Page 16 of Dragon’s Midlife Secret Baby (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #1)

He worked his mouth for a moment, and his thin brows furrowed. “Fine. I suppose you have something of a point. Now, you’re sure that this spell was what you think?”

“Yes,” Maeve said firmly.

“Hm.” Sol sat down, and this time, when he raised his hand to his mouth, it was to put his fist under his chin. “Although it pains me to say so, you’re right in thinking anyone who’d put that kind of a spell on someone could be quite malevolent.”

Chelsea felt herself relax a bit. Sol was coming around, and they needed his help to make sure Beck would be safe.

“Now, what of this person that you cured? Can’t you just ask him who did this?”

“He doesn’t know,” Chelsea replied, and her heart dropped a little to have to say it out loud.

It bothered her so much that there were still a few missing pieces, ones they could never recover.

Beck didn’t know his attacker, and the spell’s effects had kept him from truly observing the world around him while he was being held captive.

“All right.” He still had the fountain pen in one hand and twirled it expertly between his fingers. The ink flowed freely in the translucent barrel and sloshed from one end to the other. “Do you know why this was done?”

“I’m afraid we don’t have much information,” Maeve said, almost sounding apologetic. “That’s the problem, really.”

“So I see.” He stopped twirling the pen and tapped it against his teeth a few times.

“I suppose I should say I’m impressed. The level of magic you’re talking about here isn’t something that just anyone can identify and deal with.

The fact that you broke it—and especially with the help of someone so young—is remarkable.

A spell like that would take a lot of energy to cast, so no one would do it unless they felt it was truly worth it.

That means that your friend could be in quite a bit of danger.

Or perhaps he’s dangerous himself, and someone decided the spell would be a good way to keep him from acting out? ”

“No.” Instantly, Chelsea hated the way that Sol’s words echoed Beck’s.

Her mate had convinced himself that he was too much of a risk to be around his family.

It was patently untrue, and it was her mission now to make him believe that.

“Unfortunately, we really don’t know why anyone would do this.

It’s diabolical that someone would take another person’s memories and just completely erase their mind. ”

Sol looked at her with those dark eyes of his, and Chelsea realized he’d only been focused on Maeve up until this point. “Your disbelief says a lot about you.”

“Like what?” she snapped, confused.

His hand touched the pendant again, arranging it against the fabric of his shirt.

“That you think everyone should have a logical, sensible motivation for what they do. That you believe someone is so far outside the lines of what’s socially acceptable when they go outside the norm.

My dear, people can be pushed into doing things for all sorts of reasons.

Sometimes, those reasons even come from within themselves.

My point is simply that what you see as malevolent might be seen as a mercy from the viewpoint of the person who did it. ”

Her mother cleared her throat. “I’m afraid we’ll have to save the philosophy lesson for another time.”

“Yes. Of course. Regardless of the philosophy behind it, I do agree with you that we need to find this person. I’ll check with some of my connections and see what I can find out. I assume your coven still resides at the same place?” He lifted his eyebrows almost imperceptibly with his query.

“Yes,” Maeve confirmed. “Same as always.”

“In the meantime, we can warn the other covens in the area and let them know what happened. It could give them a chance to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Chelsea suggested.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Sol responded quickly.

“For all we know, this mysterious magic-maker is hiding among one of the covens already. If you start spreading the word, you could be alerting the very person we’re looking for.

Keep this to yourselves, and we’ll only start bringing others in if it becomes absolutely necessary. ”

Maeve looked uncertain, but she finally nodded. “All right. Thank you very much, Sol. I hoped that you would come through for us.” She stood, and she and Chelsea moved toward the door.

“Well, you’ve made a good point. I’ve underestimated you all these years, as you’ve proven to me today.

I still don’t agree with the kind of magic you prefer, which, in my opinion, is no more effective than a cup of herbal tea, but I suppose we can’t all want the same thing at the same time.

” Sol followed them, and he swept the door open with a flourish.

“Let us know if you figure anything out,” Chelsea reminded him. “It’s very important.”

He gave her a solemn bow of his head. It made his pendant move again, and this time, when it caught the light, it almost seemed to be glowing from the inside. “I’ll do that.”

Neither one of them spoke when they got back in the car. Chelsea waited until they were a few minutes down the road. “Do you think he’ll actually find a way to help us?”

“I think we convinced him well enough,” Maeve said from the passenger seat.

It was all Chelsea could do to keep the car in its lane. She wanted so desperately to fix this for Beck, for them. “He didn’t seem like he was willing to do jack shit at first.”

Leaning back into the seat, Maeve sighed. “That’s just how he is, and it doesn’t seem like he’s changed at all. Some smart people want to share their knowledge and help people. Sol is smart but just wonders why everyone else can’t keep up. It’s no way to live, really.”

“Well, I’m glad he at least changed his mind long enough to see if he can help us find this person. I guess he at least has a little humility.”

Maeve held up one finger. “Only after I reminded him of it. If I’m really honest, I think he only relented because he realized that someone who could do this might be powerful enough to take him on, as well. Sol is watching out for his own ass, just as he always has.”

Chelsea slowed down as someone turned off the highway. “It’s really hard to imagine you dating a grumpy old fart like him.”

Her mother laughed. “He wasn’t that much of a codger back then! Well, maybe in his attitude. But believe it or not, he actually did have some charisma, some mystery. He was a man who wanted to unlock the secrets of the universe. What young woman on a spiritual journey wouldn’t fall for that?”

“If you were into that, you could’ve just as easily landed yourself in a cult,” Chelsea commented.

“Hush, you!” Maeve laughed. “It’s not like I really ever could’ve stayed with him, not in the long run. My mate was out there waiting for me. Your father and I belonged together in a way that meant much more to me than anything I ever had with Sol.”

“I can understand that.” Her mate was waiting for her, too. He just didn’t know how hard she was working to make sure they could be together again.