Chapter 184

Theodore’s POV

I invited the High Priestess in when she arrived.

“It’s a lovely day,” she observed, palms up as if receiving the sun shining down on them. “I’m sure I can examine you while enjoying your gardens.”

“Of course.” I didn’t know why she wanted to do this outside instead of in the privacy of my study like the last time she had examined me. I wondered if that meant she didn’t have any sensitive information to pass on, which was a bit of a disappointment.

I stepped through the front door to join the High Priestess outside, but just as I was about to close the door behind me, I heard Eva calling for me from inside. “Dearest? Is that you?”

I sighed, keeping the door mostly closed for long enough to reprise my façade. When the doting fiancé mask was firmly back on my face, I opened the front door all the way. “Darling, did you say something?”

Eva came trotting down the hallway to us, with her phone pressed to her ear. Her gaze flitted to our guest as she pulled the receiver of her phone away from her mouth.

“Oh, good! You’re here. Thank you so much for coming.”

She smiled almost genuinely at the High Priestess before giggling and speaking into the phone. “By the Goddess, Olivia, hold on.”

Olivia? She was on the phone with Olivia Bronson – and laughing? I didn’t like that one bit.

“Yes, yes, you impatient cow,” Eva muttered as she laughed some more. She returned her attention to me. “You’re going out Friday night, right?”

I nodded. “With Bennett.”

”Perfect.” She patted my arm, gave the High Priestess a wave, then returned in the direction she came, her side of the phone conversation still audible. “Yes, Friday night is perfect.”

I did not like that at all. Why did Olivia Bronson want plans with Eva at a time when I would be out of the house? I made a mental note to ask Dahlia to keep an eye out.

“Shall we?” I offered the High Priestess my elbow as I finally closed the front door. She took it, and I led us through the meticulous gardens.

“Is this rosemary?” she asked, picking a sprig when I confirmed it was. I didn’t mind that she took some without asking, but it did seem a little strange.

“Ah, and marigold.” She didn’t wait for my confirmation on that one before plucking a golden bloom. Followed by a stalk of lavender.

With her weird bouquet in hand, we sat down on a bench in the rose garden. “How’s your family?” she asked as she plucked the petals of the flowers and the leaves of the herb in her hands.

I blinked at her, unsure what she was asking. My parents were dead, and my mate with child was forced to be separated from me because my brother was an asshole.

“Um. The family I care about is safe, which is what’s most important.”

“Mmm.”

I considered her noncommittal response, the silence that ensued as she crushed the flowers and rosemary together between her fingers.

“And… how’s your family, High Priestess?”

“All werewolves are my family,” she replied, “though the Temple does not require me to deny my sisters by blood.”

I raised my eyebrows waiting for more. “The sisters I was born into have taken up archery,” she shared cheerily, turning her gaze to mine, “alongside other…activities.”

They were training. Preparing to fight.

The High Priestess’ hands glowed with magic beneath the crushed plants that coated them. Without warning, she raised them to my head, pressing gently against the shattered band there. Then she recited some sort of chant in the magical language.

I was delighted to find that I had studied the language enough to understand her as she chanted: Goddess, we trust you with every ounce of our souls and we know we cannot always have the answers we seek when we wish to. In your infinite wisdom, we ask only to know if this is an omen of good or evil. The rest we trust you to reveal as you see fit.

It was amazing how beautiful it sounded in the original language.

Slowly, the High Priestess removed her hands from my forehead, leaving them palms up between us. I furrowed my brows, sniffing the air.

“What – what is that?” It smelled so beautifully floral, like the rosemary and lavender now smashed on my forehead and the roses that surrounded us, but a concentrated version, as if it were being held right under my nose.

“Our answer,” the High Priestess smiled. “My research in the Temple Archives reveals no history of glowing crowns on any werewolves’ head. Now we know it is nothing to fear; we must trust that’s all we need to know for now.”

I nodded, still in awe of the magic I’d just witnessed, even after the week I spent in Henosis. The floral smell slowly faded, and I led the High Priestess back to the front door.

“You’re the only who calls it a crown,” I mentioned. “Everyone else calls it a band.”

The High Priestess looked around the gardens we just walked through. “The Temple does not fear the king. We are beyond rulers.”

She pinned her gaze on me. “Not everyone is so lucky.”

She nodded her goodbye, and as she disappeared into her carriage, I understood what she was saying: no one else had the courage or the standing against the crown to identify a threat to it out loud, but that didn’t mean they weren’t thinking it. Because that’s exactly what these forehead bands were.

If they were a crown, Owen would perceive them as a threat to his.

Theo.

I could feel my mate’s love for me reverberating down our bond as she murmured my name in my mind.

I was somehow able to hear her chuckle. I can feel how much you liked hearing that.

I hesitated on my front stoop, pretending to admire the gardens as the High Priestess’ carriage pulled away. I wasn’t ready to return inside and risk being distracted by Eva. As much as I hate being separated from you, having you in my head has to be the most delicious foreplay possible.

I can think of foreplay that’s even more delicious.

I shuddered at the images that instantly flew through my mind’s eye. Violet chuckled again.

Before I lose your attention to your hand, I have a request. I’m having a girls’ night on Friday, and I was hoping to invite Dahlia. Might you be able to spare her?

I hesitated, wishing I could give my mate what she was asking for.

We can pretend she’s coming to see Kincaid, so no one will know she’s spending time with me, she added.

I almost called Violet “darling” but stopped myself just in time. That was the pet name I had reserved for Eva, for our ruse. Because of that, it had lost all sentimental value.

Alari, I wish I could, but Eva made plans with Olivia Bronson that night specifically after confirming that I would be out of the house. I need Dahlia here to keep an eye on them.

I expected to feel Violet’s disappointment, but instead concern and calculation rippled down our bond.

Like we already discussed, I expect Olivia will plan something behind our backs to make our arrangement even more to her benefit, but I agree. Dahlia should keep an eye out and report back anything suspicious. And I’ll have another chat with Olivia.