The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 by Carissa Andrews (graded readers txt) 📕

helped. My grades are finally pulling back up and I feel more like myself than I have in ages,” she says, smiling broadly. Plopping down into a seat across from us, her dark eyes flit from me to Wade and back again. “So, what’s up with you, Ms. Gloomypants?”

“Ugh,” I groan. “Haven’t you heard already? I don’t even know where to start.”

Standing up, she plants herself down on the armrest of my chair and chuckles. “At the beginning. I feel like it’s been forever since we chatted. I’m totally lost.”

“That makes two of us,” I say, shaking my head. “There’s so much…”

“Actually, this isn’t really the best place to talk about things,” Wade says, keeping his tone low. His eyes dart around the commons, landing on a small group of people in the corner who are huddled together. Every few moments, one of them looks in our direction, then returns to their group.

“Wonderful,” I say, slumping back into the chair.

“Seriously, guys…what am I missing?” Cat asks, concern now sweeping her features.

“Autumn’s a person of interest in the grave desecrations,” Wade says in such a hushed tone I’m surprised Cat can even hear him.

“No—” she blurts out, shock clear across her face.

Wade and I both nod.

“Well, that’s just the most ridiculous thing I ever... I mean, why would they even…” she says, stumbling over her words.

“Whoever it is, they’re not playing around with the graves or trying to rob them. They’re actually summoning the dead,” I say, pressing my lips into a thin line. “And guess whose family is the only one known for necromancy in this town?”

“Shit.” Cat says, dropping her shoulders.

“Yeah,” I mutter, closing my eyes.

Cat sighs. “So, what do we do? I mean, what do you want to do?”

I shrug. “What can I do? I need to let the authorities figure it out. The more I profess my innocence, the more people think I’m lying. Especially since they assumed it was Wade first.”

Colton walks into the commons, clearly looking for his sister, as his eyes scan the space and land first on her. His expression falters when he sees the two of us, but he drops his chin and shuffles over anyway.

My insides clench. The last thing I need is something else to stress out over right now and having Colton in close proximity is sure to boost my stress levels.

Colton shoves his hands into his pockets and stops a few feet away. “Hey,” he says, tipping his chin upward.

Wade’s back stiffens, but he tips his chin in return. Even without knowing about Colton’s kiss, the tension rolling off of him is palpable. I swear, if things weren’t so complicated right now, I’d come clean and deal with the ramifications.

“Hi, Colt,” I say, feigning a smile.

Colton’s lips curve upward ever so slightly, then he drops his gaze to the ground. “You ready, Cat?” he asks, refusing to look up.

“Did you hear about Autumn?” Cat says, ignoring the question.

Colton’s curiosity gets the better of him and he glances up, placing his discerning eyes on me. “What about her?”

Cat curls her pointer finger, urging him to come closer. He does as she requests, leaning forward until his face is inches from hers.

“The police think Autumn is a suspect in this whole grave vandalism thing. Can you believe it?” she whispers.

Colton’s eyes widen and he snickers. His eyes shift from Cat to Wade, then land squarely on me. “That’s—preposterous.”

“Right?” She nods her head in agreement. “Evidently, the cops think whoever’s doing this is raising the dead and she’s the only known necromancer in town.”

Shaking his head, Colton crams his hands beneath his arms. “Why—why would they think a necromancer has anything to do with this?”

Cat’s lips press into a thin line and she quirks an eyebrow. “Really? Did you not hear the part about the dead being raised?”

“Yeah, but did they come back to life? Or are they just…”

“Revenants?” I say, unable to help myself.

Colton’s eyes narrow and his eyebrows crease in confusion.

“Zombies,” Wade reiterates, entering the fray for the first time.

“Yeah,” Colton says, swallowing hard, “that’s what I meant.”

“They’re definitely revenants,” I mutter.

My gaze flits to the group in the corner. The five of them are all turned in our direction, raptly listening to our conversation. Anger flares through me and I stand up.

“What are you looking at? Huh?” I spit, my fists clenching at my side. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”

The two girls edge away, clearly startled by my outburst. The three guys, on the other hand, stand up, immediately going to the defense of the ladies in their circle.

“Haven’t you done enough, necro? You all should be behind bars,” a large redhead says, squaring his shoulders. His dark-brown eyes flash as he shoots sideways glances at the two guys by his side.

The brunette to his left crosses his arms over his broad chest and tips his chin in approval while the sandy blond adjusts his glasses, clearly not looking for a fight but not willing to back down, either.

“Done enough?” I sputter, narrowing my gaze and taking a step toward them.

Suddenly, both Wade and Cat are on their feet, standing just steps behind me.

“And how the hell would you know what she’s done?” Wade growls.

“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Colton says, taking a step out in front of the rest of us. His fist are clenched at his sides, and the chairs around us begin to rattle.

The guys across the room take a small step back, startled.

“What the hell, man? We’ve got no beef with you,” the sandy blond says.

“Colton,” I warn, stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm. Suddenly, I feel the strange, warming sensation again as the iridescent blue and orange flames start to engulf my hand. Startled, I pull it back.

Immediately, the rattling ceases.

I twist around, hoping Wade didn’t catch it. Luckily, his attention is centered solely on the group ahead of us. My shoulders relax slightly as I turn back to the threat across the room.

“If she