Alpha Divided

Raphael leaned against the wall. “I thought you left because you lost your powers.”

Rosa murmured a quick prayer in Spanish. “No. That’s not true. Luciana tried to take my abilities. That’s when my sister, your abuela, left to go stay with Tessa’s mother.” She wheezed a breath that was so shaky it made my lungs ache in sympathy, and turned to me. “When you were born, Tessa, my sister named you heir, and then kept you safe. Apart. You had to be strong before you came back or Luciana would try the same with you.”

I knew most of that, except for the whole magic-stealing part. That sounded really bad. I didn’t even know it was possible. “How can she take power from someone else?”

“Not easily, mijita. Not very easily.” Rosa patted the cushion next to her, and I sat. “Now I have a question for you.”

It seemed only fair. “Sure.”

“What did you think when you saw Dastien for the first time?”

“Mine.” The word was out of my mouth before I could think about it too much. Sure, that was what I thought now, but was it really what I’d thought when I first saw him?

That day, I’d definitely had the feeling that my life was about to change. When I saw him, it wasn’t like he was a stranger. It was like I already knew him. And I didn’t want to be apart from him. I wanted him to be mine.

“You really thought that when you saw him?” Daniel asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess I did.”

“Wow,” Claudia said. “The coven always sets up matches seen in future visions. You were supposed to be with Daniel. That’s why we were so surprised when you were bitten. Why so many are eager to follow Luciana in the fight to get you back. We all thought that you’d gone off the intended path.” She sat in the blue velvet chair across the room from Daniel. “This gives me so much hope. Maybe I don’t have to be with…”

I wanted to ask Claudia who she was supposed to be with and why she didn’t want that, but Rosa grasped my hand as she lowered her glasses. “Just like you knew with Dastien. Like you knew with the tamales. The visions will come when they will. They’ll show you what you need when you’re off the path, but by the time you see them, it might be too late to change the outcome.” She relaxed back against the couch. “As the pack and the coven fight and the humans become aware of us all—you will have to play a careful balancing act. You are unique in that you’re not just human or Were or bruja, but all three. You will be the touchstone for many.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I don’t want that much power.”

“Fighting your destiny will only cause discord for everyone.” She cupped my cheek and I met her gaze. “Mijita. This is in your hands. You can choose to remain stubborn and resist or surrender to your gifts and move forward. You decide.”

“I’m not even a very good witch. I can’t do the most basic things. Are you sure I’m the one?”

“I’m very sure. So was your Grams.” Rosa turned to Daniel. “What were you teaching her?”

“We started with knots and a basic protection spell. Every glass that she tried it on turned to dust. Not just broken or shattered, but a fine powder.”

“And what were you thinking as you were doing this?”

I shrugged. “Don’t break.”

“Aye. See. There is your mistake. You think ‘don’t break,’ and your mind focused on the breaking part. Try again, only this time, believe that the glass will be muy duro. Uno momento.” Rosa got up and went to the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back carrying a crystal goblet. “This belonged to my abuela. It’s one of the only things I have of hers. You will make it strong. And then you will see.”

I leaned away as she tried to hand it to me. “No. No way. I destroyed a whole box of glasses. No way am trying it with something so valuable to you.”

“If there is no risk involved, you won’t try your best. I won’t hate you if you break it, but I will be sad.” She held the glass out to me. “You will do this thing. You will believe in yourself. And I will be proven right.” She poked a finger at her heart. “I know it here. I feel that it’s true. So much so that there can be nothing else that happens.”

This all sounded nuts. That said, she’d been right about how to break the curse on Meredith. It’d taken me a bit to understand what Rosa meant for me to do. I hadn’t quite gotten it at first, but I figured it out eventually. I had to believe that this time would be the same.