Deak looked at his phone and saw a text from Ruby.
Ruby: We need to talk!
He smirked at the message.
“Am I boring you, Mr. Valentin?” Professor Warren asked him.
Deak looked up at the Professor, he was growing tired of this little game that the Professor was attempting to play.
“Please let us skip the pleasantries, Zachary. Ruby saw the family tree and is aware of the coven. I simply told her the picture was of a relative. Am I wrong?”
Zachary rested his elbow on the podium and covered his face with his hand and answered, “No, you’re not wrong. I just don’t understand why you would show them the Mausoleum anyway. The coven disbanded years ago after your mother left and there was a terrible fight between the families.”
“Yes, but I have a feeling they are still around.” Deak confided.
Zachary looked up at Deak, “Why would you think that?”
“I can’t explain, it’s just a feeling I have,” Deak answered. He didn’t want to tell him about him feeling his magic. He wasn’t sure what Zachary’s feelings were about the coven. “So, you haven’t been in touch with family?” He asked.
“Not since I found my cousin in my dorm room with some random girl in my bed.” He said with a huff.
“Have you been practicing in the coven magic?” Deak asked with a sense of hope that the answer would be a yes.
Zachary narrowed his eyes at Deak questionably and hesitantly answered, “It’s been some time why?” Zachary watched Deak carefully as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Zachary had the touch of reading a person and being able to get a sense of what they were thinking about if he tapped into it long enough.
And then it clicked.
“Your mother had bound your powers and when she died it broke the spell,” Zachary told him.
Deak looked at him with wide eyes.
“How did you?”
“I can read people and get a sense of what they’re feeling. So, is it true?”
In a sense, Deak was relieved that he had someone to talk to about this, but again he didn’t know if he could trust the Professor.
“Only a little, I read families books but is so confusing.” He admitted.
Zachary simply nodded.
“I must go, Ruby texted,” Deak said with a smirk. He knew the Professor had feelings for Ruby and wanted to ruffle his feathers.
Zachary tensed.
“Why is Ruby texting you?” He asked.
Deak shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’m coming with you,” Zachary reported.
“If feel you need to,” Deak replied.
Deak found it amusing how protective the Professor was being toward Ruby. he wanted to see how it would all play out. He admitted that he found Ruby attractive, and he enjoyed flirting with her, but what he was really waning was his mate. He hoped coming back home would help him find her, but nothing yet.
Deak knocked on Ruby’s door.
After a moment of waiting, Ruby opened the door quietly.
Deak could sense that there was something wrong although he knew that Ruby wouldn’t admit to it.
“Deak, come in.” She said as she opened the door further.
Ruby was about to close the door when she felt something push the door back toward her. She felt her wolf get excited. Ruby quickly looked up and saw Zachary staring at her.
“Zachary, what are you…?” She turned to Deak and glared at him before asking, “What is he doing here?”
Deak threw up his arms in surrender and responded, “I’m not in discussion.”
Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose. Her wolf wouldn’t stop howling. Stop that is not going to help the situation. She told her wolf.
“There’s a lot going on at the moment, Zachary. It might be best if you come by later.” Ruby advised.
Zachary felt hurt from her brush-off. He had spent years trying to figure out what went wrong between them, but she would never tell him the truth. He could feel her feelings that day and a sense that she was heartbroken over something, but he never figured out what. He kept tabs on her over the years and knew she never married or mated with anyone else. He always worried that the reason she broke it off between them was that he was Wiccan, and she was a wolf.
He extended his arm to try to cup her face with his hand, but she took a step back. The pain in his chest grew more and he wished he knew how to fix all this.
Deak sat and watched the two, he could tell there was a checkered past between them, but he could sense a lot of love coming from both of them. It was simply pride or a foolish misunderstanding that was keeping them from being together.
“Ruby, maybe he should stay. He might be of help.” Deak suggested.
Ruby took a deep breath and then nodded. She just needed to keep her distance from him, and everything would be okay.
“It’s confirmed Amanda is not theirs. Her parents died in a crash, and they were able to save Amanda from the car before it fell down a ravine.” Ruby confided.
Ruby headed back into the living room with Deak and Zachary following.
“Jason and Melinda, this is Deak and Professor Warren. They are friends of mine and know Amanda.”
“Hello,” Melinda said with a small smile.
Jason nodded to both of them as he pulled his wife a little closer to him.
There was an awkward silence in the room.
“We just hope Amanda can forgive us for not telling her sooner,” Melinda said softly.
Amanda got up and hugged her mom, “I’m not mad, I’m just in shock more than anything about all this. I feel that so many things keep being dropped on me and I have yet to really have a moment to let it all sink in.”
Zachary looked down at the blanket that had fallen off Amanda’s lap when she got up to hug her mom. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt like he had seen that blanket somewhere before. He looked over at Ruby who just looked lost in thought. This was not the norm for Ruby. he was missing something, but he had no idea what.
He leaned over to Deak and whispered, “We need to find out who Amanda’s parents are.”
“I’ve tried. Nothing.” Deak answered.
“I know a way, but I’m going to need a hair sample from her,” Zachary whispered under his breath.
Deak nodded.
Hudson felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
He opened his phone and found a text from an unknown number.
“Amanda, I have to go outside for a moment. I’ll be right back.” He told her as he made his way outside and Deak followed.
Hudson clicked the text and a recording started when he hit play.
“I’ve brought your pack a gift, he is of no use to me anymore.” The husky voice told him.
Mated to my Bully