Read Ellida for Free Online

not every female child of a
wizard and werewolf union becomes an Ellida? That there’s much more
required than just a proper bloodline?”
    “Is that what happened to her?”
    “Yes. Her mother’s a werewolf, her father was
a wizard. They were sure Heather would be an Ellida. The physical
signs were there—she had some considerable wizard skills and her
transformation was delayed. But she lacked the most important
‘ingredient’—the inner beauty, strength, humanity, maturity,
balance. She didn’t have that spiritual component which makes an
Ellida such a powerful force of life at its best.
    “Silly thing wanted power and position, all
the wrong things. When she turned into a werewolf the first time,
she lost most of her wizard skills. She’s barely an enchanter now.
As a wolf, she’s small and submissive, although generally,
nothing’s wrong with that. Most werewolves are submissive on some
level and dominant on others, except for the Alpha pair. That’s the
natural order of things. The problems start when somebody wants to
break that order. Anyway, that was a heavy blow for Heather, and
unfortunately, made her even more bitter.”
    Physically, Peyton didn’t resemble her
mother, and I doubted that their personalities were similar. “Is
Heather married? Who is Peyton’s father?” I asked.
    “She’s never been married. Peyton’s father
was a werewolf from Copper Ridge. He was a nice man. Soon after
Heather got pregnant, he left for Finland. Seth Withali sent him
there. Anyway, according to the official version, Kincaid got
killed in the local clan conflict there. Heather wasn’t devastated
by his death.”
    She stopped and locked her soft, amber eyes
on mine. “You’ll hear it sooner or later, so better if I tell you.
Heather’s convinced herself that your father was the love of her
life. They had a fling, before he married your mother, at least
that’s how Hal felt about it. Of course, Heather hated Rowena’s
guts when Hal brought her here, and Hal, and pretty much everybody
else.”
    I let out a dry laugh. “And now she’s
probably telling everyone that I’m a fake Ellida because I’m
Rowena’s daughter.”
    “Yeah, something like that,” Betty said and
patted my hand. “Nobody likes her here, so thanks to her, you’ve
already got an army of supporters. She could’ve done far more
damage if she’d been smart enough to support you.”
    I wanted to know more about Peyton, but I
didn’t want to ask directly. If there were a history between Jack
and her, Betty would leave it to Jack.
    “I noticed you all like Peyton,” I said.
    “She is a part of this family, Astrid. She
had a sad childhood until James took her under his wing. She’s a
good, smart girl. See, werewolves are very devoted to their
children. They are the very core of our life. Peyton’s mother is an
emotionally incapacitated person. Peyton’s never had her
unconditional love and support, no matter how hard she tried. It
was impossible to get Heather’s love when she wasn’t able to give
it to anybody… Yes, Peyton’s very special to us.”
    “But they came together.”
    “That was the only way for Heather to come to
our house. She’s not welcome, and she knows that. Peyton, on the
other hand, still tries to make sense of her relationship with her
mother, and Heather abuses it.”
    I was glad Betty couldn’t read my mind,
because right now I was ashamed for being jealous and angry. I
still felt little pangs in the pit of my stomach. I knew I should
be more noble and unselfish, I told myself, but I was a woman in
love. Moreover, I was a werewolf in love and therefore possessive
and with poor control over the green-eyed monster.
    To my credit, I didn’t pity Peyton. Against
all odds, she hadn’t become an angry, miserable person like her
mother. She was smart, pretty and well liked. I just hoped she
would soon find somebody who would love her back.

 
     
Five
Astrid
     
    WHEN I was a child, I loved princess