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Lettie practically beamed. “Then you’ve decided to stay.”
“Given Cullen’s possessive and determined nature, do you think I ever had much of a choice?”
Suddenly Cullen was beside her, his hand sliding down to rest affectionately on her backside. “The only choice you had was on how difficult you were going to be. After all, we are fated mates.”
He kissed her, took the tray from Lettie, and headed into their office. Jinx jumped up as if she had been stuck with a pin.
“Alpha, I wasn’t expecting you.”
He set the food down on the desk. “If there are things you wish to tell Salem in private, I can reconcile myself to that, but you should know she is aware of her status as my mate.”
Jinx glanced at her furtively, and Salem gave her a small smile. “It’s fine, Jinx. It was hard admitting it to myself, but when I thought about it, I realized somewhere deep inside I’d always known—not just about Cullen, but that I somehow didn’t belong out there. From the time I walked in those enormous front doors, I felt I was finally home. So, anything you were going to tell me could most likely be said in front of Cullen.”
Jinx nodded. “So, I did some additional digging. Did you tell him what we found out about your ancestry?”
“No. I was too busy fucking his brains out and figuring out who I am and where I belong.”
“Give me the short version.”
“Salem is descended from a long line of witches who fled Massachusetts during the witch trials. One of them ended up here and became the fated mate of a wolf-shifter…” said Jinx.
“Basically, one of my ancestors helped found your pack and built Ghost Moon Manor. You’re only living here by my leave.”
“I knew the two of you becoming friends was a bad idea,” groaned Cullen. “But I guess it just proves that this has always been your home.”
“Jinx, why did you want to see me?”
“I’ve been able to get some more of the censored file unredacted. Do you have a small birthmark on the inside of your thigh that looks like a series of random spots?”
“She does,” said Cullen.
Jinx nodded. “If you connect them in the right way, they form the constellation known as Lupus.”
“Wolf,” Salem breathed.
“Wolf-shifters and vampires have been mortal enemies from time immemorial,” added Cullen.
“Somehow the Shadow League must know about my ancestry…”
“If they are working within the SPU, they may have wanted you up here, and that would also explain why the vamps tried to attack you in Seattle before you even knew about their existence,” said Cullen.
“Here’s where it gets exciting,” said Jinx. “Witches and wolf-shifters have not always been the best of friends. So, a witch and a wolf-shifter being fated mates is, for some, going to be a major portent of the power the two of you will wield.”
“I don’t know anything about being a witch,” said Salem.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Jinx. “I think that when you unite with Cullen, your genetic memory may be triggered. That’s why the vamps want one or both of you taken out. Now, here’s the exciting part…”
“This isn’t the exciting part?” quipped Salem.
“Not even close,” said Jinx. “The magic that is supposed to result from your union is ‘forbidden’…”
“By whom?” growled Cullen.
“By the people like the Shadow League, Abraham Strode, and the rest of them. They know that we can defeat them. The fact that we don’t know what that looks like is irrelevant. We have the Celestial Key, and maybe our union is the key to bringing about the destruction of the alliance between the vampires and the Shadow League.”
Salem looked at Cullen with the knowledge that she was standing at the proverbial fork in the road, and whichever path she chose to tread, her life would never be the same again.
CHAPTER 16
