Ezra brushed a piece of imaginary lint off his suit coat. “Great. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we need to strategize. We have to be smart about this, or else.”
Damien rapped his fingers against the table. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day, Vampire.” His eyes seemed to flash a deeper red.
My partner’s lips curled, revealing his fangs. The wolf inside of me was instantly on edge, sensing danger and ready to leap to action at any second. Demon and vampire—I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out who would win.
“No fighting, both of you,” Willow said, reaching out and putting a hand on her mate. “We’re all working together towards the same goal.”
“Fine,” Damien huffed.
Ezra didn’t say anything, just looked away.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
Hours later, I found Eryne outside on Willow’s back porch, slowly rocking on the porch swing. The girls had mostly moved on to what they needed to do to rebuild a magical barrier that would keep humans out without keeping Pleasant Grove shrouded from all those who weren’t witches.
There was a chance, of course, that they were opening up their home to more evil creatures, the likes of which Ezra and I had tracked and hunted all over the country, but it was a trade off they were willing to make in order to restore balance, the way nature intended.
“Oh.” She blinked up at me. Draped over her lap was a knitted blanket, and she was running her fingers over the fibers while staring out across the street. “Hi.”
Willow had gone all out decorating the house for Halloween—one I’d learned used to be her parents house before they’d passed away many moons ago. Carved pumpkins decorated the porch, including multiple featuring cats. The entire neighborhood was decorated, just like Main Street, and it truly felt like it could have been a stock photo or something featured in a magazine. It was cozy and homey in every way, and though I’d never had strong feelings about the holiday one way or the other, I had to admit that I found it charming here.
I leaned against one of the poles of the porch railing, watching her and studying her face. Last night had been amazing, but she was quiet today,
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Last night was…” I sighed. “I didn’t want to ruin that.”
“We can’t keep secrets from each other,” she whispered. “This will never work if we do. Whatever this is.”
“We’re whatever you want us to be,” I answered, though the words felt like cracks in my heart. I wanted more—of course I did.
Sitting down next to her, I took her hand in mine, pressing a kiss to her soft skin. “What’s wrong, sugar?”
She shook her head. “It’s stupid.”
I rubbed my thumb over her hand. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not stupid,” I promised. “I can’t do anything if Idon’t know what’s going on inside that pretty head of yours.” I tapped the middle of her forehead, between her bangs
Eryne leaned her head on my shoulder, letting out a small sigh. “I trust you.” My mate looked up at me, those big blue eyes full of so much emotion that my heart clenched in my chest. “You know that, right?”
I brushed her hair back from her face. “I do. And I’ll do everything I can to be worthy of that trust. I owe you my life, Eryne. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I couldn’t repay that debt in a million lifetimes.”
“It’s not a debt, Barrett. You don’t owe me anything. If I had to do it all over again, nothing would stop me from saving you that night.” She pressed a kiss to my lips. “I’d never regret this. You.”
I cupped her cheek, running my thumb back and forth over her skin. “Eryne. From the very first moment, I’ve never regretted anything. And I know it’s fast, but—” Here was my perfect opening. The chance to tell her.You’re my mate.When I opened my mouth, however, I couldn’t form the words. “But I want to be with you. No matter what that looks like.”
“After this is all over, are you going to go home?” Eryne asked, wrapping her arms around her torso like she was hugging herself.
Home. What would that even look like now? Was home a place, or was it just a person? And if it was, then home was wherevershe was.Home was Eryne.
But that wasn’t what she was asking, and I knew it.
“Probably, yeah. I haven’t seen my family in… awhile.” I shrugged. “It’s overdue.” But I wanted to bring her home with me. To introduce her to Walnut Ridge as my mate—as the witch who had saved my life and showed me a completely different one.
“Right.” She nodded her head, biting her lip. “It’s just…” Eryne looked up at the sky. “Fuck, I didn’t think this would be so hard.”
“Sugar, are you breaking up with me?”
She laughed. “No. The opposite, actually.”
“Thank fuck, because I’m not letting you go.” I pulled her into my lap, cradling her body. “You’re stuck with me, Eryne. No matter what happens, you can’t get rid of me.”
