Page 107 of Claimed

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but she’s been very badly abused, Grey. Badly.”

“What does badly mean?”

“We have to find a way to stop them. I don’t know how much Stacy has shared about her upbringing, but Greyson, it’s bad. Like… really bad.”

After I end the call, after staring out the window for a while trying to simmer the rage boiling in my blood, my phone rings again.

I don’t recognize the number calling.

“Hello?” I answer.

Nothing.

I repeat, “Hello?”

A female clears her throat. “Greyson Blackwood?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“I… I’m Soleil Young. I… wonder if we could meet. And if you agree, I would just please ask… not that you owe me anything… but I would ask that you keep it just between us for now.”

“Why?” I ask, feeling no emotional attachment to the voice on the other end of the phone, which strikes me as odd.

In fact, my gut has gone stone cold.

“There’s bad blood with me and some important people in your life, people I’m not looking to connect with at the moment. I’m interested in a connection with you, so I thought we could just keep things between us if there’s any chance we can become… acquainted. For now, at least.”

“I wasn’t asking why you wanted it between us. I want to know why you want to meet. Why you want to know me?”

“I… you’re my son.”

“Hasn’t seemed to bother you in more than three decades. Why now?”

“Well…” She pauses and I don’t know if she doesn’t know what to say or if she’s doing it for effect. “They suppressed my ability to practice my magic, but I feel like things have recently changed for you. I’ve been… apprehensive about reaching out, what you might think of a mother who was cast out of not just her marriage, but also her coven. I know I have a lot to answer for. But I can’t shake these visions that have come frequently as of late. I can’t shake the feeling that you might need me.”

“My father mated again after you.”

“I know,” she says firmly.

“Gave me a new mother. She’s here for me every day, every time I need a mother.”

“I’m glad,” she says. “It hurt to imagine you growing up without that.”

“Any of this have to do with me coming into a fuck ton of power lately?”

The line is quiet for a beat before she says, without an ounce of timidness, “Well, yournewmother is human, isn’t she? She can’t help guide you with your magic.”

I immediately reply with, “Aunt Mimi can, can’t she? I’ve also got Vivica, Ronnie, Jessica, Dani, and Erica.”

“My brother’s girls. Yes, I know of them. I would also be happy to share any insight I can. I would hate for you to wind up like I did.”

I flinch. And goosebumps rise on my arms and the back of my neck when she adds, “Dark magic is like a lover that tempts and beckons, Greyson. It whispers your heart’s desires to you. Unfortunately, I fell prey to that and … you do have my genetics.”

“I’ve also got my father’s genetics and he’s a pretty fuckin’ stand-up guy.”

“That, he is,” she replies softly.

“Has the dark magic stopped whispering to you?” I ask.

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