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Grey

Two alphas guard Stacy for me while I spent a few hours at Riley’s, having breakfast with the Young clan, relieved Mimi is okay, that the blade in her gut was magical rather than lethal, meaning that as soon as it was pulled, the wound closed, there was no pain, and she opened her eyes. She’s conscious and she’s both looking and feeling years younger, but I’m surprised by the fact that although I seem to have all the power she bestowed upon me, she hasn’t lost hers.

Aviva Starling’s drowned corpse was recovered just before dawn and is now in the basement of the town hall, which hasn’t ever housed four corpses at once.

I’ve had just about enough dealing with death. But my gut tells me more is coming and I hate this feeling. There’s a sense of foreboding in me that has me feeling like I’m jacked up on caffeine. Is that the extra magic? The link with Mimi? Is that my instinct telling me to get ready for more drama? I think it’s all of it.

Everyone got notified that technically, as the oldest of my generation, I’m now the head of the coven and Mimi will be stepping back, enjoying herself, letting us deal with the day-to-day.

I explained that with my responsibilities here along with the fact I don’t know much about witchcraft yet, I’ll defer to my cousins, that I’m happy to be a figurehead and have no desire to step on any toes. The Young sisters looked surprised by all of it, but I sensed nothing but support from all of them. Everyone is just relieved that things didn’t go worse last night, that we’re all here to learn from the experience.

I’ve been assured I’ll be brought up to speed fast enough and because last night’s magic shaved years off Mimi, it’s looking like she’ll be around for a good, long time to help with the transition. I suggested she keep the role. She insisted things are happening as they’re supposed to do and part of that is with me where I’m destined to be.

I had a good talk with my cousins, am going to be sent some literature to start reading about our coven’s history, about our code of conduct, and the Youngs will take turns coming back and forth between the coast and here, so I’ll have guidance not just from Erica, but also from the others who all have different strengths. They tell me that there are skills all in the coven have but differing specialties. They tell me as coven head, I’ve got access to all their strengths, their magic, though unlike Erica I could be denied or on the hook if I don’t ensure I strive for balance. It’s a lot to process. I have a lot to learn, and I feel like I have to do it fast despite their assurances.

When I got a quiet moment with Mimi, I asked her why my mother’s magic was stripped. She advised that my mother was closely tied to the elements and was, like Erica, a spell writer and also a rulebreaker, though Soleil didn’t grow out of breaking rules despite being reprimanded many times for it. Mimi told me that when my father requested their severing, the public record stated it was down to my mother’s practice of dark magic.

“What did she do?” I asked.

Mimi sidestepped my question and told me that when a witch gets caught breaking the rules and repeatedly dabbles with black magic, they will have their powers suppressed, either temporarily or permanently. So my mother not only lost her mate, after the severing ceremony Mimi said she went directly to trial for her practice of dark magic. She lost her magic and it was put into a temporary trust to be given to me upon one of two life events. Either my completion of training as a witch or to be transferred upon my mating due to being wolf shifter.

I don’t push with more questions about Soleil, surmising I’ll just have to get those answers from my father.

Mimi asks for patience and tells me more will be revealed in the right timing.

I feel like I’ve got unused muscles. New ones, even. And I want to protect my mate, my pack, and the coven from any potential threats and to do that I’ll need to know how to best use these new muscles. I’m eager to learn.

She told me it’s possible my eyes won’t return to brown again; she’s unsure. She also told me because of the link and coming into powers of my ancestors, I’ll likely have intuition about my own magic, that while I should still get training, I won’t have to start from scratch. Some things will become second nature easily.

***

We’re at the town hall for the wrap-up meeting with the SCC and I’ve brought my mate with me.

I’ve introduced her to the Youngs as well as Riley and the others who are here. She’s been shy and timid, but she’s making an effort.

Her body tightens as Tyson enters the town hall. He makes eye contact with me but doesn’t look at her and keeps his distance from us during the debriefing so there isn’t an opportunity for a proper introduction.

My cousins try to put her at ease, just as I suspected they would. Erica specifically makes effort, which Stacy seems open to. As the two newest members of the pack they could bond over that common ground. I hope they do and suspect my sister will help with that as she’s made effort with Erica so far, just as she has with Ivy and Amelia. Bailey has dubbed herself the unofficial council’s mate welcoming committee.

The meeting with the two remaining SCC members doesn’t take long, but as the debriefing happens, Stacy’s panic spikes and I’m not sure why. Our gazes connect and her expression tells me it can wait so I hold her, hoping to put her mind at ease until I can find out what tweaked her.

As they wrap up, they decide a spell will be put on a lockbox containing the dead witch’s ancestor’s wand. Wands hold an imprint of the witch that originally owned it and can be dangerous in the wrong hands, particularly in this case since Aviva Starling’s ancestor who was the wand’s first owner died after spiraling into a dark magic vortex that destroyed her. That witch had powers similar to Erica.

Dani volunteers to bring it to Bucharest in a few weeks so it can be locked down in a spelled supernatural archive. Jase offers to escort her, making no bones about the fact he’s interested in her. Tyson teases that he might be mated soon and Jase’s reaction to this reminder amuses all of us.

The matings have been happening to us in quick succession, so I suspect Jase will mate soon. Though, the drama around all the matings so far has me hoping we’ll catch a breather unless it’s going to be something easy-peasy.

Judging by how things have gone so far with Ty, Mase, Rye, and now me? I’d be shocked if Jase’s mating is uneventful.

It’s been a running joke that Jase could be a lifelong bachelor, but knowing him like I know the back of my hand, I look forward to seeing how mated Jase behaves. To watching him go all-in to protect her at all costs. Jason Creed might be the life of the party, a jokester, but he’s got a fierce protective streak and loves nothing more than his pack. He wants to be at the center of everything. He wants to help. Wants to support everyone. He never wants to miss a thing but is the first to offer to lend a hand to miss out if it helps the overall cause – as evidenced by him offering to watch Stacy for me last night because he knew having his help would help me focus.

Lucinda Alexander hands me and Erica business cards, offering assistance to the coven as well as the pack, to keep the lines of communication open with us despite that Aviva Starling broke trust. She clearly hopes we separate Aviva from the SCC.

In my opinion, the SCC broke trust by what they sentenced Riley and Erica to endure. Riley looks at both her and Mitch like he wants to rip their faces off. I don’t blame him a bit.

My cousin Veronica wants to see Aviva’s body before they leave. Her primary gift is that she gleans information about people by touching them and their belongings.

As that’s the end of things and people move to leave, Stacy whispers in my ear, “The witch my brother kidnapped who escaped? Her last name is Starling.”

Our eyes meet and I know now this is the reason I felt panic once the meeting got underway.

“Should I… should I tell Erica?” she asks.

“Definitely,” I state, gesturing to Erica who is on her way out.

Stacy rushes ahead of me to catch up with her, which surprises me. There’s nothing timid about her right now as she gets Erica’s attention.

“The witch my brother Wyatt was using to help him… she ran away. That’s one of the reasons he tried to have you taken. Her name is Aphra Starling.”

“You know her?” Riley asks.

We have Ty’s attention and the other council members move in, too.

“No,” Erica replies.

“I do. She didn’t want to help us, but Wyatt held her hostage. Forced her. She ran away,” Stacy advises, “but in case he finds her and because of what that woman said in there about the Starling coven, I wanted you to know.”

Erica thanks her for the information and hurries back inside to see Mimi. I decide to follow, so I ask Tyson to keep an eye on Stacy for me while I rush downstairs to catch up.

I do this without thinking. It doesn’t even occur to me how Stacy might feel about this until I’m halfway through the door and feel her emotions, which makes my spine snap straight.

I look over my shoulder and catch Ty’s eyes. And what’s in them has me resisting the urge to go back and coddle her, confident Ty will put her mind at ease.