Aidan's Obsession

24. Emmerson

Kaden's jaw tightens, and he nods, but he doesn't tell me what the nod is for. All of it?

"Is that why wolves are after me? Because Aidan is..." I can't think of how I want to phrase it. "Not doing what he's supposed to?"

"He is now," Kaden says. "Mostly. That's probably as good as it'll ever get with him." He stares at the door to the apartment for a beat. "He made things harder for himself than he needed to. Also, on brand." He chuckles. "Honestly, if my parents could have skipped over Aidan and me and given the clan to one of my sisters, they would have."

"But they can't?"

"Power doesn't transfer that way. It's magical or mystical or however you want to see it. There's no choice. As long as Aidan is alive, it's his to take. If he dies, the responsibility falls on me. If we both die, well..." He shakes his head. "The whole clan is fucked, basically. Best not to think about that."

"Seems archaic," I mutter. "Women can't have any power?"

Kaden chuckles. "Women can be so irrational."

"Right," I say, throwing my hand toward the apartment. "Your brother seems highly rational. Not at all driven by emotion." I roll my eyes.

His chuckle broadens and deepens. "See," he says, "you're proving my point."

"You've never been swayed by emotion?"

"I mean..." He gestures to his crotch. "Would you call that an emotion or a basic need?"

"I'm surprised she didn't erase her own memories too," I say, staring him down. Right now, my blood is running hot, and I can't even say why. Frustration bubbles through me, and it feels like mine and not mine all at the same time.

"I haven't got a fucking clue what you're on about," he says, the smirk coming back.

"I'm aware," I say, giving him a smirk of my own. "Hailey—she messed with your memories."

"Your friend is the witch?" His eyes narrow dangerously.

The word friend doesn't seem accurate anymore, but it's hard to wrap my head around what her presence in my life means. Aidan doesn't think I'm human, and that feels right—since I've never been quite like everyone else around me.

The door to the apartment opens, and Kaden turns. Hailey steps out first, and something happens to Kaden that I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't turned to watch him instead of her. His hand splays across his chest, and there's a look of such naked longing that crosses his face, so briefly I might have missed it, but then it's gone. And his hand drops, sliding into his pocket, and he seems to come back to himself. When I tear my gaze away from him, Hailey is focused on Kaden too, as though the sight of him is a heart clutch too.

She might have covered over the memories, but something still lies beneath for both of them. The realization makes me think, even more, that I never knew Hailey. She wasn't just fucking around with Kaden—which is how she always presented that secret relationship to me—that look that passed between them had nothing to do with casual sex.

Aidan, however, doesn't seem to have picked up on it. His gaze is focused on me.

"Hailey's going to join us on our witch finding expedition. She claims she doesn't know any more than we do, but witches can sense other witches. So we're hauling her along as our own personal homing device."

"You don't think Mom and Dad did that too? We're not smarter than them," Kaden says, ignoring Hailey as though she's not even there.

"Do you have an idea? To figure out what Emmerson is? To determine who is on our asses trying to murder her or bring us down? Go ahead. I'm all fucking ears." He cups one large hand around his ear. "I'm waiting."