Luke was raised in Salem, part of one of the oldest existing covens in America. His life had a plan: he'd marry a girl from one of the other old families, preserve the bloodlines, keep the coven strong, and they'd raise the next generation of Salem witches. Luke had known that plan from the time he was a boy, and he never had a problem with it. 

As a teenager, he fell in love with a girl from the coven who just happened to be from one of the old families--it was convenient, considering they were crazy for each other all through high school, and he never would've broken up with her, even if it was to please his parents. They got married shortly after graduation, then had twin daughters. For the next five years, their life was perfect. 

But the witches of Salem weren't the only ones who'd kept the old ways. There were still witch hunters, though they weren't able to kill as freely as they used to. It didn't stop them from brutally murdering his wife, leaving him a widower and single father. Luke packed up his life shortly after the funeral, and took the girls out of Salem, traditions be damned. He wasn't letting his daughters be orphaned, or worse, let them get killed, too. 

Luke settled in a new town where no one knew who they were--or, more importantly, what they were--and spent the next fifteen years raising the girls by himself while running a small herbal shop.