Gypsy Origins

“She’s aspired to not be emotional,” Damien says softly. “If it was enough to rattle you like this, she could have easily been manipulating us. I’m sure she’s aware of more about herself than she lets on, but tries not to overuse anything in particular. She keeps things…simple,” he adds as he groans, probably because of the horrid, likely unintentional pun.

“We don’t know how to raise them without inevitably letting Idun rise. The ribbons stay at bay because—”

“Violet feeds on electricity,” I explain to them. “The room gets colder when she’s in pain, because the cold eases her pain,” I go on.

Their brows wrinkle in confusion.

“Did I miss the pivot that led to this conversation? Am I that fucked up right now?” Emit asks very seriously.

“She too easily pieced things together that I completely missed. She admitted she feared storms and lightning, and I never thought much about it,” I murmur more to myself than them, wondering what else I missed when I didn’t know what I was looking for.

“The town is full of electricity. Little shards of it the normal person, or the typical immortal, would never notice. Violet is a strong, impossible pureblood omega—presumably the first of her kind,” I continue. “At least in theory. This is sort of a big fucking bomb exploding at my feet right now, and no one bothered to warn me it was coming!”

The rage comes back by the end, as my eyes narrow to slits on both of them.

“Your entire point to that impassioned recapping?” Damien prompts impatiently.

“There wasn’t snow on the ground in this area until she came with us here,” I tell him, twisting my blade into the wood a little deeper. “There wasn’t snow in our town until she’d been there for a little while, slowly charging, building up power and energy, without even really meaning to do it.”

Emit leans forward, confusion predictably creasing his features. Violet laid it out for me, unable to really say the actual words. But she’s figured it the fuck out all on her own.

“As an empathic Simpleton, she’d likely be like Caroline and the others. She’d feel their pain when her heartbeat stops,” I say a little more quietly, and Damien gets that same look of dread I had.

My eyes flick to Emit’s.

“They’re awake, and somehow they’re screaming to her empathic side for help. She’s been subconsciously blanketing the town in snow, and freezing it, because she’s trying to ease their pain, thinking she’s close. They’ve done what we asked, and now they feel we’ve forgotten about them.”

Emit glances down, his jaw ticking.

“We’d already deduced as much. Twenty-six years is how old Violet is,” Damien says as he stands as he releases the loudest breath ever and puts his hands on his head. “Twenty-six years is how long the rising is past due.”

He drops back down to his seat, looking as genuinely perplexed and frustrated as I feel.

“Fucking hell. What are we going to do about Idun?” he asks me directly, eyes on me like I somehow have the fucking answer to that.

“We’re really going to need Arion on our side for that. And I’m afraid we may actually have to work a little,” I state, more to myself than to them. “Emit needs to take control of his wolves,” I add, glancing over at him. “You’re only weaker when they continuously rebel.”

He doesn’t even glare at me, because for once, he doesn’t seem to have the urge to argue.

“You need to do the same,” I say to Damien. “Starting with Dorian.”

“Dorian isn’t my problem,” he grinds out. “If I say he’s not my problem that means he’s yours.”

“It doesn’t work that way and you know it.”

“Just find and kill the bloody turner yourself, and give Dorian a good curb-stomping,” he says dismissively.

“You’re not currently powerful enough to deal with him at all, are you?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes. “We had a deal—”

“Later,” Emit cuts in, eyes locking on mine. “Argue about all that shit later. Damien will feed and get stronger—”

“Only if Violet will have me. I’m not seeking out pleasure from anyone else,” he says without looking at either of us, as though we’ll mock him for that comment.

Considering he’s lived centuries without wanting any pleasure at all, due to the hassle, I don’t have any smartass remark on the tip of my tongue.

“Figure out a way to mend that bridge then, because you need to be at full strength,” Emit tells him seriously. “Who deals with Arion?” he asks, shooting a pointed look at me.

“Arion won’t do anything he feels forced into doing. This is his fucking plan. We roll with it, subtly getting Violet to include him, while we work on gathering the supplies and biding our time, until next month’s full moon. With his help, we can raise them without the Portocale Council’s consent.”

“And either he’ll help for Violet,” Emit starts, letting the words taper off as he just stares at me.

“Or he’ll help for Idun, and we’ll be stuck in the same hell we were a thousand fucking years ago,” Damien says as he scrubs a hand over his face.

“Her debt has been paid. The Simpletons kept their end of the bargain, punished for crimes they didn’t commit. The only thing we’re doing is finally keeping our word,” I tell them as I stand. “It seems like the least wrong thing to do at the moment. Remember how to be men instead of monsters for as long as it takes to get the job done.”

“So long as Idun doesn’t destroy the bloody world when she wakes and begins her retaliation,” Damien says so quietly I almost miss it.

“We’re more effective when we’re motivated,” Emit says as he idly runs his hand over his beard again, staring off at a blank spot on the wall. “Maybe Violet is the proper motivation to finally be stronger than that bitch,” he says on the next breath he releases.

“What does an idiot buy when roses are offensive and you’ve essentially ruined a girl’s trust?” Damien asks in a very serious tone.

“Riddle me this,” I say as I steeple my hands in front of my face, looking between the both of them. “Did Arion press the issue of Violet because he figured it out first and knows she’ll lead to Idun rising without fighting the battle himself?”

“Or do we know something before Arion for once?” Emit asks.

“The riddle to solve is how much he truly loves Idun, when he’s far more affectionate with Violet than I’ve ever seen him be with any other woman. That scene in his office wasn’t just for show…because Violet’s not Idun,” Damien tells me like he’s informing me of something important.

“Of course Violet isn’t Idun,” I say like he’s an idiot.

Emit grunts a laugh and groans, all while pinching the bridge of his nose. Damien glares at me.

“She’s pissed at you because you accused her of being Idun,” I finally deduce. “You stupid fuck.”

“I’ve recently become self-aware, thank you very fucking much,” he states dryly, getting agitated. “The point is, Arion was literally all over her. He didn’t give the girl room to breathe. He had her on his lap tonight, and he did that whole show with putting her between us and teasing me with the thoughts of being a part of her pleasure, while silently offering to let me have my vicarious pleasure through him.”

“He could be toying with us,” I’m quick to point out.

“He came here for Violet. He’s gone now because she is. We were all together, and he was determined to be a part of that, so long as she was. It sure as hell feels like he’s attaching to Violet,” Emit says like he’s giving this true thought.

“I feel like we’re damning Violet to save ourselves the hassle of Idun and Arion as a team again,” I point out, hating this complicated fucking tangle of a mess.

“At this particular point, I think he’s possibly more in her good graces than we are. He came and saved her, and we let her know over and over he simply stood aside for us to bury Idun because we finally convinced him to. He didn’t play an active part in putting her family underground and leaving them there indefinitely,” Damien says like the words taste as bitter as they sound. “I hate that motherfucker more now than I did yesterday morning.”

“Violet can distract him long enough for us to form a plan, and hopefully he’ll stick with it, so long as we hear his vote,” Emit says to me, shaking his head like he can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “We’ll see what happens with Idun when the time comes.”

Damien releases a derisive snort. “Never thought there’d come a day when we were the ones figuring out how to include Arion in on raising Idun.”

“What about the purebloods?” I ask Emit. “I think Violet left in large portion because she couldn’t decide what side she was on in this fight.”

Emit gives a weak laugh, as though I’m just piling on at this point.

“Told you she was too quiet and too quick to point out his name was Drew, instead of leaving him the nameless dead fuck he was,” Damien is fast to direct at Emit.

“She never panicked. Hundreds of wolves all trying to kill her and Damien, and she never panicked,” Emit goes on. “She froze.”

“That’s all your fault,” I tell him with a narrowed glare. “You and your self-loathing made her second guess her entire existence and how she’s lived it. You fucking cunt.”

He looks surprised, and…then he looks like he wants to punch something—more exactly, me.

“She told me so,” I add so that we’re clear, and the fight leaves him as he looks away.

“We find this Abby bitch who was connected to this Drew cunt, and we find out what triggered this attack,” Emit states like it’s fact. “I’ll figure out what to do from there.”

“Arion will hunt them all and kill them if you don’t, so make sure he thinks there’s a different plan of action,” I point out. “Regardless of how he plans to use Violet, he did pledge her his protection. And we all know he gives wolves less of a pass than anyone else,” I add.

Emit’s jaw grinds. “At least these wolves aren’t mine.”

Chapter 16

VIOLET

The house is quiet as I pick up Anna’s urn. I’m not sure how I managed to sleep all day, since the jungle of boxes in the kitchen are leading me to believe it was a busy day for the store.

The omegas and Dad are missing, as I lift the lid to the urn and peer down at Anna’s salt pile.

“You’re an asshole for this,” I tell her quietly. “The triplets don’t get why I’m not mad at my mother. Mom didn’t know you. She didn’t know you’d end up being my best friend—my only true friend. The one who looked out for me to the best of your ability, despite your worst delusions.”