33. Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
SAGE
“Think it’ll be okay this time?” Ollie asked.
She stood next to her stool, bouncing Evie who was strapped to her chest in a complicated wrap thing. I couldn’t begin to imagine how she got that thing on and I didn’t know that she’d ever get it off, but that kid was definitely not going anywhere.
“Well, Sheriff Ross is here this time and pretty much all of the Eastbend cops we’ve had trouble with in the past have been suspended, so we shouldn’t have the same trouble as last time.”
“I was pretty surprised they suspended the police chief too,” Ollie commented. “Your articles really put a magnifying glass on all the crap they were pulling.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t really me. Samantha Blaine is the one who got the story out there, and it was his own men who took the police chief down. When they were forced to explain themselves, too many of them insisted they were only acting on his orders.”
Ollie rolled her eyes. “Right, and you had nothing to do with any of that. Just accept the damn praise for once, no one’s buying your act anymore. We all know now how damn hard you worked to get all that intel for us, you didn’t need to hide behind a pair of khaki’s and a computer to put us off your trail. If you’d just said something we could have helped. It never should have been all on your shoulders.”
“You have enough on your plate.”
She nodded. “But that’s the point in having a pack, isn’t it? No one of us should be carrying the load alone.”
“Pack?” I questioned. “Do you mean Royce’s?”
Ollie reached out and flicked me in the forehead.
“Ow! Why are your fingers so freakishly strong?”
“I mean yours, dumbass. Have you really gone this long not realizing you’re one of us? We never cared that you were human. You’ve contributed so much to Eastbend and the people here that there’s no one who doesn’t consider you ours. You too, Keir,” she added, looking over at the demon on my other side. “We might not have known you were there, but you’ve had Sage’s back when we didn’t realize he needed us. So, thank you.”
It turned out Keir was quite shy with everyone except me and Luca so while he managed not to disappear into the shadows like I was sure he wanted to, he barely managed to mumble out a response.
“Alwin and Declan haven’t checked in yet,” she added. “They left for Prescott Manor days ago, so they must have run into some trouble. Elliot is working on a plan to get a look at the place without being detected.”
“Think they were caught?”
“Eh. Declan’s kind of a fuck-up, but Alwin is as reliable as they come. It’s hard to imagine someone as capable as him getting into trouble. At this point it’s probably nothing to worry about. Things might just be taking longer than they expected. We’ll give them some time before we call in the troops. We don’t want to blow their cover.”
I nodded. “Let’s stick to surveillance for now to see if anything looks suspicious.”
She blew out a breath. “Not gonna lie, I’m a little worried. But their objective is probably one of the most important ones we’ve got on the table right now. Having the backing of this entire faction of hunters makes Mars too powerful. We need to cut off his army. And we need Declan and Alwin to find out where they’re hiding for that.”
“Like you said, Alwin is extremely capable. And I think that maybe Declan is more capable than he lets on. We have to trust them. If they don’t turn up soon, we’ll find them and bring them home.”
Ollie smiled at me finally calling Eastbend home. “Yeah. And then I’m going to kick Declan’s ass for making me worry because it’s obviously his fault.”
I snorted. “Sounds like it’ll be an interesting welcome home party.”
“Why are you flicking my mate?” Luca asked as he approached from the other side of the bar.
“Because it’s taken him this long to realize he’s always been one of us.”
“I’m not even from Eastbend,” I grumbled defensively.
“Neither am I,” Luca pointed out. “But that doesn’t mean Royce didn’t claim me the minute I tried and epically failed to save one of his pack. You’ve done way more for the people here than I ever managed.”
I was saved from the conversation when a short dark-haired woman bustled into the tavern with a huge pan in her arms. Tex looked like he didn’t know what to do with that, and Luca must have smelled whatever she was carrying because his head whipped around immediately.
“Ma! You can’t just bring food in here,” he complained.
Connor emerged from the kitchen, probably also smelling the food. “Sure she can, but only if you let me try it. It smells amazing!” He flashed Luca’s mom a smile and took the pan from her hands. “Let me help you with this.”
“What a gentleman!” she gushed. “Luca, you were raised with better manners. Too much time away from your mother and look how you’ve become.”
Luca sighed. “I’m working, ma. I can’t just leave the bar unattended.”
Connor set the tray down on our end of the bar while Luca’s mom circled behind the bar to give her son a tight squeeze. My eyes burned a little at the reunion. He’d finally reached out to her earlier to introduce us via video call, and apparently she couldn’t wait any longer to see him. She must have started cooking the moment we hung up and come right here.
“Sage,” she said, wrapping her arms around me next. “It’s so nice to meet you in person.”
“You too, Mrs. Marquez,” I greeted, returning the hug and then laughing when she wrapped Keir up and gave him the same treatment despite the fearful look on his face.
“Maria,” she corrected. “Or mom, take your pick.”
Luca lifted the cover on the pan and his eyes softened as he took in the strong scent wafting out. It was something I’d done quite a bit of research on and while vampires would never again crave anything but blood, bold flavors and nostalgic foods could still be enjoyable. Especially hot foods, or foods that warmed the body like a spicy hot chocolate or soup. I hadn’t had the chance to experiment much yet, but I did tell Luca’s mom that he may prefer spicier foods now due to an illness he’d recently recovered from, and it smelled like she’d obliged.
“How are these still hot?” he asked. “You live over an hour away.”
“Your cousin Luis lives fifteen minutes from here, I stole his kitchen. He says you never visit him either. Look at you, you’ve lost weight being away from your mother so long. Eat. You too, I made plenty to share,” she added, gesturing to the rest of us.
Luca bit into an empanada and his eyes widened in surprise. I got the feeling he was afraid of tainting the memory of his favorite food but was surprised to find it was as good as he remembered.
“These are incredible,” Connor complimented. “The best empanadas I’ve ever had. Would you be willing to share the recipe if I promise to make them for Luca often?”
“Of course! I don’t have a recipe written down, but we will make them together so you can learn it. Invite me to Eastbend now and then and we’ll call it even.”
Connor laughed. “If you cook like this, I might never let you leave my kitchen.”
She reached up and patted his cheek. “You just let me know when, I will teach you all the recipes my sons refused to learn from me.”
Connor’s eyes lit up like he’d found treasure while Luca rolled his eyes at the jab.
“It’s not that we didn’t want to learn, it’s just that none of us can make them as good as you do,” Luca argued.
“Maybe if you came home to see your mother more often you could get more practice in,” she snapped back.
“I’d be happy to host you both in the kitchen here at the tavern,” Connor offered, seeing an opportunity.
“Ah crap,” I grumbled as another familiar face made her way over. Keir shrank even smaller behind me, which I wouldn’t have thought possible when he was significantly bigger than me.
“Well, if it isn’t my son. Looks like you’ve had time to visit with everyone except your mother today.” Her eyes shifted to Luca. “And the husband is here too. In the middle of the day,” she added, clearly confused, but not pushing the subject.
“Just helping out behind the bar for the day since the tavern is busy. Ow! What the hell, ma?”
The tiny woman had her son by the ear. “Luca, if you got married without telling me, I will never forgive you.”
“It’s a joke,” I assured her. “We were just teasing my mom and now she won’t let it go.”
She released her son looking slightly relieved. “Even if you can’t do an official wedding, we should still invite your brothers and sister. And my sister. And your cousins, of course.”
Luca groaned. “That’s way too many people.”
“Why can’t you have an official wedding?” my mother chimed in.
“We’re not actually planning a wedding,” I reminded everyone, cringing at the fact that I’d forgotten to let my mother in on one really important detail.
She was going to kill me.
Both of my men must have seen my intention written all over my face, because Keir grabbed one hand, ready to run with me, while Luca snatched up the other, refusing to let us leave him there with Hazel.
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned us.
Fuck.
“Mother, you have to try one of these empanadas, they’re incredible.”
It was too late. Her eyes had already zeroed in on Keir, who hadn’t let go of me, like he was hoping the chance to run was still on the table.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” she said, blocking his escape path.
Keir’s eyes shifted away. “We have. A long time ago.”
Her stare drilled into him, and somewhere behind us Connor took the opportunity to coax Luca’s mom into his kitchen and talk her ear off about food. I’d have to thank him for that later.
As soon as they were gone, Ollie activated a little privacy spell she was carrying and mom wasted no time demanding answers.
“How is this possible?”
There was no lying at this point, she knew that Keir couldn’t have been separated from me so easily.
I sighed. “We had a little run in with Mars and he tried to take Keir. Or rather, he did take Keir, but we got him back.”
The blood drained from my mother’s face. “Mars is back?”
“He’s been here the whole time, we just didn’t realize the dark mage we were already dealing with was him.”
“And now he knows you’re here. You need to come back to Arizona with me, we can leave tonight.”
“Mom, I can’t go with you.”
“Sage, this isn’t your fight, you’re—” the words died on her lips. “You got your magic back,” she realized.
“Yes, but I’d be staying even if I didn’t. I’m needed here, but more than that, I belong here.”
Keir squeezed my hand. He knew how far I’d come to be able to say those words.
Mom’s eyes looked a little glassy. “But the Blackwood coven is gone. You can’t take on Mars alone, he’s too powerful.”
“He is not alone,” Keir cut in. For the first time he spoke to my mother with conviction.
“He’s got us,” Luca agreed. “And our pack. We may not be as famous as the Blackwood Coven, but we’ve gotten this far.”
Hazel sighed. “You’re really going to choose this place over your own mother?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know it’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it?” she huffed. “I’m your only blood relative left and you’re abandoning me for a vampire and a demon.”
“For my mates and the town the Blackwood family has called home for generations,” I corrected. “And I haven’t abandoned you.”
“Fine, I guess I have no choice.”
Her tone elicited a shiver of fear in both myself and Keir. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll have to go back to Arizona to work out transferring my work here, but I’ll be back soon. Since you’ve essentially moved back into the house, I assume your condo will be available for me to move into? You’ll need to hire cleaners before I get back.”
“What? No, you can’t move here!”
“I’ll bring the deed to the house when I return, you three may do with it as you please.”
“Mom, you can’t— Wait what? You sold the house to a rental company.”
Mom cleared her throat. “I actually own the company that is renting it out.”
“You told me you sold it!”
“Well, I was trying to avoid you getting tangled up in any of this! It wasn’t like I could actually sell your grandmother’s house, do you know how many generations of Backwoods have lived on that land? You’re just like your grandmother, you can never let anything go. So if you’re going to stay here, you might as well be protected by our ancestors.”
“Still, mom you can’t stay here. It’s not safe, you don’t have magic anymore.”
“Did you not just tell me you would be staying whether you got your magic back or not? Are you suggesting I’m useless just because I’m cut off from our bloodlines now?”
Dammit, walked right into that one.
“I still have something you don’t,” my mother pointed out. “Connections. I know the witch community in this town. After everything that happened, they’re a cautious group that won’t talk to outsiders, but I’m not an outsider. You’re going to need everyone in this town on your side if you’re going to take on Mars, and I’m the key to bringing the remaining witches back into the fight. It's time to rebuild the Blackwood Coven.”
It wasn’t like I could turn down her help at this point, but life in Eastbend was going to be a lot trickier with her around. Mom could always see right through all of my bullshit.
“No more taking everything on yourself,” she said, proving she knew exactly what I was thinking. “You are the last heir of the Blackwood witches, we expect you to stay alive and carry on our bloodlines. Don’t think that just because you have two male mates that anyone will let you off the hook. The Blackwoods have protected this community since long before you and I came along, and it’s up to you to ensure Eastbend continues to be protected under our watch. You’re a witch now, it’s time to act like it.”
I was struck dumb for a long moment and Ollie cackled beside me. “You’re evil, I like you.”
Carrying on bloodlines was indeed important to witches, but I hadn’t truly considered myself one of them until now.
Ollie’s laughter cut off. “Aw crap, it’s gonna be me, isn’t it?” She huffed. “Fine, you get one kid, that’s it! And not until I’ve forgotten how much it sucked to pop this one out. If you want another kid after that you’ll have to ask Aiden.”
I snorted. “I don’t think it works that way, Ols. Offering to carry a kid for me is more than generous of you, but it’s not on our radar right now. We can talk about it in like fifty years.”
“Fifty years, is that right?” Hazel commented dryly. “I'd like some time with my grandchild before I die. Who else could pass down all of our family knowledge?”
“If you’d taught me any of it growing up that wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Why teach you what you’d never be able to have? That’s just cruel. I couldn’t have predicted that Mars would tear Keir away from you, and don’t think I don’t know what it must have taken for him to do it. Having Keir attached to you hindered your magic, but you still could have carried on the Blackwood line, your children would have been witches regardless. There was hope that our line would carry on to protect Eastbend for generations in the future. If you die, that hope is lost. So stop acting so rashly and consider what’s truly at stake if anything happens to you.”
Keir surprised me by speaking up. “I will ensure nothing happens to Sage.”
“So will I,” Luca agreed. “We’ll keep him safe.”
Hazel considered them for a long moment before her shoulders relaxed. “Then I’ll leave him to you two. I should go make my arrangements, the sooner I get back, the sooner I can start teaching you about your magic.”
She stepped up to kneel on a stool and gave Luca an awkward hug over the bar before hopping down to face Keir.
“You stayed even after everything we did to you.”
“I’ve come to care for Sage very much,” he explained, staring at his shoes like he expected my mother to find fault in that statement.
“You must hate me,” she said instead. “That spell was cruel, and it was unfair of us to even ask such a thing of another living being. But you allowed us to take your life and give it to Sage. I can never begin to repay you for what we did, but I can’t bring myself to regret it either.” A sad smile twisted her lips. “Never said I was a good person. But you are.”
Keir stared at Hazel like he was having trouble comprehending her words.
“I won’t say I’m sorry, we both know I’m too selfish to mean it. But I will say thank you. Thank you for saving my son. Thank you for keeping him safe all these years. Thank you for protecting our secret until he made it impossible for you to hide any longer. I owe you everything. The entire Blackwood family line owes you. We are forever in your debt.”
“No,” Keir insisted. “I have never blamed you for what was done. It was the right choice.”
My mother pulled Keir into a tight hug and the demon froze in shock. The look on his face was hilarious, but I didn’t dare laugh. She whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t catch and his expression morphed into one of determination.
“You have my word,” he agreed as she released him and moved on to me.
“I’ll be back soon,” she warned as she pulled me into a hug next. “And I haven’t heard from Chase in a while, so check in with him, will you? Let me know he’s safe once you’ve talked to him. God knows he’s probably halfway to Alaska by now.”
The bundle of nerves in my stomach tightened, but that was a conversation for another day. Keir slipped an arm around my waist as my mother made her way out of the tavern.
Luca squeezed my hand on the bar. “We'll find him,” he promised. ”You said it yourself, Chase has an uncanny ability to read people, right? He'll probably get away on his own before they even reach the convention in Vegas. And if not, we'll meet him there and bring him back to Eastbend where we can protect him.”
I couldn't help but shake my head. “You've turned into quite the optimist recently.”
There was a flash of Luca's dimples before he leaned over the bar to plant a gentle kiss on my lips. “I blame you. If it wasn't for your relentless efforts to pull my head out of my ass, I might never have remembered everything I still had waiting here for me to start living again.”
I waved him off. “Well, if it wasn't for your efforts to keep me out of trouble, who knows where I'd be, so we're even.”
“Jail,” Ollie answered without hesitation.
“Without a doubt,” Luca agreed.
“Or captured by the hunters again,” Keir offered.
“You're supposed to be on my side,” I grumbled. “And you're not any better,” I added, pointing a finger at Ollie.
She shrugged. “Didn't say I was, that's why you're my people, but I don't do it alone anymore. So stop taking everything on yourself or your men are going to end up tying you to the bed and refusing to let you leave until you agree to share the burden. Trust me on that one.”
Ollie wandered off and Luca and Keir exchanged a look I didn't trust.
“What do you think?” Luca asked.
“It's not a bad idea,” Keir agreed.
“I haven't even done anything yet!” I protested.
They shot me an unconvinced look and I sighed. “I promise to share all of my plans with my coven before doing anything dangerous. Are you happy now?”
Luca and Keir exchanged another look and something odd passed between them.
Luca raised an eyebrow at the demon. “Well, are you?”
Keir's lips twitched before he returned his attention to me. “More than I thought possible.”