Page 19 of An Oath at Midnight

“You just gagged, right after my mouth was on yours. I’d say that sure as fuck has something to do with me.” I took a step back, and he grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Talk to me. What the fuck is going on here?”

The pain heightened under his grip, and my fingers curled into a fist all on their own. Instead of lashing out, though, I yanked my arm free, and he let me. Still the look in his eyes said he wasn’t going to let me leave without some kind of explanation, not after that little display. He knew about Willow’s trial, because the hounds had been a part of it. He also knew what had happened to me, some of it, anyway.

So I gave him what he needed and hoped he didn’t ask more questions, because I sure as hell wasn’t in the frame of mind to answer them. I tugged down the collar of my shirt, flashing him some of my scars. “Just dealing with some old demons,” I said and held his bright gaze, silently asking him to drop it.

His gaze moved over the scars, then came back to mine. “Babe,” he said gruffly, somehow conveying a whole lot of feeling in that one word, and again making me think he felt a lot more than a lot of his brothers.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. I need to go.” I took a step back, and he let me walk away this time.

I strode out into the cavern and guilt hit me, along with a sense of wrongness over that kiss that made me feel sick all over again. I wasn’t sure why.

Bram’s face filled my mind, and I forced it back out.

Shoving down the feeling inside me, I rushed back upstairs.

CHAPTER 5

Magnolia

I pushed open the door, back into the noise, laughter, and chatter of the clubhouse. I was heading toward the door and freedom when Warrick whistled loudly, silencing the entire room.

I forced myself to stop and turn to him and Willow, who was now pressed into his side. His arm was around her, tucking her in close under his arm—and my big sister was, goddess, she was beaming, glowing with joy. Willow was gorgeous, but I don’t think she’d ever looked as beautiful as she did in that moment.

“Ready, dove?” Warrick said to her.

She smiled up at him and nodded.

Warrick looked out to the room full of family and friends and flashed his vicious-looking white teeth. I’d never seen him smile like that, and I stilled along with everyone else in the room.

“It’s not just Lothar’s birthday. There’s another reason we brought you all here tonight ’cause we’ve been through a lot of shit the last few years and for once we’ve got something good…” He shook his head. “Something…fucking awesome to share with you.” His arm tightened around Wills.

“I’m pregnant!” Willow cried.

Mom shot to her feet with a cry and ran to Willow—Iris, Jasmine, and Rose following—the hounds howled their approval. There was no stopping my own smile. I shoved down my own crap and walked toward them—

The door to the clubhouse flew open, and several members of the witches council along with their enforcers walked in, magic swirling around them. The hounds closed ranks immediately, blocking their way. Calvin Adler stood in front, eyes wild. He’d taken Cesare Sartori’s place on the council when Sartori resigned a few months ago. I didn’t know much about him, except he’d quickly grown a reputation as a hothead.

There’d been two other resignations. Sapphire Eldridge and Sara Hayashi, and of course they’d both endorsed their own children as their successors. Which was why Sapphire’s asshole son, Isaac, was standing with Calvin, and Asuka Hayashi was at his side.

“You better have a fucking good reason for walking in here,” Warrick said, voice cold. “She told you already she’s not fucking selling,” he said, pointing at Isaac. “Bringing your council buddies here won’t change her mind.”

A couple months ago, a company approached Willow, offering to buy her store for some development project. Willow rejected their offer. A few weeks later, someone tried to torch the store next to hers. She did some digging and found out the company was headed by Isaac, and he didn’t just want her store but the whole block.

Willow pulled away from Mom and pushed her way to the front, stepping out beside Warrick, who was staring them down. “Is that what this is about? What’s going on, Nathan? Why are you here? This place is warded, how did you get through?”

Nathan Trotman had always been someone we could trust, for a lot of years the only one we could trust on the witches council, and right now he looked seriously rattled. “We broke it under the dangerous witch clause in the council’s code of conduct.”

The room went silent. There were three ways to break a ward: the first, a spell that literally judged your intentions and only worked if they were good; the second was known only to council members and they were forbidden to use it unless it was a matter of life and death; the third, the worst kind of dark magic.

Willow jerked back, as shocked as the rest of us. “What?”

“Willow Thornheart, you are required to come with us for questioning in relation to the murder of three witches—”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she said, her confusion obvious.

“You’re not taking my mate anywhere,” Warrick snarled.

Willow put her hand on his arm to calm him because her male was about to start tearing the council members to shreds. “There’s been another murder?”