Peter waved it off. “That was true love coming together, a phenomenon no one could stop from happening.”
I scoffed. “Right. I heard rumors Giro had blueberry syrup in his hair after. Must’ve been some huge phenomenon, then.”
Peter’s grin turned almost predatory. “Oh, I can assure you, it washuge.”
Sev gasped with mortification. “Peter!”
Peter cackled with glee and turned back to the castle, calling over his shoulder, “Dinner in ten!”
We both groaned. It seemed like dinner talk wouldn’t be pleasant for us this evening.
The moving van came while we ate dinner, much to my pleasure as it meant we got a good reason for cutting dinner talk short. There had been lots of teasing, even from Claire and my sister, who’d,allegedly, heard us, too.
Sev guided the two movers on where to place the boxes, while he and Peter helped them. I watched with Giro by my side, appreciating how edible Sev looked with his sleeves rolled up, carrying the heavier things. Giro seemed pleased to supervise, too. Making sure Peter was lifting with his legs. Peter enjoyed it, too. Squattinglower than I thought he could, his ass on full display as his tight grey jeans hugged him perfectly.
“That was the last box,” one of the werewolf movers announced, smiling kindly as he closed the van doors. I had no idea if Sev had hired them because they were werewolves, or if it was a mere coincidence. But as long as my stuff came unharmed, I didn’t care much what species delivered them.
Peter came back out with Sev and the other mover, handing him a business card. “We need to empty a house, too, if you are up for the job?”
The werewolf took it with a grin. “Always happy to get more work. Just let me know when.”
“Will do,” Peter smiled, slapping the man gently on his back.
And then they drove off, leaving me bouncing on my toes with excitement. Giro, too, if the grin he gave me meant anything.
“Let’s go,” I cheered, grabbing Giro’s hand in mine and leaving our vampires behind. We laughed together as we raced up the stairs, both eager to see if everything arrived okay.
Chapter 26
Severin
They were giggling. That was all I could hear from my study as Peter paced the floor next to me. Felix and Giro had locked the potion room and demanded to be left alone, which I could respect, but why were theygiggling? It drove both Peter and I mad. Were they planning something? Should we be excited or terrified? I was both,to be honest.
“Let me go out there,” Peter begged again, but I shook my head at him.
“They wanted to be left alone. It is enough we can hear a little, no need to eavesdrop intentionally.”
He rolled his eyes and huffed; his big arms crossed over his chest as he glared at me. I rolled my eyes, too, matching his expression until I could hear footsteps approaching, they sadly did not belong to my witch, but to Dina. I could always tell who it was by the way they walked.
A knock came before Dina’s head peeked inside. “Oh, good. You’re both here.” She came in and sat down on one of the comfy chairs next to my desk. “I just heard from Jenny, that the Silver Lock Coven is in bad standing with most small-town covens. Apparently, they tend to force witches into joining them, but none of the witches taken can say anything about it. Just the families of the ones taken. There’s simply no proof.”
“But why would they force witches into their coven? I thought witches preferred to be close to those in their coven?” Peter questioned as he leaned against my desk, thankfully done with his annoying pacing.
“Well, most covens do,” Dina agreed. “But the Silver Lock Coven is by far the biggest coven of all time. I’ve tried to get their exact number, but no one seems to know, so I only have a rough estimate, and that’s around three thousand.”
“Seriously?!” I asked, my surprise obvious.
“Yes! No wonder they need to brand their coven members. I wouldn’t be able to keep track myself either,” Dina said.
“You think that is the reason for the branding?” I asked.
“Oh, not at all. There’s a much more sinister reason behind that, ofthat, I am sure. But it does help them keep track of everyone.”
I frowned at that. Peter and I had kept our distance from witches over the centuries, not wanting to upset them with our presence. I knew vampires were not seen as equals by most witches, it had only gotten better as the years went on, but I still remembered the past and it was hard letting go of old habits.
“Maybe we should look further into it,” Peter suggested, his tone conveying he was too curious to let it go. “I mean, even a thousand in one coven is unheard of. How can they even manage that many people?”
“I suddenly understand why they needed to blackmail Felix,” I muttered.
