Page 18 of Witch Unexpected
The woman twisted in her seat to look at me. I recognized her as Bethany from admin at the Magiguard offices.
She gave me a thin smile. “Oh, hello. We didn’t know you came here.” She said it as if insinuating they would have avoided the place otherwise.
I returned her smile with a thin one of my own. “Itisthe only outlier café in Necro City.”
She nodded. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”
She looked at me as if I was someone to be pitied, and it hit me that Keith had told her. He’d told her about our shitty date and Jasper. My stomach knotted, and annoyance flared in my chest. I was too fucking old for this shit.
Keith’s gaze kept flicking over my shoulder as if he was looking for someone… Wait. Was he looking for Jasper?
“He’s not here, Keith.”
Keith blinked and nodded. “Of course. It’s warded. It’s safe.”
How could I have ever thought Keith was a fuckbuddy candidate? I mean, I had standards. The man attached to the cock I chose to ride needed to have some balls.
He reached across the table and patted the brunette’s hand. “It’s warded,” he said again.
“Urgh. Fucksake, Keith. Grow a pair.” I turned on my heel and headed back to the counter.
Leana already had a paper bag ready for my brownies, and the hot chocolate was in a takeaway cup.
“Love you,” she said, then she leaned in. “Want me to pee in his mocha?”
“Nah, he’s not worth it, babe.”
I headed out the door. So far, no guy was.
* * *
“What about this one?”I set a large black shoulder bag on the bed. “Is that comfy?”
Wren eyed the bag. He moved closer and sniffed it, and then he opened it and pushed his head inside.
He jerked back out, eyes wide. “Dark inside.”
“I know, but you can ride with your head out.”
He looked wary.
Okay, maybe asking him to ride in a bag to the pack house wasn’t the best idea. He’d been caged for so long.
“It’s fine. It’ll be dark out. I can wrap you in a blanket and carry you.”
I tugged on my boots, four-inch heels but super comfy with a customized sheath for Trixie, my handy dagger, because you never knew.
Dean, my not-ex, had been good for one thing other than breaking my heart. He’d taught me to fight, hand to hand, blade to blade, and win. Right now, with the amulet muting my powers, Trixie was an insurance policy.
I adjusted my jacket and studied myself in the full-length mirror. I’d pulled my golden hair back into a low ponytail and added some dangly earrings, a little blush, and mascara. I didn’t do make-up, but we were having supper at the pack house, which meant Dean would be there, and Dean and I… We had a little history, and although he wasn’t my ex, he was as close to an ex as I was going to get, so, yeah, I wanted to look hot.
I held out my arms to Wren. “Shall we?”
He leaped onto me and scrambled up to sit on my shoulder. Despite his chunky appearance, he was light. Mainly all fur. I barreled down the steps, grabbed my bag, and yanked open the door, ready to head out when my phone rang shrilly in my pocket.
I eyed the caller ID. Elijah? “Hey.”
“Cora, where are you?” he asked.
