Page 5 of A Witchy Spell Ride

“Glass?” she snorts. “I’m not at brunch, sweetheart.”

Vex grins. “Still making friends wherever you go?”

“Always.”

She spins on her stool and kicks her boots up on the bar like she owns the place. “Where’s Reaper?”

“Church,” Vex says. “Handling a border deal.”She nods like it was normal conversation. “Tell him he owes me pie.”

“Noted.”

Selene stays near the door, arms crossed, gaze flicking between club members like she was scanning for something. Or someone. That’s when I notice Banks.

Prospect. New kid. Always too eager. He is standing off to the side, pretending to fix something on the wall. But he ain’t watching the drywall. He’s watching her. His stare is off. Not just admiration or club-level respect. It is… possessive. My jaw tightens.

He doesn’t blink when she moves. Doesn’t smile when Briar makes some stupid joke. He just watches. Predator quiet. I slide off my stool and cross the room. Boots heavy, steps deliberate. He doesn’t notice me at first. He should’ve.

“Banks.”

He snaps out of it. “Oh—hey, man.”

“You got a job?”

“Uh… yeah, yeah. I was fixing—”

“Don’t lie.”

He straightens a little. “Reaper said patch the wall. So, I’m patching the wall.”

I glance over his shoulder. No tools. No bucket. Just drywall dust smeared on his jeans like a costume. I lean in slightly. “Eyes forward. Not on what doesn’t belong to you.”

His throat bobs. “Wasn’t—”

“Don’t insult me.”

He nods quickly and moves, muttering something I didn’t care enough to hear.

I turn back to the room and find Selene watching me. Not a smile. Not a smirk. Just… watching. Her eyes slide to where Banks had been. Then back to me.

The night stretches, whiskey poured. Briar gets bored of tormenting Cross and decides she is now the club’s entertainment, climbing onto the pool table and announcing she is going to perform “karaokewithout music.” Half the brothers cheer, the other half groan, and Cross buries his head in his hands.

She makes it through half a mangled rendition ofSweet Carolinebefore she slips and lands on the table in a fit of giggles. Ash whoops and tries to crown her “VP for the night,” which earns him a glass thrown at his head.

The chaos makes it easier for everyone to forget the tension in the room. Everyone except me. My eyes find Selene again and again, like magnets refusing to break. She keeps her distance, but she isn’t blind to me. Every time I catch her glance, she holds it for a beat too long before looking away.

Banks tries to keep busy, wiping down already-clean tables, fetching drinks no one asked for, but I clock him stealing glances still. He is smarter about it now, but not smart enough. That itch in my gut tells me this won’t be the last time I have to put him in his place.

By the time midnight hit, the air in the clubhouse is heavy with smoke and heat. Laughter ricochets off the walls, whiskey bottles clink, and the music pounds low from the old jukebox.

I should feel at ease here. This is my place. My people. But my focus hasn’t left Selene since she walked in. She isn’t laughing like Briar. She ain’t tangled up with some brother like the other club girls. She stands at the edge of the chaos, eyes sharp,arms folded, like she is both part of this world and apart from it. Same as me.

Vex leans close. “You look like you’re about two seconds from combusting. You gonna talk to her or just burn holes in the air?”

“Shut up.”

He smirks. “Better you than Banks.”

My teeth grind together.