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I needed to get my head on straight and fast. My pack, my people were everything, and I shouldn’t have to remind myself of that.

I released her and carried on down the stairs and out the door into the night. Iris, her face, the things she’d said, filling my head.

Somewhere inside me, I’d had doubts, hadn’t I? There had been small differences, her voice, that slightly lopsided smile, the ice-cold skin below the markings on her cheek. The way she moved, the way she smelled. I’d brushed the truth aside, desperate for someone to take my anger out on.

Stripping, I shifted and ran into the woods. I had to see for myself.

I didn’t stop, didn’t slow until I reached the clearing where I first saw her…Iris.

Not Selene.

Gray headstones, some glossy in the moonlight, some older and dull, sprouted from the ground on the other side of the field in the distance. I shifted back to human form and strode toward it. The area would be warded like all witch’s cemeteries. They were brimming with power. Even after death, witches exuded magic; it flowed from the bones of their ancestors and into the earth. Everything in their burial grounds was useful and held power. Selene had taught me that. The dirt, plants, the grass, all of it. And having a big and old cemetery like this made the Thornhearts very powerful.

I worked my way around the perimeter, searching the dull headstones, the ones that were rough and old, unpolished. There was a group of them on the far side, and my gut gripped tightly as I reached them.

My sight was excellent, and the stylized S carved into one of the crumbling stones was easy to see, the rest of what it said readable.

Here lies Selene Thornheart. Wife of Jacob Williams, beloved mother of Jasmine, Cassandra, and Susanna.

I didn’t finish reading it, I didn’t need to. She was here, in this place. How could I doubt it?

Beyond the cemetery was a path that led to the house. It was dark, everyone was asleep—except for Iris. She was where I’d left her, in my bed, in my keep.

I’d planned to end her life.

I dragged in a deep breath, needing the night air to calm me, but it didn’t work.

Selene was dead, but she was still ruining my life.

All my secret hopes and dreams for the future, shattered before my eyes.

Iris, the descendant of my worst enemy—was my mate. And there was nothing I could do to change it.

CHAPTER 7

Iris

I hadn’t planned on falling back to sleep, but the next time I opened my eyes, it was morning. Sun streamed into the large room, and the smell of coffee and bacon had my stomach rumbling.

I rolled over and startled when I found Ebony sitting by the bed again, Nia at her side this time. The girl was running her hand down my familiar’s back, and Nia was lapping up the attention.

“Breakfast,” Ebony said and motioned to the plate on the bedside table.

“You made this?”

“Nope, Sally did. Don’t worry, she didn’t put poison in it, I watched her.”

The thought hadn’t occurred to me. It did now. I gave the food another once over. “They don’t like me here, huh?”

She shook her head, her long wavy hair falling over her shoulder. “You’re the bad witch who used your magic on our alpha.”

I sat up and pulled the plate onto my lap. My muscles shrieked in protest, but it wasn’t as bad as last night, and I wasn’t feverish anymore either. I gave the food a sniff and my stomach growled loudly. I hoped it wasn’t poisoned because I was starving, and this looked so damn good. “You know that wasn’t me, right?” I said and took a sip of coffee then scooped up some of the scrambled egg.

She shrugged. “I still don’t trust you.”

“Fair enough. That just means you’re smart. I wouldn’t trust some random stranger either. But again, just for the record, I’m not the one who hurt your alpha or your pack.”

“How old’s your dog?” she asked, changing the subject as I slipped Nia a piece of bacon.