He whistled. “What are the odds? You go off on your own and find your pretty little mate, and I’m stuck here, not getting to see any of the action.”
“I didn’t say she was pretty,” I muttered.
“Is she?”
“Well,obviously.” I wasn’t blind. She was gorgeous. Even covered in coffee grounds and exhausted from a long day at work, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on. “But you’re not allowed to evenlookat her.”
“Possessive, much?”
I grumbled a few choice words under my breath. “You know how shifters are, Darkmire.”
He chuckled. “Ah. Just as you know how my kind act with our own. I won’t go near your female, Lockwood. You have my word.” I could almost picture him bowing, wearing the three piece suit I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him go without. The man was a walking enigma. A puzzle I wasn’t sure I’d ever solve.
“She’s a witch,” I added, almost an afterthought.
“A witch? Now, that is interesting…” He trailed off. “Why do you think that’s the case?”
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “I think I was meant to be here. Something about this place isn’tright.And I’m going to figure out what that is. To right the wrongs of our ancestors.” I caught Eryne’s eye, and she gave me a soft smile, curling her finger around one of the short, copper strands of hair.
My lips curled up in a smile of my own looking at her, my beautiful little healer.
“So, you’re staying.”
“For now, yeah.”
“Alright. Where did you say this town was again?”
“Pleasant Grove,” I answered, still looking at my mate. “Massachusetts. About an hour away from Salem.”
Ezra hummed into the phone. “Figures.”
“I’ll call you again when I know more,” I told him. It seemed like Eryne’s friends were here, two scents I found familiar. They were there that night, I realized quickly. Even though I didn’t remember much, I knew they helped her get me into the car. “Listen, I have to go,” I said, watching them at the counter. “Talk soon.”
Hanging up without another word, I listened to their conversation across the room. I was intrigued by her friends, because I wanted to understand her. Who she was. The things she liked. Everything.
They looked over at me, giggling, and I sat up a little taller in my seat as I pretended to be engrossed in my laptop.
“He’shot.You should definitely go for it,” her friend said. “Get that wolf-man D, girl.”
Eryne’s cheeks went pink and she looked over at me. I raised an eyebrow, and she looked away, back at her friends, who were still prattling on to her about how she should sleep with me. I was out of my seat before I could think better of it.
“Why are you talking about my sex life like I’m not even here?” Eryne said to her friends, clearly exasperated.
I cleared my throat from behind them, and she turned to look up at me, eyes widening.
That’s right, little mate,I wanted to tell her.I’m right here.
Both of her friends scurried off without introducing themselves, and I shoved my hands in my pockets as I studied her. “So, those are your friends, hm?”
She made a face. “How much of that did you hear?”
I chuckled, leaning in closer, knowing exactly how much I was affecting her. “All of it.”
Eryne swallowed roughly. “All… of it?”
Humming, I twirled the piece of hair that had come free from behind her ear. “Yep. Every. Last. Word.”
“Barrett…” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “We hardly know each other. That would be…” She stumbled on her words. “A bad idea.”
