Page 111 of What The Hex (The Family Spells)
As for me? I kept my attention on Hex, reaching out to brush imaginary lint from his sweater.
I had my final soulmate; our soul-circle was complete.
What more could I ask for?
Surely not Monster. Surely not, Grace. You have no shame. Why are you such a thirsty witch?
And how … even if … could you ever forgive him for what he did to you? For the beauty between the two of you that he ruined?
“Shall we get this over with?” I said, forcing a smile and reaching up to straighten my hat.
I would most definitely not think of that day in a field of black tulips, the day we first made love, where we swam together beneath a waterfall …
No, as soon as Monster was gone, I’d start taking my forget-for-now potions, and he would forever be banished to the darkest recesses of my mind.
I told myself I wasn’t sad about that. Not sad at all. Happy. Happy witch, happy mom, happy wife. Happy, happy, happy.
Happy fucking holidays.
Caine’s mother’s house was about five miles down the road. We took two vehicles: Abel’s SUV and his mate’s minivan. It was just enough space to squeeze us all in.
I sat between Caine and Hex in the SUV’s middle row while Spectre rode up front. Monster and Argent were in the other vehicle. Likely, that was intentional on Argent’s part. He was doing everything in his power to keep Monster away from me.
He was afraid, I knew. Not just of Monster’s magic, but of me falling for him.
Did he have a right to be afraid?
I tried not to think too much about that.
After all, I was about to pay a visit to my in-law’s place. There were few things besides Hael, death, and taxes (hah, I was a witch so I didn’t actually pay any) that were as frightening as that.
“I can’t even believe I’m doing this,” Caine murmured under his breath, swiping a hand down his face. With his eyes closed, his lips pursed, and his forehead dotted with sweat, it wasn’t difficult to see how stressed-out he was by the idea of a family visit.
His mother, Abel, Abel’s mate, and their kids had visited us a couple of times, but that was as much contact as he had with his family other than the occasional video chat. Coming home like this? Caine hadn’t been home in years, not since the day we met at the local watering hole and took off to Faerie together.
“For the good of the coven,” I said, which was sort of a joke but also not. Caine opened his pretty amber eyes and raised both brows, tossing a look my way that belied how nervous he really was underneath. “We can handle a single weekend, right?”
The way he looked at me said … maybe.
We pulled up in front of Raeanne’s place, this rustic but beautiful cabin in the middle of the snowy woods. There were snowmobiles parked outside, sleds near the porch steps, and Christmas lights on every available surface. The damn place was lit up like the sun.
I squinted at it, rubbing away splotches of white marring my vision.
“Here we are!” Abel called out cheerily—and with the obvious intention of annoying Caine. “You ready, brother? Mama invited the entire pack over.”
“O’ course she did,” Caine growled as Hex opened the door on his side and climbed out. I followed after him, and we exchanged a look. He still had a puppy in his arms. I think it was Legend, but it was excruciatingly difficult to tell the twins apart when they were in wolf form.
“Poor thing,” I said, reaching up to pat Hex’s cheek as he offered me up a crooked half-smile in response. “This wasn’t what you expected when you agreed to try this out, was it?”
“Four Christmases, supernatural style?” he queried back, referencing an older holiday film where a couple visits their four respective parents’ houses for Christmas. I actually hated the movie, but it was a fairly apt description of what we were up against.
“Did Vince Vaughn’s parents try to eat him?” I queried, cocking my head to one side. “Because the Seelie Queen just might.”
I was joking, of course. Argent’s mother wouldn’t eat me. Cut me into little pieces and feed me to the water-dwelling horses with sharp teeth that lived in the river? Sure she would. She’d probably laugh as the kelpies drowned me and then tore me to bits.
After all, I’d quite literally stolen her son out from under her.
“I wasn’t regretting this, but I am now,” Hex replied teasingly as Legend threw back his tiny head and howled. The raucous from the backyard quieted briefly, but not a one of them responded except for Ophelia. She was yipping in response to her brother’s calls.
Pack Citrine Sunrise.
Sigh.
Self-hating werewolves.
They believed it was their mission to control and subdue their inner beast rather than embrace it. That’d be like a witch fighting her magic or a vampire refusing to drink blood. It was silly, not noble.
