“We can share my burner phone for parental calls.” I forced a smile even though it turned my stomach. I was ready for this whole thing to be over, but it was only beginning.
Aidan looked at Amethyst. “We need to have people on alert.”
“I’ll text Mom.” Amethyst picked up her phone and typed out a message.
It hadn’t been ideal for Beth to call her mom on her phone, but she had and was upset over it. She deserved a friend right now. It was clear she was a good one to me. “What did you two argue about? Not being on campus?”
“The school called her since I hadn’t been in class for a week. They went by our dorm and found us gone.” Beth rolled her eyes. “So she called me in a panic, demanding to know where I was.”
“You didn’t tell her, right?” Aidan’s body somehow tensed even more. “For all we know, Prescott or someone else from the pack could’ve contacted your mom.”
“Of course not, which made it all worse.” Beth sat back down and crossed her arms. “I told her there was something important going on and she had to trust me.”
I hated to do it, but it was my responsibility to lay it out for her. “If you go back, they’ll hurt you or worse.” I felt like a horrible friend for having dragged her into this. “I’m sorry, but Bradley and Prescott know all about you. If something were to happen …” I trailed off, not wanting to think about it.
“Don’t worry.” Beth reached across the table and touched my hand. “I won’t leave you. You’re my best friend, and you need everyone you can get in your corner.” She lifted her hand off mine and waved. “It’s not like I can’t go back to college when this is all over.”
“I know, but I hate what I’ve done to everyone.” It wasn’t just Beth who’d left Crawford midway through a semester. We all had. “Not only that, but you all put yourselves behind on your graduation.”
“It’s an honor for us.” Amethyst placed a hand on her heart. “The prophecy is told to every single witch as a child. You’re a beacon of hope for a safe future—one where we won’t have to worry if the wolf pack next door hates us.”
Yeah, that wasn’t much pressure or anything. “But you were in college.”
“Have you ever considered how our coven operates?” Amethyst reached across the table. “How we can live and stay hidden for the most part?”
“Actually, no. I haven’t.” That was a good question.
“It’s because we do most of our work and business over the internet. One coven member does bookkeeping. Another is a lawyer who works from the base. We each have a job we perform from home. That’s the beauty of the internet these days.” Amethyst stretched her arms. “Honestly, they expected us to do college over the internet, but the four of us went against the grain. The university tugged at us. Now, we know why.”
“That’s so strange because, the day we met six years ago, I was tugged to the line where the prettiest girl I’d ever seen was standing.” Aidan’s eyes filled with adoration as he looked at me.
“Well, that’s because she’s your fated mate, dumbass.” A proud smile spread on Beth’s face.
Aidan glared at her.
She needed to tread lightly. He wasn’t in a humorous mood.
I kissed him. “Ignore her. She’s just jealous.”
Amethyst giggled. “You guys are so much fun, but I get Aidan’s point. I believe we were drawn to you since your mom was a member of this coven. You couldn’t stumble upon the coven, so the Goddess brought us to you.”
“Like meeting in the middle.” That made sense, but I wasn’t sure how to live up to everyone’s expectations. What if I failed? That wasn’t an option, but I couldn’t stop the horrible thoughts from invading my mind.
“Fate is one manipulative bitch.” Beth snorted. “Remind me never to get on her wrong side.”
“Or we could say fate knows how to make things work out.” Amethyst nodded. “That’s how witches think.”
“They pretty much mean the same thing, don’t they?” Aidan chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah.” I stood and headed over to the boxes we still had to sort through. I opened a box and scanned the contents. The books in here were older than the others, which was what we were looking for.
Something tugged me … called me. My hands were drawn to something deep inside.
I moved the books around gently, doing my best not to mess up the old bindings barely holding the various books together.
For some reason, I knew the exact book I needed to get my hands on even though I had no clue what it looked like. Finally, my hand touched old leather. It felt more worn. Deep wrinkles marred the smooth material.
What’s that? Aidan pulled out a book and left it on the table.
He must have felt my confusion through our bond. I’m not sure. I gingerly pulled the book out. It looked either really old or like it had suffered some hard times. Hell, it could’ve been both. I was drawn to it. The spine didn’t have a title or anything, unlike all the other books.
What was most shocking was the magic radiating from it. It latched onto my skin and headed toward the iridescent magic still chained inside me.
“Did you find something?” Amethyst asked, her eyes on the box.
I placed the book on the table, and Amethyst inhaled sharply.
“That’s it.” She stood and hurried over to my side. “I remember that binding from my childhood.” She grabbed her cell phone and typed out a message.
Beth wrinkled her nose. “It smells like musty leather.”
“That’s exactly what it is.” I opened the book. The paper was yellow and so brittle it felt like it might disintegrate in my hand. “How old is this?”
“Well, the original witch lived hundreds of years ago, so there really is no telling.” Amethyst shook her head. “Mom never let me open this when I was little. We had it in our old library back at Mount Juliet. We kept all our sacred books in a special place.”
“I thought she’d cursed the alpha while she was in labor?” How did someone make a book like this while they were on their deathbed?
“She did, but she prepared this first. You see, when he found out she was pregnant, he refused to see her.” Amethyst frowned. “So she started prepping.”
Aidan’s forehead creased. “Are you saying the witch planned to do this to the alpha?”
“How would you feel if someone you loved walked away from you, but not to protect you?” Beth lifted an eyebrow at him. “Instead, it was because she was a woman and worthless? He didn’t love her or her child.”
“Look, we aren’t here to fight about whether the witch was justified.” Rehashing the past wouldn’t change a damn thing. “We’re here to understand what is expected so that no one else has to die and witches and wolves can get along.”
“She’s right.” Amethyst slowly turned the page, and writing came into view.
The words were clear. “It says that when she told the alpha she was pregnant, he tried to kill her on the spot.”
“Wait … you can read that?” Aidan’s forehead was lined with confusion.