Chapter 22
My first week at Weatherstone lured me into a false sense of security. Classes hadn’t been bad, and even with suppressed magic,
I still made ground with my skills—in all areas except the one that differentiated me from my peers: my reaper abilities,
which allowed me to draw on the souls of monsters from Purgatory. All necromancy was out of bounds for me, and I found myself
lingering near the graveyard, even though I’d never voluntarily step foot in there again.
As the term progressed, classes got harder, and I ended up in the library most evenings, studying my ass off. Logan never
let me skip dinner, though, and I slept in his room every night, even if half the time I was too exhausted to do more than
pass out in his arms.
He kept the dreams away, just as he’d always done, but my fatigue continued to grow until I was barely able to keep my eyes
open through the day.
It was late on a Wednesday morning when I heard the rasp of my name.
It broke through sleep, but when I tried to open my eyes, I couldn’t find the strength.
I was just so tired. I wanted to fall back into the darkness hovering around my mind and lose myself.
A jolt of energy slammed against my own, punching through the suppression potion and sending me shooting up like I’d been stabbed in the ass.
“Whoa,” I cried, vision blurry at first until everything came into focus. Logan stood at the side of the bed, his eyes darker
than I’d ever seen, his chest heaving.
“Paisley,” he rasped. “Baby . . . Are you here with me?”
The fog remained around my brain, but I was no longer drowning in darkness. “Wh-what happened?”
Logan dropped to his knees beside the bed, reaching out to wrap his arms around me. “You were fading.” His voice broke, and
I would have done anything to erase that tone of devastation. “I felt your energy waning until your powers flickered and almost
faded.”
“Fading . . .” The opposite of a magical bloom, it usually happened right before death. I shook my head to clear the last
of the fog. “How did you bring me back?”
He pulled me even closer, dragging me to the edge of the mattress. “Pure fucking power,” he growled. “I jolted you with my
energy, filling you up as much as I could through our bond.”
A pure dose of spellcaster explained why I’d launched myself out of bed like I’d been struck by lightning. Clutching on to
Logan, I felt the tremble in his arms. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked against his throat, breathing in his soothing scent.
“I’ve been so tired this year, and it’s getting worse.”
“I don’t know, Precious,” he whispered, and the ragged sound of his fear cut into my chest.
“Could it be the suppression potion?” I wondered, trying to work through the possibilities. “My exhaustion started late last
year, which could have been part of the spell they cast over the school during the monster attacks. My magic might not like
to be locked down . . .” Panic simmered through my veins, adding to my confusion. “Maybe I should talk to Mom about it?”
“You were planning on heading home this weekend, right?” he said, pulling away to see my face. “Bring me with you, and we’ll talk to her together.”
“Okay, good idea. It’s time for them to know about us anyway, and my issues will be a fantastic distraction from the fact
that I’m sleeping with the enemy.” My lame attempt at a joke fell flat. Logan’s worried expression didn’t ease up at all as
I added, “I’ll try not to exert too much energy over the next few days.”
“I’ll speak to your professors and get you excused today. You’re not leaving this bed. You need to rest, and I’m going to
be right here next to you.”
Heat rose in my body, and I was relieved that there was enough energy within me to fuel my desire. For the first time, the
slightest of smiles tilted his lips. “Not a chance, Precious. You’re resting, and I’m catering to your every whim—”
I opened my mouth, and he chuckled. “Except that one.”
“Orgasms give energy,” I pouted, crossing my arms. “It’s science.”
With a shake of his head, he brushed his lips briefly across mine, pulling away before I could demand more. “We’re not humans,”
he whispered. “Science isn’t what drives us. It’s magic, and yours needs to recharge.”
“Hard-ass,” I groaned, falling back into the pillows.
Logan stood, reaching down to brush my hair away from my face, the heat of his magic seeping into my essence. “You have no
idea how much of a hard-ass I can be when it comes to you, Precious. I’d let the world burn around us as long as you were
okay. I’m no hero except for when it comes to you.”
I barely managed not to cry. “I love you,” I whispered. I’d known this for a while now, and it had been said in more than
words, but it was time to lay it out there. Give him this last piece of myself.
He jerked as if I’d been the one to strike him with power, and if I hadn’t already been lying down, I’d have dropped at the look on his face. “Baby,” he whispered, his expression burning.
Dragging on my meagre strength, I pushed to my knees, his shirt falling down my body. “I love you, Logan Kingston. I love
you more than I thought I was capable of. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you since I was four years old and forced you into a
mate bond spell.”
He was on me in seconds, gentle even as his big body slammed against mine and we crashed onto the mattress. “I fell at your
feet the first time I saw your pretty little face, Paisley Hallistar. Even then I knew you were it for me. I love you too.
I love you so fucking much that it’s a delicious kind of pain I will crave for eternity.”
He pressed his lips to mine, the kiss filled with fire as our powers clashed, and energy fueled me to the point that I couldn’t
remember being tired. Tears fell unabashedly down my cheeks, and Logan kissed across my face, his tongue swiping through my
tears, all the while whispering his love for me.
Eventually he pulled me under the covers, and we stayed like that, wrapped up as tightly as we could get, until I drifted
off to sleep surrounded by his love.
“Did you tell Mom and Dad you were bringing the enemy home?” Trevor asked, smirking when I arrived at Weatherstone’s front
gate with Logan. I’d made it through the last few days without fading, my fatigue a low ebb in my center, but power from Logan
kept me from sinking into it.
“Nope,” I said shortly. “I’m not giving them time to freak out about it. They’ll just have to deal.”
Jensen, who had a bag thrown over his shoulder, rubbed a hand across his face. “This is going to be interesting. Jen and Alice are at home waiting for us as well, so you’ll have the full house for this surprise.”
Nerves assaulted me, but I couldn’t back down now. It was time for everything to come out, a new plan to be made. The suppression
wasn’t working; my energy was fading along with my power, which meant we needed to pivot and figure out a new plan.
Logan stood silent at my side, dressed in faded denim jeans, a Henley, and black boots. He also had a backpack with changes
of clothes, and I wasn’t looking forward to telling Dad that we were staying in my room together.
But it wouldn’t matter what he said.
Even if Logan’s energy wasn’t literally keeping me alive at this point, I was done living without him.
“Well, let’s get this party started.” Trevor’s smirk was permanently in place, and it was nice to see him looking somewhat
chipper. Belle being back had helped his snarly disposition, and now his joy was centered around the drama I was about to
add to the day.
We left the gates and entered the booth already programmed to take us home. I’d requested the portal, so I pressed my hand
against the panel and the power of the transport connected to my own. A few minutes later, we stepped onto the back porch
to find Alice and Jenna waiting for us. Trevor, who had arrived first, blocked me from their view, but not even his size could
block Logan. When I poked my head around, I wanted to laugh at the shock on the twins’ faces, but the tension held me too
tight. A gentle stroke down my spine loosened my muscles enough that I could step forward, debating if I should nudge up Jenna’s
slack jaw, or if that would get me a punch in the mouth. My older sister had quite the temper when riled.
“What the fuck?” she finally gasped. “What the fuck is happening here? I know there’s not a fucking Kingston standing there with his hands on my baby sister.”
Logan was such an intrinsic part of me now that it was hard for me to register her shock, to understand how this didn’t feel
as natural and essential to them as it did to me. Maybe I’d been better at hiding my feelings last year than I’d thought,
because being around Logan but not with him had felt as if I’d carried a wound everywhere, dripping blood as I walked.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” I said simply. “Are Mom and Dad home?”
Jenna shook her head, opening her mouth before slamming it shut again. Alice stepped in for her twin. “Is Logan the reason
you’ve been shutting us out since Halloween?” She sounded hurt, and that killed me. I’d hated keeping secrets from them, and
the truth finally coming out would be a relief for us all.
“Logan and I are not the issue,” I said, looking between the two of them. “He’s the reason I’m standing here today. He’s saved
me more times than I can even tell you.” Meeting his gaze, I wondered how I’d ever thought his green eyes were icy when now
they burned like fire.
“Oh,” Jenna whispered. “Oh fuck. I’ve seen that look before on our parents. That’s a true-bond kind of look.”
It was.
“We’re bonded with an ancient magic that wouldn’t have worked unless we were true mates,” I whispered, unable to look away
from him. Logan brushed a finger down my cheek, leaving a fiery trail in its wake. “We bonded when we were kids, but the extent
of it didn’t truly emerge until my magic bloomed.”
“Impossible.” Jenna shook her head. “Kids can’t access ancient magic or spells. There’s no way.”
Logan’s expression hardened as he met her stare. “When you are true mates, you can. Most just haven’t found the match to their
power, but Paisley and my magic connected before it even bloomed. We’ve always been meant to be.”
“They were unnaturally obsessed with each other as kids,” Alice reminded us all.
Jenna shook her head, the shock holding her features fading into another. Hurt. “You never told us.” She sniffled. “Don’t
you trust us?”
“I trust you with my life. Always. It was just . . . I was still fighting the part of me tied to Logan over the winter break,
and that wasn’t what I was keeping from you anyway. My distance was for another reason—I did it to protect you all, but . . .
I can’t keep it a secret any longer. Mom and Dad thought this was for the best, but it’s not working, and we need a new plan.”
Whatever was happening to me, we needed to deal with this as a family.
Just as we always did.