Chapter 23
The atmosphere in the house remained tense as we waited for Mom and Dad to get home. My brothers already knew the truth, and
they tried to distract Jenna and Alice, but the twins spent most of their time eyeballing Logan and me.
I got why they were upset—I’d feel the same way if the situation were reversed. We didn’t keep big secrets from each other,
especially not when one of us was in trouble.
My actions had created this distance between us, and it was time to fix my fuckup.
The front door opened while we were chilling in the lounge, pretending to watch TV. Logan was sitting beside me, and when
everyone jumped up, he helped me to my feet. Trevor’s brow furrowed as he noticed my weakened state, and I forced myself to
stand on my own, waving off his concern. He’d find out about our new issue soon enough.
“Kiddos,” Mom called from the entrance. “We bought Chicken Larry’s for lunch. We’ll meet you in the dining room.”
Chicken Larry’s was a family favorite, with perfectly crisp Southern fried chicken pieces, crunchy fries, creamy mashed potatoes,
and their secret-family-recipe gravy as the cherry on top. This conversation had better not ruin Larry’s for us.
Logan swung his arm around me in support, and as much as I tried not to lean on him, I needed his strength. In more ways than just physical. “You got this, Precious,” he whispered against my cheek, sending a shiver slowly down my spine.
“I love you,” I replied softly. His thick, dark eyelashes shadowed his cheeks as he closed his eyes. He’d admitted to me that
Rafael wasn’t the sort of parent to hand out words of affection, not even when he was younger. He’d lost his mom when he was
a child, and he’d felt alone ever since. No one had ever told Logan they loved him, and I was determined to say it every day
we had together.
“I wish I’d been with you over the years,” I said, trying not to fall apart; this wasn’t about me. “The way we should have
been.”
“Me too, Precious. I only saw your life from the outside looking in, when I wanted to be right in the middle.”
I paused, narrowing my eyes on him. “Wait . . . Did you literally watch me over the years, Stalker?”
His first real smile in days graced his lips. “When my magic bloomed, and I figured out how to use transport magic without
checking in, I kept an eye on you. I had to make sure you were safe.”
He was two years older than me, which meant he’d been watching me all that time and I’d never known. “Keeping my distance
was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done,” he promised me, “but I had to play Rafael’s game for as long as possible. He
wanted me to wait for you to bloom and then get close enough to give him updates on your magic.”
“Are you sure he doesn’t know about our bond?” Rafael had a plan, we were both sure of it, and it started with Logan watching
over me at Weatherstone. But what was the next part?
Was he waiting to find out about my affinity?
Logan shook his head. “I don’t know how he’d know about the bond . . . I’ve never told him. He has been encouraging me to stay near you and elevate your magic. Fuck, he’s half the reason I avoided you last year. If Rafael wanted us closer, then it couldn’t be good for either of us.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“Paisley!” Mom shouted from the dining room. “Lunch is getting cold.”
“Coming, Mom,” I replied, but I wasn’t planning on moving until Logan answered my last question.
He knew it as well, his smile growing. “After what happened in the graveyard, when our magic combined and created pure power,
I decided I was done hiding in the shadows. It was growing harder to keep you safe, and every time you were in danger, I’d
lose my fucking mind. I was always near you, Precious. Your own personal stalker. The only difference is now you know about
it.”
My snort of laughter echoed around the room. “I can’t tell if that’s romantic or terrifying.”
Logan shrugged. “No reason it can’t be both.”
Right. There was absolutely no reason.
He started to lead me toward the dining room, and I found myself asking a question that I immediately regretted. “What really
killed your mom, Logan?”
As I finished speaking, Mom appeared in the doorway, her face drained of color. She’d heard my tasteless question. “Only one
person can tell us that,” Logan said shortly, watching Mom closely. “And she’s standing right here.”
“Paisley,” Mom whispered, pale and shaking, “what’s he doing here?”
If only she knew that my mate was the least of our problems. “We have a lot to talk about,” I told her. “And Logan is, and
always will be, part of my life and what’s happening to me.”
Her gaze flickered toward the dining room. “It’s too dangerous for them to know,” she said, her tone urgent.
“Half of them already know,” I replied with a small cringe, hoping I hadn’t doomed us all.
“And they’re in danger either way,” Logan said, always having my back. “Keeping them in the dark is limiting all the ways
they can protect you and themselves. Not to mention they could unintentionally make it worse.”
Mom wavered on her feet, but she got herself under control before she collapsed. She took a few more moments—looking between
Logan and me—to decide where she fell on the situation. Not that it mattered, the choice had really been taken out of our
hands. And she knew it. With a nod she croaked, “Okay, let’s get this done.”
We followed her into the dining room, and as Logan came into view, Dad shot to his feet. “What the Hel, Paisley?”
Mom waved him down, and his trust for her was so implicit, he didn’t question the action, dropping back into his seat. “Logan’s
not our enemy today,” she said, voice growing stronger with each word. “Paisley believes he’s on her side, which means he’s
on our side.”
“I will personally believe that when I see it,” Jenna grumped. “He’s probably playing games with her to enact whatever revenge
plan Rafael has in the works.”
Logan’s growl shut the room down as he reminded everyone present that he was one of the most powerful warlocks in the world.
“You can insult me all you want,” he rumbled, words slow and biting, “but never question my feelings for Paisley. We’re bonded
by magic and love. She was it for me from the moment I met her, and just because she grew up with you doesn’t change the fact
that she’s mine. I will kill and die for her. She’s my mate. Mine.”
His magic swirled, and all of us felt a subtle but powerful slam against our own.
Mine piped up like a puppy getting a treat.
All excited and shit. As everyone stared open-mouthed, Logan pulled out a chair and gently deposited me in it.
It was hard not to collapse, but I didn’t want to reveal, just yet, the full extent of my fatigue.
Logan grabbed a plate and, ignoring everyone, asked me, “What do you want to eat, Precious?”
He cared for me in a way that we’d grown up watching Dad do with Mom, and I could feel the tension easing in the room. “I
love everything from Larry’s.” I shot him a cheeky smile, and his chest swelled as he got to work dishing me up food. My family
still hadn’t moved, watching us closely, as if cataloging every movement.
When he placed my food before me and nudged it closer, without touching a piece for himself, the tension eased, and my family
filled their plates as well.
Logan had given me so much that there was no way I could eat it all, so I grabbed an extra fork for him. “You can share with
me,” I said. “I won’t eat half of this.”
A familiar, stubborn expression crossed his face. “I’m not touching your food until you’ve eaten. Now go on, you need the
energy.”
That caught Mom’s attention, her spoon of mashed potatoes hovering above her plate. “What is he talking about? Are you okay,
Paisley?”
Logan ignored her completely, tapping his hand against my plate. I already knew from the last week at school that he wouldn’t
stop until I ate, so I rolled my eyes and grabbed my fork. “That’s the reason we’re here,” I said as I spooned up some potatoes.
“My magic is waning, and we’re wondering if it could be the suppression potion.”
Jenna’s fork clattered to the table. “Why is she taking a suppression potion?”
Mom looked at me, then toward her eldest daughter. “We’ve been keeping you all in the dark about Paisley’s affinity, and I want to apologize because it was my call. Your sister wanted to tell you all when everything blew up last year.”
Jenna’s hand shook as she grabbed her fork again. “You’re going to tell us now, right?”
“Yes,” I confirmed before Mom could. “I’m going to tell you everything.”
Between bites of food, I started with the first monster appearances, and what had happened at the end of the year. “On All
Hallows’ Eve, when the blanket over Weatherstone lifted,” I said softly, “my magic went haywire, and I called all the monsters.
That’s when I knew I was actually behind the attacks at Weatherstone.”
My sisters didn’t utter a word as I told them everything, including what we’d learned from the reaper book, the fact that
we were called “night witches,” and Gran’s letters. After, Mom filled them in on the suppression potion we were using to keep
my affinity a secret. We put it all on the table, and it felt right to have everyone know the truth.
By this stage, I’d eaten as much as I could, and Logan finished the rest of my plate in an orderly fashion. He ate the way
he did everything in life, with methodical skill that accomplished his task in the fastest and most competent manner.
“What is your part in all of this, Logan?” Dad asked him. His expression was neutral, but we could see the flames in his eyes.
Logan didn’t hold back. “My father hates your family. Since Mom’s death, he’s been building his wealth and power, all to take you down.
He said that simply killing you all would be too easy.
Too fast. He wants to watch you suffer the same way he has.
He didn’t tell me the exact plan, but I believe he hopes to start destroying this family one member at a time, until you’re the only one left, Professor Hallistar—the best friend who didn’t believe him when he said there was a dark magic aura around your wife.
He blames you the most, and he wants you to suffer as much as he has. ”
The silence was heavy, broken only by a roar from Morris, who was outside. No doubt he was reacting to the devastation we
could see on Jenna’s face.
“He didn’t tell me how he plans to achieve this goal,” Logan continued, the deep baritone of his voice growing stronger. “I’ve
tried to play the good, dutiful son to stay in the loop, but a part of him doesn’t trust me. When he told me to go to Weatherstone
last year to keep an eye on Paisley and report back what magic she has, I did exactly that, but I never told him my suspicion
that she was involved in bringing the monsters into the school. Somehow, he knew, though, and on parents’ weekend he broke
through the blanket briefly and fed his energy into Paisley so her magic went haywire and temporarily brought dozens of monsters
inside the barrier.”
I jerked around to stare at him; he’d never told me that before. “So I didn’t imagine them.”
“Sorry, love,” he said with a sad smile. “I felt his energy when I raced into your room, and knew it was involved, but I didn’t
know how. It wasn’t until last month when he called me home and told me that you were from the night witch affinity, also
known as a reaper, that it all made sense. He believes you had something to do with the monster who killed Mom.”
I blinked. “Why hasn’t he come after me, then? What’s he waiting for in this plan to start killing us off, one by one?”
Logan’s energy rattled through the room, his darkening expression scary. “I can only guess that he’s not ready to go up against me, not in a direct attack. But he’ll have a plan, even if I’m at a loss of what it is.”
The realization hit me all at once. “Logan, my weakness . . . what if . . . ?”
Dad shot to his feet, his power swirling until the room’s temperature had us all baking. “What weakness? What’s happening
to your power, Paisley?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea, Dad. But I’ve been exhausted to the point that on Wednesday, Logan felt me fading.” Swinging
my gaze toward Mom, I asked again, “Could this suppression potion be weakening me? Draining my powers and energy until I’m
in danger of fading away in darkness?”
She shook her head. “Not a chance, honey. It’s not dark magic. It’s very similar to the blanket magic over the school. To
my knowledge, nothing but a very powerful curse can drain a witch’s magic.”
Logan snarled at this new possible cause of my waning magic. If anyone was going to conjure a curse, it would be his bastard
of a father.
“I’m going to kill him,” Dad raged, heat billowing from his skin.
Logan’s rumble filled the room. “Not if I get to him first.”
Two alpha males faced off, but for once we were all fighting on the same team. This was why I wanted everything on the table,
because to beat someone as strong as Logan’s father, it would take everything we had.
He’d been planning this for years. No way was he going to take us on without a plan B, C, and D. We just had to hope we could
figure them all out before it was too late.