Defensive Magic: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Tale (Lost Library Book 3) by Kate Baray Page A
Authors: Kate Baray
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didn’t continue after a minute or so, Lizzie said, “I knew that things were rough before Logan took over. That both of you have moved the Pack in a different direction.”
John’s sharp bark of laughter held no amusement. “Yes. Except whatever you’re picturing, the Pack was not that. We’re not talking about Idaho. Clark is a good man, an excellent Alpha. The Texas Pack was—” He couldn’t hide the distaste that ran through him thinking of the stories, of his few memories of his mother, and worse, of his father. “The Pack was broken.”
Lizzie reached over and turned off the radio. He hadn’t even realized he’d been speaking over it.
“Logan killed my father.” After the words left his mouth, he smelled a light citrus scent—surprise. John glanced at Lizzie out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her reaction.
She seemed to be weighing her words. “Your father was the Alpha, and challenges are usually to the death. That’s not so strange, is it?”
“No challenge. My father was murdered.” He couldn’t quite say the words “Logan murdered my father.” But technically, it was true. The reality was far grimmer. This time, his eyes stayed glued to the road.
“Pull over.”
He did look at her then. “We’re in a hurry—sort of.” Max was fine and the crisis averted, so five or ten minutes wouldn’t matter. But he’d rather be looking at the road than her when he told this story.
She gave him an exasperated look. Sighing, he pulled into a Dairy Queen parking lot.
Once he was parked, she grabbed his hand and twined her fingers with his. “You love Logan and I love you.” She cocked her head in thought, biting her lip. “I’m not sure exactly how that all plays out for Logan and me, but that minimally earns him the benefit of a full explanation. And I can’t imagine you’d forgive him if what he did was truly so heinous.”
He ran his thumb lightly along the outside of her hand, intently studying the contrast between his skin and hers. “There was nothing to forgive. Someone needed to kill him, and no one was up to his weight in a fair fight. Logan was really young at the time, younger than David. And Richard Braxton, my father, was phenomenal in a fight.”
“What does Clara have to do with all of this?”
“Logan fancied himself in love with her, and Richard didn’t approve. It was a combination of her disappearance, my mom’s suspicious death, and escalating violence against me that precipitated Logan’s decision. He wasn’t as good of a fighter, but he was twice as smart as Richard. Thank god.”
John could see the emotions flash across Lizzie’s face as she processed his words. Watching her expressive face and seeing each emotion cross it as she reasoned through the catastrophe that had been his early childhood, he almost had to laugh at how hard she was thinking. Almost. Then she finally put the pieces together.
“You think your dad killed Clara. That she’s dead, and that’s why I had such an intense and unsettling experience with the book.” She shook her head firmly. “No. I don’t think that’s it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “How do you know? It seemed a lot like the experience you had with the Vampyr book. The one that recorded the aftermath of the murdered family.”
“Hmm. I think the similarity is the intensity of emotion. I’m so wrapped up in the experience that I lose myself. I didn’t see anything bad happen to Clara. I think.”
“You think?”
She puffed out an annoyed breath. “The Vampyr book was vivid with detailed images and feelings. Like I said before, there was an underlying story. This was just so chaotic. Feelings: sadness, loneliness, fear. A sense of being cold and tired. Feeling like I was being chased—all jumbled and piled on top of each other. There was no linear sense of time and space.” She brightened visibly. “But I can say with certainty that I didn’t see a young woman being done in.”
He grinned at
John’s sharp bark of laughter held no amusement. “Yes. Except whatever you’re picturing, the Pack was not that. We’re not talking about Idaho. Clark is a good man, an excellent Alpha. The Texas Pack was—” He couldn’t hide the distaste that ran through him thinking of the stories, of his few memories of his mother, and worse, of his father. “The Pack was broken.”
Lizzie reached over and turned off the radio. He hadn’t even realized he’d been speaking over it.
“Logan killed my father.” After the words left his mouth, he smelled a light citrus scent—surprise. John glanced at Lizzie out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her reaction.
She seemed to be weighing her words. “Your father was the Alpha, and challenges are usually to the death. That’s not so strange, is it?”
“No challenge. My father was murdered.” He couldn’t quite say the words “Logan murdered my father.” But technically, it was true. The reality was far grimmer. This time, his eyes stayed glued to the road.
“Pull over.”
He did look at her then. “We’re in a hurry—sort of.” Max was fine and the crisis averted, so five or ten minutes wouldn’t matter. But he’d rather be looking at the road than her when he told this story.
She gave him an exasperated look. Sighing, he pulled into a Dairy Queen parking lot.
Once he was parked, she grabbed his hand and twined her fingers with his. “You love Logan and I love you.” She cocked her head in thought, biting her lip. “I’m not sure exactly how that all plays out for Logan and me, but that minimally earns him the benefit of a full explanation. And I can’t imagine you’d forgive him if what he did was truly so heinous.”
He ran his thumb lightly along the outside of her hand, intently studying the contrast between his skin and hers. “There was nothing to forgive. Someone needed to kill him, and no one was up to his weight in a fair fight. Logan was really young at the time, younger than David. And Richard Braxton, my father, was phenomenal in a fight.”
“What does Clara have to do with all of this?”
“Logan fancied himself in love with her, and Richard didn’t approve. It was a combination of her disappearance, my mom’s suspicious death, and escalating violence against me that precipitated Logan’s decision. He wasn’t as good of a fighter, but he was twice as smart as Richard. Thank god.”
John could see the emotions flash across Lizzie’s face as she processed his words. Watching her expressive face and seeing each emotion cross it as she reasoned through the catastrophe that had been his early childhood, he almost had to laugh at how hard she was thinking. Almost. Then she finally put the pieces together.
“You think your dad killed Clara. That she’s dead, and that’s why I had such an intense and unsettling experience with the book.” She shook her head firmly. “No. I don’t think that’s it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “How do you know? It seemed a lot like the experience you had with the Vampyr book. The one that recorded the aftermath of the murdered family.”
“Hmm. I think the similarity is the intensity of emotion. I’m so wrapped up in the experience that I lose myself. I didn’t see anything bad happen to Clara. I think.”
“You think?”
She puffed out an annoyed breath. “The Vampyr book was vivid with detailed images and feelings. Like I said before, there was an underlying story. This was just so chaotic. Feelings: sadness, loneliness, fear. A sense of being cold and tired. Feeling like I was being chased—all jumbled and piled on top of each other. There was no linear sense of time and space.” She brightened visibly. “But I can say with certainty that I didn’t see a young woman being done in.”
He grinned at
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