Page 31 of Unbearable Attraction (Hollow Oak Mates #4)

LUKA

L uka felt Leenah's distress hit him, her emotions crashing over him in waves of dread and old pain that made his bear rage. The letter lay on the floor between them like a declaration of war, its formal language barely concealing the threats underneath.

"You're not going," he said.

"I have to." Leenah's voice was hollow, defeated in a way he'd never heard before. "They're threatening formal charges. That could mean magical binding, forced registration with supernatural authorities, or worse."

"Let them try." His bear was pacing now, every instinct demanding he sweep her away somewhere her family could never find her. "They have no authority over you here."

"They have authority over my family name, my magical heritage, my standing in the supernatural community.

" She picked up the letter with trembling fingers.

"If they file formal charges for magical misconduct, it won't just affect me.

It could impact Hollow Oak's reputation, our bond, everything we've built together. "

The messenger cleared his throat from the doorway. "Miss Carrow? I do require an answer."

"Tell them I'll be there within the week," she said without looking away from Luka.

"No." The word came out as a growl. "Tell them she's declined their invitation."

"It's not an invitation, it's a summons." Leenah's blue eyes flashed with the kind of determined resignation he'd seen in her face when she'd prepared for the dangerous ritual. "And ignoring it will only make things worse."

The messenger departed with her acceptance, leaving them alone with the weight of what she'd just agreed to. Luka could feel her fear, anger, and underneath it all, the bone-deep exhaustion that came from having to fight battles she'd thought were finished.

"They can't force you to go," he said, moving closer. "Whatever threats they're making, we can find another way to handle them."

"Can we? These are people who've spent decades navigating supernatural politics in Salem.

They know exactly which pressure points to apply to get what they want.

" She sank into her armchair, suddenly looking smaller and more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her.

"My family never approved of my necromantic abilities.

To them, I was always too much like my grandmother—too strange, too powerful, too willing to embrace gifts they thought should be hidden. "

"What do you mean?"

"Salem's supernatural community is built on blending in, on being just magical enough to maintain their heritage but not so powerful that they attract unwanted attention.

My father and his siblings have minimal abilities—hedge magic, basic protective wards, nothing that would mark them as different from ordinary witches.

" Her voice grew bitter. "Then I came along with necromantic gifts that made everyone uncomfortable, including other supernatural families. "

"So they tried to suppress your abilities?"

"They tried to pretend I didn't have them.

When that didn't work, they sent me away to distant relatives who treated me like a burden rather than family.

" She looked up at him with eyes that held decades of old hurt.

"Even in the supernatural community, necromancy makes people nervous.

Too close to death magic, too unpredictable, too outside the normal range of acceptable abilities. "

The picture she painted made him angry at people who'd taken a gifted child and made her feel like a freak for powers she couldn't control. "They don't deserve you."

"Maybe not. But they're still family, and family dysfunction can destroy more than just personal relationships. If they follow through on their threats, it could affect every supernatural community I've worked with, every spirit I've helped find peace."

"So you're just going to go back and let them tear you down again?"

"I'm going to go back and handle this before it gets worse." She stood, her posture straightening with grim determination. "Alone."

The word hit him like ice water. "The hell you are."

"This is my family, my problem. I won't drag you into their dysfunction."

"We're bonded, Leenah. Your problems are my problems now, whether you like it or not."

"That's exactly the kind of thinking that will make this situation worse.

" Her voice carried the sharp edge that appeared whenever her independence was challenged.

"They'll see you as proof that I've been corrupted by outside influences, that my 'reckless magical practices' have led me to inappropriate relationships. "

"Inappropriate?" His bear surged toward the surface, territorial fury making his voice drop to a dangerous rumble. "There's nothing inappropriate about what we have."

"Try explaining that to people who think necromancy is inherently dangerous and that bonding with a bear shifter proves I've lost all judgment." She moved toward her bedroom, clearly intending to pack. "This is something I have to handle alone."

"No." He followed her, his larger frame filling the doorway. "You don't get to make that decision unilaterally."

"Watch me."

The flat defiance in her voice triggered every protective instinct he possessed.

His bear wanted to physically block her path, to make it impossible for her to leave their territory and face people who'd already hurt her once.

But his human mind recognized the trap—using his strength to override her choices would prove her family's point about their relationship being unhealthy.

"They're going to try to break you down," he said, forcing his voice to remain calm. "They're going to use every insecurity, every moment of self-doubt, every fear about your abilities being dangerous or wrong. And you want to face that alone?"

"I've faced it alone before."

"That was before you had someone who sees your gifts as precious rather than problematic." He stepped closer, close enough to see the fear she was trying to hide behind stubborn determination. "That was before you had someone who knows your worth and won't let you forget it."

"And what happens when their threats extend to you? When they start spreading rumors about dangerous bear shifters corrupting young necromancers? When they use our bond as evidence that I'm mentally unstable?" Her voice cracked slightly. "I won't let them destroy what we've built together."

"They can't destroy anything we don't let them destroy."

"Can't they? You don't know my family, Luka.

You don't understand how they operate." She pulled a suitcase from her closet, her movements sharp with suppressed emotion.

"They'll find ways to make our bond look like magical coercion.

They'll suggest that my recent activities have been influenced by inappropriate relationships rather than professional growth. "

"Then we prove them wrong."

"How? By letting them see how possessive you get when someone threatens me?

By demonstrating that you're willing to override my decisions when you think you know better?

" She turned to face him, tears threatening in her eyes.

"They'll take one look at this conversation and declare you a controlling influence who's warped my judgment. "

The accusation stung because it held enough truth to hurt.

His bear's reaction to threats against her was possessive, territorial, exactly the kind of behavior her family would seize on as proof of their claims. But the alternative—letting her face them alone—felt like abandoning her when she needed support most.

"So what do you want me to do?" he asked, the question coming out more vulnerable than he'd intended. "Stand by and watch you walk into a situation designed to tear you down? Pretend that our bond doesn't make me want to protect you from people who've already hurt you?"

"I want you to trust me to handle this." Her voice softened slightly, recognizing the pain beneath his frustration. "I want you to believe that I'm strong enough to face my family and come back to you intact."

"I know you're strong enough. That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"The point is that I love you, and love makes it impossible to stand by while someone you care about walks into danger.

" He reached for her hands, relieved when she didn't pull away.

"The point is that partnerships mean facing problems together, not protecting each other from the messy realities of family dysfunction. "

"Then what do you suggest? Because every option feels like a trap."

"Don't go." The words came out more forceful than he'd intended. "Stay here, with people who value your gifts instead of condemning them. Let them file their formal charges if they want—we'll fight them through proper supernatural legal channels."

"And if those charges stick? If they manage to convince the authorities that I'm a dangerous practitioner who needs oversight?" She pulled her hands free, wrapping her arms around herself. "That kind of judgment could follow me everywhere, affect every community I try to help."

"Or we could call their bluff. Your family doesn't want scandal any more than you do. Public magical misconduct hearings would draw exactly the kind of attention they've spent decades avoiding."

She was quiet and he could feel her internal struggle, hope warring with fear, the desire to stay safe in Hollow Oak battling against years of ingrained obligation to family expectations.

"They know exactly which pressure points to apply," she said finally. "They've had years to perfect their manipulation techniques."

"Then don't give them the chance to use them."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is simple. You choose the people who love you over the people who've spent years making you feel like you're not enough." He stepped closer, his bear rumbling with protective determination. "You choose the future we're building together over the past that never accepted you."

"And if I'm wrong? If ignoring this makes everything worse?"

"Then we'll handle whatever comes next. Together." He cupped her face gently, forcing her to meet his eyes. "But I won't watch you walk back into a situation designed to tear you down just because they've learned how to weaponize your sense of responsibility."

He felt her love pulse alongside her fear, the two emotions tangled together in ways that made his heart ache for the scared young woman who'd learned to expect rejection from the people who should have protected her.

"I need to think," she whispered. "This isn't a decision I can make while I'm this upset."

"Take all the time you need. But remember that you have choices now that you didn't have when you were younger. You have a community that values you, work that fulfills you, and someone who loves you exactly as you are."

She leaned into his touch, her eyes closing as she absorbed the steady comfort of his presence. But underneath her relief, he sensed the weight of old obligations and the fear that choosing her own happiness might come at a cost she wasn't prepared to pay.

"What if they're right?" she asked quietly. "What if my abilities really are dangerous, and I've just been too stubborn to see it?"

"Then you're the most magnificent kind of dangerous there is," he replied firmly. "The kind that saves people and brings peace to the restless dead and bridges worlds that have been separated for too long."

The words seemed to settle something in her expression, and he felt her fear begin to ease.

But the relief was temporary, he could sense her mind already turning over possibilities, weighing options, trying to find a path that wouldn't destroy everything she'd built while still addressing the threats her family represented.

Whatever decision she made, he'd support her. But he'd be damned if he'd let her face those manipulative bastards without a fight first.