POV: SAINT
I woke up feeling significantly better than I did the day before, ready to tackle whatever lay ahead. As I opened my eyes, I noticed Jackson was missing from the bed. A hint of sadness washed over me as I made my way to my room for a shower, awaiting the witch's arrival. I could only guess that he had stepped out to fetxh him.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, prompting me to call out, "Come in." The door creaked open, and Tom entered, carefully securing the door behind him before coming over to sit beside me.
"Hey," he greeted, settling down next to me.
I playfully tousled his hair. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. Are you feeling alright now? Daddy said I couldn't see you because you were sick." He looked up at me with concern.
"Yeah, I'm much better now. By the end of today, I'll be perfectly fine, and we can play together," I reassured him with a smile.
"I'm really sorry for leaving you alone yesterday and going to Aunt Samantha's," he said, sounding as if it were his fault.
"It's okay, Tom. No need to apologize. Like I said, I'll be back to normal by the end of the day, alright?"
He nodded in agreement. "Alright."
"I do feel bad for making you wait outside my door yesterday, though."
"That's alright! I had fun with my toys," he replied, though his expression soured. "But I didn't enjoy my time at Aunt Samantha's."
This caught my attention. "Oh? Why's that?"
"Well..." He hesitated, inching closer. "Uncle Joshua doesn't really like me," he whispered. I flinched at his quiet tone but quickly reminded myself that it wasn't just my imagination. This wasn't Ava.
"How do you know that? Has he done anything to you?"
He shook his head. "Not really. Every time I visit Aunt Samantha's house and see him, he doesn't say a word to me. Once, I asked if we could play together, but he just ignored me."
This made me frown. I didn't know Samantha's mate very well; I had only met him once, and he seemed like just another ordinary guy in the pack. However, he never attended gatherings with Samantha. Once, I asked Jackson about him, and he explained that this was the norm. I didn't press further since Jackson and I weren't particularly close at the time, and it didn't seem worth dwelling on.
"Did you mention it to your dad?"
"No, I have plenty of friends to play with, so it's not a big deal," he replied with a shrug. Even so, I felt compelled to know why he acted that way toward Tom. I mentally added Joshua to my list of people to look into. Mateo had reassured me not to worry, promising that we would figure out Sam's situation once I felt better.
"The witch doctor is here," I heard Jackson call out from the doorway. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink.
"Okay," I replied as I got to my feet.
As Tom and I approached him, he took hold of Tom's hand. "Daddy and Saint have something urgent to deal with. Please stay in your room, alright? Once we're finished, I'll ask Lily and Blake to come see you." Tom smiled, nodded, and dashed off to his room.
"Shall we go?" he asked, and I nodded, following closely behind.
We walked down the hallway in silence until I broke it by asking, "Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept at all. Did I keep you up last night?"
He shook his head. "No, you didn't. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me," he replied, avoiding my gaze.
I kept quiet until we reached the living room, where I spotted Chris, Samantha, and a man who I assumed was the witch.
"Hmm, your mate is quite handsome," the man remarked as we approached.
"That's not why you're here," Jackson replied flatly, causing Chris to chuckle.
"Relax; I was merely giving a compliment," the man said.
"I've filled you in on the situation. What can you do to help?" Jackson asked, steering the conversation back on track.
"I need to hear it straight from him to grasp it fully. From the wolf's own mouth," he chuckled, as if he'd made an inside joke.
"Um, Ava uses a child's voice to whisper in my head, urging me to harm Jackson or myself," I explained.
"When do you hear this voice?" he inquired.
"Anytime. At night, during the day, anywhere."
"And do you know who that child is?" he asked, to which I shook my head.
He nodded slowly and said, "There's not much I can do about this."
The room fell into a heavy silence as Owen's words hung in the air. "What do you mean, Owen? Are you saying there's nothing you can do?" Chris asked, confusion etched on his face.
"Exactly. Ava is communicating with him using a child's voice, but we have no idea who that child is, which limits my options. If we knew the child's identity, I could perform some spells to free both Saint and the child."
"But even if you managed that, wouldn't she just find another child to use?" Jackson interjected.
"No. For a child's voice to be effective, they require months of spells casted—sometimes even up to a year. There are specific preparations needed before their voice can be used."
"So, you're telling me Ava has been casting spells on this specific child for months? What does that even entail?" Chris inquired.
"It involves various things, but that's not where our focus should lie." He shifted his gaze to me, "Can you recognize the voice?"
"No. By the time I come to my senses, the sound of the voice slips away from me."
"So, she cast that kind of spell, huh? She's really smart." he remarked with a sigh.
"Can't you go into his mind to identify the child?" Jackson asked hopefully.
"No, that's a capability few witches possess, and unfortunately, I'm not among them."
"So there's really nothing you can do?" I uttered, my tone devoid of any hope.
"I can only pull you out of the trance, but that's the extent of my abilities."
"Only a witch can bring him back to reality?"
"Yes, either that or if Ava chooses to stop whispering," he confirmed.
He turned to me and asked, "So, how do you break free from it? Does Ava always leave on her own?"
"Yeah—" I hesitated, a frown creeping onto my face. "Wait, did you just say that only a witch can pull me out of it?"
"Yes," she confirmed.
"That's simply not true. Tom has pulled me out of it many times."
"Huh?" The witch looked puzzled.
"Yeah, he has. The very first time it happened, I was headed for Jackson's room when Tom called my name, and just like that, it stopped."
I then looked over at Jackson. "Do you remember that incident at the Pack school? I couldn't respond to anyone until Tom took my hand and brought me back."
"Yeah, he's right," Jackson chimed in.
"Are you absolutely certain?" the witch pressed once more.
I nodded emphatically. "I'm completely certain. Just yesterday, while everyone was at the hospital, Tom waited outside my door. Multiple times, Ava tried to invade my mind and urge me to go outside. But every time I opened the door, Tom would call my name, and I'd snap back to reality."
"Sounds like you don't need me then. Looks like you already have a witch to help you out," he said, shrugging, which left everyone momentarily speechless.
"No, I don't believe you realize who that is. Tom is Jackson's seven-year-old son," Chris explained, pointing to Jackson for more clarification.
"Oh, a child witch?"
"I don't think you're grasping what he means," Jackson interjected. "Tom is my son."
"Ohh," the witch dragged out, "but based on what your mate just explained, that implies Tom is a witch."
An uneasy silence enveloped the room as we all struggled to digest his words. Tom is a witch? That can't be possible.
Owen glanced around at our bewildered and blank expressions, then sighed. "Is the child at home? I need to verify this."
"Tom," Jackson's deep voice resonated through the walls as he called out for his son, a frown settling on his brow. Tom hurried down the stairs and stood beside his father.
"Daddy?" he asked, looking up at Jackson, who forced a small smile before turning his attention back to Owen.
Owen approached Tom, kneeling in front of him. He silently moved his mouth as he extended his hand, palm up, encouraging Tom to place his hand on it. Tom glanced at his dad, and after Jackson nodded, he placed his hands on Owen's palm.
We all watched in silence as Owen's hair began to glow, a grin spreading across his face when the darker side of Tom's mismatched hair illuminated as well. Moments later, their hair returned to normal as Owen stood up.
"Yep, the kid's a witch. A child witch, at that."