Chapter Eleven
Autumn walked hand-in-hand with Brock up the path to Gray Coven house.
Was she nervous? Yes. But she was also determined.
Her coven would either accept Brock as her mate and soon-to-be husband, or she would leave them for good. The sad truth was, she was fully expecting to leave the coven today and not look back.
Brock stopped her halfway to the front door and made her face him. “Before we do this, love, I just want you to know how much it means to me that I’ve not only found you, but that I also get to stay with the Louisville pack here. No matter what happens in there”—he nodded toward the house—“I’m going to support you just as you have supported me with my pack. Regardless of what they say, you have a home and a family by my side and with my pack.”
Touched by his words, Autumn leaned forward to give him a kiss. She didn’t have the words to tell him how much what he had said meant to her.
After a brief yet intense kiss, they both turned toward the house and resumed their journey.
They had barely reached the front door when it was whipped open to reveal her mother. “Autumn Rose Gray, where the hell have you been, young lady!”
Her mother ignored Brock’s presence, even though Autumn knew her mom had side-eyed him thoroughly.
Autumn opened her mouth to respond, but her mother cut her off.
“Never mind! You need to come straight away! Fiona woke up last night, and she’s had a vision. She demands to see you at once.”
Her stomach sank. She couldn’t believe the news. Fiona had been in a coma-like state for quite some time. What were the chances she would wake the same time Autumn was off mating a wolf instead of marrying a warlock? Astronomical.
Refusing to go anywhere without Brock, she dragged him over the threshold.
They moved through the living room and headed toward the stairs that would lead to the second floor. Moments later, they were in Fiona’s room, where it seemed like a third of the coven had come to see the head witch in charge.
Murmurs followed Autumn and Brock, but she ignored them. Fiona had captured her attention, the older witch beckoning her with a feeble hand.
When Autumn stood beside Fiona’s bed, Brock took position just behind her. When he placed a large, warm hand on her hip, that single touch sent a wave of calm through her. A calm she would need now that she stood before Fiona.
As the old woman’s eyes traveled to the bite mark on Autumn’s neck, Autumn waited for Fiona’s response to her being mated to a shifter.
Butterflies went wild in her midsection. She almost felt the need to puke. Almost, but she managed to hold it back. For now. Instead, she fought to hide her reaction as she waited for Fiona’s vision.
Fiona crooked her finger at the man hovering next to the bed—Fiona’s great-nephew—and then the old woman whispered something in his ear. Then the younger man took off at a quick run, on a mission only he knew.
Fiona slowly propped herself up in bed, pillows supporting her back as she sat up the best she could. Her attention turned to Autumn and Brock, her grave eyes scrutinizing them both until it nearly drove Autumn mad.
She gathered her courage, back straight and shoulders squared, as she prepared herself to question the head witch in charge. But the moment she finally grew some brass ovaries, Fiona’s great-nephew raced back into the room. He clutched a familiar, thick book that the coven knew all too well.
The coven’s history book.
Loud whispers slithered through the room as the coven members speculated over what was going on. Autumn herself wondered why Fiona needed that now. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Autumn Gray,” Fiona finally spoke, “I can see with my own eyes that you have broken hundreds of years of Gray Coven tradition by mating a shifter.”
Some coven members hissed, while others whispered insults. Fiona stopped them by raising her hand for silence and shooting them a harsh glare.
“I had a vision while I was sleeping that you would do this. That you would not fulfill your duty to secure an alliance as all head witches have in the past. This is the reason I’m finally awake again today.”
Again, angry whispers broke out, but this time Fiona ignored them. Instead, she pointed at Brock standing behind Autumn.
“Is this your shifter mate?”
Autumn nodded and grabbed Brock’s hand off her hip, tugging him to stand beside her. She wasn’t going to hide him in any way. She was proud to show him off to her coven, even if they didn’t approve of their mating.
Brock didn’t hesitate to stand beside her, and Fiona stared at him as he did so. The old woman then turned her attention back to Autumn.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
Autumn tightened her grip on Brock’s hand as she held her head up proudly. “I choose love. Brock is my fated mate, and I refuse to turn him away in favor of some warlock I’ve never met.”
The crowd became a roar around them, but Fiona continued to ignore them, studying Autumn with hard eyes. There was no way to gauge Fiona’s thoughts. All Autumn hoped for was that the old woman would just banish her from the coven.
Thankfully, Fiona didn’t make them wait long.
Holding her hand up to silence the coven members once more, Fiona ensured she had everyone’s attention before she said, “I, Fiona Gray, do hereby choose to change coven law.”
Gasps echoed throughout the room. Not that they stopped Fiona.
Nodding toward Brock, Fiona continued, “From this day forth, the incoming head witch in charge can marry for love instead of power.” Raising a finger haughtily, she added, “Although, she should do so wisely, and with her coven in mind.”
Tears of joy streamed down Autumn’s face as she leaned forward to hug Fiona for her generous gift. However, Fiona stopped her with that infamous hand.
“That doesn’t mean we shall not look for some sort of advantage out of this mating!” Shooting Brock a stern look, she asked, “I dreamed of your power and strength, wolf. Few of your kind can live without their pack, even if it is to follow their destiny. Would your pack be interested in an alliance with the Gray Coven?”
Brock wrapped his arm around Autumn’s shoulders. “If it pleases you, I shall go speak with the alpha directly about such an alliance.”
Fiona nodded then waved at her great-nephew to step forward once again. This time, he handed her a pen. Fiona took it and turned to the first blank page in the coven’s history book.
Autumn watched in awe as the old woman wrote down with a shaky hand what she had just decreed, changing coven law for all future generations.
Autumn turned to her mate with a smile on her face and love in her heart. “How would you feel about living in the coven house?”
He lifted an eyebrow as she snuggled into embrace. “Is this where you live now?”
She shook her head. “No, but it is where the head witch is supposed to take up residence. Once Fiona passes that on to me, we’ll be expected to live here so the coven has access to us at all times.”
Brock looked around the room, at all the skeptical faces that were obviously listening to their conversation, and then he looked back to her. Giving her a nod, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.
“My place is by your side, love. Now, let’s go talk to my alpha about that alliance.”