Chapter 15 : Another Mountain to Climb

*Circe* Circe dragged her feet as she reached the edge of the woods that led to Henry's property. She was afraid to face them all now that she had failed, but she knew she had nowhere else to go. The tears fell automatically and silently down her face. She couldn't believe that she had failed. She couldn't believe that the witch refused her. The sun was starting to set, and the woods were dark, not that Circe minded. She hoped it might help to cover her shame. Everyone would hate her now. She imagined Henry being so furious he might ban her from the pack. Circe wrapped her arms around herself in a soothing manner. She couldn't fully blame him if he chose to go to those extremes. She had ruined everything. Circe felt so full of self-pity and shame, she felt like she might burst. Circe stumbled through the woods trying to balance her steps. She tried to clear the wild thoughts and bring some order to her mind. Everything felt like a mess, one big blur of questions and emotions. She felt like her mind was filled with a small tornado tearing everything to pieces. She was so overwhelmed with it all, she felt almost numb. She walked through the clearing and into Henry's backyard. She kept her eyes on the ground, barely registering the steps she was taking or that she had made it back. Circe was so wrapped in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Ivy was back out by the flowers. Circe continued to stumble along, lost in a daze. The dream of being with Samuel seemed distant and faded now. She couldn't imagine it would ever be possible for them to be together. That thought pushed a new wave of stronger tears from her eyes and another sharp bruising punch into her heart. Not that Samuel would want her anyway, she thought to herself, not after all she had done. "Circe? You're back… much sooner than I expected...." Ivy called out. Circe looked up, barely registering Ivy walking toward her. Ivy reached her and gripped Circe's shoulders, steadying her and helping to keep her body upright. Circe wasn't sure if she was doing it out of compassion or desire for answers. "Goodness, what's wrong with you? What happened?" "She wouldn't do it…" Circe mumbled. Flashes of Raveena's twisted laugh poured through her mind. Circe shuttered at the memory. Her warnings and rejections. She had committed her firstborn child to that monster and for nothing. Circe tried to scream out the pain, but no noise came out of her mouth. Ivy gripped Circe tightly and guided her over to the wooden tables. Ivy pushed Circe into a chair before sitting opposite her. Circe looked down at the cement through the slotted holes in the table. Ivy tucked one foot behind the other and leaned forward on the table. Circe brought her eyes from Ivy's feet to her face. Ivy looked genuinely concerned, almost worried. "Now, start from the beginning and tell me again," Ivy demanded. Circe took a deep breath and tried to focus. She tried to force her mind to relive the terrible experience with the witch. How had she ever thought the witch could be an answer to her problems? Circe felt so stupid now. "I went to the witch as you said. I talked to her, and I begged her to reverse the spell. I offered her anything she could want, but she refused. She said she already got the only thing she wanted from our first deal and refused to help or reverse the spell. Now, I'll never… get a chance to be with… with Samuel." Circe lost herself in tears. She could hardly handle all the pain that swarmed her now. It felt like a dark cloud of aching guilt that pressed down on her chest. She felt sore and icky everywhere. She wanted to lie down–to run into Samuel's arms. She just wanted it all to stop. Ivy paused for a while, thinking. Circe continued to drown in her feelings. "And you're certain there's nothing you can do?" Ivy questioned again. "I tried… everything. I offered her everything. She refused," Circe reiterated. "I don't know what else to do, Ivy." "You need to tell Henry. It's the only option. Perhaps he can help you come up with a way to convince or force the witch to reverse the spell," Ivy responded. She looked off in the distance as if she was lost in thoughts and ideas. The numbness was gone, replaced by fear once again. Her nerves felt like they were racing through her weak body. Circe felt almost sick. She could see the trail now, Henry would be furious and hate her. He would tell Mae, and Mae would tell Samuel. She couldn't handle watching Samuel look at her with disgust and disinterest. She couldn't bear the thought of him knowing the truth about what she had done. "No, no, please don't make me do that. Please don't make me tell him. He already hates me and hates being with me. Please," Circe begged, filled with fear and dread. She reached out and grabbed Ivy's hand. Her vision was blurred, and Ivy seemed hazy. Ivy gave her a sympathetic glance and held Circe's hands in hers. "You have to, Circe! We have to fix this! If she won't listen to you alone, she might listen to a force of us! We could all go together and make her reverse the spell," Ivy barked. The tears poured harder from Circe's eyes, like an uncontrollable faucet. Her face was swollen, and her eyes were puffy. Everything hurt from trying to force out more tears. She could hardly stand it. "Please, don't make me do that. Please," Circe begged again between her sobs. Ivy sighed. She reached over and wiped the river of tears that stained Circe's face. Circe was certain her action made no difference but she appreciated the gesture. "I can't tell him the truth and face his rage. Please." Ivy almost looked as if she might forgo the idea of Circe talking to Henry. But Circe stiffened when she heard footsteps behind her. "If you don't, then I will," Levi growled from behind her. Both women looked up in the direction of his voice. Ivy looked almost shocked to see her husband standing there. "Levi, how long have you been there? What did you hear?" Ivy asked. Levi narrowed his eyes at his wife. "How long have you been listening to this? How long have you known this was all her fault? Now you're sympathizing with her?" Levi questioned. He walked closer to the tables, still holding a strong look of disdain that he shared with both Ivy and Circe. "She feels bad and knows what she did was wrong. She was trying to fix it. She went back to the witch to fix it but–" "She failed, yeah, I heard," Levi finished for her. "We have to tell Henry. He deserves to know. He's losing his mind over this. He has to know he was right; Mae is his mate, and someone messed with the situation. Besides, if anyone is going to help fix this, it'll be Henry. He'll know what to do." Levi sounded so confident, it reminded Circe of Henry. Ivy looked sympathetically back at Circe. "You know he's right. Henry will be mad, yes, but he'll get over it. You have to do the right thing here, Circe. I know you tried by going to the witch, but you can't stop there," Ivy pleaded. "We will go with you to talk to Henry, but we have to do this now." Circe was already shaking her head, the fear and worry were overwhelming. The trail was taking over her mind. Envisioning Samuel never forgiving her was warping her rationality. "What about Samuel?" she found herself questioning. Circe was even a bit surprised at herself, but the trail wouldn't leave her mind. She just imagined Samuel's face when Mae told him the truth. Ivy and Levi exchanged a glance. "Who's Samuel?" Levi asked, taking a seat at the table. He looked back and forth between Ivy and Circe, seeming confused. Circe was surprised Levi hadn't met Samuel before. "He's Mae's cousin. He came by earlier today with Mae to talk to Henry. Circe met him and realized he's her true mate. That's part of what helped her realize she had made a big mistake, and she wanted to fix it," Ivy answered. Levi scoffed and shook his head. "Please, Levi, I've already been through this with her. She feels bad and is trying to fix it. Making her feel worse won't help anything." "Well, then, let's go fix it. Let's talk to Henry. Like Ivy said, we'll be there with you. But we have to tell him. We have to fix this. If the witch won't willingly reverse the curse then… we'll have to make her." The determination of Levi's tone was motivating but not enough to erase the fear that Circe still felt. Levi stood up and Ivy followed. Circe sat paralyzed trying to imagine how the conversation would go, how Henry would vent to Mae when he begged her to come back to him and how Mae would tell Samuel when she told him he was no longer needed here. He would think Circe was a terrible person and disappear forever. "But what about Samuel?" Circe asked again. "Like I said earlier today, you have no chance with Samuel till you fix this. Once the spell is reversed, you can work on things with him. Who knows, maybe he'll be understanding once he sees the lengths you went to in order to make things right," Ivy answered. Circe looked up at her now with a small sense of hope in the darkness. She had a new vision in mind now. Samuel seemed like a forgiving person. He could forgive her, right? It was stupid, but she tried to fix it, and everyone deserved a second chance–she hoped. Circe tried to convince herself this was the truth. After all, he was her mate; he was supposed to be the one to understand her and love her despite her faults. Surely, if anyone could forgive her it would be him. "You really think so?" she asked, taking Ivy's hand and standing up. Circe already felt stronger, thinking of moving on past this whole mess with Samuel. "He's your mate. Anything is possible. I'm sure he'll eventually come around," Ivy answered with a weak smile. "Now, are you ready? Henry is still in the office. We need to do this now." Circe took a deep breath and nodded, letting Ivy and Levi guide her into the house where Henry was waiting. She could be with Samuel; she would be with Samuel. She just had a few more mountains to climb.