Page 87 of The Witch’s Daughter

Jaxon. I paused to stare up at the night sky. Halley’s Comet made her way across the inky canvas, a spectator of this chaos that was my life.

If he is truly our mate, why didn’t you say anything?

It’s not just your magic you tuned out for the past few years.

She was right. Now that things were rushing back, my intuition felt stronger than ever.

I ducked into my tent, checking to make sure Calla was safely inside and asleep. One of her wolves lifted his head, giving me a gentle nod, which I was taking as a sign of approval.

I waited until the footsteps of Vincent’s guard retreated, then I crept right back outside.

I looked over my shoulder one last time, pushing out my wolfy senses to make sure I wouldn’t be followed, as I stuck to the shadows and disappeared into the night.

30

Jaxon

It was a fever dream that pulled me from the depths of sleep and I woke to the sound of my tent unzipping, but I had to still be dreaming.

“Tisiphone?” I whispered.

“Hi.” Her pretty face came into focus as the moon above illuminated her teal hair. “You’re okay.”

I glanced down at my bare chest, checking the muscles on my right arm. It’d been a long afternoon, forcing the males of my coven to leave me alone, and begging them not to send for Sage or anyone else while I recovered.

“Yeah. I guess I am.” All trace of the fight earlier was gone, and Tisiphone’s scent was filling my space, making my wolf’s tongue hang out.

“Good.” She nodded, clutching the canvas on either side of the open doorway. “I had to see for myself after Calla told me what happened.”

“Right.” I nodded, trying to get in control of myself and fully wake up. As Alpha, my first thoughts should’ve been of Calla. Not me dreaming about what it meant to have Tisiphone here in my tent. “How is she?”

“She’s fine,” Tisiphone said, but I didn’t miss the soft growl of her wolf in her chest. “She’s sleeping in my bed. I think she planned this.”

“That’s what we all thought too.” I moved my legs under me, slowly, so as not to frighten Tisiphone away, and kept my smile to myself upon hearing that she wasn’t sharing a bed with anyone else.

“About earlier…” I started, not sure when I’d get this chance again.

She shook her head. “Not now. I… I have to get back before anyone realizes I’m gone.”

She’s not going anywhere. Drag her into this tent and convince her to stay.

“I understand.” I bit down on my bottom lip and nodded, keeping my wolf from forcing me to do something stupid. “Thanks for checking on me.”

Tisiphone lowered her eyes, leaning back as if she’d leave, but her fists stayed clenched on the sides of the tent. There was a long pause where I didn’t dare breathe.

She looked at me again. “How long did you suspect we were… mates?”

Every muscle in my body tensed. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I didn’t want to scare her away.

Stop dancing around it and tell her.

“The day we met in your Gram’s yard. You were carrying a slingshot and two squirrel tails for the cauldron.”

“That’s the day we met.” She inhaled sharply. “You couldn’t have known from the beginning.”

“Obviously, no one knows for sure until after puberty.” I shrugged, trying to pretend she hadn’t just taken a cleaver to my heart. But that was our story. From the beginning, I loved her more than she ever loved me.

“At the cemetery…” Tisiphone coughed, but not before I heard the emotion breaking her voice. “I wasn’t rejecting you. I was releasing you from the burden Gram gave you of protecting me. You didn’t need to carry that promise for her.”