Page 2 of Pitch a Witch
I gave him a flat, unimpressed look.
“I understand how you feel, I really do,” Alex expressed with a measured tone, and Amber hummed in agreement from where she was perched comfortably on his lap. Good thing she sat on him because I had no doubt he would jump over the desk and strangle me otherwise. “It’s never easy to sit back while others take control of the wheel, but this is only temporary. The deeper we dig into what is going on with the demons, the more invested I am as well. All this frustration because you think you’re not doing anything is just the calm before the storm. I’ve seen it more times than I can count.”
“I’m losing my mind, Alex.” My nails scraped my scalp harshly as I started pacing. “Danika is in her own world playing a dictator and making sure everyone dances to her tune, but the truth of the matter is, all of you are in danger because of me. Call me an idiot, but I’m not going to sit and be obedient just to make her or anyone else happy. I should be out there figuring this out with everyone else.”
Mismatched eyes rolled over me with a calculating glint that did not bode well for me. After Danika dropped a shit toneof bombs in this very office, she took Blondie and my best friend, and I was yet to hear a word from any of them. River staying away from me was a great thing. I didn’t trust the pretty boy now any more than I did the first time I’d laid eyes on him. All my girly parts were having a blast from him being around, though my trust issues slapped that nonsense away fast enough, thank Hecate. But Sissily? I needed to talk to her. To apologize for what I was, or for my incompetence to control the magic I never knew I had. To tell her something.
Anything really.
I felt lost, and more than anything, I was afraid I’d lost the only person who always had my back no matter how bad things turned out. Each night since she walked out the door and left me behind without saying a word, her fearful expression had haunted my nightmares. I’d live with everyone hating me, or even being made fun of by every witch in existence. I just wanted my friend back.
“I’ll make you a deal.” Alex waited while I struggled to inflate my lungs. “If no one comes to give us news by Friday, I’m taking you with me to pay your coven a visit.”
It was Monday morning.
“By Wednesday.” Holding his gaze, I countered, doing everything in my power not to gnaw on my lip when the full power of an Alpha stare stabbed my pupils.
With a chuckle, he planted a kiss on Amber’s shoulder, then grinned at me. “You fit perfectly in this house. Thursday, and not a day sooner.”
“I feel wonderful that I need to resort to childish behavior so I can do what’s right, just so you know.” Grimacing, I turned toward the door, eager to leave before I died from embarrassment.
“Not that fast, dear.” Amber’s voice made me pause with one hand on the doorknob, the door opened just a crack. “As you said, it’s been eight days, and you are yet to cook with me.”
“I knew something was going to bite me in the ass from this conversation, I just didn’t know what.” Beaming at her when she giggled, I waited by the open door for her to join me.
“We have a pack gathering this evening, so we better get started.”
Alex guffawed at my horrified expression. His barking laughter followed us to the kitchen like a theme song announcing our entrance inside a fight ring.
2
“Hazel made those cupcakes,” Amber announced loud enough for everyone present to hear, and I winced. “Aren’t they scrumptious?”
Their home was packed to the brim.
Every single member of the pack was in attendance for what turned out to be a pack party, and they spilled from the house to fill every space available on the lawn as well. Until an hour before that, I had successfully managed to avoid most that were not involved in my training, especially Alex’s beta Ace. Ace and I had a thing back when—okay, fine, we had tons of hot, mind-blowing sex—after which I’d tucked tail and never returned his calls, thinking playing possum was the best way to run from situations involving emotions. We’d not come face to face since then, and I made a valid effort to open the ground so it could swallow me whole when his sharp, intense gaze snapped in my direction. Unfortunately, although I now had magic, the damn shit did not work in my favor—not that morning when I’d acted like an idiot with his Alpha, and it didn’t do jack shit now, either.
“They are magical, Mom.” Stella, Amber’s oldest daughter, hip-bumped me. “Get it? Magical.” Her snickering should’ve helped ease my freak-out mode, but it did not.
Stella was fifteen years old and a replica of her mother. From the fire-red corkscrews dancing around her shoulders to her sweet face with those large, expressive eyes and a ready smile for everyone who met her gaze. Her young body had developed curves early, which was distinctive for shifter women, and a few boys were already circling around her like moons in orbit. We’d spent a lot of time together while I was stuck in my voluntold exile, and her familiarity calmed my nerves somewhat.
“It’s shocking that a witch can make such delicious sweets,” I groused, thickly layering the sarcasm in my tone and playfully glaring at Amber. “You should’ve said it louder, though. I’m not sure they heard you in Cleveland.” We beamed at each other, but the little joy I had died a sudden death.
“Incoming,” Stella mumbled from the corner of her mouth, but I didn’t have the opportunity to say a word in reply.
“Hey, kiddo. Evening, Amber,” Ace addressed the other two women, although he had his dark eyes pinned on me. “Hazel.”
“Ace,” I croaked uncomfortably.
Amber frowned, glancing between us before focusing her full attention on the beta wolf. “Ace, so nice that you found the time to join us.” She greeted him warmly and gave him a hug. “Alex wasn’t sure you’d make it with all the organizing he’s been forking on your plate lately. He will be ecstatic to see you.”
What was the point in having magic if I couldn’t make myself disappear when needed? Stella, the teenager that she was, dug her short nails into the skin on the inside of my upper arm, practically vibrating from the anticipation of drama. Yes, I dumbly might’ve mentioned the beta to the girl. I was bored out of my mind unless I was training and couldn’t be held accountable for what came out of my mouth.
Magic or not, I needed to be put down. Stat.
“The teams already made the routes a routine. I’m just assuring the effectiveness of the pairing now. Besides, I always have time for your food.” The shifter was charming, I’d give him that much.
At around six feet, give or take an inch, Ace was a wall of solid muscle perfectly wrapped in sun-kissed skin. Light brown hair in a military cut only emphasized his sharp, rakishly handsome features instead of dampening them, which it would’ve done to most men, but I liked a guy with some hair on his head for … well, I’d leave the rest unsaid. My stomach seemed to be remembering him a little too well, too, because it was perfecting the art of flipflopping while I looked at everything but the wolf. The reminder that he was actually in charge of making sure the pack lands were not breached by whoever wanted me dead made me feel smaller than a speckle of dust.
