A Witch in Time

less with the animals.
Meredith waggled her brows. “So, are you seeing anyone?”
“Meredith!” Jade sent her a warning look. “Elise doesn’t have to answer that! She’s got her career. A woman is more than the man she’s with.”
Meredith held her hands up. “I’m just curious. I mean, Elise is a gorgeous girl.”
“And smart,” Jade said.
“Yeah. But I heard how dating is so hard these days.” Meredith’s whiskey brown eyes lit up. “Hey, there are, like, tons of single Lycan guys here in New York. Maybe you’ll find someone here.”
“No thanks,” Elise suddenly said. “No offense, but most of the single guys from the New York clan are like family to me. It would be like dating my brother. Gross.”
“Hmmm, yeah, I guess that would be weird,” Meredith said. “I mean, my brother’s kids are all single, but you used to hang out with them a lot too.” She paused. “Hey, aren’t Alynna Westbrook’s sons single? What’s the name of the older one? The one who looks like his dad?”
“Nathan,” Lara said.
“Yeah, he’s only, what, a year younger than you, Elise?”
Elise wanted the earth to swallow her up. “Uh—”
“You know, Alynna and Liam went out on a couple of dates,” Lara offered. “Wouldn’t it be funny if—”
“Eww! Mom, that’s even grosser,” Elise cried. “And Donovan says he hangs out with Bastian a lot—no offense, Aunt Jade.” Bastian Creed was a notorious womanizer, after all.
Jade rubbed her temple with her fingers. “No worries, I know my son well.”
“Really?” Lara said. “I always thought he was such a quiet boy.”
Meredith waved a finger at no one in particular. “Wooo, it’s those quiet ones you have to watch out for.”
Taking pity on her daughter, Lara changed the subject. “So, what time do we have to be at The Enclave for the ceremony?”
Elise sighed in relief, glad that her dating life was not under scrutiny anymore. Not that I have one. And really, she was fine being by herself. Because being alone meant she couldn’t hurt anyone.
Pushing herself off the stool, she got to her feet. “I think I’ll go lie down,” she announced.
“Are you feeling okay, darling?” Lara asked.
“Yeah. Jet lag,” she lied. “I’m going to go take a nap. I’ll set my alarm and make sure I’m ready by the time we have to leave.”
“All right, darling, have a good nap.”
She left the three women, who seemed happy enough to chat and catch up by themselves, and headed to the guest bedroom where she was staying. As soon as she got inside, she strode toward the bed. Maybe I will lie down for a bit. Curling herself around a pillow, she closed her eyes and let sleep take over.
Elise immediately woke up from her dreamless nap. “Oh crap!” Sitting up, she glanced around her, her eyes focusing on the clock by the bedside. Her body relaxed and she sank back into the covers. Thank goodness, it was only three o’clock, but still, she had slept longer than she wanted to.
Uncurling her legs, she swung them over the side of the bed and got up, stretching her arms over her head. She walked over to her open suitcase to grab her toiletry case when she realized she had given her shampoo to her mom last night. Better go grab it.
Her mom was in the room just across from hers, so it wasn’t a big deal. However, as she stepped out of the room, the sound of voices drifted down the hallway, and she stiffened when she heard her name. Was someone talking about her? Curious, she turned and tiptoed toward the living room.
The volume of Jade’s voice strengthened as she got closer. “… and nothing’s improved?”
“You’ve seen it for yourself. She’s still wearing gloves. When I tried to take them off, from the way she reacted, it was like I was trying to peel her skin off.”
Elise swallowed, hard. They were definitely talking about her.
“There has to be something we can do,” Meredith added. “Maybe she just needs help? What does your mother say?”
“We’ve spoken about it at length,” Lara replied, her voice despondent. “And we’ve run out of ideas. I just … I wish I could have done more.”
“No!” Jade exclaimed. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Isn’t it?”
It was like an invisible hand clamped around her chest, making it hard to breathe. The walls were closing in on her, making her feel like she was being crushed. She didn’t want to stay there, but she couldn’t move either.
Of course, Lara wasn’t disappointed in her, she was disappointed in herself. That somehow, she was the one lacking in trying to raise Elise as a blessed witch with magical powers. And that made her feel worse about the whole thing. But Elise knew the truth: Lara didn’t lack anything. I’m the problem, Mom.
Biting her hand to keep from making a sound, she found the strength to move, slowly backing away to make her way toward her room. However, before she could reach it, she bumped into something.
“Oomph,” She spun around. “I—Uncle Daric!”
Even though she was all grown up, the sight of the Viking-like warlock never ceased to intimidate her. Of course, she knew Daric was as gentle as a lamb, but the power emanating from him sometimes hit her like a sack of bricks. Blue-green eyes the color of the ocean stared down at her. “Elise? Are you all right?”
“I—” Tears were threatening to spill, and she turned away from him. “I’m fine!” she cried as she raced back to her room. She rushed inside and closed the door quietly behind her.
Goddammit! She stared down at her gloved hands. Some days, she really did want to take them off. But she couldn’t.
A knock on the door made her startle. “Y-y-yes?” she stammered.
“Elise,” came Lara’s voice through the door. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Hurry up and get dressed then. Aunt Meredith’s been called to The Enclave to help with security, and Aunt Jade and I thought it would be nice to get there early and see Frankie.”
“I …