Page 22 of Second Chance By Fate

My brothers stare at me for a moment, considering the suggestion.

“She’s not going to agree any other way, and we won’t catch them otherwise,” I press. “This is our only shot. Our estate has been infiltrated, and we need to root out the cause. One of us let in the first dark witch somehow, and that witch clearly let in the others. Violet had nothing to do with that—she couldn’t have. We’ve been living with the enemy for years, and we blamed her for it all along. It’s time to make things right, guys.”

“I don’t like the idea of using her as bait,” Enzo mutters.

“She’s going whether we want her to or not,” I remind him, and again, they realize I have a point.

Enzo exhales. “Fine. But we have to be careful—no one can know what we’re up to.”

“Super careful,” I agree. “And you all need to heal first. We need to regain our full strength. No half-assing this. We’ll take a day.”

We retreat to the pack house where Violet is cleansing the property with white sage, her mouth moving in a protective chant. Patiently, we wait for her to finish before announcing our decision.

“We changed our minds,” I tell her. “You can go back to the estate and collect your stuff.”

Her suspicious gaze trails toward me and then to my brothers. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch except you need to take a day to heal. You can’t go in there weakened.”

“You won’t interfere?” she asks nervously, narrowing her eyes at me. “If you do, Jax, the results could be catastrophic. I don’t just mean for me?—”

“Don’t worry about us,” Steele grunts.

“You just get in and out. You can take my car,” I tell her. I don’t like withholding our plan from her, but it’s the only way. She parts her lips as if she’s about to question us more, but I swiftly change the conversation. “I’ll see about food. There’s not much in the fridge and pantry here to eat. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Violet offers.

“You should stay,” I prompt her. “And finish working on Enzo and Steele. They still need healing.”

“We’re better,” my brothers chorus, clearly not wanting to be left alone to answer the question.

No one wants to lie to Violet.

Grunting softly, I force a smile and allow her to follow me back out to the car.

“What’s really going on, Jax?” she demands the minute we’re out of their earshot. I realize she’s following me because she thinks I’m the one who’s most likely to give it to her straight. “Why the sudden one-eighty on letting me return to the estate?” she asks.

“You need your supplies. You’re stronger with your stuff, and one of us needs to go back there eventually,” I answer honestly, unlocking the car.

“My stuff is replaceable,” she says flatly.

“That’s not how you were making it sound a few minutes ago.”

She rolls her eyes. “Come on, Jax…”

“Anyway, someone should see what’s happening there without us, and if you think you can draw out the coven?—”

“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

Slipping into the driver’s seat, I give her a look as she climbs in, too. “Letting you go is pretty stupid, don’t you think?”

Violet smirks. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing that for the past three years, remember?”

My chest tightens, and I swallow a sigh. I wish we had taken better care of her. Maybe none of us would be in this position if we had.

“What do you know about the dark witches?” I ask, pulling away from the pack house. “What would they want with us?”

“I honestly have no idea. If I knew, I would tell you.” I believe her, the exasperation in her voice palpable.

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