.”

Jessamine was nodding, having guessed this much. She fixed her dress, and moved to the middle of the bed. “He was in the market for a female from alpha blood for you, to lead the pack and pass down the family title. The Fae offered to train me and prepare me for the life as a Rogue Luna, even take out the biggest competition for your pack along the way. Every now and again your father would go back and threaten the Gilan’s, as the closest relatives when I went missing they got all my assets.

She couldn’t give Ezekiel my inheritance because your dad demanded it, I’m guessing blackmail? Letting it known that I was alive, that they sold my family out, or that they worked with the Fae to hurt other wolven. Willing to bet Mr. Gilan started the deal with the Fae when he realized Ezekiel had no interest in Athena romantically. The appearance of co-dependency. They had the Fae create the problems they helped with.. that I helped with..” Jessamine trailed off and sighed. “I bet the Orman’s did it out of spite.”

Azural sighed too. “As far as I’m aware you’re right. Did they talk in front of you or something?”

She smirked. “Not about anything meaningful. I took a lot of deductive reasoning and psychology classes to avoid needing to torture people for information. When I defeat Athena, her brother promised to give me everything I was owed, but it was all ~mysteriously missing~.” Jessamine chuckled. “From the inventory books it looked like it had been pilfered slowly at about the same times every year; the beginning of fall, right before winter, and mid spring. Sounds about when food get’s harder to find outside, and before any growing can be harvested and animals are mating, which affects the hunt and the hunter.”

Azural chuckled. “Quick as a whip my dad woul…. Sorry. He was an asshole, I know that. He did a lot of just shit things. Getting involved with the Fae was one of them.”

“Take me back, Oakley can stay with me until they’re dealt with. He’ll be safe with the other kids, and I won’t let him out of my sight. Please,” she begged, the ache starting in her chest from being so far from her mates mingled with the worry in her stomach.

He shook his head. “I was always planning to find a way to you, but we had to attack like that because the Fae were going to do worse. They had bullied and drugged others in that pack into doing what they wanted, and they wanted all of the food poisoned and the water soaked with wolvesbane.”

Jessamine’s hands flew to her face, covering her mouth as she gasped. “The dinner..”

He nodded. “I was told you were captured, only alive because you mated to the alpha, but that he used his alpha tone to control you.”

Jessamine barked a quick laugh before covering her mouth again. “He would never, he loves me,.. Just like Bronx.” She thought sadly of him alone in the wood. “What about your men who tried to kill me on the full moon?”

The rumble in his chest was loud and sudden. “They weren’t mine. The Fae hired them like mercenaries when that bitch Athena mentioned the full moon tradition. She was already hoping to challenge you to get her end of the bargain back on track, and I had set up camp nearby in hopes of getting you from them on their way back to the Garden.

I was surprised when I only had to kill one of them, and you weren’t with him. But not as surprised as when I found out you had taken out two on your own. He didn’t live long after slipping that the Martin said dead or alive.”

“Why does he want me back? He sent me on a suicide mission to kill Ezekiel, and with the drugs I was on, there was no way he believed I would live.” Jessamine felt exhausted all over again, ready to return to sleeping.

Azural hated being the one to tell her. “He believes you will be the cure to the wolven.”