Page 41 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

“If I give you the incriminating information—and let’s be clear, it’s incriminating as hell—I’m as good as dead. Thanks, but I believe I’ll hang onto every scrap of leverage I have on you, Alpha Pallás. And you can’t possibly fault me for it, since we both know that in my place, you’d do the same.”

Something happened to him then. The blood retreated, leaving his face its natural shade of golden brown. Eyes like small round pellets searched my face. It annoyed me that they were the same hazel as Ronan’s, though Ronan’s were beautiful and not at all cruel.

“I’m going to kill you,” he said, “but first, I’m going to watch you suffer.”

His clawed hand shot out and gripped my throat. Pain tore through me as he raked the tips of his nails over my carotids.

He released me as suddenly as he’d grabbed me and was gone. He wasn’t in the parking lot or the restaurant or down the block as far as I could see in the darkness. The speed with which the entire encounter had happened was breathtaking.

A shiver broke over me.

He’d gotten past my protection spell, which meant either he was just that strong or my magic was that weak.

Neither was a good thing.

Fennel stared at me through the rear window, Cecil beside him. They were unhappy. They’d seen everything and were likely upset he’d gotten that close to killing me under their watch.

“You did the right thing,” I said, and though there was a thick layer of glass between us, Fennel’s expression told me he’d heard me loud and clear. “I told you to protect Maya.”

The cat hissed once and leapt off the rear seat, the gnome following him.

Unhappymight be an understatement.

Thankfully, it didn’t appear that Maya had seen anything. She was still scrunched down in the passenger seat the way I’d left her.

They weren’t deep cuts, and I managed to stop the bleeding with a spell, but it took two tries to get it right. I blamed the rapid blood loss and the shock of being attacked, but I was lying to myself.

It was my magic.

My weird, random, and unreliable magic.

We pulledinto the Siete Saguaros parking lot ten minutes later. The guys took their food and went to the garden room, where Cecil gave me a healing charm and Fennel gave me the cold shoulder.

After apologizing to them both for getting myself attacked—a strange thing to apologize for, but it seemed to mollify my partners—I escorted Maya to my place. She wanted to shift, but she wanted to shower first. We were around the same size, so I gave her one of my few new outfits—a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt—some toiletries and underclothing and left her to it.

I set the kettle to boil and picked up my cell. I needed to call in a favor.

The call didn’t take long, and neither did the tea, so when Maya emerged in a cloud of steam twenty minutes or so later, I was on my second cup.

“I’d like to shift soon—if that’s all right with you.” She ducked her head. “If you’d prefer I stay in human form, I will.”

It was as if the spell still had a grip on her despite the charm. Though I knew it was waterproof, I didn’t know how well it was working in general. My experience tonight had left me even more insecure about my magic than usual.

“You’re free to do anything you want, Maya. If I were you, I’d stick to the park grounds to stay safe, but the choice is yours.”

“Gods, I sound pathetic. I’m so…” Her hands flopped around like they weren’t connected to her. She let out a sob.

“Strong,” I said. “You’re so strong, so brave, and so done with that dumpster fire of an ex. It’s okay if you don’t feel like yourself yet. You were under a very strong spell for an extended length of time. Give yourself a little grace.”

“Thanks.” She tapped the charm around her neck. “Can I keep this? I’ll pay you. I have money Desmond doesn’t know about. He was too stupid to ask, and whatever that spell was, it didn’t force me to tell him.”

The bitterness in her tone was welcome. I wanted to see her pissed off. “It’s yours. Bronwyn paid for it. I also have a sleep charm ready if you need it.”

“I might.” She sighed, long and sad. “Bronwyn. I can’t believe she sent you. She’s part of Desmond’s coven, after all.”

“She’s also your friend. The coven thing was tricky, but she found a way around it.” I smiled. “Me.”

“She’s lucky to have you.I’mlucky she has you.”

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