Jason cleared his throat, his voice low and serious. "So, what do you think Howard’s plan is now that we’re not bound by the pact anymore?"

There was a pause, the weight of the question hanging in the air. “You mean now that Patty’s dead,” Conner finally responded, his tone somber.

Jason’s jaw tightened as he nodded. “Yeah.”

Conner let out a slow breath, clearly deep in thought. “I’m not sure, but it definitely changes everything, doesn’t it?”

“She kissed him, and nothing happened,” Jason pointed out, his words careful and deliberate. He didn’t need to say who “she” was; they both knew.

“Unlike with you?” Conner asked cautiously, the underlying concern in his voice unmistakable. “Jace... are you sure there’s no residual enthrallment in you? Because honestly, you sound jealous.”

Jason scoffed, though his gaze betrayed his unease as it shifted back to Maya inside the shop, where she was fixing the collar of a guy’s shirt. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he muttered. “I’m here on a job. That’s all. But now that Pat’s out of the picture, Howard might decide that since things have changed... You know what? Forget it. We’ll deal with it when the time comes.” His eyes narrowed as the guy inside flicked Maya’s nose, making her laugh. Anger simmered beneath the surface, coiling in his stomach, and he knew he was lying to Conner—and to himself.

There was still some of the enthrallment in him, just enough to make him hyper-aware of the Firstborn’s presence. And he knew, deep down, that Maya Burns was the Firstborn. He knew it as surely as he knew that Harper Lang wasn’t. And yet, here he was, betraying Howard and the entire Coven by keeping this secret, by protecting her.

Maybe it was the enthrallment talking, maybe Conner was right. They’d heard the stories of how the Firstborn James, if female, could bewitch other witches completely and indefinitely. She was dangerous—a living weapon. But Jason couldn’t help the instinct to protect her, to keep her hidden from the Coven, from Howard. To keep her safe. To keep her his.

His parents would disown him if they knew he was betraying the Coven like this.

“Just... be careful, okay?” Conner’s voice brought him back to the present, laced with concern.

“Sure,” Jason replied, his gaze still locked on the scene inside the shop. “You too.” He ended the call and steeled himself before re-entering the shop.

Inside, the guy was rolling his eyes at something Maya said, the two of them engrossed in a card they were decorating with glittery heart stickers. “Are you seriously telling me that Turner does cheesy stuff like this for you?”

“Huh?” Maya looked up from her task, momentarily confused before realization dawned on her face. “Oh, right.”

“What? Did you forget you have a boyfriend?” The guy snorted, shaking his head. “You player.”

Jason shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. Turner? As in Sam Turner? How had that not come up in his investigation? He’d assumed Maya was just friends with the Quarterback, given how often they hung out.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Maya must have sensed Jason’s presence because she turned to him with a bright smile. “Hey,” she greeted him, seemingly forgetting about the other guy. “I thought you’d left.”

“Had to take a call,” Jason replied, his voice casual, though his mind was anything but.

The guy glanced between them, muttering something about Turner stepping up his game, before sliding the card across the counter to Maya. “So, you’ll have it ready by tomorrow?”

Maya raised an eyebrow, her tone teasing. “Will you have a gift for her tonight? I heard her telling Charity about a golden necklace with her name on it at some shop in the Metropolis mall.”

The guy groaned, running a hand through his hair. “She stops and looks at that necklace every time we pass the store.”

“There you go!” Maya clapped her hands in mock triumph. “Get her that necklace, and with these, everything will be perfect.”

“If it works out, you’ll get a tip!” the guy called over his shoulder as he headed for the door, nodding at Jason on his way out.

Jason watched him leave before turning to Maya. “Classmate?”

“And friend,” she replied, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “His girlfriend’s kinda high maintenance, and he’s... well, clueless.”

Jason’s lips twitched into a half-smile as he took a step closer, feeling that undeniable pull between them. It was like a magnet, drawing him in, and he could see that it was affecting her too. Her pupils dilated slightly, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

He’d noticed it before—how she reacted when he got too close. He’d done it on purpose, trying to gauge her response, to see if she knew who he was and what she’d done to him. Howard was convinced that everything was deliberate, but Maya’s reactions were those of a girl attracted to a boy. She didn’t know that she’d enthralled him, that it was him at Thomasville. Part of him resented her ignorance, but another part was intrigued by the possibilities it presented.

“I’ve been thinking about our little... predicament,” he said, leaning against the counter. “I was considering placing a standing order for daily, fresh-cut flowers to be delivered to the manor. Different kinds every day—no matter their meaning. Surprise me.” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping a notch. “A different color and type every day, to bring some life into that dead place.”

Maya tilted her head, listening intently. “How many are we talking about?”

“Fifty vases,” he answered, pulling the number out of thin air.

Her green eyes widened in shock. “Fifty?”

“Too little?” he teased, his tone deadly serious. “A hundred then.”

Her glossed lips parted in astonishment before she blinked, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She leaned in closer, their faces inches apart, and whispered, “I don’t know if we have enough flowers to cover that big of an order.”

He could only grin, charmed by her.

In the shadows of the forest, Gale stepped forward, wrapping the fur cloak tighter around herself. “I don’t see a gun,” she remarked, her tone cold. “So, I suppose you don’t plan on killing me tonight.”

Gabe’s voice was emotionless, his figure almost swallowed by the darkness. “You attacked Maya. You knew I’d retaliate to protect her.”

“Ah yes, your precious little James blood charge,” Gale sneered, leaning against a tree trunk. “Did it ever occur to you that I was protecting her too?”

“By attacking and wounding her?” he snapped, his anger barely contained.

“I was trying to awaken her dark magic,” she retorted before making a face. “I didn’t realize it had already happened.”

Gabe didn’t respond, his gaze distant.

Gale sighed, stepping closer. “If you’re actually coming to me, then you must know, as I do, that Austen’s dead.”

A muscle twitched in Gabe’s cheek, grief flickering in his eyes.

Gale looked up at the sky, her voice softening. “I know you loved him, Gabe.”

“Didn’t you?” he countered, his voice hard.

“Once, maybe. Until I found out he planned to kill me and every other witch without James blood. Until I learned he intended to use my daughter as a tool.” She clenched her fist, the pain in her voice palpable. “He bartered her away before she was even born, like some possession to the highest bidder.”