Page 41 of Bait N' Witch

I don’t know. I’ve heard only whispers.

“Who would know?”

The birds who can fly highest.

A falcon or an eagle perhaps. She had to find out after this was over. She couldn’t stay safe if she didn’t know what she had to protect herself from. “Again, I thank you.”

The bear bowed his giant head, then turned and lumbered away, blending into the night, a large shadow climbing the hill and finally disappearing into the trees.

“Rowan?” Grey’s voice again drifted down the stairs.

Thankfully, he hadn’t come down to find out what the holdup was. Quickly, she shut her back door. “Coming!”

Getting up the stairs when her legs resembled limp noodles more than bone and blood took concentrated effort, but she made it. And entered a full kitchen.

“Here she is,” Grey said, as he stepped to her side. “I’d like to introduce you to the woman who keeps my home running like clockwork. This is Rowan McAuliffe.”

As he raised a shaking hand to her back, she gave him a closer look. Wrecked. The man was wrecked. “You need sugar.”

Rather than respond, he tipped his head toward his guests.

Taking the hint, she turned to them, smile fixed. “Lovely to meet you.”

She received smiles in return, though confused ones, and caught Castor’s questioning glance, taking in Rowan’s appearance, and the way Leia dug her elbow into his side.

Which reminded her. Rowan put a self-conscious hand to her hair. “Sorry about the strange look. Normally I’m a redhead, but magic practice went a bit…awry.” She rolled her eyes for effect.

“The pink skin is surprisingly lovely,” Tala said. “But the eyes are a bit…”

“Off-putting?” Rowan grinned. “Sorry about that. Hopefully, it doesn’t ruin your dinner.”

“Not at all,” Leia said, with a pointed look at Castor and Marrok. The wolf shifter smiled kindly, saying nothing, while the demigod sent his wife a frown, earning him a shake of her head.

“I’ll call the girls down,” Grey said.

Rowan still didn’t like the pallor in his face. “I’ll call them.” But first she went to the drawer that held the candy and pulled out two chocolate bars.

One she stuffed in her pocket, the other she shoved in his hands. “Eat it.”

Then she headed upstairs to get the girls, stuffing her face with the other chocolate bar. The girls eagerly abandoned their homework and followed her down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, where she was happy to note Grey’s returning color.

“By the gods!”

At Castor’s exclamation, every person in the room turned to face him.

“Cas?” Leia asked.

The demigod’s blue eyes blazed with a terrifying light as he rounded on Greyson. “You didn’t tell me your daughters were fates.”

Chapter Sixteen

“What the hell are you talking about?” Greyson demanded.

The chocolate Rowan had practically force-fed him had eased his shaking, but he wasn’t anywhere near full strength yet. Would he need it to face down a demigod? Given the heavy glare Castor was directing at his daughters, fear speared icy fingers through Greyson’s heart, along with a shot of adrenaline spiking his blood.

He couldn’t lose them, too.

Greyson moved to put himself bodily between the threat and his children.

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