Page 48 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

“You didn’t need to bring that up,” I grumbled.

“—she’ll find Bronwyn.”

I wish I had half of Ida’s confidence in me.

Margaux fished a fresh pen out of the junk drawer and handed it to Maya. The familiarity with which she moved around my house was hard to take. It was obvious she and Mom had spent a lot of time together. According to Margaux, they’d been best friends. And if that was true, I might have to reconsider Margaux’s behavior on the day of Mom’s death.

Butfirst, Bronwyn.

I dressed and texted Ronan. He hadn’t returned my last text, but maybe he’d been busy at the pub until early this morning. Weird things were always happening in a place where paranormals gathered to drink.

Need to talk. Text back pls.

I toyed with the idea of telling him about my confrontation with his father last night but decided to wait to talk to him in person for that. He was going to be livid, and I didn’t want him confronting the man without thinking it through first.

By the time I emerged from my bedroom, Maya had filled a page with possibilities. Ida puttered around my kitchen, chatting as she made omelets and toast for everyone. Her amiable prattle seemed to calm Maya, who was busily typing out an email on Ida’s cell phone.

Margaux had removed her coven robe and flipped it over the back of her chair. Her blouse was singed, and she looked like she was in the early stages of a hangover.

“Where should we start?” Margaux dragged her finger down Maya’s list.

I took my seat. “Let’s start with why the coven fell apart and go from there.”

And then you can tell me exactly what you meant by knowing how to bring back my saguaros.

Margaux passed me the paper and clasped her hands in her lap. “It started when we began working with Alpha Pallás.”

I groaned.

It wasn’t even a surprise, last night notwithstanding. When something awful was going on in Smokethorn County, Alpha Floyd was guaranteed to be involved. It was a given at this point.

“Desmond and Aldrich brokered the deal. The coven would be on a retainer for the pack, but we could turn down any request we deemed too dangerous for the coven or anything that was morally wrong. Each job was put to a vote by the coven. It was all very democratic.”

That might be so, but Margaux had been the coven mother. Ifshe’d wanted to do something badly enough, she could overrule them all.

“Things were going well. Money was flowing into the coven, which meant we were able to obtain more high-quality spell supplies, and for his part, Alpha Pallás didn’t ask for anything we weren’t willing to do—until that damned cursed grimoire.”

“TheWeret-hekau Maleficium. The book he had me procure for him.”

“Yes. He was hellbent on tracking down that blasted book, but the coven felt it was too big a risk. A person being cursed was one thing, an entire coven being cursed was another entirely.”

“When you turned him down, he backed me into a corner and had me get it for him,” I said bitterly.

“Yes. I had no idea you would do it. It seemed too big a risk for any witch, but then I was reminded whose daughter you are.” She smiled. “And you did it. Scared the hell out of us all, but you did it. With help from your grandfa?—”

I gave her a look that could’ve melted ice.

She cleared her throat. “However, the cursed book was only the beginning. The alpha seemed to have crossed a line that day, and his requests became progressively darker. We’d gone from casting protection and surveillance spells on his office to him asking for hex bags and curses, and finally…” Her gaze flicked away from mine. “Murder.”

“He asked you to kill? Doesn’t he know that’s an impossible ask for a coven?”

“I believe he did know and didn’t care.”

“So, what happened when you turned him down?” Ida set plates in front of Maya, Margaux, and me then took her own seat.

“He appeared to accept it. At first, the coven was with me. But, one by one, they began changing their minds. It was as if they’d lost all sense of morality. Like they were brainwashed or under a spell.” Her gaze shot to mine. “They weren’t, of course. I would’ve been able to detect a spell. It certainly felt like it, though. Desmond has alwaysbeen a problem, and Aldrich is a greedy old opportunist, but when Gordon and Carolina jumped on board, I knew something was terribly wrong.”

“They were okay withcommitting murder?” Holy goddess, I hadn’t expected that.

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