“Thank you for doing this.”
“She’s going to be our alpha. Of course, I’ll protect her. She’ll be good for our pack.”
I tilted my head and studied her face. “You believe that?”
“Of course, I do. Not everybody’s as backwards as Alden.” She winced. “Sorry. I try not to say bad things about him to your face.”
I held back a curse. “No, you need to speak your mind. And I’m the alpha. I need to listen, no matter the topic. Keep Sage safe. I’ll check in later.”
“We’ll keep her safe, but you do the same for yourself.”
And with that, she walked around the back of the cottage where I could already sense Sage. It seemed she wanted to introduce herself to her protectors. I liked that. And I hoped to hell more people were on a page similar to Ariel.
I got into my car and made my way back to my home, aware that I had a thousand other things to do. But first, I needed to check in with the rest of my pack—although I had done a lot of that with Ariel. And then I needed to find Ash.
I pulled in front of my house and shook my head. Seemed I didn’t need to look far for Ash. He’d found me.
The sorcerer stood on my front porch, coffee in hand as he spoke with Jaxton and Trace. If Alden were there, our group would be complete. I didn’t think Alden would come tonight, though, not after everything that had happened. I didn’t really understand what my brother wanted these days.
I turned off my car and got out, growling. “So… you’re back.”
Ash looked at me then, his dark hair falling over his eyes before he pushed it back. His blue eyes seemed unnaturally bright today, as if they held magic in them. Maybe they did. I didn’t understand Laurel’s brother, my former best friend, anymore. Then again, what had happened to Ash hadn’t been his fault, and I didn’t know how to fix it.
“I came because I was called,” Ash said, his voice low, devoid of feeling.
“By who?” Jaxton asked, leaning forward.
“By the town. I’m still connected to Ravenwood, even if I don’t live here or have any other connections.”
“I’m glad you’re back.” Trace hugged the other man, his shoulders loosening. Ash slowly reached out and returned the hug before moving away.
“So, the town called you,” I said, leaning forward. Jaxton silently handed me a cup of coffee, even though it was my mug, my cream, sugar, and beans, but every one of my friends acted like my place was theirs. I did the same with theirs, so I didn’t mind.
“Yes, the darkness has finally come. And I have a feeling this is only the beginning.”
“That wasn’t cryptic at all,” Trace said, and Jaxton snorted, sipping his drink.
I shook my head. “Where are you staying?”
“I have a place. I always have a place.”
Ash was a near-billionaire real estate developer and business owner. He had homes all over the world, and Laurel helped with most of them, though she did so within Ravenwood’s wards. It was a family business, and Ash had made it even more remarkable. Ash did everything ruthlessly but still legally. Laurel was the one who kept them moral. Ash couldn’t help himself, though. That was who he was, given what had happened to him. A curse that’d changed the very essence of someone made for profound consequences.
“So, what happened?” Ash asked.
Trace sighed and began marking off critical points with his fingers. “A woman named Faith brought revenants, she’s a necromancer and is working with a man named Oriel, someone we’ve never heard of. He keeps attacking Rome’s mate.”
Ash’s gaze went to mine, and a single dark brow rose. “I didn’t sense a bond. I wasn’t sure if that was because of me and who I am, or if it wasn’t there.”
My heart broke for him, even as I wanted to growl. “The mating bond isn’t settled yet. I’m courting her.”
“Interesting way to go about it,” Jaxton said, not looking at me.
I wanted to push the bird off the porch railing, but I refrained.
Ash frowned, a subtle gesture that he quickly blinked away. “You should mark her quickly, just to keep her safe.”
I nearly laughed at that. “You’ve been away from Ravenwood too long if you think that marking her without her permission’s the way to go about mating consensually.”
“I saw how she looked at you when you ran towards her. She wouldn’t mind the mark.”
“She’s new to this whole magic thing. And Ravenwood.” But, fuck, I wanted to mark her. To make her mine.
“Maybe, but she’s learning. She’ll be fine.” Ash sounded as if he didn’t care about the emotion and connection that came with bonding and claiming. Maybe he didn’t. Not with what he’d lost.
“Is that your witchy intuition talking? Or do you not care?” Trace asked, his voice far more growly than it had been before.
Ash shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know much of anything anymore. I know I’m not welcome here by anyone other than my sister—and maybe you on a good day,” he said, looking at us. “I need to be here, though. The coven needs me.”
“You know she doesn’t think you are a part of the coven anymore.” I kept my voice low.
Ash met my gaze, the blankness in his eyes scaring me for a moment before whatever magic behind them shone brightly again. “I can’t care what she thinks, Rome. You know that.”
Jaxton sighed and set his coffee down. “You’d better. Because your sister needs you, the coven needs you. This town needs you. And you were gone way too fucking long.”
“Jaxton’s right,” I added, surprised that Jaxton had exploded a bit just then. He was the quietest of us all, the hunter who stalked his prey as we bears growled and swiped.
“You can’t fix a curse. You know why I left.”
“Everyone is cursed in one way or another,” Jaxton whispered, and I nodded.
“You’re back. And you can’t leave again when things get tough.”
“So you think you can fix me, then?” Ash asked. “Because I’ve spent these years trying to fix myself, and it hasn’t worked. I know Rowen doesn’t want me here. But the town needs me. So, I’m here. Even if part of me still doesn’t know why.”
I leaned against the porch railing and sighed.
We were a broken bunch. All of us cursed in some way as Jaxton had said. Ash was back, and we were one step closer to a new coven, one step closer to keeping Ravenwood safe.
One step closer to keeping my mate safe.
Chapter Seventeen
Sage
“The amount of honey buns you make during the week is bordering on ridiculous,” Aunt Penelope said from the other side of the counter.
My arms elbow-deep in dough, I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “What? I’m in a town full of bears. Of course, there are honey buns. And honey loaves, and honey-filled donuts, and everything else you can imagine with honey.”
“Imagine what you’d bake if you didn’t have grizzlies all around you,” Rome joked from Penelope’s side. “I wonder what all of the smaller bears would want.”