Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 87

I stood in Erick’s living room, the former living room of Rock, staring at Ronnie’s wrist. She wore a golden chain around her wrist with a deep blue pendant, outlined in black. The same pendant both Nikini and my mother wore.

She was marked.

Ronnie had just finished explaining to Jonathan and me that she went to Silverside to see her mother because Melissa requested to speak with her one last time. I couldn’t believe both Ronnie and Erick would go behind our backs and do that without informing us. They knew how Melissa and Rock were and they knew we needed to be wary of Silverside.

What were they thinking?

“Ronnie, that was incredibly dangerous,” I told her as I grabbed her wrist to take a better look at the pendant.

It was exactly the same as the one in the book Jade showed us. Ronnie was marked by Willa, Naomi’s less than a nice sister.

“She’s, my mother; I have every right to see her if I want,” Ronnie said, pulling her arm away from me so she could cross her chest.

“That’s the thing, I’m not so sure she is,” I told her.

Ronnie frowned, blinking at me; she wasn’t sure what to say. Erick spoke for her.

“What do you mean?” He asked, staring between Jonathan and me.

This was not how I wanted to tell my sister that her mother might not actually be her mother. But if Melissa wasn’t her mother, did that mean that Rock wasn’t her father either? This was a lot to take in and I wasn’t sure how she was going to handle it. But I was so worried about her and the fact that she was already marked, that we didn’t have time to tell her any other way other than to blurt it out.

“We have reason to believe that Melissa is actually Willa. Naomi’s sister,” I told them.

Ronnie’s eyes widened for a moment; but then her face fell slightly. To my surprise, she started chuckling.

“You almost had me,” she chuckled. “That sound’s ridiculous.”

None of us laughed, to which she noticed quickly. She frowned again and looked around at the serious faces.

“Ronnie, she killed my mom,” I told her softly. “My mom had that same bracelet.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Ronnie said, defensively. “She’s already paying her debt for that.”

“Who’s Willa?” Erick asked, staring at Jonathan.

“Naomi’s sister,” he answered. “Legend has it, back when Naomi first met Benjamin Davis, she was on her way to the Amaranthine Cliff to retrieve a flower that could save her life. Apparently, that flower she used to save Willa’s life, had some side effects. It gave her darkness like no other. It gave her a sense of dark magic and she used it to undermine Naomi. Anything good that Naomi did, Willa would try to reverse it.”

“Woah…” Erick breathed.

“What makes you think Willa is my mother?” Ronnie asked.

“We think Willa is Melissa,” I corrected; I didn’t want her thinking that we thought Willa was her actual mother.

“Okay,” Ronnie said, rolling her eyes. “What makes you think Willa is Melissa?”

“We went to see Jade over at the gem shop; she knows everything there is to know about witches,” I explained to them. “She said that Willa is a master of disguise. She showed us this book and it said that she uses this exact pendant…” I gestured to her bracelet. “…to mark her prey. It helps her keep an eye on you and know your every whereabouts.”

Ronnie breathed out as she stared at the bracelet in dismay. I wanted to know what was running through her mind; she looked terrified, mortified, and defeated all at once.

I felt awful for springing this on her like this.

She just found out that everything she once knew was a complete lie; how would she ever be able to trust after this?

“And you’re sure it’s this exact bracelet?” Erick asked; he worried about his eyes.

I nodded.

“Yes; it’s the same pendant as the one in the image she showed us in the book,” I answered. “Nikini has the same pendant, and my mother did too.”

They were both silent as they tried to process what I was telling them; I knew they believed me. Everything seemed to be matching up and making sense, but that didn’t mean it was any easier to hear.

“How did they receive these pendants?” Ronnie finally asked, in a whisper.

“I’m not sure how my mother received it. But Nikini says she got hers from a maid that’s been working for her family for generations,” I answered.

Ronnie’s eyes widened and shot up to meet mine. She looked as though she was in deep thought for half a second.

“What?” I asked, staring around her face.

“I met a maid at the Conway manor,” she whispered.

“You went to the manor?” I asked, trying not to sound angry.

“Only for a couple of minutes,” she explained. “To freshen up before we drove all the way home. But I met a maid when I was walking towards the bathroom. I bumped into her…”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Erick said, eyeing her carefully.

She looked up at him, her cheeks reddening.

“I didn’t think it mattered. She was just a maid,” Ronnie explained, sheepishly.

“Well, what happened when you ran into her?” I asked.

She thought hard about it for a moment.

“Nothing really,” she finally said. “She seemed really nice. Explained how she’s been working for the family for a long time and that she was surprised she hasn’t gotten fired due to being so clumsy.” She paused and then met my eyes. “She noticed my bracelet and said she liked it.”

I frowned; that had to be Willa. There was no question about it.

“Do you think…” Ronnie began.

“Yes,” I answered before she could get the question out.

“But Melissa… or uh… Willa… is in the Silverside prison. How could she be at the manor when we got there?” Ronnie asked.

Her voice was starting to quiver, and I knew she was having trouble keeping her composure. I couldn’t blame her. This was a lot to take in.

“She is one of the most powerful witches there is,” Jonathan answered. “I don’t think a prison would hold her.”

“Especially a prison designed for a werewolf,” I added.

Ronnie stumbled backward until she reached the couch; her legs were giving out. She looked as though she was about to pass out at any moment; I could imagine the room was probably spinning for her as she pieced together everything, we threw at her.

She sat on the couch and stared down at her wrist; she played with the pendant for a moment before realization struck her that she was marked. The woman who was supposed to be her mother, marked her to die. She had no idea what was real anymore, and I wanted to be there to comfort her, but I was so worried about everything all at once.

We still had to figure out what Greggory was planning and try and get Jessica out of that situation. I could only imagine what was going on with them right now while we were dealing with Melissa/Willa.

They had to be connected somehow because Greggory had a cufflink designed to block out the Overseer power. A cufflink that Willa designed for his family decades ago meant Willa was working with Greggory.

As far as I knew, Jessica hasn’t been marked yet, which meant they still wanted her alive. But for what reason? It wasn’t making sense, and yet it was making perfect sense.

I noticed Ronnie was struggling as she gripped the bracelet in her hands; she was trying to get it off. Panic was striking her, and I think she was going into a full-blown panic attack. I rushed to her side to help her get the bracelet off.

We probably should have done that, to begin with.

“I can’t get it off,” she said, trying to maintain her breath. Tears were falling down her cheeks and her body was trembling. “The latch is stuck.”

I took her wrist and tried to unlatch the bracelet, but she was right; it wouldn’t move. So, we moved to phase two and attempted to break the bracelet off her wrist. But it was completely solid, and it wouldn’t budge.

Something was wrong.

“Jonathan,” I called for him; he was by my side instantly. “I can’t get this off her.”

Jonathan took a hold of the bracelet and attempted to break it as well; even with his strength, the bracelet wasn’t moving. At that point, we were all panicking.

“Why can’t we get it off?” Ronnie cried.

We didn’t have an answer for her. But with one look at Jonathan, we both knew who would have the answer.

…

“Enchanted?” We all said together; our mouths hanging open and terror lingering in our eyes as we stared at Jade.

We were standing in the middle of the gem shop back in Sabrebite; she looked amused as she stared around our bewildered features. She took another look at Ronnie’s wrist and then back at me.

“Yes,” she answered. “You don’t think Willa would just have any normal bracelet, do you? Of course, she enchanted. That way it can’t be removed.”

“Then, what do we do?” I asked, panicked.

“Nothing you can do,” Jade answered. “Except wait.”