“I’m sorry.” He averted his gaze to the table, and his jaw tensed.
“You don’t need to apologize.” It wasn’t fair of me to make him feel that way. Hell, he’d turned his back on his family for me. When it mattered, he did what was right.
“Yes, he does.” Finn’s chair fell back as he stood and pointed at Aidan. “Your family killed my parents because they were witches.”
“Finn, sit down,” Beatrice said loudly, her voice laced with a hint of anger.
“No.” He clenched his hands and took a menacing step toward Aidan.
Surprisingly, Aidan didn’t react, instead, he waited like he was going to allow Finn to beat him up as punishment. Oh, hell no.
I stood and placed my hands on Finn’s shoulders, halting him. “You’d better calm your ass down before I make you,” I growled, staring him in the eye. “He’s no more responsible for your parents’ death than I am. They died protecting my mother.”
That gave him pause. “But…”
“There are no damn buts.” The alpha will laced my words, taking me completely off guard. That had never happened before.
Even though he was a witch, something flickered in his eyes, and his breathing calmed. “You better be glad you’re my family.” The last word held emotion, but he tried to rein it in.
He needed time to deal with it. Even I needed more time too.
“And you”—I spun around and glared at my mate—“don’t ever act that way again. You walked away from your family to do the right thing. Do not act like you deserve punishment again, or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Damn.” Beth propped her head in her hands and grinned. “This is better than television.”
“Think about it.” Samuel touched Finn’s arm. “She’s your family now.”
Something passed in Finn’s eyes as he took in his words. “You were only found with a wolf?”
“My parents found two witches as they left the perimeter,” Aidan said. “They’d uncloaked themselves, thinking they were safe, but my dad had kept his pack on guard, expecting a woman full of anger to come and demand to know what had happened to her lover. They never stood a chance.” He rubbed a hand down his face and sighed.
I took his hand in mine. It was odd that the news was hitting him harder than me.
“Okay, enough of this conversation. Let’s finish breakfast, and then you all run to Walmart to get what you need for the next several weeks.” Beatrice picked up her cup with shaky hands. “Then tonight, we’ll induct Emma into our coven since she’s rightfully one of us.”
“What does that mean?” They would have to treat me like a newbie.
“That each one of the members must accept you.” Beatrice nodded. “Nothing more. Our magic and coven don’t require sacrifices to join but do prefer the person to be a descendant of our coven.”
“Okay.” I could do it. It would be nice to have a connection to my mother. I knew all about being a wolf shifter but nothing about being a witch.
“Then, it’s settled.”
It was around nine p.m. when Amethyst knocked on the door. “Be ready to head out in ten minutes.”
“Okay.” I put on the new shirt and jeans I’d bought from Walmart and moved closer to Aidan.
Needing a moment with him, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him.
He pulled me tight against his chest.
“Are you okay?” He’d been off for a little while this morning after the revelation about my parents.
“Yeah, I just feel responsible, which is stupid.” He rubbed a hand down his face and dropped them to his sides. “I was just a baby, but I hate that my family did this to all of you.”
“And that’s what makes you different from them.” I cupped his face and looked into his eyes. “You grew up knowing right from wrong. They didn’t. In their minds, they were doing the right thing.”
He huffed. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right. They think the witches cursed them for no good reason. But he turned his back on his own blood.”
“Both sides were wronged.” At least the witches, though, were protecting me. The Hallowed Guild wanted me dead for being only half-wolf. “The witches accept me, but it’s because they are used to the idea of female leaders. Wolves aren’t.”
“And fate had just the plan to make sure I fell in line.” He gave me a tender smile as he leaned in for a quick kiss.
“That probably helped your case, but it doesn’t matter.” I grabbed his shirt with both hands. “There is no one else in this entire world I want by my side.”
“Well, that’s good since I’m not going anywhere.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his forehead against mine. “I made that mistake once, and I’ve regretted it every day.”
“It’s in the past.” I didn’t want anything to darken our bond now. “Let’s just focus on today and our future.”
“I can do that.”
“Emma! Aidan! Let’s go,” Amethyst called from the bottom of the stairs.
“It’s time to get initiated.” I took his hand and opened the door. We hurried downstairs to meet Beatrice and Amethyst.
As soon as we caught up to them, Beatrice opened the door, and the four of us filed out. Just like last night, the large group of witches waited in the center grassy field.
We headed over to them, and Beth waved from the road as we passed her.
“Aidan, you should stay here,” Amethyst reassured him and touched his arm. “It won’t be long, and we’ll bring her right back.”
He stilled but didn’t release my hand.
“It’ll be fine.” I smiled at him and pecked his lips. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” He nodded, letting go of me.
I followed Amethyst and Beatrice to the middle of the field. The witches fell back as Beatrice took the lead. Sage was on her right, and Rowan was on her left.
“It’s not often we find one of us who has been left behind, but last night, we were given a gift from the Goddess herself.” Beatrice took my hand and turned to her coven. “Emma is our late Winnie’s daughter.”
“Our High Priestess?” One of the witches at the front gasped and placed a hand on her chest.
“My mother was the priestess?” I turned to Beatrice, surprised. She hadn’t informed me of this.
“Yes, she was. That was one reason why her death impacted us so much. We moved here right after.” Beatrice focused back on the coven. “I’m honored to say she is now one of us.”
One by one, the witches bowed their heads in acceptance. Energy began coursing around us, and soon it was pooling under my skin. It was similar to my mate bond with Aidan but seemed to pour in from the ground and all around me. It traveled to the dark spot inside me that had always felt like a cold void.
“See, quick and easy.” Amethyst beamed as she touched my arm.
A loud howl filled the air, and Beatrice stiffened beside me.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Amethyst’s purple eyes seemed brighter somehow.