Page 82 of The Witch's Spell
But that’s not the case anymore.
Now I know what it’s like to sit before the fire in the parlor, with Aurora rocking in her rocking chair and humming while her knitting needles click pleasantly. I know what it’s like to hold her at night while rain pelts the windowpane, to taste her skin, to feel her heat burning through our bond.
Hell, even the others feel sort of like home now—Alden, Rowan, even Harrison. I’m not sure about the fairy, and I’d probably be pretty pissy about it if not for everything else going on, but perhaps he’ll even find a place with us, crammed into Aurora’s magical little cottage, bumping shoulders while passing through the too-small kitchen and laughing while sharing tea and fresh bread on the porch in the mornings.
An overwhelming knowing comes over me. There’s no question left in my heart as to where I belong.
“My home is here,” I say slowly. “With Aurora.”
Cathal stares at me for a long moment, then averts his eyes with a sigh. “I know. Orla’s the same to me. I just... I couldn’t leave here without asking. It’s why I came all this way.”
Finally, my brother speaks the truth. I just wish it hadn’t taken him all these fights and scars to spit it out. But maybe that was his process. I haven’t always been good at wading through my feelings, much less communicating them to someone else. But Aurora is helping me with that. She’s helping me with a lot of things.
Because of her, I’m a better man.
“But,” I say, a hopeful smile trying to pull on my lips, though I force it down, just in case, “I’d like to visit. To bring Aurora, show her where we grew up. If you’ll allow it.”
Despite the niceties, he’s still my alpha—well, next in line after Aurora, I suppose. And it’s up to him and Orla if I’ll be welcome around the pack.
I expect Cathal to give me one of his sharp smirks and sling a well-timed insult my way, but he surprises me when he just nods and meets my eyes, his gaze soft. “I’d like that. You’re welcome anytime. Both of you.” He reaches up to scratch his neck, then flinches when his fingers graze one of my bite marks. “Speaking of Aurora... I think I owe her an apology.”
I huff out a laugh. “I think you owe her anumberof apologies.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Cathal pushes off the tree and pads toward me.
My body tenses up, my instincts warning me of the potential incoming danger.
But Cathal just swings a broad arm around my shoulders, jostling me. He smells familiar, and it reminds me of our childhood.
“Think you could help me with that?” he asks as we start back toward the cottage. “Butter her up a bit for me?”
“Hell no.” I shove him away, smiling as he stumbles in the snow. “You’re on your own. I’ve already made amends. Now it’s all you.” As we step out of the tree line and Brookside comes into view, gray smoke puffing from its chimney, I feel a swelling of warmth in my chest.
The front door opens, and Aurora stands there, staring out at us, eyes curious and watchful. I smile at her and push the warmth I feel into our bond. In response, her tense shoulders relax, and her lips pull into a smile.
“Here’s your chance,” I tell Cathal as he walks alongside me. “But be careful. My witch has some bite.”
Chapter 39
Thorne
“OOPS, SORRY!” LYDIA, ALDEN’S SISTER, bounces off my chest after running into me in the kitchen doorway. She’s holding a platter of fresh-baked cookies, the little mounds of sugary goodness still steaming.
“My apologies.” I step aside, and she passes through the doorway and into the parlor with a small smile.
The cottage is packed to the brim. It’s the first day of Yule, and Aurora isn’t holding back. Everyone is here: Rowan and his parents; Alden and his sister and brother-in-law; Faolan, Cathal, and Orla; Harrison and the three hens; and me. It’s almost impossible to move through the house without bumping into someone or getting squished in a doorway, but somehow, I think we all like it this way. Fires blaze in the hearths, the air smells of Aurora’s delicious cooking, and everyone—even the shifter brothers—has a smile on their face.
I find Aurora in the kitchen. When Faolan and Cathal arrived back from their talk in the woods, Cathal immediatelypulled Aurora aside, and though I tried not to listen in, I couldn’t help but to overhear him apologizing to her for being an ass since the moment he arrived. Aurora made sure to reprimand him for his behavior, which made Orla laugh, and then the two of them hugged. With that issue resolved, everyone feels much more peaceful. It’s nice to know I won’t have to blow Aurora’s cottage away for the sake of keeping the brothers from killing each other tonight.
Small joys.
“Mm,” I say as I step up behind Aurora, the hand not holding my cane going to her warm, soft waist. “What’s that smell?”
“Chocolate frosting,” Aurora says, a lovely lilt to her voice.
Now that the fog is gone and everything is back to normal, I’ve noticed a change in her. I’ve known her such a short time, and most of that time was spent with her being scared and overwhelmed and worried. But the Aurora I see now is quick to offer a smile and a laugh, and her green eyes sparkle with joy and wonder at every opportunity.
She dips her fingertip into the bowl she’s stirring, then turns and holds it up to my lips.
