Page 17 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

“Good. Now what?”

“Wrap my foot around his ankle.”

“Good. Now plant your other foot, bridge up with your hip, and roll.”

One more deep breath, and I plant my foot. I thrust up with my hip… “And roll,” I mutter as I throw the weight of my body toward Rook and roll him onto his back.

“Excellent!” he shouts. “Now spin away from me, and get to your feet.”

Thathe doesn’t have to tell me twice. Once I’m on top of him, I practically leap away from him and scramble to my feet.

Clapping erupts in the background. I know it’s Oliver and Wulf. I know I’m safe in Wulf’s gym. But I can’t quite calm my breathing or my heart. My mind is still racing with panic. In fact, now that I’m free, I’m starting to shake. It’s like the fear I was forced to ignore is now taking over.

I nearly jump out of my skin when Rook steps into view. “You did it, Nora,” he says calmly. Thankfully, he stays out of arm’s reach and doesn’t try to crowd me. “You got yourself out of trouble. You put yourself in control of the situation and got to a position where you were able to escape.Youdid that.”

He’s right. I did it. And it felt good. I take more deep breaths and focus on the fact that I’m no longer pinned to the ground. Rook is so much bigger than me—he’s a freaking werewolf—but I was able to fight him off. It feels good to know I did that.

Rook says nothing else as he waits for me to work through my panic. It doesn’t take too long. Once it’s gone, and I realize exactly what I just did—what Rook just gave me the power to do—tears well up in my eyes, and I throw myself at him, squeezing him in a grateful hug. Rook stands still and lets me squish him.

“Thank you,” I whisper against his chest.

His hand settles against my back, and he rubs gently in a small circle. “You did great,” he murmurs in response. “We’ll practice that more next time, but I think you’ve done enough today.”

I swallow my emotions and pull back from the embrace. I’m suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline has left my body, leaving me feeling sluggish. We share a smile, and then Rook brushes his fingers across my cheek. My heart speeds up again. I can tell he wants to kiss me, but he won’t do it. Not while I’m still all keyed up and just starting to recover from my panic attack. “Go hit the showers,” he says, stepping back.

Once he puts some distance between us, my head finally clears completely. I thank him again, then run off for a quick shower. When I return, Rook, Wulf, and Oliver are all sitting on the bleachers waiting for me. Wulf holds up his hand for a high five, which I give him as I settle onto the bench, facing the small group. “Great job,” Oliver tells me.

I beam a smile at him. Now that I’m not panicked at all, I feel the weight of what I accomplished. He chuckles at my excitement. I point to his laptop and ask, “How goes the Cyber Monday sales? Did you get all your Christmas shopping done?”

He grins. “All of it. How about you? Do you want to go grab some dinner with me and do your shopping?”

“I did mine when I woke up. But I’ll still go grab dinner with you before work.”

“So you’re going back to work?” Rook asks.

He’s frowning, but I don’t know if it’s because he’s worried about me going back to work or if it’s because I agreed to get dinner with Oliver. Deciding I don’t want to know, I give him a nod and say, “It’s time. I know it hasn’t even been two weeks, but I promise I feel fine.”

Rook’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t argue.

“You’re fey,” Wulf says, shrugging. “You heal a little faster than normal.”

I think back on all the times I’ve been hurt and realize he’s right. I’ve always been quicker to heal than I should have been. Not, you know, werewolf or vampire fast, but definitely faster than an average human. “Finally, a superpower I can fully get behind.”

“If you’re going back to work,” Oliver says as he packs up his laptop, “you’re going to need a stronger glamour. The one you’re wearing only covers your looks. It does nothing to suppress your power or conceal your scent. Any average underworlder will be able to tell you’re a siren.”

I give him a helpless shrug. I don’t like that any more than Oliver does, but there’s nothing to be done. “No choice. I don’t know how to do one myself, and this is as strong as Terrance could manage. For all their power, Terrance says trolls don’t have a lot of magical capabilities.”

Oliver sets his computer case down and gives me a long look. “Then I guess I’ll just have to do it.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, as if just saying those words was hard.

Wulf and Rook both gape at him. I’m surprised, but not as shocked as Wulf and Rook. I know he’s been trying to work through his issues with using magic. If anything is going to give him incentive to try, it would be my safety.

I smile encouragingly at Oliver but still give him an out. “Are you sure?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he forces himself to nod. “I can do it. If you could let Rook pin you to the floor, then I can work a glamour.” He gets to his feet and gestures for me to join him. “Come on.”

I do as I’m told. Both Rook and Wulf watch with silent intrigue. None of us wants to do or say anything that might make this harder for Oliver or disrupt his momentary courage. By the time I place myself in front of him, he’s already fidgeting and breathing a little shallow. “Oliver, it’s okay. You don’t have to—”

“No.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “My therapist has been on me about trying at least a simple spell. One that won’t harm anyone and that I’ve had training on in the past. This is the right opportunity. Plus, I’m a lot stronger magically than Terrance. I’ll be able to cover your scent.”

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