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Once they had settled at the table the tension between them faded away. Christine apologized to Clay and offered her hand. They shook as if the awkward greeting at the front door hadn’t taken place. Then she listened intently about how Jade had worked to cloak her abilities letting out a long low whistle when she was finished.
“That had to be draining.”
“Exhausting.”
“What were you going to do? You certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep that up forever, and there’s no hope for it now.” There was something in Christine’s tone that made Jade study her closely.
It was then she noticed how defeated her cousin looked. Without a second thought, Jade reached across the table taking her hand. Now that she wasn’t constantly trying to shield herself she was able to read her cousin’s distress as soon as she touched her.
“What’s going on with you?” she probed softly hoping that her cousin would open up to her.
There was a long pause that seemed to thicken the air and then Christine broke down sobbing her emotion pouring out as if flood gates had been opened.
“They’ve chosen who I’m to bond to.” She got out through her tears.
“Who?” Jade asked knowing from Christine’s reaction that whoever it was couldn’t be good.
“Frazer Morven.”
Jade’s heart sank. Their families had been trying to bond with the Morven family for years in a misguided attempt to strengthen each family’s magic. There was a science to their bonding though the magics had to complement each other. They couldn’t just be thrown together. If they were the results could weaken both parties in the pair bond rather than strengthen them as intended. Frazer wasn’t necessarily a bad guy though he was very old-fashioned and would likely insist that Christine bend to his will. It wouldn’t be an easy bonding for either of them.
“He’s a brute! I can’t bear to be bonded to him. I don’t care what the coven wants. I’ll run if I have to.” Christine made the declaration color blooming in her pale complexion.
“You can’t run they would only find you.”
She could come to Yellow Claw territory. Julian is a good alpha he would let her stay.
Jade had to remember that Clay had spoken to her through their bond and not out loud.
I don’t know if she would want that. Especially not alone.Would Clay want them to return to his home? Their bonding had been so sudden that she hadn’t considered how they would make things work. Beyond wanting to be with him she wasn’t sure of much else.
As if sensing her unease Clay reached for her hand. The physical contact had a calming effect on her frayed nerves. She squeezed his hand in a silent show of affection before returning her gaze to Christine who was still trying to stifle her sniffles and pull herself together.
I’ll bring it up later. Maybe you should talk to Julian before I mention it to her?
“Ok, enough about my drama for now. I assume you called for a reason other than just to introduce me to your new boyfriend.” Jade watched Clay cringe when Christine called him her boyfriend obviously feeling that the title was inadequate.
She doesn’t understand about mates. To her boyfriend is an easy and accurate description.Jade tried to soothe him through their link.
Clay gave a brief explanation of why he was in the area and the birth issues the lycans were experiencing. When he’d finished Jade spent the next twenty minutes walking Christine through the spell she’d done on the lycan records and what they had revealed. As she was finishing Clay fished the book containing the family tree out of his bag and laid it on the table between them.
THE WRITING WAS no longer glowing but Clay watched as Christine immediately traced the same lines that had shone brightly during the spell that Jade had cast. When Jade had left that part out of her explanation so it was intriguing to watch Christine run her fingers over the pages the same way that Jade had done.
Her eyes closed and her long lashes left dark crescent-like shadows on the slope of her cheeks. She wasn’t casting magic as far as he could tell but he could sense the power within her. The air felt charged making him want to rub at his arms to brush the feeling away. Her hair floated around her like copper fire and he could have sworn that the room became warmer.
“ Will you consider bringing this to Aunt Deliah? Or the other elders? I know that her health is failing and sometimes her mind is a bit hazy but she may have a way to help, and she’s always tolerated you better than the rest of the family.”
A sense of unease skittered up Jade’s spine at Christine’s suggestion, but there were no other options if she was going to help Clay then she had to know what kind of magic she was dealing with, but it meant either facing the coven, and elders who would likely punish her for lying about her abilities or asking her Great Aunt who despised shifters for help.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jade felt like she was facing a firing squad the next morning as she stood before the group of coven elders. That she hadn't slept well didn’t help matters. After they had finished dinner and she promised Christine that she would find a way to help her with Frazer and her cousin had left she had her first fight with Clay.
“I don’t care if they are your elders. You’re my mate. I’m not leaving you to face them alone. Lycans have an elder’s council as well and they can be assholes. We should stick together.”
“It’s not your place! They are going to be angry with me for lying to them. They will see it as arrogant and disrespectful that I hid my magic from them. Bringing you to stand with me – someone they view as an outsider won’t win me any favor with them.”
Clay sighed and a feeling of disappointment flooded through their connection filling her with a sadness so profound it caused her physical pain. She wasn’t trying to hurt him. she’d spoken without considering their bond or how he would feel about her excluding him from supporting her with the elders.
