Page 90 of Cursed Love
“Sweetheart, I don’t think—”
As quickly as everyone moved away, she pulled them closer and froze their bodies. “If you behave, I’ll let you go. Now quit this shit. Short, short version: Mom was a witch and so was Dad. Dad wasnotkilled by a bear but most likely a werewolf. Mom died because of a curse. Each of you has magic. How much? Well, we don’t know. I’m sure each of you has something you’ve noticed. I was gone because some asshole demon wanted me because as you can clearly see I have some badass powers. Oh, and I’m also pregnant.”
With another flare of her fingers, everyone stumbled as she released them. Brandy leaned against Ryan and shut her eyes.
“That was one hell of a Band-Aid, sweetheart.”Ryan chuckled.
“They’ll get over it,”she said.
“You’re pregnant?” Andrea yelled over the commotion of voices.
Ryan gave Junior and Ethan a look. Both men nodded and moved behind Ryan and Brandy. His number one concern was his mate, not the info bomb she had dumped on her family, no matter how entertaining their reaction was.
The next hour was spent answering questions. Brandy’s soft snores had begun about ten minutes into the discussion, and Ryan nearly growled at Junior when he suggested laying her down in the guest bedroom. She was where she belonged, in his arms.
By the end of the hour, Ethan sat on the floor at Ryan’s feet and Junior on the arm to the chair. Ryan gathered this bunch was a tight-knit family. The love flowing between them was a strong bond.
“About this curse, how do we save her?” Junior asked, his soft eyes focusing on Brandy’s sleeping form.
Ryan pressed his cheek to her head and smiled. “I think we broke it without knowing. We were kind of hoping Ethan could help us find out.”
“How?” Ethan asked, and Ryan filled them in on his family line.
Ethan’s eyes widened and nodded. “Serena told me it was difficult to remove curses. What a brilliant way to rectify Suzanna’s wrong!” His gaze narrowed. “How can I help? I don’t—”
“There’s a spell only oracles can perform. You’ll need to call forth Cassandra.”
“Who?” Junior asked as Ethan began shaking his head.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Ryan smiled at his new friend. “She’s your ancestor, so it will be easier. Center yourself like Serena’s been teaching you and say, ‘I’m in need of guidance. Cassandra Broderick, please come forth.’”
“What a load of shit,” Edward muttered from their right.
Ryan ignored the businessman and his logical mind and instead snapped his fingers. In his free hand, a white tapered candle appeared. “Use this. It’s already been blessed.”
Ethan chuckled. “I need to learn how to do that,” he stated.
“Me too,” Brandy muttered against his chest, her breath warming him through the fabric of his shirt.
“Hey, sleepy head, feel better?” he asked against her hair.
“Mhmm… What are you doing, E?” she asked, her voice rough with sleep.
Ethan pushed to his feet and shook out his arms. “Ryan thinks I can call Cassandra forward so we can see whether the curse was really broken.”
Her pink face turned toward him, her bright eyes shining. “Really?”
Ryan nodded. “Oracles can call forth ancestors much easier than rounding up a coven. Then again, there are enough of us here.” He shrugged.
“Bran?” Ethan called, tipping the candle toward her. The tip lit instantly, and he gave her a quick thanks.
“Not sure I’ll get used to seeing that,” Max muttered.
The room stilled, everyone watching Ethan close his eyes and center himself. Ryan could feel Ethan’s magic stir, mixing with the other power in the room. A sense of pride bubbled in Ryan’s chest as he witnessed Ethan embracing his power in front of his family.
“Holy shit,” James whispered, his attention across the room from Ethan.
