Nature is not a place to visit 33

Chapter 33
*“Insight is not a lightbulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out.”*
*Malcolm Gladwell*
Once Hudson dismissed Rae, the tension seemed to dissipate from the air. I could tell that some of our pack members were still angry about Hudson’s decision not to exile her by the way they grumbled in tight-knit groups.
I had a feeling it would be a very, very long time before Rae was popular within the pack again.
I took in the room. Hudson was swamped by Marcus and several other pack members, no doubt wanting to know our
next move now that the Blood Moons were gone.
*Not only are they gone, but their lands are empty.*
Empty land that Hudson could choose to take if he wanted to. There was nobody around to protest, although the
thought of it made my stomach turn.
The last time I’d seen those lands, they hadn’t been empty – they’d been full of dead bodies. I didn’t want to live on
lands coated with blood.
My examination of the room suddenly stopped when my eyes landed on a familiar pair of multi-colored ones.
Leaning against the back wall and out of the way was Ambrose, his curious gaze focused on me. I didn’t hesitate to make my way to him.
“When did you get here?” I asked.
His hands found my way around their waist, and I leaned into his touch almost subconsciously. We’d only known each
other a few days, and already, I sought out his touch.
*And more than just his touch.*
My mind flashed to the moment we’d shared just minutes ago, hidden away in the dingy, little camper. I wondered how
far we might’ve gotten if the pack meeting hadn’t interrupted us.
“Just after you,” he responded, “You were too frantic to notice much of anything else, but I saw the whole trial.” He
paused and then he added, “You tried to stand up for your friend.” There was no judgment in his tone. He said it like he
was studying a science experiment and trying to find out why Variable A reacted the way it did.
I nodded. “I know that what Rae did was incredibly stupid and hurt a lot of people, and those people have every right to
be angry…but she’s still someone I love. She’s my family, and I don’t have much of that these days. I guess I just wanted
to protect what little I had left.”
An emotion I couldn’t recognize flashed through his eyes, and a sudden thought dawned on me.
Did Ambrose have a family? Or people he loved? Had it just always been him? My mind swam with questions, but just as
I opened my mouth to ask, a new voice interrupted us.
“Ollie! You’re back!”
I turned to find Mia, the half-witch girl, staring at me with a big smile on her face. “I saw you earlier,” she said, “And I was
just so glad you made it back.” Her smile suddenly turned shy and she began rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry if
that’s weird to say, it’s just…you’re one of the few people who’s been very welcoming to me since I’ve been here. I
guess I’m just glad you made it back.”
“Well, I’m glad I made it back too,” I said, “Someone has to keep it lively around here.”
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She chuckled, and then her eyes drifted to Ambrose. They went wide. “You’re…him,” she said it with such awe. “I was
there when you explained your presence earlier, but it feels so different to see you up close.” Her eyes swept over him
like she was beholding the sight of the Sistine Chapel or Michelangelo’s David.
The sudden urge to claw out Mia’s eyes so she couldn’t look at my mate like that was overwhelming. I actually felt my
fingers transform into claws, and the sharp points poked into my skin. I withheld a wince – I hadn’t lost control of my
transformation in years.
“Yes,” Ambrose said flatly. It could’ve been my imagination, but I could’ve sworn his tone was icier than normal.
“Wow!” Mia sighed, her eyes as wide as saucers, “It’s just…I’ve heard the stories, but to meet you…it’s just…”
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head. “You know,” she said, “I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like
there’s something familiar about you.”
I was close enough to feel his body stiffen.
“Is that so?” he said, and there was no mistaking the coldness in his voice this time. Even the expression on his face
looked like he was hardly holding back a snarl.
Chills bloomed across my skin, and the pack house felt twenty-degrees colder.
Mia nodded. “Yes! I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about you –”
“You’re mistaken, and your pack members are calling for you,” Ambrose suddenly cut her off, and I recognized the raw
power in his voice. I’d heard it before – this was the voice he used to command.
Fear and confusion flashed across Mia’s face. “Oh, right…I’m sorry. I should go see what they want.”
She didn’t waste another minute scurrying away and disappearing into the crowd.
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I turned to Ambrose with raised eyebrows. “What was that about?”
For once, he wasn’t looking at me but at the spot where Mia had vanished into the throng of pack members.
“What is your pack doing harboring a witch?”
The darkness in his voice sent a cold chill down my spine. Right now, it didn’t feel like I was talking to my mate – it felt
like I was talking to the Moon God.
I swallowed down my uneasiness.
“She’s only half-witch,” I said, “She’s a wolf too, and she’s grown up around werewolves her entire life. She told me she’s
never even met another witch.”
*Is that what set him off? That she’s part witch?*
Given what little I knew of his history, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Ambrose hated witches. Of course he would – a bunch of them had put him into a magical coma for a millennium.
Maybe it was because I just thought of Mia as any other pack member, but I’d never connected the dots that Ambrose’s
hatred for witches would extend to her.
“Ambrose,” I said, and he finally turned to look at me. I could still see the distaste swimming in his eyes. “Mia is a friend, I
promise. Granted, she’s a new friend but she’s one of us now.”
When he didn’t immediately reply, I asked, “It was weird she thought you were familiar to her, right? Do you know why?”
His eyes narrowed. “No.”
Dangerous energy crackled in the air as he stalked away. Maybe it was the mate bond or just my own intuition, but I
knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he was lying to me