Gravity by Dannika Dark Page A

an opinion and his silence bothered me. I nudged him with my shoulder.
    “What’s up?”
    He lifted his cobalt eyes to Novis and pushed his unopened beer to the center of the table.
    “She has a father… who is a Mage?”
    Their eyes met and shared an enigmatic moment.
    The light from a Mage was as unique as a fingerprint, and even if that’s the only thing I
    acquired from Grady, part of him lived within me and that’s what they saw.
    One thing that didn’t escape my attention throughout our conversation was that across the
    table, Logan’s face was painted with disappointment. I knew he wanted confirmation that I had
    Chitah blood in me. This would validate his claim as kindred spirit and more importantly, he could
    officially claim me in front of his elders. Chitah laws only granted us partial rights because I was a
    Mage, therefore we would never be protected by their laws since they did not legally recognize the
    pairing.
    “Logan?”
    He startled me when he abruptly stood up and pressed his fingertips against the wooden
    surface.
    “Your Mage father is despicable,” he said with restrained anger, his lips peeled back. “Only a
    worthless male abandons his young. Among Chitahs, it is the greatest privilege to have a female
    child. They are the givers of life and unite the family; it is an honor to bring a female child into the
    world.” He struck his chest with a closed fist.
    Logan’s words weighted down the conversation.
    Justus placed his hand across my back with a light pat before easing out of his chair. Either he
    was being supportive, or he actually approved of Logan coming to my defense.
    An unexpected emotion surfaced—guilt. I’d never be able to mother his children if he stayed
    with me. In the end, he would want a family, and that was something I couldn’t give him. Nothing
    held more importance among his kind. I touched my brow and turned my head away.
    Logan inhaled a slow breath, reading all the emotions in the room. Immediately, he strode
    around the table and leaned in close, brushing my hair away from my ear. “I meant what I said,
    Little Raven. I would have you no other way,” he whispered.

    ***

    After the meeting, we rejoined Sunny and Knox in the dance room. Levi sat to the left of them,
    scarfing down a messy chilidog with cheese fries.
    “Love these,” he said with a mouthful of food. “You guys want me to order a round?”
    My stomach turned at the quantity of chili sliding off the dog as he shoved it into his mouth.
    “I’ll pass,” I said, taking the chair next to his. Novis sat beside Sunny, across the table from me,
    folding his arms. I couldn’t help but notice a melancholy expression on his face.
    Knox abruptly stood up and lifted Sunny’s hand, pulling her out of her seat. They made their
    way to the dance floor, exchanging flirtatious looks.
    “Now this I have to see,” I said, pivoting around in my chair. Simon would just have to get the
    recap of the night that the Red Door came down because Knox was breakdancing. I was sorry he
    was missing this.
    Knox slipped his strong arm around Sunny’s lower waist and stood still while she danced
    around him.
    Typical.
    “Did your ex leave?” Logan asked his brother.
    I turned around and reached for Sunny’s bottle of soda to keep an eye on it.
    Levi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and licked his thumb. “Doubtful, but he never
    had all the right moves anyhow, so I won’t have to worry about him showing up back here,” he
    said with a private snort.
    “Who broke it off?” I tried to be sensitive, as I didn’t know how serious they were.
    He took another wide bite of his chilidog and scrunched his nose. “I can’t deal with Shifters
    who are wolves. They’re too damn territorial. Maybe I need to find me a cat, or a bear.” Levi wiped
    his hands on the napkin and smiled. “Dollars to donuts if I had me a bear, then I’d at least get the
    perk of a winter vacation while he’s