Chapter 5
“If I may?” Wyatt asked me and I nodded, at my limit and more than ready to hand over how the meeting should finish since I’d said my piece. He moved towards the center of the room and protectively in front of me, making it clear that he wanted me out of their focus.
Fine, I stepped back closer to Tracey and she took the hint and came to stand next to me. Glad I read what was going on correctly.
At least for once.
“Bevin has given you the carrot,” Wyatt said as he glanced at the council members.
“Not sure the threat of cutting us off and punishing us by putting magic on our familiars could ever be considered the carrot, Professor Wyatt,” one of them drawled.
Wyatt turned and met his gaze head-on. “Maybe not, but here’s my threat.
Handle this as you should and so it never happens again, making sure all of the council members pull their heads out of their asses and behave as they should or I will take Bevin to my brother for his help and protection.
” He raised an eyebrow when people went pale so fast a few looked faint.
I was one of them. Quinn jumped up on my shoulder and snuggled with me.
“He won’t ever do it,” the familiar assured me. “Derek would rather die than ever walk back into that family just as you would. He does this to scare them and protect you. Trust him.”
I could do that, doing my best to swallow down my fear at what he was saying.
“You can’t possibly think to—” Councilman Moon started to object.
“Is this better?” Wyatt demanded, pointing to Conrad and those on his side.
“I don’t think so, and I loathe my brother.
At least I know him and his limits. More than that, I know Jean Shaw has been in love with him for years and years.
They would make an alliance that would thrill her if Bevin and I both came into the fold.
“How would you stand against the Wyatt and Shaw houses combining? My brother might not be the most powerful, but he is popular because he is of the same mindset as Jean. They might combine anyways if they put their pride aside and stop with the games, but if they had us? Learned the truth of her and her real power—what then?”
“The top-tier families would win and walk all over us with the new Wyatt-Shaw head leading it all,” Councilman Reid said firmly.
“There’s no need to debate it or guess. I would be dead.
Most of us would be taken out by the more unscrupulous top-tier heads to get in good with the new alliance of your families. ”
“Yes,” Wyatt said firmly. “And their power—their PR would soar. They’re so different than the other top-tiers that they were able to bring us back into the fold. We learned the council was worse than the new generation of top-tier heads and—the council would never recover from that and fall.”
“You cannot be serious. You would never,” someone whispered, Mrs. Moon I thought, but I wasn’t sure, my blood rushing to my ears.
“I would in a heartbeat to keep her safe,” Wyatt told them, his voice ice-cold.
“Just as Conrad would let her die if he can’t have her.
No one here doubts that he would absolutely do that.
He’s already laid the foundation.” He snorted when some people seemed confused.
“He wasn’t planning on outing her as being a threat. ”
“He was always planning to out me,” I said firmly, already knowing that too.
“It’s why he focused on my dating history and more in the announcement.
He was setting it up for others to put it together.
He wants people to start saying that I’m a goddess witch so he can brag that he was my priest—it’s not even subtle, and then I’d be trapped with the council as my only option. ”
Wyatt turned and kicked Conrad under his chin before anyone could react.
“Except I had already declared to the council that I was her acting priest. Not knowing doesn’t make you free from consequences, and there are laws about trying to replace a priest or priestess of a blessed magic.
Outing one against their will, you disgusting piece of shit. ”
“That’s enough,” Councilman Hanson snapped.
“Oh, I’m just getting started,” Wyatt chuckled darkly. “Because I want you out over this after you promised her that you had this handled and went back against your word for power. So instead of making demands, you should be throwing your son to me for whatever I want to save your own ass.”
“Agreed,” Tracey purred, several others saying the same.
“I warned you that I had enough on Daddy to take your family down, Conrad,” I mocked with a dark chuckle. “Funny how many bad, bad things you learn when you understand familiars and they don’t know to keep their mouths shut.”
Councilman Hanson finally looked scared.
Wyatt focused on those with them. “We’re not inept and need your oversight of all people when you’re so misguided.
He’s blasting us that he could easily cut through my magic?
How many red flags would having her dorm room laced with high-level magic give people?
The goal—the agreed-upon goal—was to keep her under the radar.
“We were honest. We were transparent. Unheard of because she has a good heart and had faith in this council because of Henry Millen. Well, that’s all gone.
Now we do it the jaded way of the adults since all you do is look down on her.
Hell, those of us with penises will be her gatekeepers now.
” He pointed to himself and then Taylor. “Her priest and head of security.”
“Damn fucking right,” Taylor muttered. “And I would punish Conrad before he has an accident that none of you will ever trace.”
“Taylor,” Councilman Reid hissed.
“No, Dad. Not this time,” he snapped. “Ignoring the miracle she gave to me and all of mine giving us the bonds with our familiars back and hope to repair what we broke, his plan would have gotten you and Mom killed. So yeah, I want his fucking head. If you want to be noble and keep your hands clean, fine, stand aside and I’ve got enough dirt to handle this. ”
And that worried a lot of people because Taylor Reid was terrifying and our whole world knew it.
“Now that you understand where you all stand, we’ll let you know how things will go from here depending on how you handle this situation,” Wyatt told the council when no one seemed to know what to say next.
“Or I walk into the Wyatt estate with Bevin—on camera and announce to the world that the council is too corrupt to trust because they tried to force Conrad on her.”
“While I share your upset, we can’t remove him from the council without risking us all,” someone interjected when it was clear we were leaving on that note.
“Then figure out something equally harsh or make some sort of backroom deal to have him retire early while finding someone better to take the seat,” Wyatt warned.
“Start grooming the right replacements so the top-tiers don’t have a chance to name themselves instead of this push for nepotism.
I would think the headmaster of Morrigan who turned it around would be a good call. ”
I wasn’t shocked when Headmaster Kerwynn cursed under his breath.
Wyatt came closer to me and gave a slight nod of his head for where I should go, moving his hand closer but careful not to touch me. I was grateful for that and when we went back to my house.
“I need to shower and a minute,” I told them, knowing there was a lot to handle and think about.
But first I needed to scrub the feeling of Conrad’s hands off of me even if it was hours later. I used Tracey’s bathroom since I didn’t like mine with all of the stuff from my parents’ house. She wouldn’t mind anyways.
My skin was red from the loofa I’d used for too long when I was done, but I did feel better. Everyone was looking at me with too many questions, but I held up my finger, realizing there was something to handle first.
“I was a bit disappointed I didn’t receive a call from you given how well my camp has been sharing information,” I said to Jean when she answered my call.
“I figured you were a bit busy, and… I don’t like being on speaker without knowing who is there, Bevin.”
“That’s fair, but it’s no one to worry about, and honestly it was an oversight after my shower,” I admitted with a sigh. “And people I would tell anyways so best to just have it out in the open.” I shrugged even if she couldn’t see it.
“Fine, but warn me next time to be friendly,” she begrudgingly accepted. “I didn’t have anything to add, you clearly had your hands full, and then… Something took over my schedule.” She sounded worried, not just tired.
“Security related?” I rubbed my eyes when she didn’t reply. “So that’s a yes. I might help with that. Do you have anything you want to share since we’re on the phone? I assume you answered because—”
“The ‘rumors’ of you and Derek Wyatt are coming from one source,” she cut in, her voice tight, but I didn’t think with annoyance.
“His older brother,” Tracey surmised. “He’s been contacting Derek and the headmaster.”
“Correct. He made a point to brag to me that even if I now had Hughes off my back, it was a shame the damage it would do to me since he would now scoop up my lost little lamb and look the hero. That you kids were so easy to play, making it clear he thought me the same.”
“And you said in response?” Tracey hedged.
“That clearly I was misguided thinking he was as intelligent as he was attractive because Bevin was smart enough to outplay Charles Shaw and the opposite of a lost lamb. That she’d chew him up and spit him out, and if she found out he was spreading rumors about the teacher helping her magically, he’d end up dead in a ditch. ”
“And?” I pushed, thinking there was more.
“Something else personal and unseemly that others don’t need to hear,” Jean drawled. “I was feeling petty.”
Tracey snorted along with a few others, so I missed something there. “Well deserved with that dipshit. Thank you, that was useful.”