A Witch in Time

it was an official function, and as the eldest daughter of the Alpha, she had to go.
“I brought something to wear,” she sighed. “It’s perfectly fine. Besides, I can’t afford that dress.”
Lara sat down next to her. “Then I’ll buy it for you.”
“No, Mom.” She’d been on her own for nearly a decade now, and besides accepting rides on the jet to go to official Lycan functions and the occasional vacation with her family, she paid for everything she needed and wanted with her own hard-earned money. “It’s fine. No one’s going to be looking at me there anyway.”
“Are you sure?” Lara said in a playful voice. “I mean, there will be lots of single—”
Elise stood up. “Maybe I will try it on.” God, she would rather do that than have this discussion with her mother. Again. “Where’s that personal shopper they assigned us?”
Lara’s eyes lit up. “Wonderful, darling. But,” she stood up and placed a hand over her daughter’s hands. Or rather, over the gloves she was wearing. “Why don’t you take those off? They don’t exactly match the dress.”
She yanked her hands away as if burned by fire. “No, I don’t think so,” she said in a flat tone. “I’ve changed my mind about trying on the dress. I’ll wait for you outside. Take your time.” Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the dressing room, closing the door behind her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked out to the main floor, pretending to browse through a rack of clothes.
Her inner wolf whined in a soothing manner. It was funny how she always felt at peace with her Lycan side. Her animal had always been a caring, sensitive creature, so in tune with her moods that some days it felt like it knew her better that she did herself.
I’m fine, she told it. We’re fine.
She loved her mother, she really did. But sometimes Lara just didn’t understand. Or maybe she was disappointed in her. Of course, she would never say it out loud, but Elise didn’t miss the disappointed looks on her mother’s face whenever the subject of her eldest daughter and magic was brought up.
But that’s what she was. A disappointment. She was the first hybrid—half Lycan, half witch—child born of a True Mate pairing, and yet, she was squandering away all her potential.
“Elise!”
Painting a smile on her face, she turned her head and saw her mother rushing out of the dressing room. “Yes, Mom?”
“I just …” Lara swallowed a big gulp of air. “Darling, I’m sorry. For being so stubborn about the whole … I mean, I won’t take you shopping again.”
She knew that Lara didn’t want to say the words. And frankly she was glad not to hear them. “It’s fine, Mom. I do like spending time with you. And it’s been a while since we had a girls’ weekend. Just you and me.”
She really was happy to spend time with her mother, and since they weren’t in San Francisco, it didn’t remind her of the past. After she came back to California when she graduated, she moved to Napa Valley where she worked for a non-profit animal shelter. It was perfect for her—the location and the job. For one thing, she loved being out in nature, and her home in the middle of the vineyards meant plenty of privacy where she would often shift into her wolf form and roam the hills. And for another, she adored her job. For some reason, animals loved her; her brother often joked she must be some kind of Disney princess. Growing up, she had always rescued stray dogs and injured birds.
She couldn’t help it, not when she was a child, and not now. It was like her inner wolf came with the nurturing nature witches naturally had. At least that was one thing she got from her magical heritage.
“I’m famished.” Lara looped her arm through her daughter’s. “Why don’t we head back to the loft? Your Aunt Meredith said she’s got lunch ready, and Aunt Jade’s joining us too.”
“Sounds great.”
Elise grabbed a few of the bags from Lara, and they headed outside to catch a cab downtown. As soon as they stepped out of the air-conditioned building, she stopped.
Lara cocked her head. “Elise?”
Her wolf went into alert, and a prickling sensation crawled over the back of her neck. Like someone stepping over your grave. Or they were being watched.
Looking up, she saw someone across the street looking their way. A figure in a dark hoodie. A large truck barreled by and obscured her view, and by the time it moved along, he or she was gone.
She shrugged. “It’s … nothing. I just remembered something.” Her inner wolf, however, was not calming down. Its ears perked up, and it sniffed the air as if trying to find a scent of something.
Her mother had raised her hand to signal a passing cab. “All right, let’s head back.”
Traffic during this hour of the day was surprisingly light, and soon they were walking into the loft in Tribeca where Lara’s two best friends, Jade Creed and Meredith Jonasson, lived with their husbands. The large former industrial space was actually split into two separate apartments that housed the two families.
As she and Lara walked into the Jonasson apartment, Elise felt a wave of nostalgia. Growing up, she would visit New York often with the rest of her siblings, and she had lots of fond memories in this place. Playing dolls with Deedee and Astrid on the living room carpet. Going to the rooftop garden with Cross and Gunnar. Sleeping over at the Creed apartment and eating junk food and playing video games all night with Bastian and Wyatt. Or the big, family-style dinners they would have—and they were big since Lycans ate a lot.
And today was no different. It was Chinese takeout day, based on the white boxes heaped on the kitchen table. Two women hovered over the mountain of food as the kitchen TV blasted in the