Chapter 28

"Exactly!" Sam nodded emphatically, as if it should be obvious. "Too much has happened to us, and we all need to unwind. We can have it at The Brew. Clarissa won't mind us doing some Coven-Bonding."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Again, I'm grounded."

"There are always ways around that." Sam assured him with a mischievous grin. "Now grab a pen and paper. I'm getting genius ideas."

Shaking his head, but unable to suppress a smile, Jason did as he was told.

Meanwhile, across town, Angelo was already in his car, slamming the door shut with a frustrated sigh. "Have you noticed that with the wolf thing, the not-Witch-Hunters thing, and now the maybe Coven Binding thing, we have no time for the Finding Your Family's Book thing?" He rested his elbow out of the open window as he turned to look at Maya.

"It had occurred to me," Maya admitted, clasping her hands behind her back. "I've been doing some searching on my own, though, and I'm almost completely sure that if it's in the house, it's not on the first floor."

"Second floor it is, then." Angelo nodded, starting the ignition. "Does your dad usually stay out this late all the time?"

"Yep," she nodded. "So is the life of the manager of the Allencorp Harvest Grove Fertilizer Plant. Bet you didn't realize it was so time-consuming."

"Definitely didn't," he agreed, giving her house a scrutinizing look. "Are you going to be okay here by yourself? We were attacked by the minions of some mysterious asshole who's still out there, and you're the only one who's always home alone."

She was taken aback by his concern. "Careful, Angelo, you sound like you're worried about me."

He made a face at her. "Don't let it get to your head. I'm worried about all of us after what happened. And to be honest, I'm more disturbed by your kidnapping than everyone else's."

"Why is that?" She tilted her head to the side, curiosity piqued.

"Maya, the dude who jacked you full of that paralyzing agent was taking you out of town," Angelo frowned. "He wasn't even heading in the direction of Miller's Field; he was going the opposite way." His blue eyes met her wide green ones, filled with gravity. "So, if he wasn't taking you to where the others were, where exactly was he taking you?"

"Are you sure about this?" Gabe Burns, holed up in his office, scrutinized the data Austen had sent over, deeply disturbed.

"You've seen the information yourself," Austen replied, his footsteps echoing through the line, indicating he was on the move. "If I weren't finally making headway with Casandra and her coven, I'd deal with it myself. But I can't afford to leave here for a moment."

Gabe leaned back in his seat, frowning. "Do you believe you can trust this boy in her coven as your ally? Jake Armstrong used to be part of the Witch-Hunters. Can he truly be trusted?"

"He's infatuated with her. He'll do what has to be done, no matter what it is. I can see what the Witch-Hunters saw in him; he's a good soldier," Austen replied. "Anyone I can use to keep Casandra and Ethan's boy as far apart as possible is someone I'll keep close."

"Would it really be so horrible if the Conant's and Blakes finally fulfilled their destiny?" Gabe questioned, his gaze drifting to the ceiling.

"You know exactly what would happen if that were to occur, and I will not allow it," Austen grumbled, clearing his throat. "I'm already working on something to deal with that little issue. Don't worry about it."

"I have enough to worry about," Gabe muttered, glancing at his screen showing footage of a wolf-like creature attacking Farmer Wilson's cattle. "Why didn't you show this to me sooner?"

"I had to be sure."

"And you are?"

"Yes," Austen affirmed, his voice resolute. "Definitely."

Gabe sighed, rubbing his temple. "What do you want me to do about this?"

Austen hesitated, then responded, "Leave it for now. Slaughtering cattle is a very odd move. Let's see how this plays out."

"But Maya—" Gabe began, worry lacing his voice.

"You've already heard me, Gabe," Austen interrupted sharply. "Do nothing. I'll keep you informed on anything you need to know."

The call ended abruptly. Cursing softly, Gabe hung up, his eyes returning to the video Maya had taken of the wolf creature. Unease curled in the pit of his stomach.

Maya didn't know what had woken her. She'd been in a deep sleep, dreaming about the night she had seen those hooded figures through her camera's night vision. Snippets of their conversation echoed in her mind, three words standing out: "Firstborn," "James," and "Here." In her dream, as she strained to hear, she wondered about the "Firstborn" comment that had the hooded people so nervous, and the "here" that had made them gasp in shock. Were they looking for a specific witch? Austen had told her she was a Firstborn of her family, so maybe...maybe James wasn't a word...maybe it was a name.

The necklace resting against her chest burned, shining brightly. It was in the middle of this that Maya awoke, gasping for breath, her hand flying to her cooled necklace.

She didn't have time to digest what had come to her in her dreams because there, standing on her bed, was that wolf creature. Its white fur was barely visible in the darkness, its eyes glowing as it snarled at her, teeth bared and far too close.

Her gaze darted to the window, which was open despite her having closed it. Maya's eyes returned to the wolf, which snapped its saliva-dripping fangs inches from her face.

Crying out, Maya pressed harder into the pillow, turning her head away in a sign of canine submission. Saliva dribbled onto her cheek, trailing down her neck.

Fear rose in her chest, tightening her grip on the pendant around her neck. But something else churned in her stomach—another side of her magic, one that felt so real, so natural, so right. She didn't have to think when it came to this magic, unlike the coven magic, and she didn't understand why it felt as if there were completely different sources and magics inside her.

But now wasn't the time to wonder, because as the growling creature bit deep into her shoulder, Maya screamed. Something erupted out of her like a wave of power, the streetlights surrounding her house exploding simultaneously.

The creature was thrown off her with the explosion, hitting the opposite wall hard enough to leave an indent, letting out a yelp of pain as it fell to the ground.

Maya sat up, clutching her wounded shoulder with one hand while the other moved towards the wolf. It saw this and quickly stood, racing towards the window and jumping out.

She was on the second story.

Maya hurried to the window and gazed outside, finding no evidence of the creature. She locked the window and turned, sliding down the wall, whimpering at the throbbing pain in her shoulder.

What the hell had just happened?