Page 68 of Cupcake

“Who is this guy?” Axel demanded.

“Victim of the coven. I rescued him from being tied up in the basement. I broke him out and he helped Noah distract the three witches.”

“This guy saw you kill and you let him go?” Bo demanded. “What if he’d gone to the authorities?”

Logan gasped as he clung to Dean’s side. “Would he do that?”

“Wait!” Dean ordered. He wrapped an arm around Logan’s shoulder as he held him tight. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Yeah!” Noah glared around the room. “Do you really think that we went on some murder rampage? What kind of people do you take us for?”

Dean glanced around the kitchen at everyone gathered. Not every member of Logan’s family was in attendance and that was probably a good thing. Shawn and Trevor had taken the boys into town to get breakfast at the diner.

Currently Axel, Gavin, Bo, Craig, Nate, Drake, Levi, Mason, and Lucifer were standing with him, Logan, and Noah. The warriors of the family. He could understand wanting to protect the boys and had suggested that Logan go with them, but Logan hadn’t wanted to leave his side. Did his mate think that he went around killing people too?

“I’m confused,” Axel admitted.

“I need more coffee.” Dean shook his empty mug.

“I’ll get it,” Logan offered. He took Dean’s mug and crossed the kitchen.

Dean faced the others. “I didn’t kill my former coven members.”

“You said you hunted them down. Took care of them,” Axel argued.

“I did.” Dean rubbed his hand roughly over his face. “I must be careful with my magic. If I had killed my coven, then I would have absorbed what they’d been stealing from others. It would have been too big of a power boost. I might have shorted out my own magic. Plus, I don’t ever dabble in blood magic. That stuff is just nasty.”

“How did you take care of your old coven?” Bo asked.

“I lured them outside. That way the magic could be returned to the land. Ley lines. The moonlight could counter evil attempts. I can only do what I do outside.”

“Okay,” Gavin said. “I know a little about magic. Have seen it used in the old days. That all tracks. So, you just stripped the coven of their magic?”

“That and took away any memories they had of ever being able to use magic. Sent them on a new path in life.” Dean made sure to meet the alpha’s gaze. “I can’t kill anyone.”

It was Bo who assured him. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t. We have resources available. The demons in hell. Hellhounds to drag them there. All neat and tidy so no one has to suffer the consequences for what has to be done.”

“I would have…” Dean had to look at Logan who hovered by his side. It was time for a true confession from him. “I wanted to kill them.”

Logan made a soft sound in the back of his throat before he set Dean’s mug on the counter.

Dean cupped Logan’s face. “They were…are a threat to you. It’s my job to protect you.”

“It’s our job to protect each other,” Logan told him. “Together, with my family, we’ll make sure they can’t hurt us.”

Dean kissed Logan. His boy was right.

“So this…Stryker,” Gavin said.

With regret Dean pulled back but kept Logan against his chest. Right where his boy should always be. “I saved him and he offered me his services. The coven had captured him by using amagical spell on their electronics. He’d taken money from them. They took him in revenge.”

“He’s a thief?” Gavin accused.

Dean shook his head. Stryker was special. He did what he did for reasons of his own and they weren’t Dean’s to share with the others.

“Once I made certain his computer was magically protected, Stryker promised to find the rest of the coven’s money. If we can find their money, then we can make them hurt where it will matter most.”

“That’s a brilliant plan,” Axel praised.

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