“A witch and a wolf. Their offspring would be fascinating.” She blinks and refocuses on me. “You’ll need to encourage her to procreate so we can find out what the mixture would bring about.”
Horror steals my words momentarily.
My mother speaks about a possible grandchild like a science experiment. And I should have expected this.
Jack will kill them if they try anything,I attempt to reassure myself.
Not that they plan to have kids soon, if ever. I don’t know where Ame stands on the subject.
But I do know that Zara—the harpy Anthony mated—is very interested in having a kid and that my brother is open to the idea of being a father.
What would our mother say about that? Or Broderick and Ophelia? Witch magic mixed with a firebird’s.
My mind returns to my years of growing up in their house.
The rare times they took interest in me.
What they made me do.
What they took from me.
The idea of my parents attempting the same on potential nieces and nephews has me wanting to rip off a few limbs of my own.
This is not happening. We are not helpless children anymore.
I stand from the bench, towering over her. “You need to leave Folk Haven,” I say in an unwavering tone.
“Nonsense.” She waves her hands, dismissing my words. “Your father will work on a protection spell to ward off further attacks, and you only need to tell that wolf to keep his claws to himself.”
“I don’t care about your safety,” I snap. No more than wanting them alive so Jack doesn’t get punished for murder. “This town is our home, and none of us want you here. You were—and still are—terrible parents. Go back to Maine and forget about us.”
Her confused expression turns almost sickly sweet as she tilts her chin up to connect our eyes.
“I don’t think we will leave, Morgana.” She spreads her arms, palms up. “You do not make the rules. And no matter how you feel, we’re still family.”
Dread condenses in my lungs until I can’t pull in a full breath.
So, I turn, risking giving her my back, and put all my effort into shielding my mind and aura so Helena doesn’t catch a hint of how much she scares me.
What am I going to do?
43
Bo
“They plan on staying.”
I don’t have to be able to read magical auras to know that Mor is terrified by the thought of her parents settling in Folk Haven. My father was a waste of space and did a number on my self-worth, but at least I was never scared of the man.
“Can’t The Council deny them?” I ask.
Mor shakes her head. “I went to Selena right after talking to my mother. She said The Council can’t even consider expelling someone unless they’ve attempted to harm a resident of Folk Haven.” She blinks her big green eyes up at me. “But by the time they do that, it might be too late to mitigate the damage. And they don’t do big things. The pain they dole out, it’s small and secretive. Hard to nail down and hold them accountable for.” She shudders. “I thought we got away from them.”
Fury roils in my chest at the thought of those two toxic witches digging their emotional-damaging claws into Mor and her siblings. I want to shield all of them, but I don’t know how.
“I can drive them off,” I offer. “Run them out of town. Jack would help.”
Hell, Jack would draw first blood.
