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Dear Amelia,

I never got around to summoning Jordan. But when he heard that Erica and Jason were at Black Forest, he went to check things out. He was already there by the time we got back and I caught him up on what happened. Sadie told us that she placed an attachment on Colton so she could keep an eye on him too.

Grandpa informed us that Katrina got away. But she was in bad shape. You know how ruthless Grandpa can be. He nearly ripped off her face. Literally, as per family tradition. I fancied the throat, but I wasn’t opposed to the face.

After catching up, I went back to Willow Lake to have Farrah remove the cloak before I confronted Erica and Jason.

When we got to the dungeon, my parents told me that they were still unconscious. According to my dad, my mom tortured them each time they woke up. I felt proud, because she was defending me as her daughter, not as the queen. But I also needed answers, so I had to wake them up.

Amelia, these next parts are going to be hard to hear. Just like it’s hard to explain. But I’ll do my best.

I took Jordan and Devyn with me and went to Erica’s cell first. As soon as she woke up, she begged Devyn to save her. She insisted she didn’t do anything wrong.

Erica was blind. She said a witch took her eye sight and her wolf was blocking her out, so she couldn’t use hers. Even in the state she was in, she was still hostile towards me. Devyn tried to talk some sense into her, but she didn’t listen. Her hate for me ran deep.

She insulted me. It didn’t bother me because I was used to it. But then she insulted Devyn too, calling him weak, and that pissed me off. Devyn slapped her. Not because she called him weak, but because she called me a bitch and admitted to wanting and trying to kill me.

Jordan and Devyn both wanted to kill her. And the combined pressure from their auras actually broke some of her bones. But I had to stop them. This wasn’t their revenge to take. Plus, Erica was someone who was once close to Devyn. I couldn’t let him kill her. And I was sure he didn’t know about her involvement in my bullying. No one ever physically hurt me in front of him. They usually just gave me dirty looks if he was around.

I didn’t want to kill her at first because I needed answers. And I would rather her rot in prison for everything she’s done. But she was stubborn. She’d rather die. As much as I wanted to kill her, answers were more important than her dying at the moment. So we did it the hard way.

Amelia, before I get to the rest, I want to let you know that this is where I lost myself. In more ways than one. It wasn’t the same as when I lost James. Erica was broken down so bad, and I was barely getting myself together. I was fragile. I was a young twenty six year old who had no control over my emotions.

For so long I bottled everything up. Seeing Erica and Jason still hating me the way they did made me snap. It was more than hate. And talking with her, there were things I didn’t remember that came up too. I was overwhelmed. That’s why it’s so hard to tell you the next part.

~Mom

MJ. B