Page 50 of Captive Witch

Adara gives me a small smile. “She’s my father’s sister. Apparently, they’re from… Tuscany?” She looks across the fire at the brown-haired witch, who nods.

“Just north of Tuscany, but yes. Your father’s pack is still around there, run by that asshole.”

“Pack?” I ask, glancing between the two. “Your father was a werewolf?”

Eri nods again. “We grew up in an Italian coven of witches, but my brother was bitten. He gained alpha status in his pack, and my mother had him bite us.” The shadow of a smile pulls at her mouth as she stares into the flames. “She couldn’t bear to sentence him to a life of immortality alone.”

“My mother had him murdered,” Adara says, her voice soft. “And she killed my grandmother.”

“How didyouknow that?” I look at the witch across from me, shaking off my questions for her, then back at Adara. “Jules found your mother’s journal. She wants you to read it, but she wants to be there when you do. It’s… not going to be an easy thing to read.”

“Thank you,” she says, pressing her forehead to my neck. “For taking care of her.”

“Abe would’ve been proud of you both,” Eri says softly.

My head snaps up to look at her. “Abe?”

“My brother. He would’ve loved to see the love between you two.”

My mouth goes dry, thinking back to the large wolf who found me outside of my burning home. Grace and Ella inside. Tied up. Their corpses… “What… what town did you say you were from?” I rasp out.

Eri’s brows cinch. “I didn’t. Why?”

“I…” I clear my throat. “My alpha, his name was Abe. He saved me from…” Shaking my head, I lick my lips. “His pack was in Volterra.”

“That’s…” Confusion melts off her face, replaced with surprise. She laughs, breathless, and her eyes twinkle. “Incredible. That’s incredible.”

“You knew my dad?” Adara asks.

“Apparently, I did.” I tighten my arms around her. “He was my alpha. The first and only alpha I’ve ever known.” Nuzzling my face into the side of her neck, I whisper, “I’m sorry about your grandmother, little witch. Monique will pay for her crimes.”

Adara nods, a single tear tracking down her cheek before she wipes it away.

I place a kiss to her jaw. “Tell me how you got here.”

She swallows a few times, then takes a deep breath. “It was Aramin. Well… it was Aramin using Monique’s magic. Somehow, she learned how to wield it just enough to freeze time. Everyone but us. Then, the coven’s bounty hunter witch showed up and captured both of us.” She scoffs, the sound a half-laugh as she shakes her head. “I don’t know what ended up happening to Aramin. She was unconscious, but they weren’t worried much about her.” A frown creases her brow. “She said Monique was a traitor of the coven, their next bounty. I-I woke up when she’d had Kaylus in her hands… then Eri came.”

I stroke Adara’s hair with one hand, pressing a kiss to her temple, then turn to Eri with a glare. “If you saved her, then why did she scream just before I found you? I felt her pain through our bond.”

Eri dips her head, sweeping one arm out to the side in a half bow. “Ever the gracious alpha, Gideon.”

“Answer me,” I growl. “Adara said the Lockwood witch uses dark magic—its scent it all over you. Why should we trust you?”

She quirks a brow. “Impressed you know that. I use dark magic because it’s less easily infiltrated by unwanted visitors. It isn’t dark because it’s evil. It’s dark because the coven doesn’t like how hard it is to counter.” Looking at Adara, she purses her lips to the side briefly before turning back to me. “You can check her—I healed all her wounds already, including a concussion and a pretty deep gash to her thigh, but the only pain I caused was brought on by drinking the well water.”

“The well water?” I repeat slowly. “The…” My gaze shoots to Adara. “Youdrankthe well’s magic?”

“I didn’t really get a choice, to be honest,” she says with a huff. “It hurt. It was socold.”

“Not only will it finally remove Monique’s tracking spell, it’ll build your magic’s strength along with your connection to the well itself as well,” Eri says, talking to Adara without taking her eyes from mine. “To keep it safe.”

Chapter twenty-one

Adara

“Safe?” Gideon says. “Monique is after the well’s magic.”

The last part is a statement because he knows—he has to by now. It’s obvious.

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