Destiny Revealed (8 page)

“A secret?” Gia asked.
“Okay, can we be done with this already?” I begged.
“No way, it’s a cool story. Keep going, Luca,” Dash

said.
“Well, it was like the spell bounced off Nick. He and
Sofia were holding hands, and how’d you put it, Nick? You
felt her magic?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Nick said. He could tell I
was uncomfortable and didn’t offer further explanation.
“He tried to break their love with another stupid spell
when the first one didn’t work, but Sof deflected it,” Luca
continued.
“What? How?” Gia was way too curious.
“She’s strong on her own. So Carlo and Angelo tried to
attack Nick, but he went and punched Ky in the face.
Angelo and our friend Marco tried to curse Sof at the same
time,” Luca continued.
“But guess what happened?” Dash said eagerly. Gia just
shook her head. “She blew Marco away, blinded Angelo,
and busted up Carlo’s knee. Like all at the same time.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I interrupted. “It really wasn’t
a big deal.”
“Of course it is. You’re like the baddest witch I know.
You saved my boy,” Dash argued.
“He was doing just fine handling himself,” I disagreed.
“Enough!” Nat shouted. “Leave Sof alone. Obviously
Nick is uncomfortable listening to this, and so is she. And
they lived happily ever after. The end.” She glared at Dash
and he quit talking.
“I think that’s my cue,” Luca said. “I still have one
more table.”
I pushed Nick out of the way so I could escape the
booth and almost ran to the bathroom. He started to come
after me, but I heard Nat say, “Let me.” She followed me
into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed, she
wrapped her arms around me. I buried my head against her
shoulder and started crying. “What is that chick’s deal
anyway?” Nat said. “Something is off. Why is she so
curious? I don’t buy this whole ‘oh-we-don’t-live-like-thisso-I-want-to-know-what-it’s-like’ crap.”
I pulled back to stare at my friend. “I sense something
too, but I don’t know what. Is it just because she’s a
goddess and we feel threatened?”
“Hell no,” Nat said. “I know my Jack only has eyes for
me. And Nick would throw himself in front of a train for
you. As far as he’s concerned, you hung the moon and stars.
I just don’t like her. Why is this twenty year old woman
latching onto Rene? And then she’s totally flirting with
Luca! What a skank.”
“Yeah, I’m not happy about that. I’m going to tell Luca
to back away from that one. I don’t even like the idea of
Rene dating her. How long is she even here? Maybe it will
just be a short fling.”
“I think I heard her say something about being here all
summer. Ugh,” Nat rolled her eyes. There was a knock on
the door before Nick let himself in.
“What is with you and girls’ bathrooms?” I asked,
remembering the time he followed me into one at school
when I was upset.
“Tap out,” Nat said as she ducked under his arm out the
door.
I practically collapsed in Nick’s arms. He didn’t say
anything for a minute. “Are you okay, Bella Mia?” he
whispered as he ran his fingers through my hair.
I looked up at him. “I’m fine. I just don’t think we
needed to replay that horrible night in great detail for
someone none of us even know. She shows up out of the
blue and latches onto someone she knew was a werewolf. If
she doesn’t associate with any back home, why is she
suddenly attached to one at the hip?”
“Maybe she just wanted to try something new, like your
mamma said?” Nick tried.
“Yeah right,” I said. “She acts all sugary sweet, but
something doesn’t feel right. And no, I’m not jealous.”
“I wasn’t even going to suggest it. You know you have
no reason to be. I only have eyes for my wife. Now, let’s go
back out, finish up dinner, and go home to pack.”
“Oh yeah,” I actually smiled. “I almost forgot. This will
be so amazing.” He kissed the top of my head and we left
the bathroom. I didn’t say anything or even look at Gia
when we sat back down. I munched on chips and talked
excitedly with Nat about all the things I wanted to do on
our trip.
“You’ll be back for the ceremony, won’t you?” she
asked.
“Of course! You’re almost my sister. I wouldn’t miss it
for anything,” I answered.
“A ceremony?” Gia butted in.
“Yeah, Jack and I are getting bound. Friends only,” Nat
snapped. She turned back to me and we briefly talked about
her dress. She was still trying to decide if she wanted to
wear a traditional witch’s shift or if she wanted a wedding
dress.
If Gia was offended by Nat’s behavior, she didn’t show
it. She and Rene stood to leave. “We’re off to a movie,”
Rene announced.
“Good riddance,” Nat mumbled under her breath. I
elbowed her in the arm.
“I still think you should wear a shift,” I said, turning
back to our conversation.
“If it’s as see-through as yours, Jack is in for a treat,”
Nick added.
“What’s this?” Jack’s face lit up. “I’m all for seethrough.”
“It wasn’t completely,” I argued.
“Enough,” Nick grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Then, I vote yes on that idea,” Jack winked at Nick.
Nat lightly punched Jack in the arm. “You don’t get a
vote,” she said.
“Well, we really should go pack,” I said. “But I can
come over tomorrow before we leave if you need help.”
“Nah, just go off on your magical honeymoon and I’ll
see you when you get back. But call me the second you
land so I can hear all about it.”
“Of course,” I said. “Ciao.” I kissed Nat and Jack both
on the cheek as we headed out the front of the restaurant.

I decided not to call my grandparents to tell them we
were coming. I wanted it to be a surprise. They had only
been to the States once when I was a little girl, but we
talked with them through the computer once a month, so I
knew them well.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” I said to Nick
while I was packing my pink suitcase on the bed.
“I’m looking forward to meeting your nonna and
nonno. Do they speak any English?”
“Nope. So I’ll get to listen to you speak Italian non-stop
for a week,” I grinned.
Nick laughed. He knew how much I loved it when he
spoke to me in Italian. It was almost like I could
feel
his
words. “What do they think about us?”
“When Mamma called Nonna a few days after our
ceremony she didn’t even seem surprised. Hey, do you
think she knew something about us? Like maybe it talks
about it in her book?”
“I’m confused. I thought the book you have was her
book?” Nick scrunched up his forehead like he was
thinking too hard.
“No, Mamma’s book actually came from her bisnonna.
Nonna gave it to her when they left for America.”
“I’m still not following,” Nick said, sitting down on the
bed to face me.
I stopped packing and sat next to him. “Okay, so most
witches have their own Book of Shadows.”
“Book of Shadows?” Nick interrupted.
“Another name for a spell book,” I answered.
“Do you have one?”
“Yeah, but it only has a few spells in it so far that I like.
I’m not very big on writing stuff down. But generally, each
coven has one… I guess master book would be a good
name. And in that book, they keep a history, spells,
prophecies, etcetera. Does that make sense?”
“Okay, I get it. Does that mean your great-grandmother
was a coven leader way back whenever?”
“I can’t believe we haven’t had this conversation yet. I
guess we’ve spent most of our time enjoying each other,” I
grinned. “And getting to know each other of course.”
Nick smiled and said, “Of course. But you’re right. We
haven’t really talked about our people. I mean, you’ve told
me how you do magic and I’ve told you about shifting, but
not much else. So, tell me more.”
I got up and put my suitcase on the chair in the corner
of the room before settling into bed. I was already in my
pajamas for the night so I slipped under the covers and
fluffed my pillow to lean back on against the headboard.
Nick slid over next to me and took my hand in his.
“So, you know how I have my circle?” He nodded.
“Well, several circles make up our coven. Our parents have
their own circle together, too. And our coven is actually
still in Europe. That reminds me that I want to know why
they all came over here. Nonna saw them coming, but I
don’t think Mamma has ever told me if there’s a why
behind it.”
“Yeah, and why would the wolves move here if we
hated you? We’ll have to ask when we get back,” Nick
added.
“I can ask Nonna when we get to Italy. Okay, back to
the coven. Right now, Nonna is the head of our coven.
When she dies, Mamma will lead.”
“Again with the women,” Nick interrupted, smiling.
“Women will take over the world someday, you know.
Anywho, even though Nat and Jack’s parents actually
moved from France, they were all part of the southern
coven. And when they all came to America, they kept their
circle together.”
“My head is spinning, but I’m trying to follow. So, is it
just your parents that are part of the circle? And how does
this all go back to the book your mamma has?” Nick had
his brow furrowed again.
“Sorry, I’m probably all over the place. My parents,
Rosetta, and the other parents of my circle members had
their own circle. Now, without Ky’s and Marco’s parents,
it’s just the others. Luca had his own circle, but those tools
ruined that one so he joined mine along with Helene.
But back to the book, my great-grandmother was the
one to keep the master book for the coven. It was passed
down to her from her mother, and on and on. I will inherit
the book when I become leader. Nonna probably just
wanted Mamma to have it here with her. So, for now, is it
making sense?”
“Sὶ, I think I got it now. Does your mamma have any
brothers or sisters? You don’t have any other family here do
you?”
“She’s the oldest, but she has a younger sister and a
younger brother. We’ll get to meet them while we’re there.
I forgot about that bonus,” I smiled. “I’ve never even met
them, only talked to them on Skype. I have like a ton of
cousins.”
“Crap, I didn’t realize I was meeting the entire family.
What if they don’t like me? Gia said things are still the
same over there.” Nick asked.
“Yeah, but not with my family. When Mamma called
them, they accepted it. And besides, you’re perfect. Of
course they’ll love you. Now, your turn for a story.”
“Uh… what do you want to know?”
“Well, you have leaders and stuff, don’t you? How does
the whole hierarchy thing work with weres?”
“Well, there are two groups of us here. That’s how I
know Beth and Yvette. Don’t make that face.” I sighed. The
sound of Beth’s name made me cringe.
“What? You do the same thing when anyone says
his
name,” I said, referring to Ky.
“Moving on. So there are several packs in Italy in the
Alps and across the mountains in France. We have our
individual packs—like how I have my own and Babbo has
his own—but then we also belong to a larger pack. A
council of sorts, that is in charge of both countries.”
“Okay, so like several circles that make up a coven?” I
interrupted.
“Sὶ, and Babbo is on the council. Three pack leaders
from Italy and three from France make up the council.”
“And what do they do? Are they like the bosses of all of
you?” I teased.
“They just get together to make sure the territories are
safe and we’re all staying hidden from the human world.”
“Why, do some weres ‘come out of the closet’?”
Nick laughed. “There have been a few through the
generations that have taken human partners, so the Council
has to make sure the secret doesn’t go any further than
that.”
“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t realize you were allowed to
take humans as mates.”
“We usually don’t, but then again, no one has taken a
witch mate since Henri and Adelina.” I smiled. “What’s
that look for?” he smiled back.
“Just happy to be here with you. Happy that we
changed things. I love your pack—even Dash.” Nick
chuckled. “And I love that we can all hang out together.
Our differences shouldn’t matter.”
“For a while, I thought I was going to have to protect
Dash from you. You can be one mean witch when you want
to be. I’ve seen it first-hand.” He leaned towards me and
kissed me softly at first, but it quickly turned into more.
Our enlightening conversation was done for the night.
We slept late in the morning since our plane didn’t
leave until really late that night. Mamma called me around
noon to make sure I had my grandparents’ address. “Do
you need the directions?” she asked. I was sitting on the
couch in my pajamas with the TV on pause. Nick was in
the kitchen making meatball subs for lunch.
“No, Mamma. We have smartphones,” I answered.
“Oh yes, I forget. Everything can be done on the phones
now. Can you come over before you leave? I have some
things for your cousins. I want them to have something
from America.”
“Oh sure. We’ll come over after lunch. Is Babbo home
so I can say goodbye?”
“Sὶ, he is working nights again.”
“Okay, great. We’ll see you soon.” I hung up the phone
and told Nick the plan. He brought the sandwiches over and
put them on the coffee table. “Mamma wants us to come
over to get some souvenirs for my cousins. Who knows
what cheesy stuff she bought.”
“Sounds good. Let’s stop by the restaurant after that so
I can say goodbye to my parents.”
“Did you even tell them we were leaving?” I asked.
“I called them while you were in the shower before bed
last night. They’re excited for us. They want us to go north
and visit my family too. But we don’t have to if you don’t
feel like it.”
“No way, of course we’ll go. I’m excited. And if they
don’t like me, I’ll give them all diarrhea or something,” I
grinned.
Nick laughed and said, “I’d love to see that.” I turned
off the TV and practically scarfed my sub down. “I love
that about you.”
“What?” I asked with a mouthful of meatball.
“That you aren’t afraid to pig out in front of me. Most
girls I know act like they never eat anything at all.”
“I’m sure those girls go home and eat a pint of ice
cream in one sitting while they put on their stretchy pants,”
I said with a straight face. Nick laughed again and almost
spit out a chunk of bread.
“By the way, are these homemade meatballs? They’re
absolutely amazing.”
“Like I would ever buy meatballs at the store,” he
looked at me like it was the dumbest thing I had ever said.
I wiped my mouth on a paper towel and went to the
bedroom to get dressed. I opted for a loose V-neck shirt and
yoga pants for the plane so I would be comfortable for the
thirteen hour flight to Nice, France. It was the closest
airport to my family’s home in Ventimiglia, Italy. We would
drive through Menton in France on our way there. It was
where Nat and Jack’s families were from. I decided that we
should stop by and say hello on the way back when our
time in Italy was done.
Nick was already dressed in loose fitting jeans and his
“Always be yourself unless you can be a pirate, then
always be a pirate” T-shirt. He and Dash liked to try and
one-up each other with the goofy T-shirts.
I walked back out to the living room and he asked,
“Comfy?”
“Are you talkin’ smack about my stretchy pants?
There’s no way I’m wearing jeans on a thirteen hour
flight.”
“I wasn’t ‘talkin’ smack’. I was sincerely asking if you
were comfortable enough for the flight,” he said innocently.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay, sure. Let’s just go.” On
the short drive across town to my parents’ house I
suggested that we ask someone to take us to the airport so
we wouldn’t have to leave Nick’s car there for so long. “It’s
brand new and beautiful. I don’t trust those parking lot
attendants to take proper care of it. Haven’t you ever seen
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
?”
“Of course I have. I don’t live under a rock. Do you
really think anyone is going to want to make that drive
down and back just to drop us off?” He brought up a good
point.
“Can’t we just order one of your pack to do it? How
‘bout Dash? He could take Helene and they could make a
whole date of it. See the sites in Phoenix, go clubbing.
There’s a really awesome one there that I love.” That got a
loud laugh out of him.
“You mean all the beautiful cacti they have down there?
Not to mention, it’s like two hundred degrees there right
now.”
“Exaggerate much? I must be rubbing off on you.
That’s totally something I would say,” I smiled at him.
He pulled into the driveway, and as he turned off the car
said, “I bet he’d do it. But you ask him. I think he actually
respects you more than me and he’s probably still annoyed
with how I yelled at him the other day. And you could
mention Helene without it sounding weird.”
We let ourselves in and saw Luca on the couch with an
extra-large bowl of cereal watching
Zombieland.
“Is that
breakfast?” I asked.
“Yup,” he answered with a mouth full of Lucky
Charms.
“Is that a mixing bowl?” I asked, dumbfounded. Nick
laughed as my jaw dropped. Luca just gave me a stupid
grin. “Where’s Mamma anyway?”
“In her room, but you might not want to go in there.
Babbo’s in there with her.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“Uck! Now I’ll have that image in my head, stupido.”
Just then Mamma came out and asked, “What lies is
this boy telling you about me?”
“That you and Babbo were…” I couldn’t bring myself
to say it.
“Luca Morini!” she yelled in her best Italian mom
voice.
“We were talking about when to kick you out of the
house,” Babbo said as he walked in the room. I tried to
stifle a laugh.
“What? But you said if I got a job I could stay.” Milk
dribbled down Luca’s chin as he said it.
“No, Mamma told you that. Not me.”
“Do it!” I jumped in. “It’s about time he learned how to
be an adult.”
“Hey, you stay out of it, traitor. I’m always on your
side,” Luca frowned at me. “Where would I go?”
Mamma put her hand on Babbo’s arm and said to Luca,
“No, he is joking, I will never kick out mio bel bambino.”
Nick and I started laughing and Luca gave me a dirty look.
“What? Why do you laugh? He is my baby and so are you.
I don’t care if you are twenty or sixty, you will always be
my babies.”
“But you will start paying rent,” Babbo cut in. “Look at
how much you eat!”
“What? I’m a growing ‘bambino’,” Luca said with a
goofy grin.
“Um, we don’t have all day. Can we get these trinkets
you want us to take to Italy?” I reminded Mamma why we
were standing there.
“Sὶ, I will get them.” She left the room and Babbo stood
behind Luca on the couch to see what he was watching.
“What is it with the zombies? Always the zombies.” He
shook his head and walked over and kissed me on the
cheek.
Mamma came back quickly with a huge box of
chocolates from the local Alpine Chocolates. It wasn’t what
I was expecting. I thought she would have some cheesy Tshirts or something for my cousins. Underneath the
chocolates, there was a beautiful nature photo of the forest
and mountains behind our house. “Luca took this picture. I
thought they should have a piece of Arizona in Italy to
remember us,” Mamma said.
I turned to Luca, astonished. “Since when do you take
photos?”
He turned from his movie and said, “I’ve been
experimenting with photography lately. I think I might have
finally found something I’m interested in for a career. I’m
going to take a few classes in the fall at the university.”
“Shut-the-front-door!” I practically yelled.
Babbo started laughing. “These expressions you use are
so strange.”
“You’re for reals going to school? That’s so amazing,
Luca.” I walked over and gave him a fist bump.
“It’s really not that big a deal,” he almost looked
embarrassed that I was freaking out about it.
“That’s great, man,” Nick added. “I bet you’ll be great
at it.” Then he turned to me, “Well, we should probably
make sure we are all packed up, Sofia.” Nick and both of
our parents were the only ones I ever let get away with
using my full name instead of the shortened, Sof that
everyone else used.