Dad had to be wrong, and I would do whatever it took to protect the woman I loved including her friends. I’d risk everything for her to never be hurt again… even if it meant fighting against my own pack.
Chapter Twenty
The sound of the front door opening woke me. The buzzing of my skin was still strong, and I raised my head from a hard, sexy chest.
“Hey there, sleepyhead.” Aidan’s voice was deep with sleep, and a huge smile spread across his face.
“Hey, you.” I leaned toward him and brushed my lips against his.
“Uh… no,” he murmured and raised up to capture my lips again.
“Nope, not happening.” I pulled out of his arms and jumped to my feet. “Morning breath. Let’s wait until we get toothbrushes.”
“I don’t give a damn,” he growled. “Get your hot ass back here.”
“Nuh-uh.” I tried to hide my smile and pointed at him as I nudged the bathroom door wider with my hip. “And honestly, you should brush your teeth, too.”
“You stinker.” He jumped out of bed and charged me.
A loud laugh escaped me as he hoisted me into his arms and planted a huge kiss on my lips. He pinned me to the door and deepened the kiss.
It wasn’t fair. How could I deny him? I melted into his embrace and kissed him back. Right when I began getting dizzy, he pulled back with a smug-ass grin.
“See, no brushing needed or required.” His breath hit my face, and it somehow still smelled minty.
How was that even possible?
“No, I think you learned your lesson.” I bet my breath was rancid. Served him right.
A loud knock on the bedroom door interrupted us.
“Get your asses out here before you guys make all of us uncomfortable downstairs.” Beth’s amused voice came through the door. “Don’t make me come in there.”
That had ruined the mood, so I pulled away. “Let me change back into my clothes before we cause a scene.”
“Are you sure?” There was a twinkle in his eye.
I loved seeing him this way. It’d been far too long. “No, but we need to figure out what’s going on and learn more about what the witches are expecting from me.”
“You’re right.” He kissed me quickly once more. “Let’s get moving.”
Minutes later, we entered the kitchen to find a full table.
The kitchen was large, and the rectangular table seated twelve. The wooden table matched the cabinets, and everyone was piling their plates full of eggs, bacon, and toast.
Beatrice sat at one of the head spots at the table with Sage on one side and Rowan on the other. Samuel sat between his mother and Finn. On the other side of the table, Coral sat next to her mother and Amethyst. Beth, of course, was next to Amethyst, steering clear of Finn.
Not wanting to make him feel unapproachable, I sat beside him with Aidan sitting on my other side.
Finn’s eyes widened a little.
He hadn’t expected that. Good. Trying not to act weird, I grabbed my plate and dished some food out for myself. “This looks delicious.”
“Beth was so happy when we got here and saw normal food.” Coral snorted. “She thought we’d be having frog eyes and blood soup.”
“In all the movies, witches never eat normal things.” Beth stabbed her eggs with her fork. “I mean, you can’t blame me.”
“And movies convey shifters as cold-blooded killers.” Finn arched an eyebrow, daring her to argue.
She would take the bait.
“So Jacob from Twilight is portrayed like that?” Beth chewed with her mouth wide open.
“Did…”
“Enough,” Beatrice said loudly, her voice ringing with authority. “We know the media doesn’t paint us in the right light. Stop bickering.”
Beth glanced at me, and she placed her fork on the table. “I just got mommed.”
“Someone has to keep you two in check.” Samuel chuckled and took a sip of orange juice. “Besides, we are now on the same side.”
Finn frowned at him. “As fucking wolves?”
Sage pointedly looked at Finn. “Yes. Seeing as our future leader is part wolf, I’m thinking we’re going to have to come to grips with it.”
“This has to be a joke?” He scoffed and bit his lip. “This is supposed to be impossible. What are the chances of two witches getting pregnant by shifters?”
“Two?” Aidan had made it sound like I was the only hybrid.
“We used to live in Mount Juliet.” Rowan picked up her cup of coffee. “One of our coven members fell in love with a shifter. When she found out she was pregnant, we were all in shock.”
“Mount Juliet?” It couldn’t be a coincidence. “That’s where we’re from.”
Rowan stopped mid-sip and put her mug down. She examined me from head to toe. “Could it be possible?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Beatrice said as she stared me down. “Finn’s aunt fell in love with a shifter named Hawk.”
“Wait…” Aidan stiffened. “We had a traitor in our pack named Hawk. He was killed for having a relationship with a witch.”
“Oh my God.” Samuel dropped his fork on the plate.
“Just a relationship?” Beatrice’s question hung in the air.
“Well, yeah. It’s one of Dad’s favorite stories to tell. Apparently, my father caught Hawk hanging out with a witch one night in a secret clearing, so they kept a watch on him.” Aidan’s eyes crinkled as he recalled the story. “They followed him one night to an abandoned cabin in the woods. He must have realized they were there because, before my father could attack, Hawk came out with his hands in the air. My dad killed him right there.”
“He wasn’t dead.” Rowan’s voice was barely above a whisper. “At least, not yet.”
“How do you know that?” I wasn’t sure how I felt, but I was pretty certain we were figuring out who my parents were.
“I was there.” Rowan stared out the window. “Hawk crawled back to the house to find Winnie dead. She’d died during childbirth as Hawk was attacked. He said we had to get the baby to a pack that would accept her. His pack’s enemy bordered their territory. Finn’s mother, Wanda, and father, Aldo, told me to leave and alert the coven. The wolves might be coming for us, and we had to go. They asked me to take care of Finn if something were to happen to them. They were going to burn the cabin down with Winnie’s body inside so the wolves would never know she’d been pregnant. They were releasing her ashes to Mother Nature.”
Her hands shook as she took a moment to collect her thoughts. “You see, Wanda used her energy to keep Hawk from dying until he’d gotten you to them. Aldo cloaked them. I have no clue what happened, but they never returned.”
“I was found on the border with a dead wolf beside me.” My eyes burned as realization set in. “Your dad killed my father.” I turned toward Aidan, trying to process it all. Obviously, it hadn’t been his fault, but how he was raised was clear in front of my face. The very man who murdered my father raised my fated mate. No wonder he struggled when he saw my mark.