Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge 01 - Spell Bound by Jacob Z. Flores Page A

could’ve killed Pierce. Do you know that?”
    He nodded. Regret had been replaced by dread.
    “It’s okay,” Pierce coughed. The big badass he pretended to be slunk away. He’d been reduced to the little boy he really was, especially when it came to our father. All it took was one look of disappointment, and Pierce was devastated for days. To have been on the receiving end of such a powerful spell would likely haunt my older brother for months.
    “No, it’s not.” I took another step forward. “Dad is always telling us how we need to control our tempers in order to better manage our powers. Hell, he’s been hounding me about that for years. What just happened isn’t exactly the picture of control, is it?”
    My father’s eyes drew into slits. His anger fought again for control, but he knew I was right. I could see it in the slight grin that hitched up the right corner of his mouth. “Mason is correct,” he finally said. “Would apologizing make it better?”
    I snorted. I was pushing my luck, but I couldn’t help it. “It would be a start.”
    He turned to Pierce and said, “I’m sorry, son. I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”
    Pierce forced a smile. “No worries.”
    “Better?” he asked.
    I nodded.
    “But now we need to deal with the mess you’ve made.”
    Oh, for crying out loud. “What did I do now?”
    “Is he serious?” Thad asked. The gentle tone had departed in favor of his usual condescension.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Mason, you broke the laws of the Conclave.”
    I glanced nervously from my father to my brothers, who shook their heads at me. “What? How?”
    “You cast a spell in front of a human,” my father answered.
    I opened my mouth to defend myself, but words wouldn’t form. He was right. I’d been so caught up with protecting Drake, I hadn’t even considered the fact that I was breaking our cardinal rule—magic must remain hidden at all costs.
     
     
    I PACED in the living room, trying to figure out exactly how screwed I was. Casting spells in front of humans wasn’t only forbidden, it was grounds for the binding of the offender’s powers. I could spend the rest of my life forever cut off from my magic, even banished from my coven.
    I had to find a way out of this new mess I’d gotten myself into.
    “Drake doesn’t know it was a spell,” I told my brothers, who sat in the living room with me. Our father had left the room to answer a phone call. “I told him it was a prayer Mom had taught me. So even though I cast a spell, he doesn’t realize that’s what it was. That’s got to mean something, right?”
    I could hear the desperation in my voice as I grasped at straws, but I didn’t care. I loved being a warlock. I didn’t want to lose my birthright for one mistake, especially not since I had finally managed to do something right with the abilities I had.
    Maybe I should also tell them my suspicions about Drake being a shifter. I had no proof except how he bounded all over the fucking place, but if he was a magical being, technically I hadn’t broken the law.
    But I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. If I was wrong and Drake wasn’t a were, I’d be needlessly placing him in danger. I couldn’t do that, not even to save my own skin. What the hell was that about?
    “Don’t know,” Pierce finally answered with a shrug. He glanced at Thad, who still sat at the piano. “What do you think?”
    Thad didn’t immediately answer. He clasped his hands together with only his index fingers pointing up. He brought them to his face and tapped them against his lips. It was Thad’s standard thinking pose. He had a lot of information rattling around in that egg head of his. It sometimes took him a few moments to find exactly what he needed to answer a question. “Maybe,” he finally responded.
    “Maybe?” I asked. “That’s it? With as much shit as you read, that’s the best answer you can come up with?”
    He straightened the creases in his