Page 47 of What the Hex

Storm glanced around the room, recognizing the same confusion on the other’s faces that he felt. “Were you born a witch?”

While rare, there were other ways to obtain magic. Although, those means were highly frowned upon.

“Yes.” Owen bobbed his head again. “Sort of.”

Storm frowned. What the fuck did that mean?

“What the fuck does that mean?” Arlo blurted. Leave it to him to say the inside parts out loud.

“I’m an accipere.” At their clueless looks, Owen elaborated. “A syphon. I wasn’t born with magic of my own. I can only absorb it from others.” He dragged both hands over his face and sighed. “If there’s a way to control it, I haven’t figured it out yet, and I definitely don’t know how to use the magic I take.”

Well, fuck him sideways. At no point in their planning had Storm expected to walk away feeling sorry for the kid.

“What did I do?” Owen asked again. “Someone, please tell me.”

“You erased Storm’s memory,” King answered. “As well as Cyrus—” He pointed to the hellhound. “—and a female named Nita.”

“Fuck,” Owen cursed, but it came out as little more than a breath. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know how I did it.”

“We think it was through touch,” King explained. “Has something like this happened before?”

The witch nodded sadly and repeated, “I’m so sorry.”

Feeling the urge to comfort him, Storm offered a bit of good news. “Cyrus and I are fine now. Our memories have returned.”

“Oh, thank the goddess.”

“Nita is okay, too, but the spell affected her differently. She can remember everything about her life except her boyfriend.”

“Do you know why that might be?” King asked. “You said you don’t know how to use the magic you absorb, so I’m thinking it probably manifests from your emotions.”

Owen’s cheeks pinkened, and his gaze flickered to Storm before lowering again. “I was jealous,” he admitted. “After I found out you two were mated, I kept thinking I just wished he would forget you.” He rounded his shoulders and lifted his head to look at King. “Sorry.”

But King just chuckled. “Don’t worry. I get it. I’d probably feel the same way in your shoes.”

“Really?” Storm sent to his mate.

“No, but just look at him. There’s no reason to make him feel worse.”

“So, you wouldn’t be jealous if I was mated to someone else?” he teased.

“Keep talking, and you’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”

Storm barked out a sharp laugh, not even caring when everyone in the room turned to look at him like he’d lost his mind. He was blessed to have remembered the time he and King had spent together while he was hexed. He could even recall how obsessed he’d been with his mate during that time.

Honestly, that part hadn’t changed, and he still thought the guy was too fucking adorable for his own good. Even when he was mad. Especially when he was mad.

“So,” Arlo said, dragging the word out. “You wanted Storm to forget King, but wires got crossed, and instead, he ended up forgetting everything else. And Cyrus and Nita were just…accidents?”

“That sounds about right. Like I said, I have no idea how it works. I really am sorry.” Then, after a long tense silence, Owen asked, “How much trouble am I in?”

They all looked to Cyrus. As head of security, it was technically his call, but Storm couldn’t even guess what the charges would be, let alone the punishment. It had been a tough week, but there hadn’t been any permanent damage.

Well, apart from Cyrus’ television.

Oh, and the irreparable chasm Storm had created between himself and King’s mother. Although, to be fair, he would have likely done that all on his own, curse or not.

That just left Nita. Yes, the female would probably be happy to remember her partner, but no other part of her life had changed. While a shitty thing to do, being a homewrecker wasn’t exactly a capital offense.

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