Chapter 5: Double Crossed

**Jax**

"When Trent was kidnapped, we worked together to do location spells to find him, and she drew on my magic again." Isach clasped his hands in front of him and hung his head. "I realized she was up to something, so I went to talk to her. Alone."

The longer Isach kept talking, the hotter my rage burned. I'd known Ivy was power hungry, but how far had she gone? How much farther would she be willing to go?

"I asked her a lot of questions about how things would work once I joined her coven, what would be expected of me, what role I'd play. She was very vague, which didn't help my suspicions, but I had no way of knowing what she was up to. Until I was getting ready to leave."

"Did she do something to you?" Abby asked.

"No. Heaven Leigh approached me, said the entire thing was a trap, that as soon as I formally joined the Rose Coven, Ivy was planning to drain my magic from me. Then, she was going to kill me."

Abby gasped. My lip curled with hatred at the mention of Heaven Leigh, and I growled low in my throat. She was the witch who'd helped kidnap Chloe, and then eventually starved me. She was on my hit list, too, right after I dealt with Ivy.

"Why would Heaven Leigh tell you any of that?" I asked. "Why would she betray Ivy when they were all getting exactly what they've always wanted?"

"For starters, Heaven Leigh feels guilty about her part in kidnapping Chloe and then starving you. I guess she thought by telling me what was going on, she could make amends." Isach shrugged. "She's terrified of Ivy. She said Ivy was leading the coven in the wrong direction, that she was so eager for more power that she ruled with threats and fear instead of with love and sisterhood."

She felt guilty? Yeah, right.

"So, what? Heaven Leigh wanted to overthrow Ivy?" Abby glanced between Isach and me.

"No. She doesn't want to lead, but she doesn't want Ivy to be the leader anymore, either. She was hoping I could help her. Defeating the Zoya made Ivy the leader of the most powerful coven, but add my magic to that?" He shook his head. "She would've been unstoppable."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Fresh anger sparked in my chest. "We could've done something to stop her so you wouldn't have had to fake your own death."

"Someone told Ivy I was planning to betray her, and she threatened to kill everyone I loved, starting with Abby. Then Chloe and the girls." His expression was a mixture of anger and sadness.

If I had any reservations about killing Ivy, they were gone now. Nothing and no one would ever be allowed to harm Chloe or those girls. I'd die before I let that happen.

"But if you were dead, you couldn't betray her, and she wouldn't have any reason to kill anyone," Abby said.

"Exactly," Isach said.

"What about your magic?" I shifted in the chair. Again. My ass was going to have blisters when this was over. My gaze darted to the four witches who were being entirely too quiet for my comfort.

"Yeah, and who did we bury?" Abby asked.

Isach smiled with smug satisfaction. "He was a member of my coven. When I gave Chloe my magic, I gave him a very small boost, too, knowing as soon as Ivy found out I was dead, she'd make a grab for it. Then I did a spell to make him look like me, and I took off right before Chloe blasted everyone."

I whistled. "You pulled a Dante." Despite how angry I was with him for this little stunt, I had to hand it to him - the entire thing was rather brilliant.

"Huh?" Abby said.

"When Dante was holding Trent prisoner, he was using Zoya magic to make women look like Chloe, and then he'd torture and kill them in front of Trent. Isach did the same thing, making someone else look like him," I explained.

"So, you don't have your magic anymore?" Abby asked.

"No. I hid it somewhere safe, though."

"Which is why you're shacking up with them." I nodded at the witches. "They're protecting you."

"Yes." Isach smiled at the four of them, and they returned the gesture. "They've kept me hidden and have prevented anyone from using location spells to find me."

Witch boy was smart. He'd covered his bases.

"You did all of this to protect us." Abby wiped her palm on her shorts. She stood abruptly. "Ivy knows I came here to try to resurrect you. She was pissed, but Chloe and Trent. . .." She jerked around to stare at me. "If she knows about. . ."

Sh*t. My stomach knotted. Losing my composure would only make things worse. I kept my expression neutral. "We haven't told Chloe and Trent anything yet, remember?" I said calmly. "For all they know, we failed to bring Isach back. For now, he's still dead to everyone."

Isach stood and reached for Abby's hand. "Abby and I need some time alone to discuss a few things."

I suppressed a groan.

Sophie nodded with understanding.

"The vampire can stay with us until you finish." Piper gave me a sly grin, and I scowled in response.

"Have a little mercy on me, huh?" I met Abby's gaze. "Don't leave me down here to suffer too long."

She followed Isach out of the living room. I was once again alone with the witches. I expelled a heavy breath. I was tempted to listen in on what Abby and Isach were saying upstairs, but I wouldn't violate her privacy like that.

The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long time. I looked everywhere but at Piper, or any of her sisters. How long had they lived in this house? There was a noticeable lack of any real décor, no pictures or personal touches. That was odd.

"He's probably thinking of ways to kill all of us in one fell swoop." Piper's whispered words blew across me like a gentle breeze.

I fought back a smile. This girl was tenacious, wasn't she? I couldn't shake the feeling she wanted to get a rise out of me. I shifted in the chair and stretched my legs out in front of me.

"Actually, only three of you," I said, intentionally inflecting my tone with boredom. "The quiet one on the end there is the only one who hasn't annoyed me." I jutted my chin in Peyton's direction.

"Give her time." Piper grinned. "She's worse than the three of us put together."

I highly doubted that. Before I got the chance to say anything else, Abby came rushing down the stairs. Her face was red and splotchy, her hair was a frizzy mess, and her eyes were still wet with tears. Isach was nowhere to be found.

I jumped to my feet. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "We need to leave."

"Isach?"

"He's not coming. Please just take me back to the hotel."

"Okay." I couldn't get out of this house fast enough. Without hesitation, I escorted Abby outside and into the car.

But as soon as I was on the road, my chest seized, my breath became sharp and ragged, and my stomach revolted. The urge - the need - to turn this car around and go back to that house, to Piper, consumed me unlike anything else I'd ever felt before.

That's when the truth hit me. Piper hadn't been using magic on me. She hadn't been messing with my mind or emotions. What had happened was far worse.

I'd found her. My soulmate.