Diana's lips moved, but Ivy heard nothing except ringing in her ears. The world closed in on her. Her vision tunneled until Diana was all she saw. Her knees threatened to buckle and send her tumbling downward. 'Your mother' echoed in her mind like a broken record. She had been right; this was her grandmother. The shock that rendered her speechless morphed into anger.
"Why? Why did you?" Ivy cut off whatever Diana has been trying to say.
Diana rested a hand on Ivy's shoulder, but Ivy recoiled from the touch. Her grandmother tried to gloss over the hurt with a small smile, but Ivy saw through the façade.
"When you moved here and your mother found out, she swore me to secrecy," Diana said, returning her hand to her side. She motioned for the park bench. "Let's sit down and talk. Please."
Ivy followed Diana to the bench and folded her legs under her. She tightened her jacket against her frame, the collar rubbing along her jawline. She pressed it back to avoid the wool and the irritation it brought to her skin. She longed to itch where the scratchy fabric had been, but she focused on Diana's moving lips to distract her.
"She didn't want you in the magical world nor us – your grandparents – in your life." Diana released a heavy sigh, a breath she'd been holding for decades. "I knew you'd find your way, but I respected her wishes even if I didn't agree. I couldn't leave you floundering. The shop was my gift to you. If I couldn't be there to guide you on your journey, at least you'd be surrounded by plants that would help."
The admission sent Diana's body into an ease. Her shoulders rolled back and released their tension as she observed her granddaughter. Ivy wondered what it would be like to talk to your granddaughter after so many years of watching on the sidelines. How many times had they crossed paths but Diana's promise kept her from reaching out? Ivy told herself that she would remember a face like Diana's, but now she wasn't sure. If she hadn't been looking for Diana, told for so long that she had no family, would she have even spotted for the similarities?
"You were the anonymous donor?" Ivy's voice caught in her throat, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. "Why did you never say anything or leave a hint?"
"Because I gave your mother my word," Diana replied sternly, her mouth thinning into a hard line. She brushed a hand over her curls and composed herself, her face softening. "Yet here you are. You found me. Gaia would be having a fit if she knew I was telling you any of this."
"Gaia..." Ivy didn't understand. She'd never heard that name. Her mother went by Gale and always had.
"Your mother. That's her birth name." Diana squared up to Ivy and took Ivy's hands in her lap. Ivy looked down at the embrace but didn't yank them back. Diana seemed to notice too, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "This is a lot to take in, but I'm so happy you found me. There's so much more to discuss."
"I have so many questions," Ivy leaned forward. She had wished for family all her life, complete with grandparents and cousins. While she didn't know if she had any of the latter, at least she had found the former. It's not that her mother wasn't enough. No, not at all. Gale was more than enough, but something always tugged at the back of Ivy's mind, pushing her to wonder if there were more Vales out there.
"I know, my darling." Diana cupped Ivy's cheek. Ivy didn't flinch but rather leaned into the warm touch. "I must be going though. We shall talk soon."
Standing up, Diana bid Ivy one last longing look. Decades of sadness, curiosity and love flooded her eyes. Ivy reached for Diana's hand, but her grandmother moved quicker. She gave Ivy a nod and rushed toward the other side of the street, getting lost in a sea of people.
How many years did Diana keep this secret? Why was her mother so hell bent on keeping Ivy from knowing the truth? These questions and more mulled around in her mind and sent her into shock. They swirled around like a category-five hurricane and destroyed all the boxes she had neatly tucked away. What else had been hidden from her?
Every thought she had about her mother, her ancestry and her powers was being ransacked and destroyed. She'd have to evaluate this level of betrayal from her mother. On top of that, Ivy knew Gale – or Gaia – was hiding so much more. Ivy's whole life had been built off a lie.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ivy about jumped out of her skin at the voice. Her hand hovered over her beating heart as if it could calm it down. Griffin occupied the seat where her grandmother had just been sitting. She still couldn't comprehend that she even had a grandmother. He watched her with a lopsided smile but also a careful eye.
"You should know better than to scare a witch," she playfully admonished, smoothing down the front of her sweater and jacket.
"Easier said than done." Griffin laughed, resting an arm on the back of the bench. When he looked at Ivy this time, his gaze softened. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know, all good." She busied herself in her purse to avoid him and pulled out a pack of fruity gum. She offered a piece to Griffin, who took it. When she finally set her eyes on his, she felt him seeing through her bullshit answer.
"I just got some..." She racked her brain for the right word. How do you describe discovering your grandmother after never knowing you had one? "...Perplexing news."
"Care to talk about it?"
Ivy paused midway through shaking her head. If she didn't talk about this, it'd eat her up day by day. She'd update Marina eventually, but she didn't want to put too much on her best friend's plate. Marina still grieved the loss of Calliope. Plus, Ivy threatened to tear at the fabric of the Pentacle if she kept hiding secrets. If she talked to Griffin, it'd unload the burden, marginally but better than nothing. It didn't count if she told him, right?
"I, I found my maternal grandmother," Ivy whispered, her fingers playing with the edges of her coat. She ran a thumb over the seams, taking in how they snaked in and out of the fabric, like the secrets that wove themselves into her tapestry of life.
"There was one to find?" The bench croaked under the weight of Griffin shifting.
"Apparently so." The words whipped out so quickly she swear she heard a crack. She looked to the side. "Sorry, I don't mean to snap. It's been a long week."
"Being abducted does that to people," Griffin attempted the joke, earning a side eye from Ivy. "My bad. Just trying to inject some humor. Too soon?"
"Too soon, though I appreciated the attempt. It could have been a solid dad joke," Ivy replied. A smirk danced at the corner of her lips. "But sleeping in a dirt cave sure does wonders, or rather damage, on your circadian rhythm."
"Am I allowed to laugh?" Griffin asked between tight lips. When Ivy burst into giggles, he followed suit. His laughter rumbled deep from within his chest and reverberated through the bench. The infectious nature made her giggle harder.
"So, your newly discovered grandmother," Griffin said as their laughter settled. "Who is she?"
"Diana Vale, the recently appointed elder by your pack leader."
Her answer left him speechless. The kind of speechless where his mouth hung open and he turned toward her slowly. Her eyes roamed over the planes his face, noticing the small dimple in the crook of his cheek. He had a faded scar over his left eyebrow that was only visible when sitting so close to him. His usual stubble was closer to a beard status and started to trail down his neck.
Memories of his last visit to the shop tugged at her mind, including a vivid one of her lips tracing that very jawline. The warmth grew in the pit of her stomach. Closing her eyes, Ivy shook her head to rid herself of the recollection, but she found Hunter waiting for her behind her eyelids. A devilish grin lined his lips and drove her over the edge. Ivy hopped off the bench as if something had stung her.
"You good?" His arms flew forward as if to catch her.
"No, yes, yes I'm good," she breathed retaking her seat. The vision of her ex-boyfriend had been so real, but she hoped it was merely a manifestation of her guilt. "Diana, yes, she's my grandmother. Confirmed it moments ago."
"Your mother never mentioned her?"
"Nope," she popped the p and crossed her arms over her chest, "nor did she even mention her real name either. Turns out the name she's signed on just about everything, including fieldtrip permission slips, isn't her real name." Her breaths came out faster and more ragged, and she rubbed her hands up and down her thighs.
"How could she have lied all these years?" Ivy raised her head to the darkening clouds. Pain and power ripped through her. "Better yet, why did she lie and keep this all from me?" Vines crept over the back of the bench and up her legs. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Ivy heard it all, knowing she had caused the oncoming storm, but she was lost to the throes of anger. "My own mother hid a part of me from myself for my entire life. I'm still trying to figure out how she succeeded. Either way, it doesn't take away from the fact that she did it. She stole the truth and what could have been my future."
Silence stretched between them. Her uneven pants and the roar of thunder provided the soundtrack. The vines nearly covered her completely, but Ivy had grown oblivious to them as if they were a second skin. All she saw was her mother standing before her holding the hand of a younger Ivy.
Griffin placed a hand on her shoulder. The vines stirred under his touch, but they didn't lash out at him. One ventured away from its mother and wound around his palm and up his forearm.
The warmth from his touch pulled Ivy from the brink. The clouds lightened from their stormy color to a heather gray, reminiscent of her sweater. The vines crawled back to wherever they came from. The one that linked Griffin and Ivy departed last and left him with a gift in the form of a red mark. She rested a hand over his and twisted to meet his gaze.
"Thank you," she murmured under her breath, only for the ears of a werewolf.
"I don't have the answers, but I'll be here when you do." Griffin sat back, returning his hand to his lap. His touch had done enough, the heat remaining on her skin for a few seconds longer before fading away. "Your mother may have a reasonable explanation."
"I don't know about –"
"Griffin!" A voice shouted from across the street. "Dude, let's go!"
Their heads turned to see who had interrupted them. Griffin relaxed once he registered who had called. Ivy squinted her eyes to focus, but she could only make out his build and dark hair.
"You still coming?" the voice had gotten closer. Ivy could make out a few more distinguishing features, but she didn't recognize him. "Everyone's already there."
"Ro, I'll be right there!" Griffin shouted back and stood up. This 'Ro' turned around and headed down the street he had appeared from. "A group of us were heading to Little Italy. Feel like joining?"
"I don't know..." Ivy fiddled with her earring. Little Italy was werewolf turf. She was nervous enough being seen with him considering what they were. She didn't want anyone to grow suspicious, especially since he had just joined the pack. She couldn't threaten his status in it. They probably didn't fully trust him, leaving him on a probationary period.
"I promise they don't bite," he teased, sparing another glance toward the street. "They won't sense a thing." Griffin sent her a knowing look.
"It's totally okay if not. No pressure," he followed up, scratching the back of his neck. "I know it's been a rough time."
Ivy weighed her options. She could sit here and keep wallowing or go home and do the same. Little Italy might be the perfect distraction. She'd be able to push everything back just a bit longer. She never did like to face her problems head on.
"Yeah, okay, that'll be nice." Ivy hauled her purse onto her lap. Her phone had lit up at the movement to reveal one missed call and a voicemail.
"Great." Griffin grinned, extending a hand. The jacket hitched at the moment, too short for his arm. With shoulders as broad as his, the back probably threatened to split down the middle.
"I'll meet you there." Ivy shook her head at his hand as she grabbed her phone. "I have a voicemail."
"Who leaves those anymore?" Griffin chuckled, walking backward.
"Apparently some people still do," Ivy retorted before adding, "Save me a slice!"
He snorted. "There might not be much left with our appetites."
Rolling her eyes, she waved him off. She slid the voicemail notification to the right and brought the phone to her ear, watching Griffin saunter down the street. He glanced over his shoulder a few times to reassure himself that she was still there, and each time she gave him a smile and wave.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry I missed your calls." Ivy went rigid at the familiar voice, her palms growing clammy. "I really hope you haven't talked to your grandmother yet. I was hoping to catch you first. There's so much to tell you."
The phone slipped out of her hands and into her lap. A daze washed over her as the rest of the message played. Ivy was too stunned to listen to her mother ramble on about the truth and how sorry she was. The words swam in front of her. Diana had been telling the truth, though not that Ivy had doubted her. Hearing the truth from her own mother felt like a slap in the face. Ivy's body buzzed from head to toe with an electric energy.
Throwing the phone to the bottom of her bag, Ivy rose from the bench and started for Little Italy. She'd deal with her mother's betrayal anther day. A distraction called her name. Who was she to deny it?
A/N
(10/31/2020) Technically these two chapters are supposed to be together (40 and 41), but I broke them up because it would have been over 4,000 words. I didn't want it to be too much so I broke it up :)
Oh my god! The back half of last chapter.
Teehee.
Thanks for all the love!