Page 22 of Warmongers and Wands
That warning prickled at the back of my neck once more. What was Lucien planning? Maybe the other demon would make sure Bronwyn never freed me. Maybe Lucien was behind my imprisonment here so long ago and wanted to make sure I stayed here, undetected, trapped forever.
But that didn’t matter. What mattered was making sure my witch was safe and with her people and receiving the care she needed to get better.
“No one beyond you and Bronwyn knows I am here,” I replied. “She is sleeping now and it’s dark. Did you want to stay and move her in the morning?”
“No, we need her tonight. I can see just fine in the dark and I’m strong enough to carry her.”
“You’re strong enough to carry her up the side of the mountain alone, in the dark?” Clearly, I’d underestimated these werewolves. Perhaps that one I’d encountered decades ago had been a weakling of their species.
“Yes.” The werewolf scowled. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. Her sisters want to see her and make sure she’s okay.”
Of course they did. I motioned for the werewolf to follow me and led him back to the cabin.
“Stay here,” I told the werewolf, remembering how uncomfortable Bronwyn had been about her nudity. She most likely wouldn’t be happy to have this werewolf come inside when she was covered only by some pelts. And if she wasn’t bothered by the werewolf seeing her naked, then I was.
The werewolf lurked outside the door as I went in. Bronwyn was awake and out of bed, wrapped in a sheet. She was holding onto a small frying pan with one hand, balancing herself against the bedpost with the other. Her reddish-brown hair was a tangled mess. The air sparked with the scent of her magic and sex. Both stirred me. Her magic. Her pheromones. The warmth of her skin, the softness of her hair, how she’d cried out my name when I pleasured her in the bathtub.
I was letting her go. I was letting this witch walk right out of my life, possibly to never return, and it was killing me.
“They’re here for you,” I told her.
She lowered the frying pan, her brow creasing. “Who? My sisters? Why didn’t they come in?”
“They sent a werewolf to retrieve you.”
The frying pan came up again. “A werewolf? Why would they send a werewolf?”
“I don’t know. They’reyoursisters. He said they’re anxious to see you. That’s why he’s here in the dark of the night. He says that he’s strong enough to carry you up the mountain.”
Her frown deepened. “Ophelia would have come with him with her medical supplies. Cassie would have come. Actually, they all would have come crashing through the woods. They would have never sent someone else. And especially not a werewolf. This…this isn’t right.”
I glanced toward the door. “I didn’t necessarily get along with Lucien in hell. It could be that he doesn’t trust your sisters with me.”
She laughed. “Then he would have come himself, not sent some werewolf. Who is it? Which werewolf?”
“I didn’t ask his name,” I told her, feeling like an idiot admitting that.
Her expression told me she was feeling the same. “You were going to hand me over to some werewolf without even asking his name? Let him in. Hopefully it’s Shelby, and you just can’t tell male and female werewolves apart. I mean, I have a hard time telling them apart sometimes.”
I opened the door and the werewolf entered, eyeing me cautiously, then glancing over to where Diebin sat, cleaning a paw. “You okay?” he finally asked Bronwyn.
“Stanley. Why are you here?”
“I’m here to get you, to bring you back. We got your note. Dallas said to come get you.”
“You got my note?” Bronwyn shot a scowl at Diebin, who ignored her.
“He’s a raccoon,” I explained. “Two-legged is two-legged to him.”
She nodded, then turned back to the werewolf. “Do my sisters know I’m here?”
He hesitated. “Dallas sent me. He was going to let your sisters know. I’m supposed to bring you to the compound. I’m guessing we’ll either drive you down to the town, or your sisters will come up and get you.”
Bronwyn tightened her grip on the frying pan. “No.”
The werewolf blinked. “No, what?”
“No, I’m not coming with you. Let my sisters know I’m here and they can come get me in the morning. Until they arrive, I’m staying here. With Hadur.”
