Freeing Anvi

Chapter Fourteen

"It's devastating, isn't it?" Bea comments sadly. She stirs her tea delicately, like the British actors in movies do - with a silver spoon and glass teacup.

"Yes, it is," I say quietly. I stir my tea too, but my stirring isn't as delicate as Bea's is. My stirring is more rough and quick. I guess it's just an old habit. I had to stir quickly to Alpha Banastre, Amanda, and Darcy, back in my old pack.

"They were so young," she continues, and I don't think she's very good at gauging someone's mood based on their expression, because if she was, she probably would have stopped by now. I didn't want to keep hearing about Hanako and Han-Seok, but she continued, and it seemed that talking about events calmed her down (or maybe it was the tea, I'm not sure), so I let her. I ignored the pinching of my heart or the anxiety-filled stomach ache that swamped my body.

"They were," I agree. "Han-Seok and Hanako didn't deserve to go so soon. They had a whole life ahead of them."

"With each other," Bea nods. "This doesn't make any sense, Anvi. Who would be doing this, and why now? I mean...this only happened once before, and Jackson put a stop to it very quickly."

"I don't doubt that," I mutter, and usually, I would be beaming with pride at the praise for my mate, but today, my heart ached so much that it pulled the strings of my lips, turning them into a permanent frown.

Bea frowns and stares at me. I try not to wince. She sees through me, just like Luna Hailey used to whenever I lied to her. It's so easy for them. I can't mask any of my emotions anymore. Jackson can read me like a book he's read thousands of times, and the way Bea is looking at me reminds me of when he's reading me - small, studying eyes narrowed with concentration.

"It could have been anyone," Bea continues slowly. "But it's odd, because there's supposed to be a magical barrier around the pack. Not many wolves have broken through it."

"Magical barrier?" I repeat. "We don't have magic though...?"

"The witches do," Bea says. "We're allied with many covens, so a long time ago, Jackson's father had them create a barrier. Jackson had it strengthened when..." she stopped.

I paused my stirring. "When what?"

Bea fidgeted. "I...It's not really my place to say..." she murmured.

Tilting my head to the side, I set my cup on the table and stared at her, trying to give the same, all-knowing stare that she had given me when I hesitated. It seemed to have worked, because the same defeat that I saw dampen my eyes whenever I looked at myself in the mirror shimmered in Bea's eyes. She sighed.

"Fine, but promise me that you won't tell Jackson that I told you this," she said sternly.

"Okay...sure, I promise," I said, a little unnerved.

Bea sighed again. "A while ago, well, two years ago, Jackson had another mate. Her name was Sara. She looked just like you. Well, a little different, but for the most part, you both looked the same." She paused. "Alpha Banastre Yuen, I'm sure you've heard of him - I mean, of course, you've heard of him. If he didn't personally tell you about his legacy then you've definitely heard how infamous he is."

Hearing Banastre's name made my back straighten. My throat suddenly seemed to close in on me, straining my air pipes, and I had to try and laugh to make it seem like I wasn't choking.

"Of course," I said through clenched teeth. "I've heard of him...and Sara. Jackson told me about both of them."

"Oh, really?" Bea blinked. "That's weird. He hasn't spoken about Sara since, well, you know, she died, and I thought that he had pretty much forgotten about her. He's been enamored with you ever since he met you."