Page 4 of Severed By Magic

We have names.Theo rolled his eyes next to me.

A woman with long black braids and a friendly smile stepped forward first. “I’m Jo Lake, head of education. I’m glad you all arrived safely.”

“Thank you. These are Theo, Niall, Sai, and Kaden, my mates.” I glanced at the other committee members, hoping they were paying attention. They were.

“I’m Dennis Stewart, head of agriculture and your second cousin.” The middle-aged man next to Jo offered his hand to each of us, and I made the effort to smile. Another family member? How many more would I meet here?

His thinning brown hair grayed at the temples framing a large nose, and his belly slowed his movements, unlike any shifter I’d ever met. I assumed being a shifter meant being in excellent shape. Obviously not.

The other man was tall and lanky, with fluffy hair. He probably had the bad habit of brushing out his curls. With his scraggly beard, crooked glasses, and rather hairy arms, he was the first person I’d ever met who actually looked like a wolf shifter. He’d been staring at the floor until he took a jerky step forward and sort of saluted us. “Lee Aspen, head of technology.”

Without another word, he turned and walked down the hall behind him.The other woman waved for us to follow.

“Come on back. We have dinner waiting.”

She was older than Jo, probably around the same age as the Alpha, with silvery-white hair and a face of lines that looked carved from decades of smiling. “I’m Carol Rivers, head of healing and pack grandma.”

The others chuckled as we followed her down the hall Lee had taken, but I looked to Nancy. “Is she my––”

“No, your grandmother passed away a year after your father died,” she replied quietly. “Your grandfather remarried, though. Gloria will join us soon.”

A step-grandmother, uncles, and cousins? My whole life I’d only known of my immediate family and Masie. Finding out about so many more relatives was overwhelming. I didn’t exactly have the best experience meeting my extended family, so I was more cautious and nervous than excited.

But those feelings faded under my glaring need for answers. How did he find me? Why now? What changed?

Was I ready to find out?

Kaden paused and searched my face, waiting for me to catch up before sliding his hand into mine. Theo took my other hand. Sai put his hand on my lower back, and Niall squeezed my shoulder.

No matter what, we’ve got each other,Kaden reminded me.

Their support gave me the strength I needed to face the gnawing uncertainty ahead, and we walked together through the open double doors into the room where my life would change forever.

Again.

Chapter 2

“I’m sure you all are tired from the events of the past few days. We’ll make this short, so you can retire.” Carol offered a kind smile after we finished eating, and a server took our plates away. “We would simply like to get to know you.”

“Yes, Alpha Stewart didn’t tell us anything before he left. Are you all shifters?” Dennis asked.

Shit. We hadn’t exactly had time or privacy to decide what we were going to tell them.

Go with our story,Kaden suggested. Not our truth, got it.

“No,” I answered quickly, in case the others didn’t hear him. “I’m half, as you probably know. Theo is also a hybrid witch and vampire. Sai and Kaden are shifters, and Niall is a witch.”

Jo stopped her furious notetaking and quickly looked up. “So we will need tutors from all three species. What affinity do you have?”

She directed her question at Niall.

“Water,” he replied. “Saige and I have been studying together.”

Jo nodded and pointed the end of her pen at Theo. “And you?”

“Fire.”

She jotted that down as Niall spoke up. “Saige is actually an Earth witch as well. She’ll need help with that more than Water.”

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