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“There aren’t that many bound omega bloodlines, and all the ones I’m aware of are generations separated. I was told to cut those threads, so I did.”

I stared at her, uncomprehending.

“Logan’s an omega?” Caden asked.

Melinda rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t tell?”

“What part of my reaction makes you think we knew?”

Melinda laughed softly. “Her blood was practically screaming when she walked in.”

Logan had mostly stopped crying, but she was still shaking.

“Lo, you okay?”

She didn’t answer beyond fisting my shirt in her hands.

“I may have opened a few too many boxes at once,” said Melinda with a sigh.

“She’ll settle in a bit. In the meantime, I have a theory.

The creature you’ve mentioned is similar to the records from 1622 when Fiona O’Clery tried to rip out the magic core from her shifter lover so she and her children could have both witch magic and shifter abilities. ”

“Holy shit,” I muttered.

“Yes. She failed in her goal. Her mate was destroyed in the process and she nearly died herself before her coven was able to intervene and put the creature into stasis. There have been other similar creatures throughout history, but that’s the last record of one we have, at least on this continent.

It’s very possible that some witch recently was very naughty and created a new one. How are you intending to fight it?”

“That’s what we came here to find out,” snapped Caden. “We were hoping you’d be able to tell us that.”

“Honestly, I have no idea. It’s a magic eater, so throwing magic at it wouldn’t work.

It doesn’t sound like it has much physical form either.

” Melinda wandered off to turn on a small kettle behind the front desk, and she scooped the herbs she’d picked out earlier into a glass mug along with a clear stone.

The water swirled as she poured it, tendrils of steam wafting up with a weird bluish tint.

“Have her drink this once it’s cooled a bit. ”

“What the fuck is that?” I inched Logan away from her a little more.

“Nothing to worry about, shifter. It’ll help her stabilize.” Melinda snapped her fingers in front of Logan’s face and I couldn’t stop the hiss that leapt out.

“Fuck off, lady.”

She only laughed. “You two are cute. She doesn’t need you to protect her from me.”

“You’re not making that a believable statement,” Caden growled.

I tipped Logan’s face up. Her eyes were glassy, and sweat made her skin shimmer. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I tore through a lot of mess. It’ll take her some time to process it all.

” Melinda examined her nails. “I haven’t unbound anyone for a good, long time, but I know it takes quite the toll on the mind and body.

I’ve heard from others it’s better to do as much as you can without breaking them so they don’t get twitchy about each layer.

Sort of like a full-body waxing all at once compared to ripping off one strip at a time. ”

Melinda reached out to Logan, and Caden snapped a hand around her wrist. “I think you’ve touched her quite enough for one day.”

“Honestly, you two make my work more difficult, but I’ll be nice and not evict you from my shop.” Melinda walked past us and flipped the dead bolt and the open sign to closed. “Follow me.”

Caden picked up Logan and cradled her to his chest. Melinda grabbed the weird tea on the way and led us up a set of narrow stairs to a small apartment above the store.

I didn’t like it up here. It didn’t feel wrong like the creature, but it wasn’t comfortable. Melinda’s vibes weren’t exactly chill.

“Do you have somewhere safe to go?” Melinda asked as she sat down in her small living room. We sat on her couch with Logan between us.

“Not really,” I said.

“Find somewhere.” Melinda’s voice was firm. “After you leave here, I’m going to go on a nice, long vacation to visit my cousin in Bucharest. You brought her scent to my door and I ripped the lid off exactly what that thing is hunting.”

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“Well, I’m not going to stick around and wait for something that wants to suck down my magic like a Capri Sun on a hot day. I’ve already heard about the half dozen witch deaths on the East Coast. I don’t intend to add to that number.”

“But where the fuck are we supposed to hide from it?”

She shrugged. “That’s not really my problem.”

My hackles rose, and it took all my willpower not to shift into panther form and slap the shit out of her.

Melinda waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, I see you, hissy. You can growl and fuss all you want, but it’ll make no difference.

I guess it’s good I opened as many layers as I did where she’s safe.

If it had gotten its hands on her, it would have torn them open like a kid at Christmas and sucked her magic down while she was catatonic. ”

“What do you mean layers?”

“There were mountains of barriers between her and her magic. Who put them there or why, I have no idea, but she was locked down like Fort Knox. Since her abilities started to pop up only after she had direct contact with the creature, I can only assume that rather than her magic being consumed, it was first eating the layers of binding magic that kept her powers and omega nature suppressed. You were able to remove her from the situation before they were all shredded, but there were still plenty left, which is what I removed.”

I looked down at Logan. Her eyes had a faint glow to them.

Logan shuddered in our arms and lifted her head, the glassiness fading from her gaze. She stared at her hands like she’d never seen them before. “What the fuck happened?”

“Lovely of you to join us again, sweetness.” Melinda smirked and handed her the freaky tea. “Drink this, and then we’ll go outside to let you test out what I’ve woken.”