Page 50 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

“I need a potion to help me with a special project I’m working on. You give me what I need, and I’ll leave your little boy toy alone.”

“I would never help you,” Beth spat.

“Suit yourself,” Matilda replied. “You can’t say that I didn’t try to be reasonable and compromise with you.”

“You know that I love Conner and he loves Taryn. That doesn’t hurt you at all.”

“Give me what I want, and you can have all the love you want.”

“I can’t do that,” Beth said.

“Then, my darling daughter, I can’t leave Conner alone.”

Matilda started to walk away when something caught Beth’s eye. Beth grabbed her mother’s arm and whirled her around.

“Wait a minute, Mother. Is that the Amulet of the Shadow Realm?”

Matilda smiled smugly. “So, what if it is?”

Beth’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. The center of the amulet was a blood-red crystal with even darker red lines radiating inside of it. A gold setting holding the crystal had tiny ancient sigils engraved in it that were rumored to represent powerful dark magic.

“Where did you get that?”

“I can’t talk about that outside of the coven. If you were a part of the coven, then I could let you in on a few secrets.”

“The last time that amulet was seen was in the year 562 around the neck of Matilda of Costenshire, when she was burned at the stake.”

“Was it now?” Matilda said.

“The legend said that a strong wind blew in and ripped the amulet from her neck and it was never seen again.”

“Hmm. Imagine that.”

“Mother, what have you been doing? This isn’t a good thing. That amulet is evil. It possibly contains more power than even you can contain.”

“Get rid of Conner. Join Lyla and me. You can revel in the power.”

“No,” Beth said. “Not going to happen.”

“Your loss,” Matilda said as she swept away.

Beth hung her head. She could actually picture her mother wearing the dark robes of an evil witch, pouring blood into a cauldron from human sacrifices, and drinking the thick red liquid from the skulls of her victims.

This is why I don’t enjoy the horror movies like Taryn does. I see it coming to life in my mother.

Beth went back to her seat in the stands. Apparently, Zephyr was okay because Conner was coming out the chute behind the steer. The hazer kept the steer in line while Conner slid off his horse and wrestled the animal to the ground.

She wasn’t a huge fan of the sport because she thought it was cruel, but when she researched it, statistics showed that very few animals were hurt. The same thing with the calf roping. Beth always turned around when they did that event because she thought it was cruel.

After the rodeo, they watched a movie at Beth’s house, and then Conner hugged Taryn and kissed Beth before heading to the hotel.

“I’m exhausted and would just fall asleep on the couch if I stayed longer,” he said. “I’ll be back in the morning. Should I bring donuts?”

“Yes,” Taryn yelled at the same time that her mother said, “No.”

“Sorry, Kiddo. Mom rules.”

The three of them went to the spot on the mountain where Beth always took Taryn to shift and run. Beth watched Conner undress and fold his clothes neatly before putting them in a plastic bag. She sucked in her breath. His body was magnificent. Beth felt a rush of heat explode between her legs. He shifted and let out a howl. Beth laughed.

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