I craved more of him with every stroke of his tongue that I eagerly matched. Yet, even as things heated up, the kiss wasn’t about sexual need. The need for comforting and closeness ignited within me. I wanted nothing more than to soothe the sharp edges of the darkness he carried.

  Heat rose to my cheeks when his hand moved down my back, forcing me closer to him, and I moaned from the length of his body lining up with mine.

  The single sound had Foster going rigid underneath me. “I’m sorry.”

  I kept my face close to his, gripping his shirt. “For what?”

  “Didn’t I hurt you?”

  “That noise wasn’t from pain, Foster,” I said, only slightly embarrassed.

  “Oh.”

  My lips brushed over his again, hoping to show him how true my words were, but then I heard Charlie’s and Beatrix’s voices getting closer from outside.

  Foster was already moving to sit up before I pulled back. His fingers grazed my cheek. “To be continued, then.”

  My skin flushed, and I nodded before glancing at the opening door.

  Charlie’s grin grew. “Well, hello you two.”

  I felt like I was being busted by my parents for having a boy in my room. Beatrix pushed forward, peering first at me and then Foster. He held her stare, but there was no sneering shared between them, which I counted as a win.

  “Are you feeling better?” she asked me once she looked away from Foster.

  “I am. I need to thank Camille for everything she did.”

  “She’d appreciate that. Now, we need to talk. I know this is only your second night here, but we don’t have time to waste. Not with Moira having your necklace now.” Beatrix took a seat on the chair opposite from us.

  Charlie entered the living room, choosing to stand by her fireplace. “Our saving grace is that Junie didn’t just place your magic in some random object. You said the necklace was a moonstone, and when I told Beatrix that, she knew exactly which stone Junie used.”

  My eyes traveled to Beatrix, waiting for her to elaborate.

  “Before we get to that, I’d like to say something else,” she said, then she nodded at Foster. “I’m sorry for prodding you when I knew you were already too tightly strung from the bond. I tend to find enjoyment in testing others, and you were too easy of a target.”

  That wasn’t exactly the apology I had been hoping Beatrix would give Foster, but he didn’t seem upset by her choice of words.

  “I accept and apologize as well,” he said. “This is your coven, and I’ll do my best to show restraint when you piss me off. I just want what is best for Andie.”

  I closed my eyes and rolled them at the same time. These two were terrible at apologies, but as long as they were getting along, I wouldn’t push for something more.

  Beatrix smirked. “As we all do. So, as Charlie was saying, the moonstone used to capture Andie’s magic is an old coven heirloom. The stone was gifted to the first generation of Bishop witches from the Moon Goddess herself, which makes things all that more interesting considering the bond between the two of you.”

  “Seems as if my creator has known who my mate would be for longer than even I realized,” Foster grumbled.

  “She’s the reason you arrived well before Andie, yes?” Beatrix asked.

  Foster nodded. “She gave me Andie’s scent. Roses and sage. My wolf followed the smell all the way here without question. We could only find the sage aroma when we arrived, which I assume came from Junie?”

  “Witches don’t pick up scents like you wolves do, but I would have to agree with your assumption. Most blood-related witches share more than just genes. It would make sense for them to carry similar smells within their magic,” Beatrix answered.

  “So, what about the necklace? What’s so special about it being this particular moonstone?” I asked. I needed to know if there was still a chance of getting my magic back without it being tampered with by Moira. That blast of dark energy I’d been hit with was more than I wanted to ever experience again.

  “Luna, the Moon Goddess, has gifted stones over the years that contain a sliver of her power,” Beatrix explained. “They can be used to protect or heal, but they’re only good for one use. Your ancestors must have known this would be a monumental moment in our history to have saved the moonstone all this time.”

  “I was only a child. How would Aunt Junie have known the importance of keeping my magic in an object so special?” I asked.

  Charlie grinned, still leaning against the fireplace. “You’ll find that our ancestors are never truly gone when you need them most. Once you have full access to your magic, there’s an otherworldly sense that you get. That’s your family, standing behind you.”

  My throat burned and I swallowed thickly. “Are you saying I could talk to my parents and aunt again?”

  “Yes, but not whenever you want to. Though, you’ll always be able to feel them. The more time that passes, you’ll even learn to tell who’s keeping watch,” Beatrix answered.

  My chest expanded while I tried to process that information. I’d missed my family so much that there was a physical ache inside me, one I’d considered a permanent part of me. Knowing I could have them back in any sense… That was everything to me.

  “When can we go take my necklace back?” I asked.

  Beatrix grimaced. “Now, that’s more complicated unless you don’t care about the number of witches who will die getting it back.”

  19

  FOSTER

  Hearing that Andie’s magic hadn’t been stored in just any necklace, but a moonstone gifted directly from my creator… I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. As open as I was to being bonded to a complete stranger, the thought that Luna had known what was to come and hadn’t allowed me to prevent Andie’s magic from being stolen pissed me the fuck off.

  I was tasked with protecting Andie, yet I’d been set up to fail right from the start. If Andie couldn’t feel the bond, we’d never fully share the same feelings. We needed her necklace to make that happen, and she deserved the magic that belonged to her. Most importantly, it should have never been stolen in the first place.

  “Of course I care how many people could die by helping me,” Andie said, responding to Beatrix’s crude comment.

  “Why do you assume witches will die? What about the contingency plans you mentioned?” I asked Beatrix before she could say anything to further upset my mate.

  “Those plans only include keeping the coven safe, not infiltrating a coven powered by dark energy that none of my witches want anything to do with. There’s a reason none of us have gone after Moira all this time, even when we knew what she was dabbling with. She shares her family magic with two others that she keeps locked away in her coven. Nobody is even sure if they’re women or men or what their relation is to Moira. What we do know is that she controls the Grimm family magic and uses it however she sees fit.”

  “Why haven’t her ancestors stopped her?” I asked, knowing that the connection between those living and dead for witches was still very close.

  “We’re not sure why they haven’t interfered, which is another reason for things being complicated. I’ve tried to glean information from my own line, but there’s only so much they can tell us. We’re all meant to walk our own path, and if too much is given away, it could cause a ripple effect amongst our worlds. Not in a good way, either. That’s a shitstorm I don’t want to be caught in the middle of.”

  That is why the Moon Goddess didn’t give us more information. We must find it within ourselves to overcome the challenges we’re going to face, my wolf said.

  And what if the price of facing those challenges is too high to pay?

  Whatever is meant to be will. You need to have faith.

  “Faith” was a small word with a big meaning. It meant believing in something I couldn’t prove. Something I couldn’t retaliate against. Something that gave me hope. All things that had the power to crush me if I lost too much in the process.

  I needed action to keep me from losing my shit. This conversation wasn’t helping.

  “So,” I said, recapping, “Moira only has three witches within her family line, making the potency of their magic stronger since there are so few of them. She, or they, have tainted their family magic, making what Moira is capable of unpredictable and dangerous. There seems to be no help from either your ancestors or Moira’s. We’re left trying to figure things out on our own, yet none of the witches want to face this challenge because there are too many risks, thanks to the dark magic. Have I gotten all of that right?”

  The longer I spoke, the more my ire grew. If this had been a wolf pack discussing another dangerous pack, they wouldn’t have been scared. They would have come together and fought for what was right. This was why I’d always believed witches were too selfish to be trusted. All too often, they only cared about themselves and not their coven as a whole.

  Andie must have sensed my downward spiral, because she grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine and squeezed tightly.

  “What if I didn’t get my magic back? What would be so bad about letting Moira keep a necklace she likely can’t break into thanks to this Moon Goddess?” Andie asked.

  The idea of her never truly experiencing the bond made my chest restrict until breathing was nearly impossible.

  Charlie moved from the fireplace and took a seat on the arm of the couch next to Andie. “Witches have long been hunted for their power. The reason we were attacked the day your father died was because another coven sought to take your family magic. When there are so few members left in an original line like yours, you become a target. At the time of the attack, it was only your father, Junie, and yourself. Beatrix had forced Junie into hiding, just as your parents had done to you and me when it began. Your father hadn’t been as compliant. He refused to hide and leave the coven with one less defender.”

  He sounded like a warlock I could have gotten along with.

  Charlie continued. “Junie helped us locate the people responsible after you and your mother had left. We hoped that if they were dead, then the two of you would come home, but that wasn’t an option your mother was comfortable with, for obvious reasons. Instead, Junie did her best to teach you what she could during her short visits.”

  “What happened to Junie’s magic when she died?” I asked, given Andie barely contained any inside herself.

  “I have it,” Beatrix answered. “I was there when she moved beyond the veil. I held her hand as she took her last breath and captured the energy before anything could happen to it.”

  Andie sucked in a breath and narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Because you didn’t ask.”

  We’d gone this whole conversation without Beatrix acting superior. I should have known that had been too good to be true.

  “If you have Junie’s energy, then you need to give it to Andie,” I said, doing my best to stay rational.

  “Why? So the two of you can bond and leave and think that everything will be okay? I don’t hand out happily-ever-afters,” she replied with contempt.

  Andie stood, fists at her sides. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I never asked for any of this, but I’m not a coward. I remember this coven. In my heart, this is home. I won’t just leave if there’s still a problem. Screw you for thinking so.”

  Charlie reached for her, but Andie shrugged her off. “I can’t.”

  Andie went to the door, then she turned once more to sneer at Beatrix. “I thought you were someone I could trust, but if you can’t do the same for me, then I don’t belong here anymore.”

  Beatrix said nothing in response, and Andie slammed the door closed when she exited the house.

  “What is wrong with you?” I demanded and stood to follow my mate.

  “I need to protect the coven as a whole,” Beatrix replied.

  “That might be the case, but what you just said to her, that was low, even for you.” I turned to Charlie. “I’ll keep her safe tonight.”

  She nodded but said nothing.

  I raced out the door to find my mate. I hated to say I despised witches when Andie was lumped into that category, but Beatrix was making it hard not to. They were all lucky that I’d finally taken Holden’s advice to heart and wasn’t tearing apart the coven on my way out.

  Regardless of what had just gone down, I knew Andie still cared about this place and at least some of the people inside its walls. I had to proceed assuming we’d be right back here tomorrow, trying to work together again.

  She’s headed for the gate, my wolf said, and I picked up the pace.

  When we found her, Andie’s shoulders were slumped forward, and she was holding on to the gate with her head hanging down.

  I approached slowly and gently touched her arms. “It’s just me.”

  “Can we leave?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  “Of course. We can go anywhere you want.”

  “Where did you stay before you sensed our bond?” she asked, and I really didn’t want to tell her I’d slept mostly outside and kept my things in a storage unit. Instead, I just avoided answering.

  “I know where we can go as long as you don’t mind being around wolf shifters,” I said.

  She sighed. “That sounds a lot better than staying here.”

  Fucking Beatrix. She’d hurt my mate, and I wanted to break the witch in two, but taking care of Andie was more important. I took a steadying breath and turned Andie to me.

  “I can run with you in my arms at a pretty quick pace and we’ll get there a lot faster than walking, as long as you don’t mind. Or I can try to call for a ride.”

  My words brought a spark of life back to her beautiful face. “As you are now or in your wolf form?”

  I offered a small smile. “As I am now. My wolf is faster than I am, but he can’t run on two legs. My shifter genes make me much faster than most on two feet.”

  I might be able to run only using my back legs. We’ve never tried. Maybe we should test it out, he said.

  Not today, Wolf, I replied dryly even though I knew he was joking.

  Andie took a step closer, and I wasted no time picking her up. She wrapped one arm behind my neck and connected her hands as she nestled against me.

  A rumble I couldn’t hold back vibrated through my chest, and she laughed.

  “Is that a wolf thing or a Foster thing?” she asked.

  “I’d like to say a Foster thing, but it’s probably more of a mate thing,” I answered when we stepped outside of the coven.

  Night had fallen, but it was still warm out. Though, if Andie got cold while I was running, hopefully she’d just bury herself closer to me.

  “Ready?” I asked her.

  She glanced behind us and sighed. “I guess so.”

  “This doesn’t mean you can’t come back. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time away to wrap your head around everything that’s happened.”

  “Thank you for understanding. I need that right now,” she said softly.

  I nodded, then began to run under the thin streams of moonlight above us. Energy simmered over my exposed skin, reminding me there were still things I had to do with the wolves in the coming days.

  There was going to be a new moon in a few days, and I knew that meant I would need to run with the pack and spend the night away from Andie. I wasn’t thrilled with that, but I’d made a commitment to Holden in exchange for his help. I’d honor his wishes and be part of his pack.

  I’d also yet to introduce myself, but I’d take care of that in the morning, assuming that Andie was going to want to stay the night away from the coven. Though maybe sleeping in the wolf’s den wasn’t what she had in mind, either.

  “How long will it take us to get there like this?” she asked, her voice raised unnecessarily for my wolf ears.

  “About twenty minutes. Rest your eyes. I’ll slow down before we get there so you can get your bearings again.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes. I stood a little taller knowing that she trusted me so completely. I was a near-stranger to her, yet she rested in my arms, as vulnerable as could be.

  A grin spread across my face while I raced through the forest, taking the familiar path to the pack. For the first time since my family had been destroyed, a sense of rightness settled within me. This was where I belonged. Right here with Andie, keeping her safe.

  I intended to do that until my dying breath, even if she never got her magic back.

  20

  ANDIE

  I had only been at the coven for twenty-four hours before I’d had enough. My first freak-out upon arrival had been just the tip of the iceberg. After knowing Beatrix had messed with my emotions, learning I had a soulmate, seeing my house ransacked, losing the only thing that might make me feel whole again, getting hurt to the point I probably should have died, and then hearing Beatrix say she’d been keeping my aunt’s magic from me… I couldn’t take anymore.

  Even though Foster had been a lot, he’d been the one with whom I felt safest. Given that I knew Charlie—sort of—I realized that seemed weird, but I needed to get away from the witches, and Charlie wouldn’t have been able to do that for me.

  I needed a moment to breathe and think and feel however I wanted without the heaviness I’d left behind at the coven.

  I thought I could handle my life being turned upside down merely because I knew in my heart that being a witch was truly who I was, but I’d been wrong.

  The farther Foster carried me away from the coven, the more tension my body released. His heart beat steadily beneath my ear, and his heated skin kept me warm while I held on tighter to him, needing his closeness.

  Regardless of not feeling an explosive connection with him like he had when he saw me, I was beginning to realize that I didn’t need that moment of recognition to know the bond was there.