Seduced by Innocencey(24)

"Mother, obviously, and every one else here."

"Rose, I'm going to suggest something that I don't think you'll like, but hear me out okay? I love you like a sister. And I'm grateful that your family took me in when mine died. But I don't think your mom raised me out of the kindness of her heart. I think she wanted my powers to feed this group. I'm powerful, in my own way, and I give the coven control over the water element, which they wouldn't have if I weren't around. It's a rare gift, as you know, and she wanted it."

I waited for shock, anger, or defensiveness to rise up in me. I'd been programmed my whole life to agree with Mother, defend Mother, and do whatever Mother said. But it never came. Could I possibly agree with Ocean about Mother? It seemed inconceivable, but there it was.

"So what are you saying?"

"That maybe, your mother is wrong. Maybe her motives have more to do with not wanting to lose your power, than with helping you grow into your own. Rose, the only reason I'm still in this coven is because of you. Otherwise, I would have left a long time ago."

My mind stalled as it tried to process what she'd just said. I couldn't imagine this coven without Ocean, and she'd never once mentioned that she wasn't happy here.

"Are you so miserable?"

"No, not miserable, but I don't think our community is all it's cracked up to be. I do think Rainbow is hiding something. Or at the very least, she's using people. I'm sorry, Rose, I know this is hard to hear, but I have to be honest with you. I was so proud of you when you questioned her about the motives of the Druids, and I didn't buy her B.S. story about them."

I'd totally forgotten about the meeting earlier. Had that just been today? It felt like a lifetime ago after everything that had happened. "I wanted to talk to you about that. I think we should research them and the company they control. We need to find out more about Rose Botanicals and see if we can figure out why they've targeted us."

She squeezed my hand. "I think that's a great idea. So you aren't mad at me?"

I leaned over to hug her. "No, I could never be mad at you. You're my very best friend, Ocean. You're my family."

"I'm so glad. I would never do anything to hurt you. Speaking of—" she pulled back. "I want to take a look at this cut. Maybe I can help it heal."

I pulled Tammy's borrowed sweater off and watched as she peeled back the bandage and whistled.

"That bad?"

"Yes, but wow. That's some impressive stitching. Derek did this?"

"Yes."

"He's a keeper, Rose. Seriously."

Memories of him filled my mind as Ocean channeled her power into me. The scent of him, the feel of his lips against mine. The taste of his tongue in my mouth. The hardness of his body pressed against me.

Ocean replaced the bandage. "That should help with the pain, but it's got a lot of healing to do before you can go bare armed again. Good thing it's winter. How will you explain the scar come summer?"

I shrugged. "Let's just deal with one thing at a time, shall we?"

I went to my desk and turned on my computer.

Ocean walked over. "What are you doing?"

"Researching the O'Conners."

"Now?"

"Why not? I couldn't sleep even if I tried, and this will keep my mind off other things for a while. Plus, we need to know what's going on."

She nodded and pulled up a chair next to mine as we began a Google search looking for anything on Druids, anything on the O'Conners in Washington, and anything about Rose Botanicals.

I scrolled through pages, speed reading. "There's precious little about the Druids in general. Some bits about them doing human sacrifices—that's lovely. But nothing concrete. They seem mostly wiped out of existence."

"Type in something about Rose Botanicals."

I did and found a lot of press clippings, product information and news reports about them. Publically, they were reputable and loved by customers and charities alike. They donated half their profits each year to various charitable organizations, in addition to donating millions of dollars in products to low-income families, hospitals, relief victims and military. Their products had high praises with claims that they helped everything from acne to stomach aches to major illnesses, in addition to making rooms smell pretty.

Nothing online implicated them in anything shady. If anything, they were above reproach and honored as heroes. "If I didn't know them, I'd want to work there," I said.

"Me too. Anything on the family that owns the company?"

"Not much. They live private lives and stay out of the media for the most part. In one press release, a spokesperson from their company said they prefer to let their products and customers speak for them. Good PR move, but not very helpful to us."