Page 15 of Untraced Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #1)

Tyler

Walking through the front door with Morgan in tow was not how I imagined tonight would go down. Far from it, in fact.

The night had quickly become a shitstorm on steroids, and I had no idea where Morgan’s head was at. A thick silence gripped gnarly fingers around us, its hold choking the usual banter that seemed to come naturally between us.

Tonight had revealed a lot. Secrets. Desires. Enemies, even.

Morgan had witnessed the dark side of Cutters Cove. The bloodthirsty vampires who roamed this town, treating it like their own personal playpen. But I couldn’t be sure which part of tonight had her most on edge.

I’d witnessed her gift. But in protecting her, I’d needed to expose my own, and to say I wasn’t worried about her knowing my truth would be a lie. She must be a supernatural. She had to be, in some way.

I opened the front door, my hand guiding her inside before me.

Wes had somehow made it home first and sat upright from the couch. “Morgan…? ”

I sent him a dark look, enough to shut his mouth.

Sodden hair clung to Morgan’s top, and black streaks smudged her eyes, sketching lines down her cheekbones. The rain had done a number on her.

“You need to warm up. The bathroom’s this way,” I said, motioning for her to follow. Gathering a fresh towel, a t-shirt, and some sweats of mine, I handed them to her. “Here, you can change into these.”

Her fingers grazed mine at the exchange.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my brow furrowing in concern.

She looked down to my hand on her forearm, but she didn’t pull away, an uncertainty claiming her usually confident stare. “I just really don’t know what to think right now.”

I hated seeing her like this. Untrusting and guarded.

“Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here,” I insisted.

She nodded, taking the pile of clothing from me before making her way to the bathroom and lightly shutting the door behind her.

Peeling off my soaked top, I grabbed a fresh one slipping it on and headed back to the living room. I slumped into the well-used armchair opposite Wes, grazing my hand over my stubble.

Wes’s glare glued me to the seat, a bemused look on his face. “There had better be a damn good reason she’s in our bathroom and not hers next door.”

He must have left early, before all hell had broken loose, so I quickly gave him a rundown of the night’s events, conveniently leaving a few private details out. Namely, the kiss of all motherfucking kisses. I didn’t need my private life open for judgement .

He stared at me cautiously. “I don’t know, man; I’m not buying it. I mean, I can’t sense her, Ty. If she’s a witch, I should sense her magic easily,” he insisted.

I leaned forward, my elbows edged on my knees. “I know what I saw. I wouldn’t use my gift if I didn’t believe she was like us in some way.”

Wes grazed his knuckles together. “I know. I’m just saying I don’t have a good feeling about this.” He rose to his feet with a shrug. “It’s late, let’s deal with it tomorrow.”

I nodded as he began walking down the hall to his bedroom.

“And Ty?” he said.

I looked up, not expecting him to speak again. “Yeah?”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Roger that,” I mumbled.

Wes stalked off to his bedroom, and I sank back into the armchair, leaning my head against the rest. Morgan promised me. She swore on her life, she was legit.

The creak of the bathroom door pulled me from my thoughts, and a freshly showered Morgan walked out. She somehow made my old tee and sweats look attractive as hell on her, and then my attention dove to her chest. There was clearly nothing between her skin and my tee.

She folded her arms, covering herself, and I cursed under my breath. Real fucking subtle, Ty. Fuck me.

“Are you sure it’s fine if I stay here tonight? It’s no trouble to go home. ”

I needed to tread with caution, needed her to know it wasn’t safe but not scare her off either. “No, please stay. We need to talk about what happened tonight.”

She walked cautiously into the lounge before settling down on the couch opposite me.

Fair enough. Morgan was probably wondering what the hell had just gone down.

But truth be told, I was almost as afraid of her as she was of me right now as we sat sizing each other up.

I didn’t know what she was or how powerful she could be, and if I was honest, it scared the shit out of me as much as it excited me.

Moving closer to her, I opted to sit on the opposite end of the couch from her. There was no subtle way to have the conversation we needed to have.

I came right out with it. “Morgan, are you a witch?”

Her forehead rippled with confusion.

“You really need to be honest here.”

When she didn’t reply, I pushed a little further, unsure how far was within her realm of okay.

“Morgan, there’s a lot at stake,” I urged.

More than she realized. Exposing my gift to her was one thing, but if she wasn’t a witch, if she was… something else.

Could my fucking heart handle being torn apart again?

That kiss was off-the-scale intense. If she was something dangerous...

I shoved the thought aside.

We needed to know what we were dealing with .

She sat silently for a moment until her lips finally parted, exhaling a long breath.

Her head tilted to the ceiling, her eyes closing momentarily before connecting with mine again. “When I said I didn’t know, I meant it,” she whispered.

My head cocked to the side. “I don’t understand. What do you mean you don’t know?”

It didn’t make sense for her to not know her heritage. Magic usually manifested in our younger years, and for her not to know this was insane. I couldn’t comprehend it.

Her eyes challenged mine. Steel connecting with chestnut from each end of the couch.

“It’s like my emotions take over and things just… explode.” She threw her hands up in front of her. “It’s only happened one other time, and I don’t know how, okay?”

What the fuck? I scrunched up my face in confusion.

“Someone threw a hex on the bar tonight.”

She frowned. “And that is...?”

I sighed. Wow, she really had no idea. “The easiest way to explain what was going on in Jinxed tonight, is that everyone’s emotions were on steroids, magnified by magic. And that’s possibly why your magic emerged.”

“My magic...”

She genuinely looked baffled, like she had no idea what I was talking about.

“What about your parents? They must have answers for you. Magic is always in the bloodline. ”

She stared at me blankly.

I shrugged. “I’m just trying to help here,” I reminded her.

Her hands ran along the delicate chain she wore around her neck before knotting together in front of her. “I’m adopted. I never knew who my birth parents were; I never met them. And I have no clue how whatever this is works, or what I’m supposed to do with it.”

The words tumbled out of her like she’d been holding onto them her entire life, my mouth falling open at the statement.

I got the feeling I was the first person she’d ever shared this information with.

I gathered a long breath as her eyes held onto mine, like I was her get-out-of-jail-free card. Maybe I was…

“We’ll figure this out. I’ll help you find out the answers you need,” I assured her.

I meant every word, for both her and the rest of us.

A wall of tears threatened to spill from her, and I moved closer. Cautiously, I rested my palm on her knee, grazing my thumb in numb circles; the contact alone sent heat coursing through me.

“Would you like to ask me anything about tonight?” I asked. Surely, she had questions of her own.

She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to say, let alone ask.”

“How about we leave it for the morning?” I suggested with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks, I’m just a little overwhelmed with… well, everything, right now. ”

The warning from Wes still played in the back of my mind. I hadn’t decided how much I wanted to tell her, knowing something didn’t add up. Wes could sense magic, but he couldn’t sense her .

“I’ll crash on the couch. You can have my bed. It’s this way.” I stood, motioning down the hall.

She waved me off. “Really, it’s okay, I’m happy on the couch.”

“No, please, I insist.”

I led her down the hall, opening my bedroom door, and for more reasons than one, I wished the neat freak in me hadn’t made the bed look so inviting this morning.

I held the door open for her, noting her hesitancy as she walked inside, taking in the new surroundings.

My personal surroundings. Damn, this was a bad idea.

Her gaze swung around the room, to the photo of my grandfather standing in front of his mustang. Her fingers traced the silver frame I’d found in his garage after he had passed. It seemed fitting to sit the photo in it.

Then she found her . The photo of Ava.

Fuck.

Words failed me, or abandoned me rather.

I waited for her to say something. Should I tell her?

Morgan’s gaze flitted back to mine. Soft, and with no judgement. Like somehow, she understood.

“Sorry, I… wasn’t expecting you in my bedroom,” I admitted.

I moved passed her, placing the photo of Ava in my top drawer.

“You didn’t need to do that…” she murmured, following my movements. Studying me .

I walked back over to the doorway, gripping the doorframe. “It was probably time I did.” I shrugged.

“Oh, okay,” she said, her tone quiet.

Her eyes searched for mine. I could feel it.

Drawing mine to hers again, I felt naked, like she’d just stripped me bare. Seen the parts of me no one else had. It was strangely comforting to have her bear witness to the act, but to me… placing that photo in the drawer was intimate .

I’d been avoiding it for years.

Like a riptide pulling me away, I felt it setting me free, a wave of relief replacing the agony that had haunted me for years. If only she knew the gravity of the situation that had just unfolded in front of her.

I didn’t know what to do. What to say.

Morgan stood in my bedroom only feet from my bed. I felt the pull to her, the pull I’d resisted until tonight.

“See you in the morning,” I said, tugging the door closed before I did something stupid.

***