Page 81 of Savage Sacrifice
“The supernatural world knows of him. Sure, some quiver, but you have barely been a part of this world and didn’t falter. As a member of the Renegade Coven, and now apparently a center witch, you would expect more.”
I flop back against Wylder at a loss.
Peering at Minnie, hoping for something to balance out the concerns, her smile falls flat. “She’s been super spacey, and asking questions I don’t know if she should have the answer to,” she breathes, and Lincoln snarls.
“We can’t have a mole in our inner circle,” he snaps, and Asher hums.
“Then that’s where we start, with Bryony. Maybe it will lead to some answers.”
“Agreed,” Wylder says firmly, his breath at my neck.
“And me, where do I start?” I ask, knowing I’m going to have to head back to my new fake life.
Blaze purses his lips, wiping a hand down his face before he sighs. “You’re not going to like what I say,” he mutters, and I exhale, feeling myself deflate.
A disgruntled sigh parts my lips as I meet his gaze, but I don’t hide away from what I know is coming. “You’re going to tell me I need to reach out to my parents, aren’t you?”
He nods, sweeping his tongue along his bottom lip. “Yes, and you need to speak to your professor so we can get in touch withBelladora again,” he adds, and Lincoln mutters his agreement, providing me the rare pleasure of witnessing the two of them co-existing.
Sitting tall in Wylder’s lap, I know my time with my family has come to an end. “So I have to go back?” I ask, knowing it already, but needing to hear it from the others.
“You have to go back,” Wylder confirms as he presses a kiss to my shoulder, and it fuels me with a level of drive I’m not familiar with. I’ll do it, though. I’ll go because that’s what we need, and because I know I’m coming back to them. “Don’t worry, though, Little Witch. We won’t be far behind you. I promise you that.”
28
POLARIS
My heart aches as I stare at the house I’m supposed to call my home, but my home, in the form of my men, kissed me goodbye five times before life tore us apart. As the front door closes behind me, I lean against it, desperate for it to keep me propped up before I crumble under the pain growing in my chest.
“Hey, is this the walk of shame?” Ben’s voice carries down the hallway from the kitchen, easing a little of the sadness that clings to me like a second skin. I manage to lift the corner of my mouth a tick as he appears in the doorway straight ahead. “Ding, ding, ding, I was right, it is. How lucky did my girl get?” he asks, wagging his eyebrows at me, and I feel the heat burning at my cheeks instantly. “I’ll take that as averylucky girl,” he declares.
“Stop,” I grumble, hiding my head in my hands as I will the color in my face to fade.
When I lift my head, I find him glancing at his watch. “Luckily for you, we need to leave,” he states, cutting the remaining distance between us.
“Do we have to?” I breathe, wiping a hand down my face, exhaustion tingling through my limbs. I need five minutes toprocess the last twenty-four hours alone, but the immediate shake of his head tells me I’m not going to get it.
“Maybe next time you don’t stay up all night fucking lover boy,” he insists, reaching behind me to open the door before slinging his arm around my shoulders and scurrying us both outside.
I attempt to dig my feet in, but fail miserably when I consider the fact that I was indeed up all night with a lover boy, but not the one he thinks.
The mid-morning sun threatens to melt me on the spot, and the thought of the campus A/C lures me closer despite the storm brewing in my mind. Falling into step with the menace that is Ben, I bask in this newfound friendship between us.
We barely spoke at Florentine’s, and words were limited when we had them at Trinity Falls. Here, it’s different. He doesn’t remember everything I do. To him, we’re just two people being friends, and seeing this side of him is incredible.
With that thought in mind, I don’t entirely hate being away from everyone. Maybe beingnormalfor a little while will do me some good.
“How did things go with Bianca?” I ask, hoping to draw the conversation away from me as he drops his arm from my shoulders and shrugs.
“She’s playing hard to get,” he states, the grin still etched on his face, and I shake my head at him in disbelief.
“You like that game too much,” I mumble, acutely aware that he used to be like this with Sian.
“Do I? I don’t remember,” he states, and guilt instantly floods my veins.
He’ll remember. Not now, but soon.
Clearing my throat, I tuck a loose tendril of hair behind my ear as I attempt to change the subject again, but he beats me to it.
