MASON
The whispers and murmurs slowly reduced as the pack members began to leave but they still looked confused as they didn't understand what was going on. Some looked guilty for falsely accusing Isobel while others looked like they weren't convinced, but no one could question Ophelia's decision because of how much they feared her.
In no time, they had all gone, leaving just me, Ophelia and Isobel who was still standing in the center of the room where my mother had put her. "You can go," Ophelia said to Isobel with a smile on her face that I was yet to get used to.
Isobel stared at me for a moment before she turn around and walked away, and now, it was just my mother and I in the empty space.
We stayed quiet and neither of us said a word for a long while and after what seemed like forever, Ophelia stood up to leave. She didn't even look at me, she just stood up and headed towards the door. It made me anger and before I could stop myself, I spoke up. "Is there nothing you have to say to me?"
She stopped and for a moment, she didn't turn around, she just stood there with her back facing me. Then she finally turned, and she looked at me with cold eyes that I couldn't read.
"No," she simply said.
That one word shouldn't have bothered me and made me to stop asking questions, but it did.
I stood up and took a step forward while I clenched my fists to control myself. "I don't understand what you're doing," I said quietly but she could tell that I was serious. "One second, you hate her, and the next minute, you're standing up for her." I took another step closer and looked into her eyes so I could understand what she was thinking. "What are you up to?"
Ophelia sighed like she was already tired of me and my questions. Then, to my surprise, she walked towards me and lifted her hand to me, then she gently caressed my cheek like she used to when I was a little boy.
"Son," she murmured and slightly tilted her head, "have you forgotten the real reason why you came here in the first place?"
I froze as I heard her words and then I realized that everything she was doing meant to manipulate me. I knew it but I didn't pull away from immediately. I let her question hang in the air before I finally took a step back and broke the contact between us.
I didn't answer her and it was clear that she didn't want me to answer.
She carefully studied me for a moment before she continued calmly. "It's like you're forgetting your priorities, Mason." She folded her arms over her chest and looked at me like I was a child that had messed up. "You came here to take revenge. You came here to take back what rightfully belongs to you."
I clenched my fists and took in a deep breath. "I don't have memory loss," I said calmly. "I remember exactly why I'm here."
She smiled coldly and her eyes were dark. "Then why are you wasting time?" She took a step closer and slightly lowered her voice. "Or has something shifted your attention?"
Her eyes were filled with suspicion as she stared at me, and I knew exactly what she was thinking about.
This was about Isobel.
"It's nothing like that," I quickly denied her claims in a calm and controlled voice so I wouldn't give anything away. "You should know me by now. I don't act impulsively."
She studied me for a moment before she nodded. "Good." She smiled again and this time, she looked relaxed. "I trust you, Mason."
That was a lie and I knew it but she was in a good mood now, and I needed to use that to my advantage.
I sighed and leaned against the table and then I crossed my arms. "Then tell me," I said casually so she wouldn't think that I was interrogating her. "What are you up to?"
Ophelia's smile remained on her face and it even became wider as she stared at me like she had been waiting for me to ask her.
She took a step back and looked around as if to be sure that we were alone and then she said, "One day, I saw Isobel in the gazebo," she said quietly. "She was alone, but she wasn't just sitting there."
I frowned to hide my curiosity as I didn't want to seem to interested in Isobel. "What do you mean?"
She looked at me and smiled. "She was controlling the water."
I froze in shock. "What?"
"She didn't notice that I was watching her," Ophelia continued in a quiet voice. "But the water moved when she lifted her hand. It was like it was obeying her."
My mind immediately went back to the night in her room when the glass of water on the table was shaking and how she tried to play it off by saying that the table was probably not balance. Was it an accident? Or was something else?
I didn't know but Ophelia seemed to be so sure and from the look on her face, she had already come to her own conclusion.
"If she has powers," she murmured, "then she will be useful to us."
I felt my stomach churn when I heard her words and I couldn't even come up with a reply.
She turned to face me, and her eyes were sharp and calculating. "Make her trust you, Mason."
I just stared at her, unable to say a word.
"Get close to her," she said softly and she smiled widely. "And when the time is right, we'll exploit her."
Then, without another word, she turned and walked away. I remained where I was, my body felt tense and my heart raced. I didn't know what to do and Ophelia had just given me an order but I had no idea if I could follow it.