Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(50)

We left the gates and entered the booth already programmed to take us home. I’d requested the portal, so I pressed my hand against the panel and the power of the transport connected to my own. A few minutes later, we stepped onto the back porch to find Alice and Jenna waiting for us. Trevor, who had arrived first, blocked me from their view, but not even his size could block Logan. When I poked my head around, I wanted to laugh at the shock on the twins’ faces, but the tension held me too tight. A gentle stroke down my spine loosened my muscles enough that I could step forward, debating if I should nudge up Jenna’s slack jaw, or if that would get me a punch in the mouth. My older sister had quite the temper when riled.

“What the fuck?” she finally gasped. “What the fuck is happening here? I know there’s not a fucking Kingston standing there with his hands on my baby sister.”

Logan was such an intrinsic part of me now that it was hard for me to register her shock, to understand how this didn’t feel as natural and essential to them as it did to me. Maybe I’d been better at hiding my feelings last year than I’d thought, because being around Logan but not with him had felt as if I’d carried a wound everywhere, dripping blood as I walked.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” I said simply. “Are Mom and Dad home?”

Jenna shook her head, opening her mouth before slamming it shut again. Alice stepped in for her twin. “Is Logan the reason you’ve been shutting us out since Halloween?” She sounded hurt, and that killed me. I’d hated keeping secrets from them, and the truth finally coming out would be a relief for us all.

“Logan and I are not the issue,” I said, looking between the two of them. “He’s the reason I’m standing here today. He’s saved me more times than I can even tell you.” Meeting his gaze, I wondered how I’d ever thought his green eyes were icy when now they burned like fire.

“Oh,” Jenna whispered. “Oh fuck. I’ve seen that look before on our parents. That’s a true-bond kind of look.”

It was.

“We’re bonded with an ancient magic that wouldn’t have worked unless we were true mates,” I whispered, unable to look away from him. Logan brushed a finger down my cheek, leaving a fiery trail in its wake. “We bonded when we were kids, but the extent of it didn’t truly emerge until my magic bloomed.”

“Impossible.” Jenna shook her head. “Kids can’t access ancient magic or spells. There’s no way.”

Logan’s expression hardened as he met her stare. “When you are true mates, you can. Most just haven’t found the match to their power, but Paisley and my magic connected before it even bloomed. We’ve always been meant to be.”

“They were unnaturally obsessed with each other as kids,” Alice reminded us all.

Jenna shook her head, the shock holding her features fading into another. Hurt. “You never told us.” She sniffled. “Don’t you trust us?”

“I trust you with my life. Always. It was just . . . I was still fighting the part of me tied to Logan over the winter break, and that wasn’t what I was keeping from you anyway. My distance was for another reason—I did it to protect you all, but . . . I can’t keep it a secret any longer. Mom and Dad thought this was for the best, but it’s not working, and we need a new plan.”

Whatever was happening to me, we needed to deal with this as a family.

Just as we always did.





Chapter 23




The atmosphere in the house remained tense as we waited for Mom and Dad to get home. My brothers already knew the truth, and they tried to distract Jenna and Alice, but the twins spent most of their time eyeballing Logan and me.

I got why they were upset—I’d feel the same way if the situation were reversed. We didn’t keep big secrets from each other, especially not when one of us was in trouble.

My actions had created this distance between us, and it was time to fix my fuckup.

The front door opened while we were chilling in the lounge, pretending to watch TV. Logan was sitting beside me, and when everyone jumped up, he helped me to my feet. Trevor’s brow furrowed as he noticed my weakened state, and I forced myself to stand on my own, waving off his concern. He’d find out about our new issue soon enough.

“Kiddos,” Mom called from the entrance. “We bought Chicken Larry’s for lunch. We’ll meet you in the dining room.”

Chicken Larry’s was a family favorite, with perfectly crisp Southern fried chicken pieces, crunchy fries, creamy mashed potatoes, and their secret-family-recipe gravy as the cherry on top. This conversation had better not ruin Larry’s for us.

Logan swung his arm around me in support, and as much as I tried not to lean on him, I needed his strength. In more ways than just physical. “You got this, Precious,” he whispered against my cheek, sending a shiver slowly down my spine.

“I love you,” I replied softly. His thick, dark eyelashes shadowed his cheeks as he closed his eyes. He’d admitted to me that Rafael wasn’t the sort of parent to hand out words of affection, not even when he was younger. He’d lost his mom when he was a child, and he’d felt alone ever since. No one had ever told Logan they loved him, and I was determined to say it every day we had together.

“I wish I’d been with you over the years,” I said, trying not to fall apart; this wasn’t about me. “The way we should have been.”