Page 10 of Allie

I watched as Asa picked up the small kitten and set her in his lap. The air around us crackled, charged with the kind of heated tension that made my insides flutter with desire. As we crowded around the coffee table, I couldn't help but steal glances at Asa. The soft glow from the overhead light cast shadows across his features, somehow making him both more mysterious and impossibly attractive.

"Let's focus, Allie," Roan's voice was gentle, yet it snapped me back to reality. I felt a pang of guilt for letting my thoughts wander, especially since I was Roan's mate. Yet, here I was, drawn to Asa and Draven in a way that defied explanation.

"Sorry," I muttered, shaking my head as if it would dispel the confusing array of emotions swirling inside me. We were dealing with dark magic, after all—not the time for my heart to be doing somersaults over another man.

Roan reached over the table and cupped my chin. “Nothing to be sorry about, but we’ll talk about that later.”

Amusement and need lit up his gaze, and it eased some of my guilt. I had no idea what I was doing. Or what these men were doing to me. I nodded and focused on the journal.

Draven hovered his hand over the journal, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I figured Doyle was into some heavy shit, but this is darker than anything I’ve ever felt," he said, and his voice was like velvet, sending shivers down my spine despite the warmth of the room.

"Maybe the journal will give us some clues," Asa suggested, his eyes locking onto mine. It was a gaze filled with understanding, as though he could read the turmoil inside me as easily as he read futures in his art. His proximity sent a ripple of heat through me, a magnetic pull I couldn't seem to resist.

"Right." I nodded, too eagerly, trying to bury the newfound attraction under a mountain of determination. "The journal."

I scooted closer to the coffee table and held both my hands over the journal while letting my magic flow downward. My magic covered the book, searching for a way around the spell that bounded it close.

"Careful with that, love," Draven warned, his tone laced with concern but also something else—something akin to the knowing smirk that often played on his lips.

"Always am," I retorted, mustering a smile that felt more like a grimace. How did this happen? When had my heart become such a traitorous thing, thrumming with life for all three of these incredible men? The confusion tasted bitter on my tongue, like coffee left too long on the burner.

"Let's see what secrets you're hiding," I whispered to the journal, tracing the strange symbol on its cover. My fingertips tingled, a whisper of magic that seemed to beckon me deeper into its pages, into the web we were all ensnared in.

"Be careful, Allie," Asa's voice was soft but insistent, his hand hovering near mine, ready to pull me back should the need arise. It was a lifeline I hadn't known I needed until this very moment.

"Here goes nothing," I whispered as I pushed more magic into the journal. I spoke an incantation, a spell of my own creation that cleansed dark energy. But as soon as my power touched the dark spell, it rebound back to me, knocking me backwards.

With my breaths coming in and out in gasps, I laid on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Aspirin rushed to my side and licked my face. Then all three guys were there, looking down at me. Roan looked pissed, and I knew it wasn’t directed at me. Draven and Asa were worried.

Asa touched my cheek, and I felt a slight pressure. It wasn’t uncomfortable. I realized that Asa was a psychic. A moment later, the earlier headache that had been building since Roan and I left Doyle’s apartment eased.

“I’m okay,” I said and moved to sit up.

Roan gathered me into his arms and carried me to the sofa. He sat and placed me on his lap. I curled into him, still feeling the heavy residue of the dark magic.

“You okay?” Roan asked with his lips to my temple.

“Yeah. It just shocked me, is all.” And whatever Asa did helped ease a lot of the discomfort. I was grateful for that. Otherwise, I’d be running to the bathroom to empty the contents of my stomach.

5

ALLIE

The last bite of Natalie's famous lasagna lingered on my tongue, a rich blend of herbs and cheese. Pushing back from the table, I followed Roan, Draven, Asa, and my sister into the living room. When Nat had come home from work, the guys and I filled her in on the journal and the symbol. Nat was as puzzled about the whole as we were.

"Okay," I started, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "we need a game plan." The five of us formed an uneven circle, the weight of our collective resolve pressing down like the humidity before a storm.

Draven leaned forward. "That symbol," he said, pointing to the journal I'd placed on the coffee table. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

Neither have I, and I’ve studied magic and the different symbols and elements my whole life. Nat too. We were at a lost to what it meant.

"Which means research," Asa chimed in. His gaze met mine and for a moment, I forgot about the danger lurking around us.

Roan nodded. "Allie and I can dig into the magical library archives tomorrow morning."

"Town's buzzing with theories about Doyle," Draven said as he sat back on the couch. "Word is he stumbled onto something he shouldn't have."

Asa nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed in thought. The soft glow of candlelight danced across his features, casting shadows that seemed to deepen his concern. "I'll meditate and sketch out some vibes tomorrow. See if the canvas reveals anything hidden."