Rain woke with a start, sitting up in bed, her head spinning as she tried to regain focus. Memories began clicking together like pieces of a puzzle, expanding in her mind like a pressure cooker. “Chase.”

“He’s out looking for Isaac.” Snow sat in the chair next to the bed and leaned her elbows on her knees. “How are you feeling?”

Rain blinked at her sister. The pounding in her head had subsided, and her muscles felt mildly achy. “Better. He told you what happened?” Her robe had come open while she slept, so she tied it shut.

Snow’s lips quirked, suppressing a grin. “Not the whole story.” She motioned with her head toward Rain’s clothes discarded on the floor. “I take it you made up before all this went down?”

Warmth spread through her chest, elation tingling through her limbs. “You could say that. How long have I been out?”

“Chase left as soon as we got here…about twenty minutes ago, so maybe an hour.”

She let out a slow breath. “I’m scared.”

“For yourself or for Chase?”

“Both.” She scooted to the edge of the bed and picked up her clothes. “Isaac is weak, but…”

Snow stood. “I made a new circle of protection, and I hid the totems this time.” She nodded to a lumpy dishtowel lying on the table by the window. “And your boyfriend is a big, bad werewolf. He can take out your miserable ex with one swipe of a paw. I’m sure this will all be over soon.” She smiled. “And the blue moon is right around the corner…”

Rain cringed inwardly but kept her expression neutral. How could she tell her sister—who had worked so hard on the unbinding spell, who had risked so much by simply moving to New Orleans and working with her—that she didn’t plan on asking Chase for his blood?

She pulled her shirt over her head and shoved her legs into her jeans. “Chase said he was going to send a werewolf over to keep watch.”

“He sent two. Why don’t you come meet them?” Snow gestured toward the store front and stepped into the doorway.

Rain glanced in the mirror and tousled her tangled hair. “I suppose I’ve looked worse.”

Snow rolled her eyes. “You’re glowing like a woman in love. Now, come say hello to our guests before they start thinking we’re rude.”

After slipping on her shoes, Rain followed her sister into the storefront. Macey sat at the small cake tasting table in the corner with a tall, blonde woman. Though their statures were different, they both had bright-green eyes and similar facial features. The taller one’s aura glowed the deep orange of a werewolf, while Macey’s was a more muted tone.

Rain approached the table. “Hi. I’m sorry for dragging you out here in the middle of the night.”

Macey stood and shook her hand. “It’s no problem. I work nights, so I’m used to it.”

The other woman rose to her feet and offered her hand. “Alexis Gentry. Nice to meet you.”

Rain cut her gaze between the two women. Wasn’t Macey’s last name Carpenter? “You’re obviously sisters, so I take it Gentry is your married name?”

She paused, her lip curling as if the idea disgusted her. “No, it’s not.”

Rain gave her a questioning look. Sisters with different last names? Did that mean they had different fathers? Weren’t werewolves supposed to mate for life?

Alexis shrugged. “Long story.”

She made a mental note to ask Chase about it later and turned her gaze to Macey. “Since you’re here, do you want to talk about your wedding cake? I can show you my portfolio.” She shuffled to the cabinet that held her books.

“Are you up for that?” Macey followed. “With everything that’s happened…”

“There’s a murderous madman on the loose, and people are dying because of me.” A sob threatened to bubble from her chest, but she swallowed it down. She would not lose control in front of these women. Taking a heavy album from the shelf, she clutched it in her arms. “It will help keep my mind occupied until Chase comes back.”

Macey nodded. “We’ll be feeding several hundred people, but I’d like to keep it as simple as possible.”

Rain set the portfolio on the table and sank into a chair. “Simple. Elegant. Big doesn’t have to mean elaborate.”

“Gentry…” Snow sat on a barstool and tapped a finger against her lips. “Where are you from?”

Alexis cut her gaze to Macey. “All over. Our parents were rogues, and they traveled a lot.”

Snow smiled. “We might be related.”

Rain’s stomach turned. “What?”

“Way, way back…I’d have to look at my notes…one of the Connolly witches married a Gentry werewolf.” She hopped off the stool and sashayed around the counter. “I researched our family tree as a gift for our grandmother’s eightieth birthday. Coffee?”

Macey looked up from the portfolio. “That would be great.”

Rain’s throat went dry. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

Snow shrugged and filled the pot with water. “It was a long time ago; you wouldn’t have been interested back then. Anyway, I think it was our great-great-grandmother’s sister who married the Gentry. We don’t have any werewolf in us.” She smirked. “Well, I don’t have any werewolf in me. You, on the other hand, occasionally do.”

Heat crept up Rain’s cheeks, but she wouldn’t let her sister distract her. She looked at the women. “I’m sorry. You have to go. You can’t be here. You can’t show me kindness.”

“Why not?” Alexis took a cookie from the plate Snow set on the table.

“You don’t know about my curse?”

The werewolves shook their heads.

Rain’s heart warmed. Chase hadn’t told her secret. “Any witch who shows me kindness will suffer. Even if you have a little bit of witch blood, you’re at risk. Being here, doing me a favor like this, you could end up getting run over by a bus.”

Snow nodded. “It’s happened to me. Well, it was more of a bump than a complete run-over, but it hurt like hell.”

Rain gave her sister an apologetic look, but she waved it off. She’d lost count of how many times Snow had fallen victim to her curse, but every incident added another ounce of guilt to the weight she carried on her shoulders.

“Good thing we’re not doing this for you, then,” Alexis said around the cookie in her mouth. “We’re under orders from the alpha.”

That could’ve been a loop-hole, saving them from the curse, but it was best not to take chances. “You should leave.”

“Are you kidding?” Alexis took another cookie. “I’m a rogue, and even I know better than to disobey an alpha. I leave, and I’ll never be allowed back in New Orleans again. Especially since you’re—”

“We’ll be fine.” Macey gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re doing this for Luke…and for Chase.” A funny look flashed in her eyes before she focused on the album. “I like this one, but it will have to be bigger, I’m afraid. Can you make this to feed four hundred?”

Rain let out a breath. Hopefully her curse would spare these women. They couldn’t go against their alpha’s orders. “Believe it or not, that one fed two-fifty. I can make it a little bigger. Is that the one you want?”

Alexis laughed. “She wants to elope and get married on a beach somewhere private.”

Macey glared at her sister. “I’m adjusting to all the…people in my life. Before I joined the pack, it was just me and my parents. Now my family has grown by two hundred members.”

Rain looked at Alexis. “You said you’re rogue? Why aren’t you in the pack?”

Her smiled faded. “Long story.”

“And how is it that you and Luke are already mates but you aren’t married?”

Snow set a tray of coffee on the table and cleared her voice. “Stop drilling them with questions. Some things are private.”

Macey smiled and gave Rain that strange look again. “It’s okay. I had a lot of questions in the beginning too.” She pointed at a cake picture in the album. “Definitely this one.”

“I’ll write it down.” Snow took the portfolio to the counter.

Macey folded her hands on the table. “Our parents died when we were very young, and we spent our childhoods in foster care. We didn’t know we weren’t human. Alexis ran away when she started shifting, and I got adopted shortly after. I had no clue I was a werewolf until I met Luke.” Her eyes sparkled at the mention of her mate’s name. “Being mates is different than being married. A couple can be mates without getting married because it’s an oath you take before the pack.”

Alexis took a sip of coffee. “It’s binding. Marriage can end in divorce, but once a werewolf takes a mate, it’s for life.”

Macey nodded. “Normally, werewolves will become mates and get married at the same time. Luke was on a deadline. He had to be mated in order to become alpha, so we took the oath and then planned the wedding.”

The look on Rain’s face must have given away her confusion because Macey laughed. “Don’t worry. The longer you’re around Chase, the more things will start to make sense. Being loved by a werewolf is a gift to be treasured.” The sparkle returned to her eyes, and Rain’s chest tightened.

Did Chase’s eyes ever sparkle when he talked about her? Rain’s entire body tingled from thinking about him.

“Anyway…” Alexis said. “Tell us about the creature they’re out hunting. Chase called it a tulpa. Where did it come from?”

Rain shifted her gaze to the last cookie on the plate. These women were risking their lives to protect her. They deserved the truth. “When I lived in Miami, I was in training for a spot on the national council. I had to complete a research project to qualify, so I was looking into an ancient form of magic that’s no longer practiced. A tulpa is an entity created in the mind. It requires complete focus. The conjurer has to go into a meditative state for hours at a time, days and weeks on end. I thought it was impossible. A myth.”

She looked at the women, who stared back at her intently. Snow pulled a chair beside her and rested her hand on her back.

“I was dating Isaac at the time…before I found out he was cheating on me and stealing my energy.” A spark of anger ignited inside her, but she squelched it. Getting mad wouldn’t do her any good. “I shared my research with him, and he apparently figured out how to make it work. I guess since he has the power to drain energy, his tulpa does too. It can shapeshift, and he can see through its eyes.”

She shook her head. “But it doesn’t really exist, so it can’t be killed. Isaac is the only one who can destroy it.”

Alexis lifted an eyebrow. “What if we destroy Isaac?”

“That would work too, but he’s smart. He won’t be easy to find.”

“Have a little faith.” Alexis crossed her arms. “Werewolves are excellent hunters.”

She didn’t lack faith. If anyone could find Isaac, it would be Chase and the other werewolves. But the fact that Chase couldn’t shift had her trembling on the inside. That tulpa was fast, and Chase moved like a human. If he got hurt… His healing ability was bound with the rest of his magic. Did he realize that?

Macey put her hand on Rain’s. “He’ll be okay. They all will.”

“Careful showing me kindness.”

Macey gave her a sympathetic look and dropped her arm to her side.

“She’s saying that to reassure herself.” Snow looked at Macey, who nodded. “Her mate is out there too.”

Rain’s bottom lip trembled, so she bit it. She had to hold herself together. Becoming a blubbering mess would do nothing but make her look weak. Chase would be fine. They hunted in a pack, so the other werewolves would have his back. She took a deep breath and gave Macey an appreciative smile. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

Macey swallowed. “Sure.”

“Are you and Luke…is he your fate-bound?”

Macey glanced at Alexis before focusing on Rain. “Yes. I didn’t understand it at first…how someone could feel that deeply in a short amount of time.”

Rain licked her lips and swallowed the dryness from her mouth. “Do werewolves ever mate with someone who isn’t their fate-bound?”

“All the time,” Alexis said.

“Why don’t they wait? If their fate-bound is out there somewhere, why would they take someone else as their mate?”

Macey tilted her head. “There’s no guarantee a werewolf will meet their fate-bound. It’s not a rare occurrence, but many don’t. Love is love, whether fate brought you together or if you met by chance.”

“That makes sense.” Even if she wasn’t Chase’s fate-bound, he could still love her deeply. And if they became mates, he’d remain faithful for the rest of his life. “But what if a werewolf takes someone as his mate, and then he later meets his fate-bound? What happens then?”

Macey grinned. “I don’t think fate would introduce them if he’d taken another mate. I’d have to ask Luke, but I’ve never heard of that happening.” She looked at Alexis.

“I’ve never heard of it either. If fate has plans, you can’t stop them from happening, can you, Macey?” She smirked at her sister.

Macey returned the look, something passing between them that even Rain knew better than to ask about. Her filter did occasionally work, though Snow would say otherwise.

Macey smiled at Rain. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I—” A bang-bang-bang sounded on the door, rattling it in its frame.

“Who the hell?” Snow paced to the front window and peered through the glass. “Oh, shit.”

Rain’s heart raced. “Who is it?”

The werewolves rose to their feet, Macey’s hand hovering over the gun holstered at her hip.

“It’s Calista and her band of merry meddlers. Six of them.”

“Six?” Why was the high priestess of a coven she wasn’t allowed to join knocking on her door at three in the morning? “You’re sure it’s her?”

“Come check their auras. Unless the tulpa multiplied, I’m pretty sure it’s the coven.”

Rain shuffled to the front and looked out the window. Calista banged on the door again, her deep-magenta aura sparkling with power. This couldn’t be good. “It’s her. I guess we better let them in.”

Snow opened the door, and Calista pushed past her, marching toward Rain. She spun in a circle, taking in the room, her gaze pausing on the werewolves, her lip curling in disgust. “Rain Connolly, you’re charged with the murder of three witches.”

Ice flushed her veins. “What? No!”

“Subdue her.” Calista jerked her head at Rain, and two of her subjects marched toward her.

Her mind reeled. Three witches? Oh, no. Isaac did drain another one to gain the strength to come here tonight. One strong enough to cast the binding spell he’d put on Chase. “It wasn’t me.”

Macey and Alexis moved in front of her before the witches could reach her. “She’s not going anywhere with you.” Macey kept her hand resting on her gun. “She’s under protection of the pack.”

Calista crossed her arms. “The pack would protect a murderer?”

“I didn’t kill them. I’ve been here all night. I swear.” She clutched Snow’s hand. How could they accuse her of such an atrocity?

“A body was found in a dumpster behind Frenchman Street.”

Rain cringed.

“We found the other one on your back doorstep.”

The room seemed to turn into a vacuum, sucking the air from her lungs. It wasn’t enough for her cheating ex to kill innocent people and hurt the man she loved. He’d set her up to be charged with the crime too. “Isaac was here. The one who did it. Please, if you’ll listen to me, I can explain everything.”

Calista put her hands on her hips. “You can explain from your holding cell when a council member arrives. You are the only witch in New Orleans with no powers of your own, so you’re stealing them from others. Take her sister too. She probably lured Jason here.”

“Jason Clements?” Snow squeezed her hand tighter.

Sadness filled Calista eyes before she hardened her gaze. “Yes.”

The other two witches advanced toward them. Macey drew her gun. “The order of the alpha is that she remains in this building, unharmed, until he returns.”

The high priestess inclined her head, looking down her nose at Macey. “You’re his mate, right? I’ve heard your story. You almost tore the pack apart once; are you sure you want to be the reason we start a war?”

Rain clenched her jaw. Three people were dead, a little girl was sick, and Chase’s magic was bound…all because of her. She couldn’t let anything else happen. “Stop.” She wedged her way through her werewolf guardians. “I’ll go peacefully.”

“Rain, don’t.” Alexis took her arm, but she pulled away.

“You don’t need to start a war over me.”

Snow’s eyes widened, but she stepped around the werewolves to stand by Rain’s side. “I’ll go too.”

Macey holstered her gun and nodded. “Luke’s not going to be happy about this.” She narrowed her eyes at Calista. “Expect to hear from him soon.”

The coven allowed Rain to lock up before leading Snow and her to the back seat of a black Mercedes. “Anything I do for the rest of the night that seems like kindness,” Snow said, “is actually emotional support for myself.” She flashed a small smile. “Just so you know.”

They remained silent on the drive to the coven house, Snow gripping her hand the only thing keeping her grounded.

If the national council believed Calista’s accusations, Rain was as good as dead. She’d been warned when they cursed her that the next step would be execution. Was that Isaac’s plan all along? Not to be the one to murder her, but to let the council do it?

Flanked by four witches, Rain and Snow followed Calista into the house and down a flight of steps to the coven’s makeshift prison. A single cot sat against one brick wall, and two lawn chairs occupied the center of the small room. Someone shoved her from behind, and Rain stumbled inside.

Snow rushed in with her and caught her by the arm. “Was that necessary?”

Calista straightened her spine. “The spell on this room neutralizes magic, and guards will be posted outside. Don’t make this difficult by trying to escape.”

Rain crossed her arms to hide her trembling. “There’s nothing behind my building but a trash can. How did you know the body was there?”

“His girlfriend tracked his phone when he didn’t come home.” Calista mirrored her posture.

“Jason was my friend,” Snow said. “We didn’t do it.”

“Save it for the council.” Calista closed the door, and the sound of the magic lock clicking into place pierced the silence like a nail in a coffin.

Rain looked at her sister. “You knew Jason?”

Tears pooled in Snow’s eyes, and her bottom lip trembled as she nodded. “Yeah.” She wiped her cheeks. “He was powerful too. Whatever spells Isaac cast with Jason’s magic will be hard to undo.”

Rain sank onto the cot, dropping her head in her hands. “He bound Chase’s power.”

“Oh, no.” Snow sat next to her.

“No kidding.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Rain let out a dry chuckle. “Looks like neither one of us will be getting our magic back anytime soon. If ever.” She dragged her hands down her face. “He’ll lose his rank in the pack. The council will have my head on a plate. The only good thing about this situation is that Isaac can’t get to us in here.”

Snow rubbed her hand across Rain’s back. “There you go. Way to look on the bright side.”