Free Defensive Magic: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Tale (Lost Library Book 3) by Kate Baray

smell emotions.
    Logan nodded. “He did. And that it didn’t go well, and that he’d break a few fingers if I rushed you into poking around right away. You have a mentor you can talk to?”
    “Yes. I texted her yesterday. She’s supposed to give me a call later today. I’ll let you know if I find anything,” she assured him. She looked at the toast he was buttering. “Did you bring groceries with you?”
    “Just a few things,” he said absently. He laid the knife down carefully. He seemed to be staring at the counter top. Eventually, he said, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. To keep digging for information about Clara, I mean. I shouldn’t have asked. Besides, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
    Aha. She knew there was some serious history attached to his request. She just bet that John only knew a small part of it.
    “I think it’s too late to go back. Given my trancelike experience and the unusual nature of the information tied to Clara, I’m worried there’s a bigger picture question that we should be investigating.” She hesitated a heartbeat, then said, “Whether I find anything or not, I did look in good faith. I didn’t even ask you any questions…so you kinda owe me, right?”
    He brought his plate over and sat down. His coffee was already on the table. “What do you want?” he asked suspiciously.
    “Information about John’s dad. I know he’ll tell me—but it’s hard for him to discuss. I thought this might be easier.” She gave him a sincere smile. Easy enough—she was sincere.
    “You’re a persistent little thing, aren’t you?”
    “Absolutely,” she agreed. “Now, about John’s dad—”
    Logan must have resigned himself to the inevitable. When he spoke, his tone was brisk, businesslike, even. “It’s a nasty story. He terrorized the Pack, beat his wife, and abused his child. If insanity were a possibility, I’d say he was mentally unbalanced. But Lycan aren’t susceptible to the same mental illnesses that humans are.”
    “No mental illness? That can’t be right. Besides, you guys aren’t supposed to be susceptible to alcohol or drugs, either. And that assumption is clearly being challenged by the facts.”
    “Maybe,” he replied skeptically. “But he would be the first I’ve heard of. John thinks the trigger was Clara’s disappearance, or his mother’s death. It wasn’t. I hoped that Clara had run away, that she’d escaped. I wanted it to be true, so I believed it at the time. And John’s mother—humph. She was weak. She couldn’t protect herself, and she wouldn’t even try to protect John. She was pathetic.” He almost spat the last sentence, emotion finally creeping into his words as he made his contempt for John’s mother clear.
    “What then? What pushed you into acting?”
    “The bastard broke John’s arm.” He snorted. “I know that sounds like a small thing given the damage Lycan can take.”
    Lizzie didn’t actually think that was a small thing. Not at all. But Logan was still explaining, so she couldn’t object to his evaluation.
    “But John was only four, and Lycan can’t change until adolescence. That healed break will be something John carries with him forever. Richard could just as easily have maimed him, or even killed him. He was his father. Hell, he was the Alpha, and he didn’t care.” Logan cleared his throat. “It was unnatural, obscene. Lycan protect their children, and the Alpha protects his pack.”
    “So you killed him.”
    “It wasn’t quite that simple.” Logan’s nostrils looked pinched and white as he spoke. “But yes, I killed him. The aftermath was…” Logan lips pinched together and he shook his head. “It was difficult.”
    A moment of silence passed and the tension seemed to seep away. Logan turned back to his meal, finishing his toast and coffee. And Lizzie started thinking about her to-do list for the day.
    Once Logan had finished rinsing his mug out in the sink, she asked, “So—wanna help me not