Page 38 of Ivory's Familiars

Ronan grimaced. They hadn’t figured out a witch was behind this and they hadn’t protected her.

“That doesn’t make this okay. You betrayed me. You let him terrify me! You should have told me!” Ivory yelled.

“I couldn’t! I’m his familiar!” Libby yelled back – as if that explained everything. And it kind of did – to Ronan anyway. But Ivory couldn’t possibly understand, having never had a familiar before. She confirmed his thoughts when she sneered;

“What does that have to do with anything? You have free will, don’t you? It’s not like he was controlling you.”

Libby pursed her lips and looked away, not saying anything.

“Ivory …” Ronan started, not wanting to defend the treacherous woman, but wanting to make sure his lady had all the facts, “She’s his familiar.”

Ivory released a sound of frustration, pulling at her glorious white hair, “Why does everyone keep saying that like it’s the be all and end all?”

“Because it kind of is,” he replied, taking her hand from her long locks and smoothing out her tightly clenched fingers as he continued, “Familiars and their witches are bound on a metaphysical level. We are everything our witch needs us to be; lover, friend, spy, murderer. We do have free will, but the innate desire to do the bidding of our witch and make them happy often overrides that. Especially if a witch is abusing their powers,” he added, beginning to get a clearer sense of the situation now that the bloodlust was leaving his system.

Ivory frowned fiercely but seemed to be thinking. She looked to him, then Seth, then Vaughn who were still solid walls at her back, “Do you feel the need to obey me, no questions asked? Is that how it is with all familiars? Witches can just control them and make them do anything they want?”

Vaughn shrugged and answered her, “Pretty much. We live to serve our coven, our bloodline. Usually a witch doesn’t ask anything of their familiar that they are not willing to do. But, if they do … our witchcanforce us.”

“That’s despicable!” Ivory sounded angry.

“It’s just the way it is. Besides, usually a witch and their familiar are best friends. A witch wouldn’t make their familiar do anything they didn’t want to do. But … there are always exceptions,” Seth said, looking towards Libby with a hint of pity.

“Is this true, Libby? Did Matthew force you?” Ronan hated seeing the tentative hope on Ivory’s face. The betrayal from someone she considered a friend – family – was cutting her deep. He could tell she desperately wanted Libby to say yes. Hell – he was hoping and praying that Libby had been forced too. Otherwise, there would be no stopping Vaughn’s panther from seeking retribution from hurting their mate. As it was, he wasn’t sure it would be enough. Vaughn’s panther was an aggressive bastard.

Libby’s eyes darted fearfully to Matthew who was virtually unrecognisable, “I’m his familiar,” was all the woman said.

“Libby, look at me,” Ivory stepped in front of her, sending Seth and Vaughn a quelling glance when they tried to hold her back.

“It doesn’t matter,” Libby muttered.

“Yes it does. It matters to me. And it’s going to matter to the three big cats behind me too. Did he force you?”

“Yes! Of course, yes! I’m not some fucking pyscho! I don’t go around stalking people for fun! Matthew was a fucking bastard, okay?! He was an abusive, crazy prick! I hate him! Is that what you want to hear? I hate him!” Libby screamed, tears returning to stream down her face.

Ronan swallowed, making eye contact with the other two. Seth’s eyes predictably held sympathy, Vaughn’s were still hard as flint but they were now directed at the fallen witch. She was telling the truth – they could all scent it. And the one thing they all hated were abusive arseholes; they were protectors to their core. For a witch to abuse their familiar in such a way? It was disgusting.

Ivory sighed, running her hands over Libby’s hair, “Okay, Lib. It’s going to be okay,” she gestured with her head, “What do we do with him?” Ivory asked, not flinching as she looked toward the bloody remains of her tormentor.

Even Ronan winced when he saw the amount of blood pooling around Matthew’s body – it was starting to congeal in the heat. What’s more, the skin on his stomach had been completely shredded, causing his innards to now beouttards. But Ivory was looking at the messy remains with nothing more than curious disinterest. Female predators were darn scary, he thought, making a mental note to never piss off her inner cat. In fact, he would just start working on becoming her favourite right now.

He swept her up into his arms, causing her to yelp, and started making his way out of the woods, “Now we call the conclave and get them to deal with it,” he told her, “And you – you are never leaving our sight again.”

“Fuckin’ A. You’re to be within touching distance of one of us at all times,” Vaughn commanded, supporting Seth with an arm around his waist.

“Preferably naked,” Seth added, somehow managing to grin even with a knife sized hole all the way through his hand.

In his arms, Ivory glowered; “You do realise I’m the one who saved all your arses, right? Why do I have to be the naked one?”

Ronan smiled down at her, stealing a kiss from her pouty lips, “Because you’re the prettiest.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Six hours later and Ivory was completely exhausted. Once they had trekked back to her home above the bar, Ronan had placed her in the shower before calling the witch conclave to report what had transpired. She wasn’t ashamed to admit that she had curled up on the tile floor and allowed herself to bawl her eyes out for five minutes before agreeing with her cat and acknowledging she had no other choice. Lee – Matthew, whatever – would have raped her and killed her men, she had no doubt about that. Still – she had killed a man and she was going to have to live with that.

She smiled, hearing the rumble of male voices down the hall. At least she wasn’t going to have to live with it alone. She got the feeling she was going to have three very large, very possessive housemates who would support her through it. At least, she hoped she would. It was one of the reasons why she was procrastinating in the kitchen, fiddling with the dirty dishes instead of in the bedroom with Vaughn, Ronan, and Seth.

It had taken less than an hour for two representatives from the conclave to show up. They were both marshals and Ivory was happy to see they were not bat shit crazy. Her three familiars had explained the situation in its entirety, from them taking on the job as her bodyguards, to discovering Ivory was a descendant of the Panthera bloodline, and finally Matthew’s insanity and Libby’s involvement. An additional two marshals had arrived within another hour, with two senior witches and their familiars arriving a couple of hours after that. The mess that was her former stalker was dealt with in quick order – nothing like a little magic to clean up a crime scene. And the entire magical entourage had settled into her once spacious living room. With four marshals, three witches, and six familiars in it – including Libby – it hadn’t seemed so roomy.

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