Page 86 of A Wolf for Winter

“I regret ever shoving my tongue down your throat, you bastard,” Rose snarled. “Steal my magic? Kill my brother and sister? Why you—”

Boar caught his sister around the middle and yanked the staff out of her hands before she could clobber Drake in the head with it. The magic hunter didn’t even flinch, his eyes glued adoringly on Lilac.

“And Talia?” she inquired.

“My lackey,” he answered readily. “She planted the ill-wishes to sabotage the Yuletide Gala and damage the reputation of the Hawthornes in Annesley Valley.”

“Why?”

“Because she was tired of being treated like pond scum. I promised her what she’d never get here: a chance to have real magic, respect, and love.”

“Was it you who attacked Zofia?” Allen demanded.

Drake ignored him.

“Answer the question,” Lilac told him.

“Yes,” came the immediate reply. “First in the street, in order to sabotage Hawthorne Hall. Without its caretaker, the Hall would have had to siphon power from the witches, making them weaker, vulnerable. Then again in the hospital to fully sever the link.” Drake flicked cold eyes to Allen. “You were always only a temporary ringbearer.”

His expression smoothed into adoration as he turned back to Lilac, making Allen’s stomach twist with jealousy. “Anything else, my love?”

That jealousy vanished with a grin as Lilac shifted her attention to the stunned faces of her elders.

“I think that’s all for now, Drake.” She arched her eyebrow in that imperious way of hers at her father. “Strong enough of a love potion for you?”

He refused to be goaded, though the other elders couldn’t keep their eyes from bulging out of their heads. “If things were so dire,” Stag began slowly, “then tell me, children, why it was the house elf who contacted the manor instead of my own flesh and blood to alert us of a Cailleach Lodge uprising?”

“I’m not sorry,” Zofia declared, thumping her cane. “You three risked being in over your heads even with your new caretaker, and I didn’t watch you grow up to lose everything your family has fought for. I couldn’t stand aside.”

“It’s okay, Nan,” Lilac said gently.

“Well?” The word stung the air between them like the lash of a whip.

“Because I foolishly decided I could handle it on my own,” Boar replied.

Apparently his bold statement startled his father more than Lilac’s demonstration, but he quickly regained his composure.

“I’d be happy to explain everything inside,” Boar continued. “Allen seems to have lost his shoes—”

“Ah, yes. Allen Sharpe.” Stag seemed to relax somewhat. “Zofia has told me all about you. So has Prue.”

Allen cast an anxious look at the hedge witch, but Prue only had a smug upturn of her lips for him. He knew she suspected the true nature of his identity, perhaps even knew it if Beverly had told her, but apparently she was keeping that tidbit of information to herself. For now.

“You have my thanks,” Stag continued, “but I must ask you to relinquish the ring. It belongs to Zofia. You may stay here tonight to collect your things and rest, but you must be gone in the morning.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You three.” He snapped his fingers at his children. “Pack up. We’re leaving.”

“But, Dad,” Rose protested. “We’re supposed to give gifts to the village tomorrow morning. It’s tradition.”

“You think I care one whit for tradition now that we have a magic hunter in our midst and our coven might be in danger in Redbud? Get inside and pack your things. We leave within the hour. Robin, Lily? You get this Drake Morton to the manor immediately.”

His cousins nodded, each placing a glowing green hand on either side of the cocoon before all three became blurs and streaked out of sight.

“We’ll have words when you get your house in order,” Prue Stonewell told him, gesturing with her witch’s knot and sending Talia’s suspended body down the path towards the village. The tip of her leather hat bounced as she marched after her prisoner. “In the meantime, I’ll take care of this one and explain the situation to the rest of the Lodge.”

“My thanks, Ms. Stonewell.” Stag turned back to his children. “Move. Now.”