Chapter 21
By the time we made it to dinner, my magic was slamming against its cage. I didn’t need two guesses or a spell to tell me
why that was: the gym, the swimming after, and a shirtless Logan hauling me to his room so he could get changed. My energy
wanted its mate, and the bond was done waiting.
I’d attempted to delay dinner by crawling into his lap, but he’d just dropped a kiss on my nose, pulled one of his hoodies
over my head—a very nice distraction—and told me I needed to eat because he could feel my exhaustion.
Exhaustion was fast becoming our word of the day as we discussed the ways I needed to sort my energy out. “I can multitask,” I complained
as we entered the dining hall. “What if I ate my food off you?” I tilted my head back to see his reaction, and he both laughed
and groaned, lifting his gaze to the ceiling as if praying to our goddess.
The moon couldn’t help him here.
“Soon,” he grumbled, sounding pained as he flashed his beautiful eyes my way again. “Now behave.”
“Ugh,” I grumbled. “Fine. Food me, and then fuc—”
“Paisley!” Haley’s shout drew my attention to their table. As I waved back, I noticed a familiar redheaded former best friend. Belle’s eyes met mine briefly, and my desperate need for Logan eased enough that I could focus on getting food and getting to our table.
I raced around the buffet, and on my way to the table with a full plate balanced in one hand, I almost got bowled over by
a group of warlocks. A pissed-off sound escaped Logan as he caught my arm with his free hand, and by the blessing of Selene,
all of our food remained on our plates.
“Logan, shit. Sorry, man,” a tall guy with dirty-blond hair and freckles said.
“It’s okay,” I burst out before Logan could let loose his annoyance. “I should have been watching where I was going.”
None of them got another word in as Logan waved his hand, his magic physically moving them to the side. I shot them an apologetic
stare as he guided me through the crowd. “You don’t have to go all alpha on me, mate. It was an accident, and I wasn’t hurt.”
He was the one to grind to a halt now, and I looked about for the new disaster. “Say it again.”
My gaze shot to him. “Wh-what?” I murmured.
“Say it again, baby,” he whispered, his face filled with a deep, devouring emotion.
Racking my brain for what I’d said, it took me a few long seconds to figure it out. “Mate,” I breathed. “I’ve called you mate
before.”
His eyes closed briefly, and if he was praying this time, it was with thanks. “You’ve never said it like that,” he said, capturing
me in his piercing gaze as soon as he opened his eyes. “Like we are forever. You’re mine and I’m yours.”
“This possessive side feels weird,” I admitted, my heartbeat slamming against my chest. And fucking amazing. “After last year.”
His expression darkened. “I’ve had to suppress that side of myself for too long, but it’s flowing freely now. You better get used to an obsessive and possessive mate.”
Oh. Oh. I was a big fan of that declaration.
Logan’s eyes turned mossy green as he leaned closer. “You like that, don’t you, baby?”
With that, he guided me through to the table where all of our friends were already, and I was highly distracted by finally
having Belle in front of me.
“You’re back!” I said, unsure if I should go in for a hug or not.
She stood and stiffly wrapped her arms around me, almost as if she’d rehearsed how to make this gesture but still didn’t quite
have it right. The cool wash of her water magic was familiar, and I mourned what had once been. “Missed you, girl,” she said.
When we parted, I examined her closer, but she looked just the same as always. Tiny, pretty, with vibrant red hair and perfect
skin. Belle told me on the first night we met that she never slept much, with all the travel between America and India, but
it never reflected on her face.
“How was your break?” I asked, sliding into the chair across from her, between Logan’s and Noah’s hulking forms.
Belle’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I stayed with Dad for the first half. We traveled around checking out complaints
from covens. Then I was with Mom for the last weeks.”
Sara piped up, “She went to Europe to look into the spellcaster rebellion.”
Logan stiffened. Not that anyone else could have known it from looking at him, but I felt it in the energy caressing my side.
“Were you near the rebellions too?” I asked him, taking a bite of pasta. “When you worked for your father?”
“Rafael had us all over Europe,” he said, his tone indicating he wouldn’t be answering further questions about his time away, at least not in front of others.
“I hear you three are rock stars.” Belle changed the subject, looking between the huge warlocks. “Sad that I missed the show.”
“We’ve got another one soon,” Tobias said as he finished his cheeseburger. “We lose our bloody minds when we go too long without
rocking out.” He sat across from Sara tonight, and she blanched when he locked his gaze on her. “You need to be there again.
That was a fun night.”
Sara swallowed roughly, her cheeks slightly pinker as she no doubt recalled the night she’d gotten wasted on witch wine and
had sex with Tobias. He’d been playing a game of seduction ever since, but she’d managed to hold out. “Yeah, I mean . . .
if it’s a weekend, we can probably make it.”
“Dad has me locked down at Weatherstone,” Belle said, ripping up the bread on her plate. It looked like she was moving food
around rather than eating it. “I can’t get weekend passes away this year.”
“What about your mom?” I asked, moving on to my sushi pile. I’d saved the best for last. “Surely your dad doesn’t get the
only say.”
She stared at me for a beat longer than normal. “He’s taking point on safety issues,” she said with an undercurrent that I
didn’t need an interpreter to understand. “All the unrest has him worried about his little girl, and I trust his judgment.
He’s my dad after all.”
Sara met my gaze, her eyebrows briefly lifting before she went back to her food. We all knew why Belle had been distant over
the winter break. Or at least we’d had a very good idea, and she’d just confirmed it.
Belle was firmly on Team Elder Monroe, who, by all indications, thought I was a demon-witch who needed to be put down.
The only part I couldn’t figure out was why he hadn’t tried to take me out yet. Was he waiting for evidence? Was the suppression
potion screwing with his plans to catch me in the act and justify his murder to the council?
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t let my guard down around Belle. No matter how much I wanted to confess everything to her,
she was her father’s little spy—this time with full knowledge of what she was doing.
The rest of dinner was quiet and awkward, and with my stomach in knots, I found it difficult to eat my sushi. It was only
Logan nudging my plate and keeping his flinty gaze on me that had me choking down the remains.
Every time I took a bite, his hand slid up my bare thigh, tracing the sensitive skin. Rewarding me. “I know what you’re doing,”
I muttered, glaring at him. All the while my magic writhed inside, happy and buoyant. My energy liked it when our mate touched
us.
“Good girls get rewards.” A finger traced over the wet lace of my panties, and my breath hitched.
“Belle!”
Trevor’s shout had me jumping in my chair, and Logan withdrew his hand, looking far too pleased with himself. When my brother
raced to our table, Belle’s face crumpled, filled with sadness and need. Her first real display of emotion. She tried to school
her features back into neutral lines, but she couldn’t quite manage it. Her eyes were screaming for him, and even as she iced
me out, she couldn’t do it to Trevor. There were real feelings between them.
“I’ve been trying to find you all day,” he said, grinding to a halt at her side, emanating a frantic energy I’d never felt
from him before.
I’d always worried my brother would be the one to break Belle’s heart.
But now, thanks to Elder fucking Monroe, I had to worry that it would be Belle who would destroy their relationship before it truly had a chance.
Trevor hadn’t let himself care before, moving through witches like they were free popcorn at the movies, but I had no doubt he was a complete goner over Belle.
“Can we talk, sweetness?” he whispered, but we all heard.
Belle’s eyes briefly met mine, and I kept my expression completely blank. “Yes,” she choked out, jumping to her feet and throwing
herself into Trevor’s arms. He held her close as she murmured over and over how much she missed him.
The entire scene broke my heart because there was no way Elder Monroe knew about this relationship, when he clearly hated
our entire family line. I wasn’t sure what would be stronger in the end: Belle’s trust and loyalty to her father or her love
for my brother.
Their bond, which had started to develop last year, had only grown stronger with time.
My worry exploded tenfold, and I prayed to the goddess that there was a way this could all work out. The happiness of my family
was as important to me as my own, and I was determined that Belle and Trevor would have their time.
Even if I had to crush Elder Monroe to make it happen.