I would’ve wrapped myself around him and paid him back for the pleasure he’d given me nights before if unfamiliar voices with warm magical energy hadn’t interrupted us. I’d sensed them the same moment Xavier had.
He gripped my shoulders and flipped me around to where my back was against his chest and his hand covered my mouth. He moved us off the trail and against a tree to stay hidden.
I inhaled the magic of the forest and cloaked us. Him holding my body against him made my nerve endings explode with pure want. I had to push those thoughts away as I focused on the six witches who walked the path we were just on.
“I sense her here. She must be cloaking herself,” a woman said.
“She’s strong for being on her own.”
“Harlow! It’s me, Deb!”
Relief flooded my body, and I relaxed against Xavier as I stopped cloaking us. He loosened his hold on me, and I stepped away from the tree and back on the path with him behind me.
Deb stood in the middle of five older witches. The one beside Deb looked just like her, and I assumed she was her mother. The other four were older and would be considered elders. I was sure they were wise beyond their years. While I was curious about this coven, I was weary. Covens were capable of sinister magic.
“Thank goodness we found you! We’ve been wandering this area for ages,” Deb said, running her hand through her unruly hair.
The elder with snow-white hair stepped forward with the kindest eyes I’d seen in a long time. “Harlow Oak. My eyes must be deceiving me.”
I tensed. “How do you know my last name? I never told Deb my last name.”
“I’m Ingrid. I was part of Hollows Coven when I was your age. I used to watch over and guide Josephine.”
My mother’s name struck a nerve. Xavier’s warm hand settled on my lower back as if he knew I needed comfort. Which of course he did, he must’ve felt my unease through our bond.
“Ingrid, I’ve heard of you.” I swallowed hard. “The elders in the coven told horror stories of your bloodthirsty nature, but my mother discounted everything they said about you as did my grandma. She told me how kind you were and how she considered you a second mother alongside her own.”
She smiled wide. “Gwendolyn was a force to be reckoned with.”
“Grandma always was.”
And I’d missed them both with everything I had.
“I do not sense their presence anymore. Have they left this realm?”
My chin trembled in response, telling her what she needed to know. She pressed a wrinkled hand to her chest and rubbed it. “Oh child, I’m so sorry. What befell them?”
“My parents were slaughtered by werewolves from the Lockhart Pack. My grandma was killed by the coven right before my banishment from them.”
Ingrid’s eyes became misty but I didn’t miss the hint of fire behind them. “Hollows Coven is full of evil, and I’ve heard of terrors by the hand of Lockhart before.”
The back of my throat burned as I kept the tears at bay. “I hate them.”
Deb stepped over and put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You have every right to hate them.”
Ingrid nodded. “Yes, she does. However, please do not be consumed by revenge. It is so easy to allow that to fuel you.”
“It’s a little too late for that.” I hesitated. “This is Xavier. He’s my mate.”
“Oh my gosh. Let me tell you all, those two are absolutely adorable.” Deb squealed as she clapped her hands gleefully.
“Is that so?” One of the other witches asked.
“Yes.”
“Strange. I haven’t heard of a witch being mated to a werewolf before.”
“I hadn’t either, but I’m grateful.” I grabbed Xavier’s arm.
Ingrid gave me a look as if she was seeing someone else. “I loved your mother and your grandmother. You look just like her, and I am terribly sorry you’ve had to lose them both.”
I shook my head. “It’s just part of my destiny, but I’m confident I’ll see them again.”
“And that you will.” She glanced at her coven who shared knowing looks. “Please consider this a formal invitation into the Lunar coven. We are small, but we are family. I would like to show you the kindness you were deprived of in your previous coven.”
“Say yes, say yes, say yes!” Deb chanted.
My heart dropped into my stomach, and the acid swallowed it whole. I’d never considered joining another coven. Covens to me were prisons of power and abuse. I couldn’t devote my life to one again.
Xavier’s lips brushed my temple as he moved his mouth to my ear. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
I held onto his arm tighter. He was right, but the witches seemed so kind. Ingrid knew my family, and Deb was a treat to be around. Even the other witches felt warm. Magical energy did not lie, and everything inside me told me they were good.
“Can I think about it? My mate and I are going on a journey starting tomorrow to avenge my parents.” And his first mate. “Can I answer after we are successful?”
A frown etched its way onto Deb’s face. “But Harlow...”
The woman that looks just like her grabbed her shoulder. “Deborah, it’s alright. It’s a big request. Harlow has been through a lot and needs to work through some things.”
“But Mom, Harlow needs family,” she whined.
“Sybil is right,” Ingrid said. “Harlow, it’s completely up to you. I’d love to look after you for both your mother and grandmother. Take the time to decide. But please, take this.” She handed me a bracelet with iridescent crystals.
I held my hand out and she dropped it into my palm. The crystals were as warm as her magic. “What is it exactly?”
“It’s a beacon. You just wear it and call upon us when you’ve decided or when you’re in trouble. We will come to you, no matter where
