Ezra shook his head. Carol was wilder than he had thought. “Text me about Spokane.”
Carol took her things to the front as Ezra wondered how he and Ezekiel were going to handle their sister dating.
The instant the door shut behind Carol, Anne whipped around. “You are not chaperoning Cassidy’s dance.” Her foot tapped on the tile floor. “No one wants their older brothers hanging around at a party.”
He opened his mouth to argue when Ivy asked, “Who’s Cassidy?”
That brought the conversation to a halt.
Anne’s eyes bugged out of her head. She mouthed Seriously?
Fuck.
Ivy kept rifling through papers, trying to look preoccupied and failing miserably.
They had never told Ivy about Cassidy. To be fair, they had never told Cassidy about Ivy either. It had always seemed like the wrong time. At first, they weren’t even sure if they were going to date Ivy. She was a witch after all. They weren’t sure how to tell their little sister that they had found their mate.
Telling Ivy about Cassidy had seemed just as hard. They had avoided talking about their family for a long time. It was both to protect Cassidy and to avoid a conversation about their parents. Ivy had never seemed to mind. She never talked about her family either. No one asked any questions.
He could smell the confusion and wariness coming from her. He had no idea what to do. He took a breath and decided to just be honest. “Cassidy is my little sister. She’s a senior at the high school.” Ezra stared at Ivy, waiting for a reaction.
Shocked, Ivy forgot to ignore him. Her eyes were full of pain. “I didn’t know you have a sister.” He heard the hitch in her voice.
Anne stood behind Ivy, teeth bared, miming strangling him. He wouldn’t even bother defending himself. He and Ezekiel had underestimated their girl at every turn.
Damnit, he had made a fucking mess of things. He should have talked to his sister and Ivy before this whole thing had blown up in their faces. They had already decided to the other night. He should have just done it. This was worse.
Ezekiel was right. If they wanted to start over, they had to be honest about things. Regardless of how things were going to turn out, the last thing he wanted was either his sister or his mate thinking they were a guilty secret. He was proud of them.
Mate? Where had that come from?
Ezra squared his shoulders. “Her full name is Cassidy Alexandra Tate. She hates her middle name. She’s seventeen.” Ivy’s head rose at his quiet admission. She leaned into the counter, wanting to hear more. “Our parents died when she was a kid. Me and Ezekiel raised her.” He looked at the floor, unable to look her in the eyes anymore. “We weren’t sure how to talk to either of you about each other. At first, we wanted to wait, and then we waited too long.”
It was as close to the truth as he would say with Anne around. Ivy deserved more and he would happily tell her more. In a more private setting.
“That must have been difficult,” Ivy whispered.
His heart squeezed at her voice. She wasn’t telling him to fuck off. Which was good.
“It was,” Ezra admitted. “We can be a little protective of her. It makes us a little bit irrational.”
Anne coughed in disbelief. “That is not how anyone else would describe it.” She turned to Ivy hooking a thumb in his direction. “They’re the reason Black Bird Elementary has a rule that you have to be in human skin to pick up a kid. Cassidy got picked on once and those two idiots scared the piss out of some girl.”
He gave Ivy a serious look, “Notice she said once.”
Ivy chuckled.
Ezra sent Anne a subtle nod. He knew she wasn’t throwing him a bone; she was trying to make Ivy feel better but he appreciated it. It helped relieve some of the tension. He watched Ivy’s shoulder relax.
“She’s never taken a date to a dance,” Ezra said explaining what Carol had been talking about.
“Oh,” Ivy drew out. “And that’s a bad thing?” She looked to Anne for clarification.
Anne put her arm around Ivy’s shoulders. “It means that the wonder twins are going to have to swallow their overprotective natures for one night.”
Ivy sent him a warm smile. She turned to Anne. “Unless they start dating. Then, they’d need to be nice to this guy for the indefinite future. We might need to put them in bear cages for Prom.”
Ezra froze. She had joked with him. He exhaled. That was a good sign.
“Yeah, let’s hope not,” Ezra chuckled weakly. “I need to check in with Ezekiel.” He pointed around the store, “Don’t leave the store.”
Ezra ignored their giggles and went to the back alley.
“Did you seriously not know about Cassidy?”
Ivy let her head drop. She really did not want to talk about it. Once again, the Tate brothers had broken her heart.
They had a sister. They had never told her. They had never told their sister about her either. That hurt.
It felt like a confirmation of her greatest fear. Why was she surprised? You already knew they didn’t care about you. She hated the little voice in her head. She hated when it was honest.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Damn,” Anne blew out a breath. “Did it just like, not come up or did they avoid it?”
Ivy pretended to organize receipts for the third time. “It never really came up.” Which was the truth. She had purposely avoided talking about her family.
“It’s something you talk about with your loving boyfriends,” Anne pointed out.
“Fine,” Ivy said cutting through her own bullshit. “It isn’t something I like to talk about. I figured their family was like mine. My family were not good people. When I found out what they had been doing for our Coven I lost a lot of respect for them. I’m not super proud of my them or what they did. I just never wanted to ruin anything.” She wanted to avoid them leaving as long as she could. Fat lot of good that did. “I figured they had a similar story.”
Anne gave her a sad smile. “They probably didn’t want to talk about their parents.”
Ivy hadn’t processed that bombshell. Her heart clenched painfully. Those poor men had been through so much. They had been orphaned as kids. They had raised their little sister.
She swallowed down guilt. She had thought she loved Ezra and Ezekiel but she had never taken the time to get to know them. She had been too scared to be honest.
Now she had to ask Anne for the story. “They never said anything. What happened?”
Anne made a sad noise. “I don’t know that much. Their move was handled by Ben’s dad and he never said much about anything. They transferred from a Pack on the East Coast. There was a territory dispute between Covens and their parents got caught in the middle. They moved out here to get away from witches. That’s all any of us know.”
Then, they end up dating a secret witch. Their freak out made more sense. She was literately the last thing they expected, or wanted, to find in Black Bird. Ivy rubbed her chest.
Anne walked around the counter. She threw an arm over Ivy’s shoulder. “Hey, what’s the matter?”
“I feel sorry for them. No one should lose their parents like that.” Ivy struggled to put her emotions into words. “But now, it hurts more. Before, they were just two assholes who stopped talking to me.” She shook her head, “Now, I kind of get it. They made the wrong choice, for me. It wasn’t the wrong choice for them though. They were protecting their family.”
Anne looked down at her. Her eyes softened. “You love them.”
Tears prickled the corner of Ivy’s eyes. She wanted to deny it. She wished her could deny it. “Even after everything my stupid heart still loves them. I feel like the biggest idiot in the world but I can’t even hate them anymore,” Ivy sobbed.
Anne squeezed her. “Oh girl, this just got a lot more complicated.”
Ivy gave a wet laugh. “Complicated was last week. This is something else.”
She hummed in agreement. “So, how can I he
lp?”
Ivy groaned. She wiped her eyes. If only she knew.
Everything was so complicated. She had a job to worry about and neighbors who wanted her gone. Her magic was going haywire. She was being blackmailed. Sprinkled over everything was the cold, hard fact that Ivy was still in love with her exes, no matter how much rage her mustered. Her head felt like a tangled mess.
Ezra walked back in. He sniffed. His brow furrowed when he saw the two women hugging but he didn’t say anything.
Ivy squeezed her eyes shut. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t deal with any of this right now. A meltdown would get her nowhere. She needed to put a massive pin in her semi-relationship with the Tate brothers. Once she dealt with the blackmail, then she could deal with them. Maybe.
She shrugged out from under Anne. “I know how you can help. What do you know about the history of Black Bird?”
Lawrence wanted that grimoire in his hands by next week. Which gave Ivy seven days to translate an ancient diary, decipher whatever clues are written in it, and physically locate a century old spell book. She took a deep breath and tried not to think about how much she had to do.
Lawrence was convinced that Caterina Genetti had buried the grimoire somewhere in Black Bird. Too bad Ivy knew next to nothing about the territory. She had no idea where to start looking. If Caterina had traveled through the area a century ago, the historical sites might be a good place to start.
Anne stopped what she was doing and turned around, “I was not expecting that. Why do you want to know?”
Ivy tried to seem casual. This part was tricky. Lawrence’s little ‘no talking’ clause would keep her from telling the truth. Which was bad when nearly everyone in town could literately smell a lie.
“I’m just wondering why Lawrence would be interested in Black Bird.” It wasn’t a lie. She just hoped it didn’t smell like an almost lie. If that was a thing. “It might help Ben.”
Ivy saw Ezra tilt his head in their direction. He didn’t say anything.
“I learned the basic stuff in school,” Anne said. “The town was founded in like 1920 or something by the Johnsons, the Pierces, and the Thompsons.”
“The territory is barely a hundred years old? There weren’t like trappers or loggers here before that?” She found that surprising. It would be a young town for the area.
Anne shook her head. “There might have been. I know there’s been a Pack here for a long time but I don’t know much more. They only taught us about the town in school.”
“Damn,” Ivy had been hoping that Anne might know something about the original settlement. “Does Ben have any historical records? Old Pack documents or something like that?”
Anne grimaced, “Maybe but they’re probably in the historical societies’ archives.”
Ivy didn’t understand Anne’s hesitation, “Do I need permission to access those or are they in a storage unit?” The question hung in the air.
Anne and Ezra shared a look.
“The president of the historical society is Pearl Pierce,” Ezra finally said.
“And the records are kept at the library,” Anne added.
“Ah,” Ivy’s mouth snapped shut. “So, that’s not happening.”
“Yeah,” Anne drew out, “maybe exhaust every other avenue on the table before you try and convince Pearl to let you near the town’s historical documents.”
“Do you know of anyone else who knows about the territory’s history?” Ivy was desperate.
The three of them stared at the floor in silence. Ezra folded his arm. Anne started to pace. Ivy tried to think of anything but her mind was blank.
Anne gasped. Ezra and Ivy looked at her. She had a funny little smile on her face. “The only other people as old as Pearl Pierce happen to be expecting us.” She ran to the cash register and pulled something out from under it. She dashed back and waved it in front of their faces.
She reared back. In Anne’s hand were three glossy, black gift cards. Ivy grabbed them. Each card had a name printed in white at the center. Maggie. Patricia. Stella.
Anne practically salivated, “I’d love to meet my new favorite customers.”
Chapter Eight
“Stop it,” Ivy hissed for the third time.
Anne bounced on her feet while she pretended she hadn’t heard. “This is so exciting.”
Ivy, Ezra, and Anne were standing outside of the Black Bird Coven’s house waiting for someone to answer the door. Ivy had not bothered to give Ezra or Anne the same prep talk she had given Ezekiel. Ezra wasn’t likely to open his mouth and Anne would ignore her. Like she was doing at that exact moment.
“It looks like a witch’s house,” Anne said with a nod. She leaned back and poked Ezra. “Don’t you think so?”
He lifted one shoulder, “Only been to one witch’s house.” He took in the cottage slowly. “It’s not as cute as Ivy’s old place.”
Ivy’s heart squeezed. Anne did a double take.
Thankfully, the door slammed open. Stella stared at them. Her hair had been teased within an inch of its life. No one moved.
Stella’s eyes narrowed. Ivy smiled wider.
With a huff, Stella started slapping at her chest. Her brows furrowed. She shoved her fingers through her mass of curls. Not bothering to be gentle, Stella yanked a pair of glasses from the center of her hair.
Once the glasses were in place, Stella’s face brightened. “Ivy! It is good to see you.” She glanced behind Ivy and her smile fell. “I see you brought some friends.”
“Good morning, Stella,” Ivy ignored the older woman’s cattiness. “We wanted to stop by to drop off-”
“Stella, who’s at the door?” Patricia screamed from the end of the hall.
Stella let out an exasperated breath and moved to the side.
“Ah, it’s the witchling.” Ivy winced at the word but Patricia said it with a grin that promptly turned to a scowl when she saw who else was on the porch. “I told you to leave the dog at home, girl, not bring the whole Pack.”
Ezra huffed.
Anne poked her head between Ivy and Patricia before she could respond. “This dog comes with gifts.” She reached into her coat and held out the three gift cards. “Anne Kane, owner of Chic Chick.”
With the appearance of the gift cards Stella and Patricia’s faces brightened. Ivy could practically see the glint in Stella’s eye. She had already started planning a shopping trip.
Stella clapped her hands. “My dear, do come in.”
Ivy barely contained her laugh.
Patricia sniffed primly, “I guess I can abide dogs in the house when they come bearing gifts.” She took in Ezra head to foot. “I see you brought the pup from last time too.”
She thought he was Ezekiel. Ivy waited for Ezra to take offense.
Ezra tilted his head slightly, lifted one side of his mouth and gave Patricia a positively lethal smile. He showed just a touch of white teeth. Ivy could swear she saw him flex. “The pup was my brother. I’m sure you’ll find, I’m all wolf.” He gave her a flirty snarl.
Patricia’s mouth dropped open. Ivy had never seen her eyes so wide. Silence reigned for all of twenty seconds.
Then, she giggled. Honest to goddess, giggled like a school girl.
Ivy wasn’t sure what shocked her more: Ezra’s flirting or Patricia’s reaction. Stella stared at Patricia in horror. Anne’s mouth hung open.
Patricia patted her hair and blushed. “Oh well, I like this one. Do come in.”
“Beauty before beast,” Ezra said with a wink.
Patricia giggled even harder. “That potion might not go to waste after all.” She turned around and shuffled towards the kitchen like a queen.
Ivy gagged.
Ezra sent them both a sly look and took the opportunity to step around her and Anne. He was nearly to the kitchen before the rest of them reacted.
Anne slapped a hand to her chest startling Ivy and Stella. “Holy shit, Ezra Tate is hot.” She sounded alarmed. “Where did that com
e from? I’ll be honest, I never understood what you saw in them.” She looked down the hall and shook her head. “Now? I get it.”
“What is she yammering about?” Stella asked.
Ivy shook her head. “She’s a little attracted to Ezra Tate right now and her brain can’t handle it.”
Stella snorted. “Lord and with a name like that, did we ever stand a chance?” Her eyes went wide. On a shaky breath she whispered, “They’re twins.” She fanned herself. “This is better than my show.” Stella turned on a dime and followed them down the hall.
“We better get in there before something happens.” Ivy stepped inside. “Ezekiel said one of got handsy last time.”
“The poor dear,” Anne clucked.
They followed Stella at a much slower pace. Ivy wanted to drag her feet and put this off a little longer. They paused just outside the kitchen and took in the scene.
Ivy shouldn’t have been worried. By the time she reached the kitchen he had the entire Coven under his spell.
He was seated at the kitchen table and looked like he had already gone through introductions. Stella stood behind the stove putting a kettle on. Patricia was arranging a tea tray, looking pleased. Maggie had appeared from somewhere in the house. Ivy was willing to bet she had made the cookies being pushed in Ezra’s direction.
Maggie smiled when he took one cookie. “Well, it is wonderful to have such polite company. Ivy has good taste in beaus.”
Ezra tapped the table gently. “That’s not what I said, Maggie.” He smiled kindly. “I said I’m Ivy’s ex.”
Maggie pat Ezra’s hand. “You poor dear, did she break your heart?”
It was irrational. It was unreasonable but Ivy puffed up like an angry cat. That-that snake charmer had only been in the house for a minute and he was already being consoled by the Matriarch of the Black Bird Coven. A Coven of self-proclaimed shifter haters. They were supposed to be on her side. Was there no justice in the world?
She almost stepped into the kitchen but Anne stopped her.
Ezra shocked her. He cleared his throat. “She should have broken up with me.” He looked at Ivy making her realize he had known she had been there the whole time. “I didn’t treat Ivy very well. Definitely didn’t deserve her.”
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