Read Online Autumn Storm by Lizzy Ford - Free Book Online

thicker skin. She wouldn’t let someone like
Dawn push her around, as Summer had.
    “None of us will ever be normal,” he said
with a snort, mind on the night he made a deal with the forest
creatures to reincarnate Summer.
    “Keeps things interesting.” Autumn shifted
her leg.
    Beck wanted to curse. His earth magick was
sometimes a little too subtle. It had been warning him Autumn was
in pain all night, and he hadn’t paid attention. One day, he’d be
able to respond to his instincts better.
    “Here. You’re hurting.” He held out his
hand.
    “I’m not hurting. ”
    “Whatever,” he said, amused at her arch
tone. “Take it, woman.”
    Autumn did so grudgingly. Summer wasn’t
stubborn, either. Autumn’s body pulled at his magick and relaxed as
it spread through her. She sighed.
    “I don’t know how you do it,” he said,
listening to what the magick told him about her injuries. “You’re
in a lot of pain.”
    “You grow a tolerance to it.”
    Beck glanced at her, dismayed to see she was
serious. His sense of excitement at Summer surviving faded,
replaced by the reality that she’d probably suffer the rest of her
life. Was a second trial worth it?
    “I’m so sorry,” he said.
    “I’m not. I pulled through when no one
thought I would. I’m grateful.”
    He said nothing and squeezed her hand.
Autumn rested her head against the headrest. Within minutes, she
was asleep. Her body told him she hadn’t had a moment of sleep
without pain. Beck pushed more of his magick into her, wanting to
make up for the guilt stinging his emotions. He spent the trip home
in thought.
    She slept until they reached the school. He
nudged her awake, released her and walked around the car to open
her door. She took the hand he offered. He didn’t risk her
rejection and instead helped her up the stairs. Too tired to
object, Autumn and waved at him with a yawn as she entered the main
house. Beck crossed his arms in the cold night and waited for her
to close the door behind her.
    Now that she was gone, he could freak out
all he wanted. He rubbed the back of his head and trotted down the
porch stairs to his car. He wasn’t accustomed to the intensity or
wide range of his emotions and slammed his hand into the car roof,
frustrated. Resting his forehead against the cold metal, he focused
his thoughts. He needed to talk to his mother tonight.
    “Hot date?”
    Beck cursed himself quietly for not
listening to his magick. He’d set up an alarm of sorts to warn him
when Dawn was around. His father advised him to avoid the girl at
all costs, especially being alone with her. She was unstable enough
to accuse him of anything and everything under the sun.
    The alarm was going off, and he’d been too
freaked out by Autumn to pay attention. One day, he’d get this
right!
    “Hi, Dawn,” he said and lifted his head. He
forced a smile, determined not to get sucked into Dawn’s moods.
    She came from the direction of the kitchen
entrance, dressed for a night out. Beck’s gaze swept over her. She
wore a tight mini-dress and heels high enough to bring her close to
his six-foot-two height. Dawn had always been the most beautiful
girl he’d ever seen, with features and a body that got her into
modeling when she was twelve. She’d left her career for the
boarding school when she was fifteen. Right now, she was pretending
to be friendly and sweet with a smile that used to pull him in.
    As hot as she was, regret and guilt had long
replaced anything else he felt for her.
    “Hi, Beck,” she said.
    “I’m taking off,” he said and opened his car
door.
    “It’s a girl.”
    He froze. His gaze dropped to her abdomen.
At four months pregnant, she was starting to show and still dressed
for the club. Dawn shivered, appearing vulnerable in the cold
night. She hugged herself.
    “I’m giving her my last name,” Dawn
continued. “I, um, wanted to see if you had any name ideas.”
    Beck was silent for a long moment. “I hadn’t
thought about