Page 56 of Prey

She sobers up and says, “Yeah actually. I want to talk to him about a couple things.”

I nod and stand from my seat next to her on the couch. “I’m gonna clean up in the kitchen and then grab a shower. If you two want to do the same we can head out as soon as we’re ready.”

Shasta and Ethan stand and walk down the hall to the different bathrooms. I get to work on the dishes, rinsing them and loading them in the dishwasher. It doesn’t take long and just as I’m going down the hall, Ethan comes out of the front bathroom.

“What do you think?” he asks me.

“About what?”

“Who do you think it is?” Ah, the person Jessa recognized. I knew it was eating at him too.

“I’m worried it may be a government official or even someone from the Convocation, which would be the most fucked up thing. I’m really hoping I’m wrong though,” I say with a sigh. “It just bugs me because she recognized them but couldn’t place them. I have a feeling that if it was a patient she’d know them instantly. Which only leaves people she wouldn’t see on a regular basis.”

“You’re right. But that’s exactly what worried me the most about it. If they have infiltrated that far, this may be harder than we think,” he says.

Yep. But the only thing we can do is keep fighting. No matter what. I just nod and walk down the hall to the shower.

Chapter thirty

Battles & Heart to Hearts

SHASTA

Ihead upstairs to talk to my dad when we get to Grams’. He just finished eating and I passed Mom in the hallway on the wayup. She looks better than I have seen her look in a long time. After a quick hello and hug, she moves past me to take his tray down.

I tap lightly on the door and Dad tells me to come in.

“Hey, you look like you’re feeling a little better today.” I say softly.

“It’s amazing what a few good meals can do for a person. And a little love and care from your mate. Shasta, she isn’t the same, is she?”

I shake my head. “After we thought you died, it broke something in her. I had hoped with you back it would fix itself, and she is happy, but I think it was just too much for her. Grams and the Coven raised me, mostly because she just couldn’t. They took care of her too and slowly got her back to what you see today, but it took years and she never came fully back to herself.”

The despair on his face is killing me. They broke him in so many ways and I’m sure it’s like a slap in the face to see that they broke his mate too. “It’s okay Dad. We made our way the best we could. Don’t put that on yourself. None of this was your fault.”

“It’s hard not to. I never told your mom or Winnie anything about my family history. Some of it was because I had little information with everyone being gone, but some of it was because I just didn’t see the need to. I really thought the Society had stopped trying to get the powers after they killed my mother. I was wrong. So very wrong. I’ll never forgive myself for putting you all through this because of my irresponsibility.”

“Are you psychic?” I ask plainly.

“Well, no,” he says.

“Then how could you have possibly known? We aren’t either and because of where they had you, Gram’s couldn’t see anything until we got the note with your energy. Not to mention we thought you were dead all this time, so who would have thought to look for you? Are we to blame too?”

He sputters. “Of course not.”

I hold my hands out in front of me as if to say, ‘See?’.

He sighs. “You’re right of course. Shiva said he talked to you last night. I guess you know what the connection is now. It’s been in the family for years, but you and I are a more direct link than there has been for hundreds of years. That’s why they are pushing so hard to get to you.”

“Yeah, he did. It’s a little weird that he just pops in like that. Has he always done that with you?” I ask him.

“The first time it happened I thought I was crazy. Then it didn’t happen again for years. The day you were born, actually. He gave you his blessing and I knew things would eventually get ugly. Then your Grams had the vision and I panicked, knowing my fears were coming true. When the wreck happened, I didn’t know what I was going to do. They locked me in that cell and when the door shut and cut off my magic, I knew then that they would make you think I was dead.”

“They left a burned body in the car too. The police claimed it was you but said there was no way to identify the body and when Mom felt the bond break, we had no reason to question anything,” I say gently.

“They are…diabolical. Everything they do has a ton of planning and reasoning behind it. It’s why they have lasted as long as they have. They aren’t newbies flailing around,” he says.

“Speaking of, Jessa said she recognized someone but couldn’t place them. Do you know who she might be talking about?”

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