“I need to tell you both something. If you want to leave after you know, I-I’ll understand.”

  Disbelief already twisted their faces, but I held up a hand.

  “Just listen.”

  Then I told them my story.

  Chapter

  Twelve

  Aggie

  “My bloodline is old … one of the original seven.”

  Karl’s face went paler than normal, a feat I didn’t even realize was possible. That alone was enough to alarm Luka.

  “Alright, you’re going to have to bring me up to speed on witchy lore,” Luka said. “What does that mean?”

  Karl smacked a hand over his face.

  “The original seven witch covens,” I said. “Scattered throughout the world, there is one on each major continent. All other witches and covens are distantly related to them, but to be able to claim direct ancestry is difficult. Bloodlines and breeding are tightly controlled.”

  Karl shot me a worried look, but Luka was even more confused.

  “I thought you were American.”

  I understood his trouble; sometimes I even struggled to keep my head around it all.

  “Yes, but my branch immigrated from France when the colonies were a thing. Something about a power struggle…. I wasn’t really paying attention. Technically I’m a French American, living in England.”

  Luka was still trying to catch up. “What do you mean by ‘bloodlines and breeding are strictly controlled’?”

  I looked away, my hands digging into the muscles in Damon’s shoulders as I massaged his back. He sent back a wave of reassurance, letting me know it was ok to share my secret with them.

  “You’ve probably figured out by now that I ran away from my coven and my inheritance.”

  Karl nodded, and Luka blew air out of his nose. Karl quickly explained how witch powers worked, and Luka blushed when he looked at me.

  “When your magick touched me in the pub, I didn’t realize… It just called to me. I’ve never smelled another witch before to know if you were a virgin or not. I thought that was just your smell. Karl told me what it meant.”

  Hope swelled up in my chest at the possibility that at least Luka had truly been interested in me and not a power boost. I kept going.

  “Inheritance rituals are tightly controlled through magickal contracts and sometimes blood oaths. My mother bid me out not long after I was born, securing a contract that I’m told recorded a record high at eleven million dollars.”

  Luka’s jaw dropped toward the floor, and Karl’s brow furrowed.

  “Just who are you?” Karl asked softly. I shook my head.

  “No one more important than any other daughter born to the coven that year, I assure you.” Karl looked unconvinced, but I didn’t have any more information for him. So I continued.

  “Regardless, I only met the winner a few times. Once when I was five, at thirteen, and then again at twenty a month before the ritual.”

  I closed my eyes, willing myself to remain calm.

  “I was too young before to know what it meant, but I always felt uncomfortable around him. When I was twenty, I knew immediately why. His name is Seth, and he’s an incubus.”

  Karl inhaled sharply through his nose, understanding immediately. Then his eyes widened.

  “Wait, not that Seth? Son of Samael? Oh fuck.”

  I felt such instant relief that he knew, that he understood what no one else in my coven had given a shit about. I suppressed the urge to throw my arms around him and sob.

  “Oh come on. How do you know literally everything?”

  Luka moved to the hearth, peering in to see if the soup was still good. He drew back disappointed, his question hanging in the air. Karl scoffed.

  “As a vampyre, information is power. I know everything about everyone.” He frowned. “Or at least, I try to. It’s a good strategy to stay alive around unpredictable Elders when you can happily chat about everyone in their lineage.”

  I smiled slightly at imagining that—Karl talking his way out of any situation with a polite bow.

  “So this Seth guy is bad news?” Luka clarified.

  “Incubi are bad news,” Karl interrupted impetuously. “They don’t just sexually assault their victims; they steal their life energy.” He whirled back to me. “How could your mother agree to that? He’d take half your power during the ritual, and likely come back for more. Plus it’s almost never consensual! He’d have to hurt you to get anything out of it.”

  Luka gaped. It felt good that others were sharing my fear, my utter terror.

  “What the fuck—”

  “And that is why the council is supposed to exist, to keep supernaturals like that in line. This is outrageous! This is a breach of everything they are supposed to stand for!”

  “Which is?” Luka asked.

  Karl sneered and quoted quickly, “‘Every supernatural creature has the right to exist with their own born powers and magicks.’”

  I snorted as Luka took a moment to digest that, but Karl was getting more upset by the moment.

  “Did you tell anyone? Did your mother even know? How could she not? He’s quite well-known…” Karl’s voice trailed off, his own mind spinning wildly.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered. “I tried to talk to her about it, but everyone just kept telling me how lucky I was, and how much good the money was going to do for the coven. It was like everyone was just pretending that him being an incubus was fine, or not a big deal. All my mother said was to trust her, but I couldn’t!”

  I stopped, my voice wavering as I pushed back tears. I wouldn’t cry over the stupid demon—not since he’d been responsible for my life of solitude that past twenty years. Silence reigned in the cottage, but I felt better now that they knew—now that there were no secrets.

  “The coven has been hunting me ever since. They want the money. I don’t blame you if you want to leave now, after knowing. This is probably more than you bargained for.”

  Luka came around to the back of my chair and draped his arms around me.

  “Let me educate you for once: wolves don’t casually date. When we say we want a mate, it’s for life. It certainly had nothing to do with you being a…you know.”

  I snorted, finding it hilarious he couldn’t even say the word to my face. His words soothed the pain in my heart, and with far too much hope I peeked up at Karl. He looked devastated.

  “To think you held any notion that my intentions were anything other than honorable…I am sorry.”

  I buried my head in Damon’s fur, unable to stomach Karl’s disappointment. Luka’s arms felt sturdy against my back, and then I felt Karl run a hand through my hair. I stood, and Damon dropped to the ground. I sat down heavily on my bed, my men watching me carefully. Neither moved to crowd me. They’d remembered I’d wanted space.

  Oh mother above, they really did care about me.

  I closed my eyes and took a breath. Not everything had to be a struggle, did it? Yes, there were some pressing issues—Quinn and the coven being prominent among them—but we couldn’t solve them immediately.

  And how brilliantly had Luka and Karl defended me? It was warm. It was comforting.… It was like having a family again.

  I couldn’t speak, so I patted the bed next to me. Luka nearly tripped in his haste to get to me, bouncing onto the bed so heavily that it creaked. Karl was a bit more sedate but no less enthusiastic if the look in his eyes was anything to go by.

  “I know Luka said werewolves have mates, but…”

  I trailed off, too embarrassed to ask Karl what I actually wanted to know. He chuckled, and sat down on my other side, his back leaned against the wall.

  “Some vampyres use seduction to hunt and play. I have never liked to mix work and pleasure.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I am lonely,” he quickly clarified, “and I don’t wish to hang about my Elder’s manor anymore.”

  I allowed Karl to pull me into his lap. Luka huffed, but then laid his head across my lap. Surrounded by them both, my heart rate calmed, and I allowed myself to relax.

  “Thank you,” I murmured. Karl held me tight, and my nails reflexively ran along Luka’s scalp. He made a happy sound in his throat.

  “No, Aggie … thank you.”

  We stayed like that for a long time.

  Chapter

  Thirteen

  QUINN

  I was sure the wolf and the vamp would be on my tail, but after a few hours passed I had to admit they weren’t chasing me.

  Probably busy with the witch. Not that I blame them.

  It wasn’t often I had a woman—regardless of species—turn me down cold, and I found it was almost a novel experience. I lived most of my life panty hopping and not caring who I hurt along the way. It wasn’t like those girls didn’t know what they were getting into, so I didn’t pity them at all. In a way, each tick in the bedpost was another point in my favor, proving that my own coven had been wrong to cast me out. Women were shallow and immature, and my travels only furthered this as truth in my mind.

  Cold fury funneled through me as I thought about my coven, but I pushed it away. I was richer than any of them, and my magick stronger than they could have ever predicted. I could have helped the coven out of poverty and shown them how to thrive … but no. Instead, they rejected me and drove me out … just like Aggie.

  Aggie.

  With two supernatural protectors around, I highly doubted she needed any help from me. And yet … something was off. I held out my arm, and Ayah came soaring down to land carefully on my leather bracer. I threw her a small bit of meat jerky, kept in my kit as a treat for a job well done. I took the small pouch of gold from her leg that was my payment. Ayah gobbled the meat quickly, so I offered her another one.

  “Thanks girl. You were amazing as always.”

  Her fierce gold eyes peered at me, her beak tilting down in displeasure. A wave of unease prickled along our bond, and I frowned.

  “You felt it too, huh? Something is up with that coven. A European sect, right?”

  The head witch who had appeared in the woods had a foreign accent, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Ayah ruffled her feathers, then sent me a mental scape of where she had flown the past twenty-four hours. I tracked landmarks until I confirmed my suspicions.

  “Gaelic witches. Interesting.”

  The European sect was quite large, with many covens underneath their banner. Their territory included everything from Scotland to Italy, from Norway to Spain and France. The Gaelic coven in Ireland was so disconnected from usual coven business that most people forgot them—unless you were me. In fact, they didn’t even call themselves witches, insisting instead on the name druid.

  What were they doing poking around the south of England?

  Regardless of intent, whatever they were doing would be of interest to the other covens, and perhaps even the council. My mouth practically watered at the implications. If the gossip was juicy enough, the council would offer enough gold to see Ayah and I set for life on a tropical island somewhere.

  “What do you say girl? Up for an adventure?”

  Ayah blinked and sent me a feeling of amused resignation. I smirked, knowing she lived for excitement the same way I did. I peeked up at the stars and set our course. I kept repeating to myself that I was doing it for the money and certainly not because I wanted to know more about the curious witch with a will of steel.

  The journey to Ireland didn’t take long; it never did when you used magick. The tricky part was staying hidden. I was surprised when Ayah led me to Dublin. A bustling city was hardly where I thought I’d find the heart of the ‘druids,’ but my falcon was rarely wrong.

  The good news was that it was easy to hide in the throng. As long as I didn’t use any magick and kept my head down, I was just another guy going about his day. I changed into some casual clothes, burying my leathers and weapons in my kit, which I wore on my back. I sent Ayah to watch from afar, and I waited.

  And waited.

  And … waited.

  I normally wouldn’t wait this long, but something held me in place. Aggie’s face floated in front of my eyes, and I scowled. No. I was simply seeking information because information was currency in my line of work. That was it.

  Information you can take back to Aggie to help her.

  I turned without looking, fully intending to blow this popsicle stand and bury myself so far up some hired girl that I would forget what that witch even looked like.

  BAM.

  My kit went flying, as did the woman’s canvas tote. We both fell back on our bottoms, her staring at the mess of her cappuccino on the sidewalk, and me wincing at the tear in what was my only pair of decent jeans. Without thinking I turned on the charm.

  “I’m so sorry, I’m—”

  The woman snarled at me, and I felt wisps of magick escape her control. My eyes widened, but I managed to control the rest of my reaction. It was clear from her annoyed expression that she thought I was a rude, ordinary man. Perfect.

  I picked up her canvas tote, and she tossed me my kit. With a scowl, she wrung coffee out of the bottom of her suit jacket, and I couldn’t help but glance at her heels and perfectly tailored pants.

  “I insist on procuring a replacement beverage.”

  I resisted the urge to use my own magick, but it was like telling your body to stop breathing. Nevertheless, I reined it in. If she knew I was a warlock, the whole jig would be up.

  “Idiot. Leave me alone.”

  I put my hands helplessly in the air and let her push past me. I whistled, knowing Ayah would hear and follow the woman. I managed to stay in my spot another twenty minutes, then made my way to the first empty alley I could find. After another excruciating fifteen minutes, Ayah flew down.

  “Well?”

  She clipped my ear with a wing for my impertinence but sent me a mental image of the woman heading into a dive bar a few blocks down. Ayah’s sharp eyes tracked her heading to the back of the bar and disappearing behind another door.

  “Ah, a witchy speak-easy. Spooky. Good job girl.”

  I tossed her some jerky, which she caught and ate quickly.

  “Meet you on the other side.”

  I launched Ayah back into the air, then made my way toward the bar. It was easy to play the douchey guy following a pretty girl, so I had no fear about being obvious in my attempts to follow her.

  Maybe you’ve gotten too good at it. Aggie wanted nothing to do with you.

  Telling my inner brain to shut it, I entered the dive bar.

  Man, it was gross in here. There was barely enough room to squeeze the bar in. A thin, reedy man stood behind it, and he welcomed me with a glare. A few chairs were throttled up against the counter, and the back door was on the back wall. That was it.

  I felt claustrophobic immediately.

  “What do you want?” the bartender snapped.

  I offered a disarming smile and shoved my hands into my pockets casually.

  “Saw a redhead come in here … know where she went?”

  The bartender’s eyes narrowed, and a nasty grin stretched across his face. I had a feeling that the eyepatch he wore wasn’t for decorative purposes.

  “She’s outta your league boy.”

  Oh how nice, he was trying to help me. I only gave him another stupid grin.

  “Ah well, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take and all that.”

  The man’s black mustache twitched, and I held my breath.

  “I’ll enjoy watching you get kicked out. Knock on the back door and say ‘Cailleach.’”

  He turned away, even my ears desperately tried to make sense of the obviously Gaelic word, which sounded a lot like ‘Kaliyah’ but with the first syllable emphasized. I straightened my shoulders and headed toward the back. The bartender chuckled darkly, but I tried to ignore it.

  “Ádh mór ort,” he muttered, and I just hoped it wasn’t the Gaelic version of ‘suck dick and die.’ I paused before the black door, which had iron slats over a small window.

  How welcoming.

  I rapped on the hard wood before I lost my courage.

  “Password.”

  The voice was old and properly spooky. I cleared my throat and gave it my best shot.

  “Cailleach.”

  There was a snort, then the door creaked open.

  Chapter

  Fourteen

  KARL

  After all the excitement, we settled into a steady peace at the cottage. I helped Aggie garden and make her potions, and Luka would … well, play in the garden in wolf form. The more time we spent around each other, the more I could tell she was warming up to the idea of us. Most women would probably feel the need to choose one or the other, but I hadn’t gotten that impression from her yet. Then again, we weren’t exactly forcing the issue either. Why bother when what we had—whatever it was—seemed to be working just fine?

  It didn’t matter either way. I would be near her however she wished, whether as a companion, or something more.

  And if she didn’t want me around anymore?

  Well, I would deal with that when and if it became an issue. Much like the impending return of the witches, who would be looking to ensure Luka and I had moved on. I made a mental note to plan a meeting to brainstorm about it later.

  If Aggie was worried about the coven that was sniffing around, she didn’t say anything about it. I wondered if on one level, she simply trusted the wolf and I to handle it. That was a comforting thought, however unlikely. Aggie had been on her own too long to just suddenly hand over responsibility to us, and I understood that.

  “Hey … uh … you got a second?” Luka asked.

  Aggie was away delivering to customers, so the wolf and I were alone in the small cottage. I blinked, wondering if he wanted to discuss the witches while Aggie was away. I’d be secretly impressed to see him show such initiative.

  “So … the full moon is tonight.”

  I glanced at him sharply, inwardly cursing for not realizing it sooner. “Is that why you’ve been away so much the last day or so?”

 

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