Page 66 of Bait N' Witch

“That’s not possible. Your file lists a low-level magical couple named the Campbells.”

Rowan turned her attention to Persephone. What was she doing here anyway? She sat there, in a deep red dress, her hair coiled in an elegant chignon, with an expression of suppressed glee.

“Then your files are wrong.” Rowan glanced at Delilah, who smiled serenely, not fooling Rowan. The woman had somehow managed to alter the files.

“Cormac and Evelyn Balfour…and their daughter…were killed in a car crash,” Persephone insisted.

Rowan shrugged a shoulder. “The woman who raised me found the wreck. She used a unique brand of magic to fake my death and took me away, passing me off as her own.”

Alasdair flicked his finger over a tablet. Looking at paperwork? “This is Tanya McAuliffe? A common witch with limited powers?”

Rowan’s mouth kicked up in a smile, despite the way cold fear spread though her. No going back after this. “Tanya McAuliffe, a demon posing as a witch.”

Even Delilah sucked in a breath, though Rowan doubted the Syndicate members caught the sound. Rowan, meanwhile, tried not to take a step back, anticipating the spell that would end her life.

But none came.

Her gaze flashed to Grey’s to find him watching her closely. Surely, he would warn her if death were imminent? Even if he hated her right now.

Into the void of silence, Rowan continued hesitantly. “Tanya believed the crash that killed my parents wasn’t an accident. She claimed someone was after me and thought maybe someone in the Syndicate. She hid me in plain sight as a”—she glanced at Persephone, chin going up—“common witch with limited powers. In secret, she taught me magic. A different kind from what you know. More powerful, using ancient words to power the spells.”

“Impossible,” an older gentleman hissed from the other end of the table.

Rowan ignored him. “It’s only since living with…Mr. Masters that I’ve started to question Tanya’s assumption. My guess now is that Kaios, the ancient werewolf who took me, was the one after me all along.”

It made sense, once she’d been able to see past that lifelong fear of the people in this room. Tanya’s fear. Grey had shown her that. With who he was and what he stood for. Even killing that warlock had been an act of honor. For his wife.

She tried to let him see that now, in her eyes. Only he looked away.

Still, she had to believe in him. He wouldn’t let her die here today.

“Where is this Tanya now?” Alasdair asked.

“Dead.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She could still hear Tanya’s screams as that warlock kept her locked down and Kaios ripped her to shreds, followed by a silence which hurt even worse.

“Why would a werewolf want you?” Persephone sneered.

“Because I’m an Aneval.”

Grey jerked his head to the side, looking away from her, and she knew he was remembering the animals in the forest that had saved their lives.

“And why would they care about that?” Persephone demanded. No doubt the poor woman wasn’t too happy to discover Grey’s powerless little nanny was actually something rather special.

“All animals have a certain draw for me. Shifters, to a certain extent, can dictate what I do. But, werewolves, because of their own brand of magic and the way it’s tied to their animal form, can…call to me. The more powerful, ancient ones—” She shook her head and had to consciously force her jaw to unclench. “They can control me or any other Aneval. It’s how Kaios got me to work against the demigod and witch I attacked, but my powers didn’t work against the wolf shifters. I think to his surprise.”

“Why did you not come to us in the first place? When Kaios was killed and you were released from his control?” Alasdair asked.

She grimaced. “I’d been raised to question if the Syndicate killed my parents. Then you killed the other warlock Kaios used without any understanding of why he did what he did, or that’s how it appeared at the time.”

Alasdair glanced at Grey, whose face seemed to have turned to granite, then sat forward. “Are you saying we killed an innocent man?”

“I know better now,” she said softly. “I learned the truth, and it made me start to question my beliefs. But the kind of trust you’re asking for takes…a lot.”

Again, he slid his gaze to Grey, who didn’t move.

Alasdair turned back to her. “Does that alleviate your concern about us?”

She blinked, pulling her focus back to the leader of all mages. “It…helps.” Given her upbringing, full trust would take time. “I’d rather not be locked up or killed because werewolves can control me.”

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