“Stop,” I said.
But no one stopped. So, I repeated myself, louder and more forcefully. I opened my eyes and looked around. Finally, the room quieted, and all eyes were on me.
“Chloe?” Trent’s voice was full of concern. “What happened?”
“What did she say to you?” Whitney asked.
“Why did they just leave like that?” Jax asked, his tone venomous.
“Did she hurt you?” Trent asked.
I took a deep breath, willing everyone to shut up for five seconds so I could think. “She didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.”
Trent’s shoulders relaxed with relief. “Then, what happened?”
“We couldn’t hear anything,” Sean said with a frown.
“Yeah, I couldn’t get into her head, either.” Whitney pouted.
“She chanted something and soundproofed the house. She didn’t want you guys to hear,” I explained. “She said there might be another option for breaking the curse, one that doesn’t involve me becoming a vampire.”
Trent’s eyes widened, and it was in that split-second when I realized what I’d done. My stomach sank, and I could feel the color draining from my face. Oh, God. I leaned against the back of the couch for support.
“What?” Sean asked. “Why would you becoming a vampire break the curse?”
I swallowed against the bitter bile rising in my throat. My head spun. I looked helplessly to Trent, but his face was expressionless. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t lie my way out of this one—it was time to come clean.
“Because I’m the only one who can. I’m the last living, female descendant of Rector Zoya and Annmarie Lewis.” I spoke as if on autopilot, not really hearing the words I was saying. “That’s why they’ve been coming after me. They want me to break the curse and restore the magical balance.”
I risked a glance at Sean. His face was twisted with emotions I couldn’t begin to name. My gaze slid over to Jax, who glared at me with the fury of a million burning suns. Icy fear coated my veins.
Everyone knew the truth now, but what would they do about it? Would Sean and Jax demand that I change? Trent swore to me he’d protect me, that he’d never let anyone take this choice from me, and I believed him. But now that I knew how desperately he wanted me to change… I wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t at least try, again, to convince me.
“How is this possible?” Sean asked. “I’ve spent decades trying to break this curse. There’s no way I missed this.” He shook his head. “Are you positive about this, Chloe?”
“I can prove it.” I ran upstairs, grateful for a moment of privacy, and grabbed my backpack from the closet. When I spun around, I rammed into Trent’s chest.
He gripped my shoulders, steadying me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t have a choice.” My throat constricted with impending tears.
“Yes, you do. You can tell them you were wrong. Tell them Ivy told you all of that, but you don’t know if it’s true.” He searched my face.
Even now, he was putting me first, trying to save me. But there was nothing he could do. I needed to unburden myself from all of this.
My shoulders sagged. “She’s coming back in two days.” My lips trembled. “I need to make a decision by then, and I can’t do this alone, Trent. Not anymore.” I looked up at him through teary eyes.
He nodded and dragged his hands down my arms. “Okay, if this is what you want to do.” He took the backpack from me, laced our fingers, and led me downstairs.
“All the proof you need is in that bag,” I said, nodding at the backpack Trent held.
He handed it to Sean, who took it to the table and unzipped it. I looked away, unable to handle the glee I saw in his eyes. He’d been searching for decades, and I’d just handed him everything he always wanted.
“You said Ivy mentioned another way to break the curse?” Whitney asked. She stood next to me, her hand on my arm.
I nodded. “She said because I have Zoya blood, I could become a witch, that she’d teach me, and with time, I’d be strong enough to reverse the curse.”
From his spot at the table, Sean snorted, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even bother to look up.
“And you believe her?” Trent asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but if there’s any chance she’s telling the truth…”
“You can’t become a witch, Chloe.” The hurt in Trent’s voice mirrored the hurt in my heart.
“I know,” I whispered.
“I don’t like this.” Trent rubbed the back of his neck. “If there was any other way to break the curse, Sean would have found it.”
“There is no other way,” Jax finally spoke. He stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. His tone was hard and cold. “She was lying to you, Chloe.”
“Why would she do that? She has nothing to gain.” I shook my head.
“Sure she does.” Jax pushed off the counter and stalked into the living room.
“What?” I glared at him defiantly.
“Your trust.” He raised a brow, daring me to disagree. “She gives you this story about how to break the curse, a story that gives you everything you want… You jump at it, and then she has you. A little too good to be true, isn’t it?” He stopped in front of me, eyes black and brooding.
I stood my ground. “I’m not stupid, Jax. But she doesn’t have me, and even if she did, so what? It’s not like she can change me. There’s only three people who can do that, so the day she gets me, she’s getting one of you guys, too.” My face heated with anger, and I gritted my teeth.
“That’s not going to happen,” Trent said, positioning himself between me and Jax. “No one is going to change her unless she gives permission.” He glared at Sean for several long moments before turning his
