Page 271 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

She nodded. “When you are released, you should stop by the bakery and learn the history of what you are and why these things matter.”

She stood.

“Wait. What did it mean when the men threatened to bind Kass?”

She hesitated. “It’s possible for a shifter to take a witch’s power. It’s fatal for the witch, but the shifter gets the witch’s magic, though only temporarily.” Her finger twitched and Bailey nodded.

Lucy snapped her fingers. “Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you for seeing me.”

“If my firm had known about you, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Then she walked out. A few minutes later he was escorted outside, but the basketball game had moved on and he didn’t feel like playing.

* * *

Kass satat the dinner table with his parents and sister. It was always weird whenever he came to see them. They didn’t ask about his work, and he couldn’t say much beyond it being a good trip—regardless of whether that was true. They’d covered his sister’s studies, and mum’s promotion to principal, and then a silence descended.

Meaghan had been studying him for the last five minutes, to the point that Kass wanted to ask if he had something on his face. Meaghan wasn’t a witch, but she was perceptive, and he didn’t like it when she narrowed her eyes.

She waved her fork at him. “There’s something different about you. Mum, have you taken a proper look at Kass since he got back?”

Mum turned her gaze on him. He lifted his eyebrows and was about to argue, but his mother took Meaghan seriously. “Your magic is different.”

Now Dad was staring at him too, and he felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. “What have you done?”

“Oh my god, why do you think I’ve done something?” He drank from his wine glass and scrambled for a plausible anything, but came up with nothing. They should know. They’d want to meet Bailey. But fuck, Bailey was younger than his sister, and he was in prison and they didn’t know what they were doing yet. But it had to be something because he hadn’t wanted to even go looking for a hook up. He was hanging out for Friday when they could get together.

“Because you reacted like that.” Meaghan grinned. “I may not have magic, but you are an open book. Who is he and why is he affecting your magic?”

Kass clamped his teeth together, but there was no escaping this one. “Fine, I met someone before I went away.”

“Ohh, sounds serious if you’re still seeing him,” Meaghan teased.

“Shut up,” he snapped.

“Kass.” It was warning wrapped in concern. His father didn’t understand magic and didn’t really want to. “If there’s something going on…”

He glanced around the table; they were all staring at him, expecting him to make some kind of announcement. Fine, he’d give them one.

“He’s a shifter.” He didn’t need to say anything else.

Meaghan glanced at Mum. Mum drew in a breath but looked like someone had announced he was dead.

“Mum, what does that mean?” Meaghan pressed.

This silence was worse. His parents shared looks, then Mum spoke. “You have a familiar?”

“Yeah. It just kind of happened.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“I think so, mostly. We were apart for six months and haven’t really talked or gotten to know each other or anything.” And now he was speaking he couldn’t shut up. He told them about the nightclub and losing his wallet, then Bailey’s letter and the way Bailey had saved his life. That meant showing the scar and worrying his parents further because he hadn’t told them when it happened. “And now he’s in jail.”

Meaghan stared at him. “That’s not what I was expecting. Should I say sorry or congrats?”

“I don’t know.”

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