His wife sighed, but she didn’t respond right away. Though he wanted to press her, he thought that maybe being calm and gentle would serve him better. He was right, too, because eventually, as he was guiding the boat to the spot Portia had pointed out, Alice started to speak.
“When I was a young witch, it was just easier to be on my own. There was so much drama in the covens, and there was always some kind of power grab going on. I hated it.”
Cooper chuckled. “It sure sounds like witches and dragons have more in common than I would have originally thought. My father was the alpha before me, and I was raised to be the leader after him.”
“It was the same for me,” Alice admitted. “My mother wanted me to take over for her, but there were other covens vying for some of the witches who practiced with us.”
“In other words, other covens wanted to take yours over to have more magic.”
She nodded. “That’s exactly right.” Her voice was tight and heavy, as if she were hiding a deep sadness.
Were she any other woman, Cooper wouldn’t have pressed for more information, but thiswasn’tjust any woman. This was his wife. Had he chosen her? No. Had they done the dating thing? Nope. But that didn’t mean he was a heartless asshole. He cared for her in his own way, and he always would because she had saved him.
And because she is sweet and beautiful, his dragon cut in.Don’t forget those details because they’re kind of important ones.
Cooper agreed with his dragon, of course. Alicewasunequivocally beautiful. There was no mistaking what he felt for her: absolute attraction. At least now that they were hanging out…heowed Portia thanks for that…and as they spent more time together, he was lucky enough to learn more about Alice. He was grateful for that. Cooper wanted Alice to keep on talking about her life. He wanted to show her that even though they were two different kinds of creatures, they got along.
They also had a whole lot of sexual chemistry, and he couldn’t deny that. But he couldn’t go around sporting a hard-on for his wife. What would she think of him? Probably that he was some kind of creep who would take advantage of their situation. He wasn’t like that, though. He suspected that the way to his wife’s heart…and her pants…would be through kindness and authenticity.
Too bad we don’t have more experience being charming, his dragon chuckled. Cooper decided to press and asked Alice, “You don’t have to tell me about the coup if you don’t want to. No pressure, Alice. I will always mean that.”
She was quiet for a few seconds as she stared out of the window. Cooper followed her line of sight and joined her in watching the water lap at the beach.
“It wouldn’t have been so bad if her best friend wasn’t involved with the coup. My godmother, if you can imagine. Priscilla wanted to lead the coven, but of course, my mother was the leader. Everyone knew she was training me to take her place, but Priscilla couldn’t stand it. She gathered up a bunch of witches from our coven and others who didn’t like my mother’s stricter magical policies, and they overthrew her.” Her throat was dry, the words coming out like a half-sob.
“Is your mother okay?” Cooper believed he already knew the answer.
“No. She was killed in the coup. I was twelve, and Priscilla killed her in front of me. For a little while, Priscilla kept me in the coven under lock and key. She told the others that she was continuing to train me just like my mother had wanted, but it was a lie.”
“She didn’t train you?” He didn’t need the clarification, but he was suddenly so angry that he didn’t know what else to do but question Alice.
“In a manner of speaking,” she answered cryptically. “It taught me not to trust anyone. Some of the witches still loyal to my mother helped me escape, but there was a traitor in our midst. I barely got away with my life, but Priscilla did try to kill me.”
“You were twelve?”
She shook her head. “Oh, no. By that time, I was thirteen.”
“That doesn’t make it any better,” he growled low.
“I know it doesn’t, but at least I was almost a teenager.”
“But you were on the run. Where did you go?” Cooper wanted to reach over to take her hand in his. “How did you manage to survive?”
“I lived in caves for a little bit, but then I figured out I could squat in vacant houses and youth hostels. I got a few jobs as a witch to make my way, and by the time I was in my early twenties, I had a reputation for reversing bad magic.”
“Bad magic?” he inquired with a frown.
“Magic that harms other people,” she clarified. “When my mother was the ruler of the coven, she made it illegal to hurt folks with magic. Not illegal in the mortal sense, but basically, if a witch was caught hurting someone with magic, there would be punishments. I took up that mantle. I might not lead a coven, but I have myself and my mother’s ideals that were morally sound.”
“You go around the world and undo magic that harms,” he nodded. “That’s very noble.”
“Noble?” she snorted. “I don’t know about that.”
“Well, I do. You were a kid when all of this happened. You could have gone in so many other ways and directions. You could have followed Priscilla…”
“No,” she interrupted with fervor. “There’s just no way I would have listened to her after what she did to my mother.”
He tried to kill his sympathetic smile, but he wasn’t quick enough, and Alice noticed it immediately.