Page 25 of Moonlit Alexandrite

I looked to my brothers for support. Ren raised an eyebrow in encouragement. He wanted me to apologize and tell her everything would be fine, but it wouldn’t. Not until she knew everything. Next, I looked to Tase and noticed him weaving small sections of hair into braids. Fuck. He really was pissed. I would swear the bastard was part Viking if I hadn’t known him most of my life. Really though, he was just mostly wild and had a chance to bond with... her.

She looked like a queen, perched on the arm of Tase’s chair. Her hair was windblown, her cheeks flushed. She was the single loveliest thing I had ever seen, and I could barely cope with that fact. The pile of drink coasters on the coffee table by my knee was slightly skewed. I extended a single finger to bring the corner around to the correct position, then cleared my throat.

“I don’t know where to begin,” I hedged, pushing my glasses up my nose reflexively.

Tase and Ren grunted almost simultaneously in irritation, but it was the fear in Alexandrite’s eyes that gave me the courage to speak.

“Six years ago, I traveled for work,” I started, keeping my eyes on a tiny smudge I had just noticed on the glass surface of the table. “Product distribution and contracting for the family vineyard took me all around the state. In New York, I met someone.” My throat closed up at the memory, a visceral refusal to go back there. There was no choice though, I had to get this out because I knew without a doubt that even if I hesitated at the idea of finding my mate, my best friends wouldn’t, and it would be my own fault if everything went to shit. I pushed my glasses up my nose and forced myself to continue.

“We became close. She traveled with me for a few months, and I asked her to move in here. Before we could finish setting her up, I was sent on one last trip, so I left her. New in town. Knew no one. I even felt bad about it. I told her my friends would look after her.” I looked Ren in the eye, hoping he could read the apology there. His lip quirked in a sad acknowledgment. “I should have called. Should have let you know.”

“You didn’t know there was anything to warn us about.”

“Anyway, she took the information and seduced them.”

“Not me,” Tase interrupted. I huffed a laugh and nodded.

“Yeah, I think your horse tried to eat her, didn’t he?”

“Stupid Stone,” Tase muttered, shifting so he could wrap an arm around Lex. They looked good together, and I really was glad he had left his hair alone for now. Hopefully, he wouldn’t drag me down to the boxing ring later and kick my ass. I was sore from dancing already.

“She got to you?” Lex asked gently, watching Ren closely. I wondered if she had any idea. If she could guess what the truth of this story was.

“Yeah, she got to me,” Ren confirmed. Lex gently unwound Tase’s arm and moved over to sit with Ren, quietly offering a comfort she couldn’t possibly grasp the significance of for him.

“Wait. Six years ago?”

All three of us froze as Lex did the calculations in her head, and I guess one and one did make two for her as she breathed, “Newt.”

I could do this. I would not panic. Surreptitiously, I leaned over and swiped at the smudge with the hem of my shirt.The hardest part for me personally was told already, the rest was Ren’s burden,I insisted to myself as I checked my hair was neat and straightened my glasses.

“The fallout left us in tatters. Ren and I came to blows a few times, and when Tase is the voice of reason, you know things are bad.” I cast a look at Tase who grinned proudly at my implication that he’s a crazy bastard.

“We swore we would never let anyone come between us again. Herd first and forever. She came back to Moonlit Falls three years ago with this tiny two-year-old in tow. The kid flinched at his own shadow. She told us he wasn’t what she wanted and left him with us.”

“Wasn’t...” Lex’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “How could she do that?”

Ren shrugged. “Our best guess was she was hoping for a child with similar powers to her own. When he started shifting, she realized he was useless to her.”

“What kind of supe is she?”

“A fire witch. Probably why she thought pairing up with Ren would be a good idea.”

Lex nodded in understanding and squeezed Ren’s hand a little tighter. With the story out in the open, I sagged in my seat. There was only one thing left to share, and it was something I hadn’t told the others yet.

They started making moves to get on with the afternoon, and Ren mentioned picking Newt up from Lex and Colbie’s house. It seemed the story had been enough of an apology, but they didn’t understand.

“Tammilyn was also part succubus.”

Ren’s knee knocked the coffee table, scattering the carefully stacked coasters. Tase whipped around to face me, and Lex... froze.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ren growled, rubbing his knee.

I sighed and wanted to regret telling them, but I had been holding on to this for too long.

“After she dumped Newt on Ren, she came back to me. Tried to convince me that we belonged together, true mates and all that shit. I could taste her lure in the air.” I looked at Lex. “That’s why I was so rude the first time we met. Although, I honestly believe you didn’t know you were using it.”

“Using what?” Her eyes were wide, and it was obvious she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

---