VON
When the guy walked in, a strange jolt of jealousy flashed through my body.
Which was crazy. Absolutely, batshit crazy. Why should I have given even a single shit about that old crone anyway? It made zero sense to me.
The full moon was doing crazy things to me and my wolf. Before, I had to fight the urge to pin her to the ground and make her mine. Not that I would, of course, but I sure as hell wanted to.
I realized that this wasn’t just any normal person I was dealing with, this was a witch. I had been told you could never fully trust witches and their magic. Is she doing something to me?
That didn’t make sense either. As far as I could tell, Cassandra was a terrible witch. She had managed to find the forgetfulness potion, but only because I told her that Maggie always kept it at the ready. What she was doing taking her sister’s place was beyond me.
No. Cassandra was casting a different kind of spell on me. One that didn’t involve any outright magic and, seemingly, no intention.
The longer I tried to reason it out, the crazier I felt. I shook my head slightly and ignored the ache deep within my wolf. Whatever was going on would be resolved as soon as the forgetfulness potion took full effect. I hoped.
Wanting to think about something other than the bewitching witch, I cast another glance at the boarder who had walked in. He wasn’t impressive as a man or as a werewolf. He looked like he hadn’t been eating well and like he felt more at home in the shadows than beneath the light of the moon.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t even give someone like him a second thought. Still…something about this potential boarder bothered me. There was something off about him. Something I didn’t like.
Then again, it could also be because he had interrupted my conversation with Cassandra.
I forced myself to let go of Cassandra’s hand. My fingers burned with her touch and I had no idea why. Not wanting to linger on it, I took a step back to let the strange boarder approach the counter. It gave me the chance to get a full view of the guy.
It took everything I had to quell my wolf’s strange behavior and my sudden appetite for the old witch. Ignoring her, I looked over the guy from head to toe. I recognized the insignia on his jacket. He was a member of one of the many rival packs in the area.
The guy’s jacket had slash marks and he smelled of blood.
Or is the smell of blood coming from me? I wondered.
“Too bad about ol’ Maggie, eh?” the boarder asked, his voice like nails on a chalkboard.
There was more than hint of pleasure in the way he said it. I looked at the guy disdainfully and thought that he could have easily been the one who had killed Maggie.
He certainly fit the part.
CASSIE
It was so hard to focus.
My thoughts were scattered and my mind distracted as I thought about the warning that the scary hot man had whispered in my ear when the boarder entered.
His breath had been warm and enticing. I wished he had whispered something different than a warning in my ear. Hell, I wish he had been whispering all kinds of things. He smelled like blood, but I—
The boarder chuckled. “One less witch. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing?”
It only took me a second to realize that the boarder was a werewolf. And an asshole. While my aunt and I had never been super close, I suddenly felt defensive of her. She had been a good person and deserved more than to be wiped off the earth by some scumbag. And she sure as hell deserved more than to be talked so poorly about by another scumbag.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m also a witch,” I said. “And if you’ve got a problem with that, then maybe you should go spend the night somewhere else. I hear garbage pits are lovely this time of year.”
The scary hot werewolf’s gaze shifted back to me. He was as surprised as I was by what I had just said. Normally I tried to be more of a pacifist, but the potential boarder rubbed me the wrong way.
The creepy werewolf’s demeanor shifted instantly. A sadistic smile formed on his lips as he leaned in close. I tried not to shudder as he brought his nose close to my hair and took in a deep breath.
“I like the way you smell,” he said. “So…raw. No. I’m not going anywhere.”
He reached for me with one hand and I shrank back. I grabbed a key off the wall and dropped it onto the counter. The sooner he went up to a room, the better.
He glowered. “Do I frighten you, witch?”
Loud, stomping footsteps caught my attention. I glanced up to see the scary hot werewolf walking back to the counter. He stopped a few feet behind the creep.
“You’re with the Cobalt,” he said, his voice low and menacing. “You’re a little out of your territory, aren’t you?”
The boarder took a long look at me, then slid the key off the counter. Slowly, he turned to glare at the werewolf, then he silently made his way upstairs.
As soon as the creepy werewolf stepped back, I exhaled a breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding. I hid my shaking hands behind the counter, willing them to stop trembling so I could pull myself together.
Why, oh why, the hell did I come back here? I wondered.
I could have found a way to get back on my feet in Atlanta. I could have taken on a thousand different jobs that wouldn’t have had me having to deal with paranormals. I could have done anything other than come back to Konowa.
Yet there I was having a terrible night and knowing that it was all my fault for wanting to honor my Aunt Maggie’s memory. Teach me to be a decent person…
The scary hot werewolf watched as the boarder made his way up the stairs, then he turned back to me. His gaze was no less intense, no less all consuming.
Lune, the cat I hadn’t wanted to adopt, fled the scene and scurried under one of the shelves. I envied it. All I could do was bluster behind the counter. As the werewolf stared at me, I wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or if he was going to go.
And I wasn’t sure which one I preferred more.
Wanting to fill the growing silence, I huffed and tried to play like I was annoyed by him.
“I didn’t need your help,” I said. “If that’s what that was.”
He said nothing. He just watched as I nervously busied myself with the vials on the shelf. I moved on over, put things back, grabbed a few more vials, organized them by color. I basically made a mess of things as he watched me.
“I had it under control,” I said.
He sighed. “You know it’s a full moon, right?”
I smirked. “It’s kind of hard not to.”
His eyes swept over me in a way that melted my core. What was it about him that set my blood on fire? I wanted nothing more than to find out.
“I’d be careful with that mouth of yours,
I shuddered as he turned and walked away. He looked just as good going as he did coming. My eyes landed on his firm ass and stayed there as he got ready to walk out of the shop.
Distracted, I dropped yet another vial onto the floor.
The werewolf paused and I dreaded/hoped that he would turn around to look at me again. Instead, he exited the shop.
I wiped the fresh sweat from my forehead before crouching down to clean up the mess I had made. Luckily, only a few vials had shattered and none of the potions had mixed. I had no idea what would happen if the spells had come together.
Probably a magical atomic bomb. No biggie, I thought wryly.
The sound of footsteps pulled me out of my reverie. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered if the scary hot werewolf had come back for round two.
But when I peered over the counter, my blood ran cold.
Staring back at me was the creepy boarder. There was a wild look in his eyes that I knew meant trouble for me. He licked his lips like he was savoring an upcoming meal.
Rising nervously, I squared my shoulders. “What do you want?”
His smile spread as he growled, “I want you.”
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