Page 56 of Fated Moons
“This really sucks,” Amanda said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Jackson downed the rest of his coffee, realizing he would excuse himself so he too could get ready.
In his room.
Where Amanda was.
“I hope your sister had nothing to do with this.” Jackson might not have ever liked the woman or what she’d said about him and his family, but she was Amanda’s aunt.
“My sister has been practicing a type of magic that is dangerous and is banned, but for a royal to use it, she will have to face a trial by both our coven and the Twilight Crossing Council. They will lock her up in a paranormal prison, much like where your father is. They will take her Book of Spells and her life’s work will never be seen again. But we will conjure herpowers and destroy them. And we will destroy her spells, both good and evil. She will be reduced to a human with no powers at all.”
“That seems harsh.”
“She cast a blocking spell, and she’s probably responsible for the unlucky one, which is just as bad in other ways because it has stripped you of things you deserved and manipulated people’s minds to think badly of you.”
“You never thought badly of me.”
“My magic is above that,” Alfred said.
“Amanda never thought bad of me.”
“She’s your mate.” Alfred held up his hand when Jackson tried to speak. “And before you go down the family line, we might not mate like wolves do, but there is one special person for us, and our lives only become complete and make sense when we find them. We share a close bond, so when that special person comes into our lives, our entire family is bonded to them.” Alfred dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out an old picture. He pushed the photograph across the table.
“That’s me.” Jackson snapped up the image, staring at himself at maybe three and a half or so, with the biggest smile on his face that he’d ever seen, holding a baby, but it wasn’t a baby he recognized. Not right away.
And then suddenly, his entire world spun on its axis. Everything that had ever happened to him floated across his mind, filtered through two lenses.
What happened.
And what should have happened.
“Yep. And that is Amanda. I had forgotten about this picture, but my wife remembers everything, and when we suspected you and Amanda might be a match, she pulled it out. It was the only time I believe you ever met, and it was right before we had to fire your father. It’s when you imprinted on her.”
Jackson’s heart melted into a puddle of heat in the center of his stomach. He could remember the exact emotion and connectedness to the baby in his arms, as he did to the woman he held last night.
Tears burned his eyes, but he blinked them away.
“My sister is a powerful witch, and I know she can cast such a blocking spell. I really want to believe she didn’t, but I don’t doubt she could have done her best to make sure your life was so unlucky and so unappealing that it would make my daughter want nothing to do with you, denying both your fates.”
“This is a lot to take in.” Jackson set the picture down. He had to admit that much of the self-doubt and even self-loathing because of who his father was seemed to evaporate into thin air. He wouldn’t deny the image's effect on his mind, heart, and soul.
“I understand, but I need to know that you accept this. That you’ll always do your best to take good care of my daughter and love her like she deserves.”
“I will do my best to make sure no harm comes to her,” Jackson managed.
“And the latter?” Alfred asked.
“It’s strange to know that I’ve always loved her. That my heart belongs to her.” Jackson nodded. “I can’t not love her.”
12
Asoiree of anger, frustration, and fear filled Amanda’s entire being, and she knew her aunt would pick up on it right away. She’d probably be looking for it in her aura. Auntie Alley had a master’s degree in biochemistry, which wasn’t unusual for a witch, but she’d graduated in the top one percent of her class, and according to her siblings, she never had to study a single day in her life.
Mastering witchcraft had always come easy to her as well. She had more than one natural gift when it came to her powers as a witch. For starters, she was a potionist. She could whip up a new potion without even thinking about it. She was a healer as well. Although, that was a talent she chose not to use, unless someone in her immediate family needed it or the cameras were rolling and it became something she was forced into doing.
But that was in part because using witchcraft to cure could be seen as manipulating fate, which was against some human laws. It was a gray area and many things factored into whether a healer could use their witchcraft or not. Alley preferred not to in general. She also had the ability to see the past and the future. She wasn’t a seer, but her magic allowed her to peek into bothrealms. It was never a moving picture, like Trask could do. More of a screenshot of what would come or what had happened.
And she could read auras.
