Entwined Destinies (12 page)

Sylvia is a werewolf. Not only that, but she’s been one for the same amount of time as Mason. The only difference is that she got her pendant and tattoo right away. That’s one answer. Another is that she’s been a shifter much longer than Mason. It’s possible, but the timing doesn’t add up.

They would have been teenagers at the time. Still traveling across Europe with their mother and father. They were independent kids, sure, but confined to whichever city in which their parents were working. Mason told me that was their first time in Oslo.

No, Sylvia must have been turned at the same time as Mason. Still, if she met the Romanian witch sixteen years ago, why didn’t she share that information with Mason?

Did Sylvia know her brother had been turned? Did she find out he was a werewolf later and only told him about the witch recently? Mason struggled against his wolf nature for over a decade before getting the pendant and tattoo for himself. Surely Sylvia would have sensed that through the bond they share.

If Sylvia knew about the Romanian witch sixteen years ago, why did she let her beloved twin struggle for all that time? Why did she let him endure years of torment? It doesn’t feel like something Sylvia would have done to her brother.

Sylvia and I talked briefly after I summoned Mason using the painting, when I summoned her as well. That was the first time I confirmed that she and Mason experience all the same feelings from somebody other than Mason.

So does Mason know Sylvia is a werewolf or not? He never said anything to me about it. Going by their connection, he should be able to sense every powerful emotion his sister experiences. I would think that transforming into a werewolf would definitely qualify.

Unless Sylvia has been keeping the fact she is a werewolf from her brother.

Mason told me the pendant and tattoo cuts Sylvia off from whatever he’s feeling. If she has a werewolf pendant and tattoo as well, it would have the same effect on him.

Right away, I don’t like what that implies.

It would mean that Sylvia has hidden that she is a werewolf from her brother. It wouldn’t even be that hard to do. It’s not like he would sense that she’s changing when he’s changing. He’s barely aware of the world around him when he’s half-man, half-wolf. He’s completely oblivious when he’s all wolf.

The full moon would affect them both in the same way, after all. It would actually be pretty easy for Sylvia to keep the secret from Mason. Still, I’ve never seen Sylvia wear a pendant, nor have I seen any tattoos on her body. It’s probably smaller, something she can hide under her clothes.

Okay, too many questions. Especially when there is a surefire way to dispel them. Sylvia and I are long overdue for a heart-to-heart.

I look in on Mason. He’s just starting to stir again. Draining his lust doesn’t knock him out like it used to. He’s recovering quickly again, like he did after our first time in the kitchen.

I lean over Mason’s body and kiss his forehead. One of his eyes opens partially. He doesn’t really see me yet but can hear my voice.

“Getting some groceries. Might go for a walk. I’ll be back soon.”

Mason mumbles in his sleep before closing his eye again.

“I love you,” he says.

Wow. He actually said the word. Of course, he won’t remember saying them for the first time, but they hit me stronger than I expected, whether half-consciously uttered or not.

I run my fingers through his hair.
I love you too, Mason Boone
, I think. That’s why I’m doing this.

I’m out the door moments later, heading over to Sylvia’s place on foot. I’ve only been there a few times before, to deliver letters that were dropped off at the studio by mistake. I’ve never actually been inside. Today will be the exception.

I won’t take no for an answer when Sylvia answers the door. I need to know what’s going on. I’m hoping Sylvia will be forthcoming about the whole matter. If not, I’m prepared for that too.

The walk doesn’t take long, but the sweltering heat makes it longer. High summer has definitely arrived.

Sylvia lives at the end of long private road with a few acres of property around her house. Her car is in the driveway, so I know she’s home.

This is all very impulsive of me, but that can’t be helped. I need answers. If nothing else, I need to know why Mason’s sister didn’t help her brother by sending him to the Romanian witch sixteen years ago, when she went to see that woman for herself. It angers me to think that she didn’t.

Okay, I need to be calm and measured. Everybody deserves a chance to explain. Sylvia will be afforded that opportunity.

Also, I’m going in with knowledge that I’m not supposed to have. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a plan. I do. A simple one. It’s been my experience that simple plans are the best. It also doesn’t hurt that people frequently underestimate me because of how young I look. Time to use all the tools at my disposal.

I’ve arrived at her door. Deep breath.

“
Sustento in Carne
,” I say under my breath.

Maintain the Flesh.

Knock on the door.

Somebody walks down a flight of stairs right away. The footsteps move directly to the front door, and it opens. No hesitation, not even to check the eyehole. It’s Sylvia. She’s addressing me even before our eyes meet.

“Hello, Jess. Thanks for stopping by, even if it is unannounced. I assume Mason doesn’t know you’re here?”

She either saw me coming or picked up my scent in the air. This is her way of letting me know as much.

“I went for a walk. It took me here. I guess you could say there’s something I’d like to talk about.”

I have to be careful. I can’t reveal anything too early.

Sylvia is wearing a light dress made from a dark fabric. Her long hair is tied up off her neck, like mine. I didn’t change out of the cuts-off I was wearing, and unraveled the plaid shirt to wear it properly. Sneakers for my feet.

“Please come in. Can I get you something to drink? Iced tea? Lemonade? You must be thirsty after the afternoon you’ve had.”

Yes, you know Mason and I were having sex because of the bond you share. I get it.

“It has been an eventful day. Lemonade sounds perfect.”

I walk into her house for the first time. It’s very well appointed. Beveled skirting on the floor and wainscoting on the ceiling. Hardwood floors, not laminate. Large framed entrances. The furniture I see is simple but expensive.

There’s a painting on nearly every wall, which isn’t surprising considering what her parents do for a living. The entire place otherwise has all the personality of an immaculate display suite. I don’t gawk at the wealth, but give it a cursory glance. I’m not here to snoop, after all. I couldn’t care less about other people’s money.

“Let’s sit in the breakfast room,” Sylvia suggests. “There’s a cross wind in there.”

The distance to walk here was short but hot. My body was shiny with sweat by the time I arrived at her door, but the spell I cast is already regulating my core temperature.

Sylvia grabs a pitcher of lemonade from her stainless steel fridge and sets it down at the breakfast table. I sit down when she does.

“So what brings you across town, Jess?”

No point in waiting. I get right to it.

“The similarities between you and your brother don’t stop at being twins. When I carried you to bed, I couldn’t help but notice that you have similar taste in tattoos.”

The truth is I didn’t actually see anything at all, but Sylvia doesn’t know that. It’s a bluff. I’m going entirely by what Candice told me. If Sylvia does have a tattoo, it’s not on her chest like Mason’s. I can plainly see that much through her plunging neckline.

Right away, I can see from the look on her face that she’s been caught off guard. Her calm veneer cracks a little. She doesn’t know what I know and decides to keep quiet for now.

“Are you going to deny it?”

“Deny what? That I have a tattoo? No.”

Got it. Sylvia is in lockdown mode. She’s isn’t going to reveal any more than is necessary, which means she’s on the defensive. I can work with that. I have to make some blind assumptions next, so I keep the language vague.

“Fair enough. You need to know what I know before you come clean. Fine. You and Mason have similar tattoos. Similar in that they were both inked by the same artist. I could tell by looking at the style and technique that was used. Which means the Romanian witch who inked Mason’s tattoo inked yours as well.”

I pause to see if that prompts any sort of response from Sylvia. Still nothing, so I keep going.

“Now, we both know why Mason got his tattoo. It gives him control when he used to have none. What I didn’t know, what I suspect Mason still doesn’t know, is that your tattoo serves the same purpose. You’re a werewolf too. You have been for a long time.”

“What makes you think I’ve been a werewolf for a long time?”

“That’s easy. Your tattoo is older. It’s faded over the years. At least a decade, I’d say. Probably longer. His is still relatively new.”

Sylvia considers my words. She knows that I know. The question is, what will she do next? Rip my throat out? I’m prepared for that too.

“What do you want from me?” she asks coldly, all business now.

“I want to know why you kept such a helpful secret from your own brother. Why did you let Mason struggle against the wolf for all those years? I know he found that Romanian witch on his own. No help from you whatsoever.”

Sylvia’s eyes flare at that last part. She opens her mouth, wanting to say something, but then doesn’t, which doesn’t seem like her at all. Instead, she starts again with a different train of thought.

“Mason cut himself off from the family, from me. That was his choice, not mine. He only came back to work for the family again after he got the tattoo. What could I tell him after that?”

“Really? Your own twin goes through something that confusing and hellish, but all you care about is that he didn’t come to you for help?”

“Mason wanted to figure it out on his own. He’s stubborn like that. He wouldn’t have accepted my help, even if I offered.”

“He’s your brother! You don’t
offer
to help at a time like that. You
give
him help whether he likes it or not. Especially if you’re the only person who knows what he’s going through!”

Sylvia bites her tongue. She’s visibly angry, but I don’t care. I’m angry too. There’s no holding back now.

“He only left to protect you and your family from what he was becoming. You let him suffer through that torment alone when you could have helped him. How could you cast aside your own brother like that?”

My words are making Sylvia furious, but she’s got competition. The rage I’m feeling for her right now is searing hot. The idea that she could abandon Mason so callously is infuriating.

“What about you, Jess? You cast him aside too, and after I told you that he would bolt at the slightest provocation! Yet you did it anyway. Don’t presume to judge me when you’re no different than I am!”

Oh, now she’s kicked my hornets’ nest.

“That’s not even remotely the same! Mason and I were dealing with our own private issues. Well, at least I thought they were private until I learned about you. I had just found out that you and Mason share all the same powerful emotions. I was upset. What was I supposed to do? Keep those concerns to myself? Deal with it on my own?”

“If you love him, then yes, that’s exactly what should have done! Are your trivial concerns really more important than what he’s going through? Are they more important than his daily struggle against the wolf inside him? I seriously doubt it.”

My mouth falls open. That actually strikes close to home. I was being selfish at the time. I had a problem with Sylvia being able to feel everything he feels, especially when he was having sex with me.

Meanwhile, Candice and Saffron can feel everything I do when I’m having sex with Mason. The double standard is blatant. Not just that, but I got over it. The whole thing was silly of me in retrospect, especially considering what was at stake.

I almost lost Mason. I would have lost him if I didn’t accidentally summon him back with the painting, but Sylvia doesn’t know that. She just thinks that I should keep all my
trivial
concerns to myself. Well fuck that.

“My feelings are no less relevant than Mason’s. I might not be
struggling against a wolf
, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own issues, or that I should be quiet about them.

“I’ll be there for Mason when he needs me, and he’ll be there for me too. That’s what it means to be in a relationship. And you know what? Telling Mason what I’m going through made us stronger. Not weaker.

“So no, Sylvia, I’m nothing like you. I fought to keep Mason in my life. You cast him aside when he needed you most.”

I let that sink into Sylvia like a hard punch. It definitely has an impact. I can see it on her face. Good. I’m sure she’ll rally in a moment to justify herself, but for right now the guilt is being felt. Deeply.

Just when I think Sylvia is about to respond, she doesn’t. Somebody else does.

“Send the message,” a deep voice commands.

I spin around to see who’s standing there. I didn’t even know anybody was there until I heard him speak. It’s an older man speaking into a cellular phone, robust and powerfully built, natural grey streaks in his hair, tall, with a chiseled, handsome face.

Yet none of those qualities are what stand out the most. No, that’s something else much more frightening and insidious. The man presses a button to end the call before speaking again.

“You know more than you’re letting on,” the man says with a resonant voice that fills the room. I can’t bring myself to respond, so he continues.

“Enchanted pendants. Magic tattoos. You’ve come to terms with a lot of supernatural occurrences in a very short period of time, haven’t you? Werewolves. Witches. You talk about these things like they’re ordinary. Commonplace.

“Most mortals… nay, all of them in my experience, would have tucked tail and run by now, even if they were in love. Not you. You’re either wiser than your years or older than you look. There’s more to you that meets the eye, Jessica Aberdeen, and I mean to find out what.”