Authors: Nicole Bailey
We drove back to Ventimiglia that afternoon and spent
the rest of the evening with my grandparents. I called Nat’s
grand-mère to let her know we would be stopping by the
next day. She was excited we were in town and promised to
make madeleines for me.
Nonna cried when we left the next morning and made
Nick promise to bring me back to Italy sooner rather than
later. “When are you coming to Arizona?” I asked her.
“Mamma misses you. Even Gabriela and Pietro are
coming.”
“As soon as you have my great-grand baby,” she
answered with a smile. I had no words. I felt nauseous just
thinking about it, but I smiled softly and nodded.
We spent the morning in Menton just on the other side
of the border in France. There were so many things to see
that I was worried we wouldn’t be able to do it all. We saw
the museum of the artist Jean Cocteau, bought jams at the
Maison Herbin, visited the history museum, had lunch at a
fabulous boulangerie and saw a few churches before
heading to the Gagnon’s house.
The delicious scent of baking wafted through the screen
door as we walked up. I let myself in, calling out for
Violette. Nat’s grandparents didn’t speak any English
either, but both Nick and I spoke fluent French having
grown up with our friends.
“Bonjour ma belle Sofia!” she shouted as she threw her
arms around me and kissed my cheeks. She looked at Nick,
but asked me, “Parle-t-il francais?”
“Tres bien,” she said, hugging and kissing him as well.
“Now come in to the kitchen. I have baked for you.”
We followed her and sat at the table where madeleines
and hot chocolate were waiting for us. Thierry, Nat’s grandpère came in from the backyard. He welcomed us and
asked us about our trip so far.
“Rosaria has told us a little about you both, but tell us
your story,” Violette asked in French.
Once again, we relayed the story of how we came
together. I excitedly told her about the prophecy that was in
Nonna’s book and she shared my enthusiasm. We spent the
night catching up and talking about Nat and Jack’s
upcoming binding ceremony. I didn’t realize that they were
planning on coming to the States for it.
We spent the night and drove to Nice the next morning
for our flight. I decided that the worst part of vacation was
being on an airplane or in an airport for an entire day. Nat
and Jack were the ones to pick us up Wednesday night
when we landed.
“I figured you would be doing wedding stuff,” I said as
I threw my suitcase in the trunk of Jack’s Camaro.
“Are you kidding? And miss hearing every single detail
of your trip on the way home?” Nat said. Jack kept the
radio off the entire ride back so we could tell them about
everything that happened.
“OMG, have you told your mamma yet about the
prophecy?” she asked excitedly.
“No, it’s too expensive to call overseas. And I already
have to pay for Jack’s texts,” I said.
“What were you texting Sof about?” she turned to Jack.
“Uh…” he stuttered.
“Oh crap, my bad,” I said, not realizing Nat didn’t
know about the ring yet.
“What already?” she practically shouted. Nick was
laughing beside me in the backseat.
“Nothing you won’t find out in a couple of days,” I
answered. “Now, more about our trip.” Nat frowned at me
but let it go.
When I got to the part about Nick attacking his
grandfather, she shouted, “Shut.Up!”
“Seriously,” I said. “I was totally freaking out.”
Nick butted in, “You have to understand something
about weres. We’re very protective of our mates.”
“Oh, that’s so cute. You called her your mate,” Nat
interrupted.
“That’s what she is. And you should’ve heard the things
he called her. It was disgusting.”
“What did he say?” Jack asked.
“He called her a demon dancer and a daughter of
darkness,” Nick answered, abhorred.
“Oh snap, I woulda kicked his ass too,” Jack said.
“Did you just say, ‘oh snap’?” I laughed.
“I’m telling you, you girls are rubbing off on us,” Nick
smiled.
I ended by telling Nat about visiting her grandparents
and how incredible Menton was. She was dying to go visit
them, but I doubted they would have money anytime soon
with Jack spending his savings on a ring. Knowing Nat as
well as I did, I thought she probably would have rather
gone on a honeymoon to France than have a ring.
When we got back to the apartments, Jack dropped Nat
off with us. She was playing house in their new place,
getting everything ready for Jack to move in in a few days.
The next morning, I drove to the store to visit Mamma
while Nick went to the restaurant to prep food for the day.
It was hard to leave each other after spending every
moment together all week, but it was back to reality and we
both had jobs.
“Piccola!” Mamma shouted when I walked in the back
door. “I didn’t expect to see you today. Aren’t you tired
from the flight?”
“I slept most of it, and my clock is all off now so I’m
wide awake. It’s later in the day for me still,” I smiled as I
gave her a kiss.
“Tell me everything,” she said.
“Did Nonna call you at all?” I asked.
“No. Was she supposed to?”
“No, I just wondered if she told you about the
prophecy.”
“What? You found it?”
“Sì, in Nonna’s book. And she knew it was there all
along,” I said.
“Ah, that’s why she told us to move here, isn’t it?” she
quickly realized. “What did it say exactly?”
I had written it down when I found it since I knew I
couldn’t bring Nonna’s book back with me. I pulled the
paper out of my back pocket to show Mamma. She read it
over twice, just as I had. “A baby,” she grinned widely.
I got that sick feeling again and rushed to say,
“Mamma, don’t even go there yet. I’m only eighteen. Nick
and I aren’t ready for that step yet. We’re still newly
bound.”
“Oh, I know. I’m just happy to know that it will happen
someday. And she will be such a great leader. I knew there
was something special between you two.”
“You sure didn’t think that in the beginning,” I
reminded her.
“Not true,” she frowned. “When I saw him standing
next to you in our house that day, I knew it. Don’t you
remember?” I nodded.
She was ready to disown me when she and Babbo
found out about us, but when I brought Nick over for the
first time, her heart softened. She was even there to support
us the night of our binding ceremony. And she was the one
to convince Babbo to sit down and listen to us. I owed her
for that. It’s what ended the feud between the local weres
and witches, even if everyone in Europe wasn’t ready to
accept it yet.
I decided to stay and work for the day since I was
already there. As I went in the back to get some candles to
restock the shelf out front, I realized Gia was standing
there.
“Oh crap, what are you doing here?” I asked. “You
startled me.”
“Mi scusi,” she apologized. “I came to pick up some
supplies that Giuliana ordered for Rosetta.”
“Oh, okay. Well, let me help you find them.” It was a
little unsettling that she had appeared out of nowhere, but I
was determined to give her another chance. I wondered
how long she had been in the store though and if she heard
what Mamma and I were talking about. I was still hesitant
to share my life with a stranger—especially one that was
related to Ky.
We found the box right away and Gia excused herself
without saying hello to Mamma. “Gia was just here,” I said
as I came out front with a box of candles.
“Oh really? What for?” she asked without looking up
from the herbs she was sorting into bins.
“She said she was picking up supplies you ordered for
Rosetta.”
“Oh, yes. She wanted some peculiar things I don’t
normally carry in the store,” she said. Something wasn’t
sitting right with me, but I wasn’t about to tell her since she
didn’t share my suspicions.
Nat showed up later in the afternoon to pick up her
dress. Mamma didn’t carry anything nice enough for a
binding ceremony in the store, so Nat decided to have her
order one that she found in a catalog behind the counter.
The dress was simple, but beautiful. A cap-sleeved,
white, Empire-waisted dress that reached the ground with
chiffon ruffles on the sleeves and sash down the front. The
back had a cool touch with its crisscrossing, satin ribbons.
Nat wanted me in black so I found a satin slip dress
with lace overlay. I was a tiny bit jealous. While my prom
dress was amazing, it still made me sad that I didn’t get to
have my own wedding dress. Mamma’s shift was beautiful
and I was so surprised and happy that she gave it to me for
our binding ceremony, but it would have been nice to
actually be able to plan my own wedding. I still thought of
it as the best night of my life so far though.
The flowers were taken care of as well. Each of the
flowers she was using in her bouquet had special meanings
in witchcraft: irises for promise, blue violets for a promise
to be faithful, pink primrose to say you can’t live without
each other, and white roses to tell your love that you will be
true to their heart. She also decided to adorn the altar with
ivy for marriage and lily of the valley mixed in to express
that they complete each other’s lives. She didn’t know yet,
but I planned to present her with some lavender at the
ceremony to wish them luck.
“I’m surprised you weren't here at the crack of dawn to
pick it up,” I said. “The ceremony is tomorrow.” I couldn’t
believe the day was already here. I was incredibly excited
for my best friend to have her dreams come true. She had
been in love with Jack since we were fifteen.
“We were moving Jack’s stuff in. The only thing he
didn’t bring was his bed. He’ll sleep at home tonight of
course,” she added, looking at my mamma.
“Of course,” Mamma nodded with a smirk.
“What’s that look for?” I asked.
“I am not so naïve to believe…” she trailed off.
“Whoa! Mamma, stop right there. Nick and I never
slept together before our ceremony and neither have Nat
and Jack.” I was seriously offended.
“You expect me to believe you spent a week alone with
him in Mexico without anything happening?” she raised her
eyebrows at me. “I saw the way he looked at you before.”
Nat started laughing. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t
think of anything to say for a minute. “We slept in a bed
together sure, but he stayed above the covers. I swear. I
wasn’t ready to take that step. And I’m glad we waited. It
made it that much more special,” I finally recovered.
She kissed me on the forehead and said, “I’m so glad
you waited.”
“Wait a sec, are you telling me you and Babbo…” I
couldn’t bare to finish the thought.
“Oh barf. I don’t know if I can handle this
conversation,” Nat said. “I suddenly have things to do.”
She practically ran out the back door.
“We really should not be having this conversation.
Things were different when we were younger living in
Italy,” she turned away from me and went back to sorting
her herbs.
“Oh yuck. Can I please have a lunch break now?” I
didn’t bother to wait for an answer. Instead, I walked out
the front door to the end of the block and around the corner
to the restaurant.
Nick smiled as I walked in to the kitchen. He picked me
up and kissed me deeply. “Oh, Aberto, remember when we
were so young and in love?” Daniela said from the
doorway to the kitchen. I quickly pulled away from Nick,
not realizing we had an audience.
“What do you mean woman? We are still young and in
love,” Aberto smiled widely at her as she walked around
the counter to his side.
“Do you mind if I steal my Alpha for lunch?” I asked.
“Well, when you put it that way, of course,” Aberto
agreed.
I tugged on Nick’s hand as he removed his apron and
pulled him to the dining room. I sat in one of the booths in
the very back corner that was usually reserved for our
family and friends. “Oh my gosh, you have to hear the
conversation I just had with Mamma. I’m nauseous.”
“Oh no, what’s wrong?” Nick asked, worried. I
proceeded to tell him and he frowned. “Ugh, why did you
have to tell
me
about it? In the future, keep stuff like that to
yourself.”
“Sorry, we share everything in this marriage,” I
grinned. “For better or worse.” He shook his head at me
and asked if I was hungry. Roberto showed up just then
with some pasta covered in the sauce Nick bought in
Ventimiglia at the market. “Any success in replicating it
yet?” I asked.
“I’m still missing something,” he furrowed his brow.
“You’re a genius in the kitchen; you’ll figure it out soon
enough. Oh, by the way, I saw Gia today.”
“Really? In the store?”
“Yeah, she came by to get some stuff for Rosetta. I was
nice, trying to give her another chance, but something is
off.”
“Oh, how so?”
“She was getting some weird stuff. I can’t shake the
feeling that it was actually for her and not Rosetta.”
“What kind of weird stuff?” Nick furrowed his brow at
me again.
“Well, like some love spell herbs.”
“That could just be for Rene,” he interrupted.
“No way. He was already all over her before we left.
She wouldn’t need anything like that for him,” I argued.
“Luca maybe?”
“No, he was attracted to her too. It’s gotta be for
someone else. Rosetta wouldn’t be using those things.”
“Well, leave it be for now,” he said, nuzzling my neck.
“Hey, I could get out of here for awhile.”
“As tempting as that is, I have to get back to the store.”
Nick gave me his best pout, but I ignored him and pushed
him out of the booth. “Like Daniela would ever let you
leave before dinner service.”
“She loves you—probably more than me. If I told her
you needed me to leave for awhile, she would let me.”
“Raincheck,” I said. “I really should help Mamma back
at the store. It’s shipment day and we still have some
organizing to do.”
I left Nick, shouted farewells to the family and headed
back to the store. Mamma and I worked in peaceful silence
while we stocked shelves and filled bins. She wanted me to
try on the dress for Nat’s ceremony so I slipped into her
office and changed.
“Oh Piccola, you are such a beautiful woman,” she said,
her eyes getting a little misty. “No wonder Nico is so in
love with you.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to change. As I bent
over to pick my shirt up off the chair, I saw something that
had fallen out of Gia’s box on the floor. It was something I
had only ever seen in a force spell, a spell used to control
the will of another person. Now I knew for sure she was up
to something. And that something wasn’t good.
I went to Nat’s apartment when I got home that night,
much to Nick’s disappointment. I had to tell someone who
would understand about my discovery. Jack answered the
door.
“Um, excuse me but it’s the night before the wedding.
What are you doing here?” I grilled him.
“Just moving the last of my stuff. I’m leaving right
now,” he smiled.
“You look so guilty right now and by the swollen lips of
my best friend over there on the couch, I’m thinking you
haven’t just been ‘moving your stuff’.” Jack blushed,
shrugged and walked around me out the door.
“What’s up buttercup?” Nat asked innocently as I
plopped down on the couch next to her.
“Something weird happened at the store today before
you came by,” I started. I told her about Gia stopping by
and the things I found in her box.
“I knew it!” Nat exclaimed. “That skank is up to
something bad. I never trusted her. Just waltzing in and
attaching herself to our group.” We discussed what she
might be up to for a bit before Nick knocked on the door
and let himself in.
“Can I please have my wife back?” he begged.
“Of course,” Nat smiled. “I’ll think about it and see
what wicked ideas I can come up with and get back to
you.”
“What’s she talking about now?” Nick questioned as he
opened our apartment door.
“We were talking about Gia showing up at the store. I
didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, but I found something
that fell out of her box. It’s used in spells to control
someone’s will.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Nick agreed.
“Finally coming around to my side, huh?”
“I’m always on your side, Bella. Now, come to bed
with me,” he threw me over his shoulder and I screamed as
he carried me down the hall to the bedroom.