Page 116 of Dragon Charmed

“You’re panicking right now. I get that. I really do. I ran when I thought I might hurt Lily, and look what happened.”

“You came home to your family and your clan.” She swallowed. “But this isn’t my family,” she said even though the words seemed to burn her throat.

“Megan is like a sister to you. What about Bella and Lily?”

“That’s who I’m thinking of right now. We don’t know what my being a witch even means. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt them somehow.”

“You’re not making any sense right now,” Adam said.

And hadn’t Tessa heard that more times than she cared to admit. A model is to be seen not heard. “I am making sense. You just don’t agree. I’m going to leave and figure out what all of this means for me. As leader of this clan, you should agree. It’s going to be hard enough letting the clans know you’re alive and that you need to prepare for battle against the Templars and witches, without throwing me into the mix. You need to protect your family and clan.”

His eyes tightened as did his jaw as he sat there staring at her. Were they going to have a staring contest? If so, she would be the winner.

“We all have had a lot of things thrown at us in the past few days. And we need to prepare to face the clans. I’m not going to argue with you. For now. If you need space to figure things out, then take some. But I have a feeling Megan is not going to be so understanding.”

She wouldn’t be. But Tessa was not going to let anyone talk her out of keeping them all safe. Even if it meant she couldn’t be a part of their lives.

Chapter 44

Why did life have to kick her in the butt all the time? Tessa curled up on her couch and stared at the black television screen.

Her mom walked into the room and sat at the end of the couch. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Tessa Marie?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mom. Maybe you could fill me in a bit more on our family being witches?”

“I know this has been a shock to you, so I’ll overlook the tone.”

Tessa sat up and turned to her. “I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”

Lina grabbed Tessa’s hands. “Sweetheart. Your grandmother was a hard woman. She told me when I was eight years old that she was a witch, and she tried to teach me how to cast spells. It was a disaster. And your grandmother saw me as a disappointment. Once she confirmed that I didn’t have any abilities, she wrote me off. Didn’t share any history about witches with me.”

“But you did have an ability. You said you can sense powers.”

“I can. That developed in my teens, but I didn’t tell your grandmother about it.”

“Why not?” she asked.

Her mother sighed. “Because I was happier not being pulled into her world. When you were born and I couldn’t sense anything in you, I was relieved. I didn’t want you to be sucked into her sour life. And then she passed before you were old enough for her to test your abilities. I never wanted you to feel rejected because you didn’t have powers.”

Tessa’s heart hurt for her mom. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that and you didn’t tell me so I could have supported you.”

Lina smiled. “I’m the mom, honey. I was protecting you.”

“Well, I think we can protect each other from now on, okay?”

“I’ll try.” Lina tilted her head. “But you will always be my little girl. And speaking of little girls, Lily and Bella are adorable. Who does Lily belong to?”

“They are trying to find her parents, but we think she’s an orphan.”

Lina frowned. “Oh, that poor baby. She is so sweet and happy. Anyone would be blessed to be her momma.”

Tessa blinked at the moisture flooding her eyes.

Lina pulled her in for a hug. “You love her.”

Tessa snuggled into her mom’s arms. “How could I not?”

“And what about Megan’s brother-in-law, Adam?”