“Thanks. It’s been hard to keep it on the down low but, yes, it’s me backthere.”
He shook his head. “I have to keep my wolves away from there, otherwise they’d live in yourestablishment.”
I blinked. “Why would you keep themout?”
“Because your wish service isn’t exactly cheap, and I don’t want my wolves taking the easy wayout.”
We’d slowed our pace down as the music went softer. I was a little bit offended. “I don’t grant wishes to everyone who asks for them,” I toldhim.
“Interesting. So you’re saying I can let them off the leash a littlebit?”
“With the amount of beer it takes to get a werewolf drunk, I’mbeggingyou to let them off the leash alittle.”
His warm chuckle rolled across my skin. “What kind of wishes do you turnaway?”
I shrugged. “Most of them, honestly. Jinns have an...ability. We can see the outcome of our wishes. Anything that could harm someone is denied unless that person has done harm to the wisher and I can see the karmic threads involved. This includes self-harm aswell.”
“Self harm?” Mark’s gaze turnedcurious.
I nodded. “Yes. So say someone came in and wished for twenty million dollars. It’s an easy enough wish, but if I look into the consequences and see someone losing everything they loved because of the money, I will usually deny the wish and turn them onto a differentpath.”
“And they’re okay withthat?”
I grinned. “Never. But I will tell you that those who do take my advice are generally happier in the end and usually find themselves well supportedfinancially.”
Mark and I stopped as the song came to an end. “You are an interesting woman,Katie.”
I bowed. “And you are an interestingAlpha.”
“I will keep your secret. My words about Jeff stand. He willsuffer.”
I gave him a quick nod and turned to go back to mytable.
Mark was a great man but he was super intense. I needed a drink to still my shakinghands.
One more person in Midnight Cove now knew mysecret.
3
Six Weeks Later
There wasa Doritos bag stuck to my face. I rolled over with a groan and peeled the opened foil pack off my cheek. Sunlight streamed into my living room, making my eyes water once I opened them. I blinked away tears and slowly sat up. The television was streaming nonstopHome Shopping Networkand this morning’s offering was a combination hair brush/curler. That sound like a disaster waiting tohappen.
I fumbled for the remote control and flipped the television off. The sound of silence in my house was deafening. I hadn’t even remembered to set the timer on the coffee pot so I couldn’t even get up and get my cup of joeimmediately.
“Crap,” I muttered. I sat up and had to swipe candy wrappers from my lap. I was a hot mess. I knew it. My family knew it. All of my employees knew it since I hadn’t shown up to work for any real length of time since the wedding was cancelled. I’d sold off our honeymoon and talked to Mark about being reimbursed for half of the wedding costs. He hadn’t given me a check yet, but I knew he was good forit.
So...my savings account was running a wee bit low. Okay. Alotlow, but I was still fine for now. I swung my legs off the couch and padded into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I grumbled a little bit when I saw the state of my house. I’d bought it before I met Jeff, so about three years ago. I had big plans to fix it up which quickly fizzled when Jeff blew into my life with the force of a hurricane. My time became devoted to him and other things in my life suffered. Thus the reason I was standing in a kitchen that still had linoleum and half my countertopsmissing.
When I made it home after the wedding, I called Martin Roma immediately. He agreed to come over and look at the house to give me a quote. At that time, I was still running on anger so I was still upright and functional, but right after he’d given me the quote, I sank into a deep depression. So deep my parents came over banging on my door in the middle of the night to make sure I was still alive. I cancelled my appointment with Martin and had been barely able to get out bedsince.
Martin was not pleased. My mother told me later he’d moved several things around on his schedule for me. When I cancelled, he’d lost all of that work. I’d felt guilty, but not nearly as much as I should have. I needed to call him soon and throw myself on his mercy. My life was chaotic enough. The least I could do was live in a house that didn’t make me look like asquatter.
I pulled my mug from the machine, poured an obscene amount of cheesecake creamer in it and took it back into the living room. I felt...better today. Not amazing. But not like I was going to die. The first two times had numbed me. I couldn’t quite explain how I felt, but life had kept chugging on around me and so I chugged along with it. This time? I was a boulder in the river and the river parted aroundme.
Being a jinn might seem glamorous to everyone who wasn’t actually a jinn. But for me, I was forced to keep my secret in order to have a normal life. Having a relationship was nearly impossible. The temptation always overcame how someone felt about me. I knew Jeff cared about me, but he also realized I was a good tool to have in his arsenal. He was a man who wanted an easy life and knew I had the capability to give it tohim.
I set my overly sweetened coffee down and groaned as I got a whiff of myself. Gracious. I was a total slob right now. I needed to get my shit together. And ashower.
