Page 118 of Locke

I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.“There’s a lot to learn about our world, but you’ve got plenty of time.”

Emm huffed. “I’m past my mid-thirties. I don’t have that much time.”

I bit her earlobe. If she only knew how much time she had. Her life was extended now, and she wouldn’t experience any further aging. If I would let her spend time in the bathroom alone and really let her look at herself, she would see her age was reversing.

I’d explain another time.

Emm stepped out of my hold and my fingers itched to pull her back. Even my wolf snarled at the look Tajah gave me, silently asking permission to talk to my mate.

But I didn’t want her out of my sight.

Seeing Emm with Idris, having to fight on her own—correction, letting her fight on her own, because I knew it was what she needed— about damn near killed me. Now that he was out of the picture, I didn’t want to force myself back from not protecting her. I wanted to keep her safe, like a proper male.

I reached for my mates’ hand and pulled her back. “Mine,” I bared my teeth at Tajah and she rolled her eyes.

“I only want to talk to her for a moment. Our luna has questions for me.”

The witches and warlocks don’t usually share a mind-link. They can enter minds on their own. Our pack wouldn't be able to mind-link them directly. Any future magical entities would lack the link. Since Tajah created this link she was bonded to this pack, as was Bram.

Mind-link problem solved.

Emm rolled her lips and nodded. “I do. You wanna join, Alpha?” She elbowed me and my face softened. Maybe she didn't want to be away from me either, and that brought my wolf’s stiffened fur down. He snorted, but still hovered close to the surface.

“If you’d let me?” I gave her the option for me to back off, but I think she knew I’d come, anyway.

Beretta snarled and slapped a board game that hung over one of the tables near the bar. The board went flying, fake money and pieces of the game flying in the air. “This is not fair! You took all of my money!” Beretta hissed.

Luis was counting the colored bills in his hand, giggling. “I can’t count this high. Can you count it for me?” He waved the money in front of her face and her fangs lengthened to hiss at him again. Luis burst into a fit of giggles, and my grin grew wide.

Yeah, I think I like that kid.

Emm shook her head. “Do not play Monopoly with that kid.” Emm pointed at Beretta. “I taught him everything he knows, and he is vicious.”

Chapter Forty-One

Emm

The bar was bustling with life. Mostly the club was in attendance, but a few of the locals in the town came in to say hello, and to grab a drink or some bar food.

Most of the pack were still healing. The ones that had their animals buried deep inside them were suffering the most. Their healing was slow, human-paced, as I have heard Bones define it. Some of them should have bandages over their stitches, but of course they kept them removed, wearing them like badges of honor.

The women swooned over them, asking where they got such battle scars, but the pack remained tight-lipped about the altercation that happened in the woods just a week ago. We didn’t need the town knowing that there was an evil, dark fae fight just on the outskirts of town. They wouldn’t have believed itanyway, not with a magical spell that keeps most of the humans clueless.

The atmosphere in the bar was different from before - no longer filled with a hazy cloud of smoke. The faint scent of tobacco, which used to linger, had faded away. The windows were wide open, allowing the refreshing summer breeze to enter, along with the enticing aromas of sizzling steaks, burgers and various other meats being cooked in the kitchen.

I took my fry, stirred it into the mayo and ketchup sauce I’d created, and popped it into my mouth. Locke made an unsatisfied grunt behind me, squeezed his arm around my waist, and tapped my lip with a fork full of steak.

I rolled my eyes and opened, chomping down on the medium rare steak. I bobbed my head back and forth, and waited for him to put another mouthful in.

“More meat, fewer carbs,” Locke grumbled behind me. “Your wolf needs the iron and blood. If you don’t, then when you shift into your animal form, she’s going to go crazy and hunt down a deer.”

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and opened my mouth again. Locke purred, satisfied I didn’t argue back. There were just some things I was not ready to do, wolf shifter or not, and killing a deer with my teeth, ripping into the fur and bones and devouring it was one.

Tajah drank her water. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but we all sat in silence after she dropped the bombshell; that I should have known all along.

Abuela was a witch. Well, rather, she was Wiccan. I was in denial for years. I thought it was the mushrooms or whatever she smoked that week. It had been a long time since I had really spent time with her, but Elena said nothing about Abuela or any of her antics.

Elena didn’t want me to worry!

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