Page 28 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY

barrett

“ S o nice of you two to join us,” Cait said, looking between the two of us as we walked into Willow’s house the next day, fingers interlaced.

Eryne blushed at my side. “Sorry.”

Willow, Damien, Cait, Rina, and Wendy were all already here, with Ezra in the corner, leaning against a wall. I wasn’t sure how he’d gotten himself invited, but figuring that out wasn’t my highest priority right now.

We’d slept in this morning—she was worn out, even though I knew she didn’t want to admit it.

No matter how ready she’d been, I could tell she was moving a little slower this morning.

I’d fully intended on making it up to her, waking her up with my mouth, but we’d been sidetracked with a barrage of texts from her coven, so my plans had been put on pause. For now.

At the moment, it felt like we were two teenagers who’d been caught doing something bad, and I hated that. We were two consenting adults—what we did in our free time was no one’s business but ours. My wolf was restless, wanting me to claim her.

I planned to tell her everything—after the wards were fixed. After this situation was under control. Once I knew there was nothing else standing in between her and I being together. Besides, I didn’t want to add any more stress to her plate.

Later, I promised myself.

“So, what’s going on?” I asked as we settled into the two open chairs at the table. It was storming outside, and it added to the general gloominess that had settled over the gathering. Everyone’s mood felt sour, and I had an unpleasant feeling settle in my gut. My wolf whimpered, wanting out.

Damien crossed his arms over his chest. “When were you going to tell us that you knew what was living outside the wards, feasting on the town’s magic?”

I cursed. Dammit, Ezra. “I only found out yesterday.”

“But you suspected,” Willow stated, frowning.

Nodding, I looked at Eryne. There was hurt in her eyes—hurt that I’d kept this from her. “I didn’t want anyone to worry until I was sure.” I went on to explain everything we knew about wraiths. Ezra and I had never faced one ourselves, but we’d been trained with how to deal with them.

“Knowing that, we’re not sure it’s still a good idea for us to destroy the wards. This being, this wraith ?” Cait practically spat out the word. “Whatever is keeping it out there is the only thing keeping us safe. We have to put the protection of the town first.”

Eryne slammed her fist on the table. “No. The wards need to go. We can recreate them, right? They’re keeping us isolated and not in a good way.

We’ve been kept in the dark for hundreds of years, and for what?

To keep us safe from the others like us?

” She shook her head. “I don’t want to live like this any longer.

We need to know the truth.” She looked to Damien, and then Ezra, though she avoided my eyes.

“Last year, we all thought demons and vampires were bedtime stories told to keep us from acting out. None of us had any idea until Damien came into town that there was even anything we were missing. But now we know. And I can’t go back to that.

” She looked at me. “It might have taken one injured wolf shifter for me to find out, but I know we deserve better than this.”

My mate had a point. It was time to change that—for us to stop being hidden and secluded from each other.

After all, witches and wolves weren’t so different.

I could imagine wolves living here, frolicking through the woods and finding their own places in the community.

It would be their choice, but I knew what I would choose.

I’d choose Eryne every time.

Though my job as a huntsman could put her at risk. I knew it, and yet I couldn’t stop from wanting to be around her. From wanting to keep her. I knew what could happen if we didn’t complete the bond soon, but was she ready for that? Was I ready for it?

I wanted her to want me. To care about me. Not because I was her mate, but because she loved me.

Love. I shut my eyes. It was too soon for something like that. Too soon, and yet… I’d loved her from the first moment I set eyes on her. As soon as we bonded, she’d know exactly how I felt. All of our thoughts and feelings would be shared, and it would be impossible to keep anything from her.

Willow nodded. “You’re right. And it’s not just us who deserves better. Pleasant Grove could be a haven for all of us—shifters and vampires and witches alike. Locking ourselves away from the paranormal community may have been our ancestors choice, but it doesn’t have to be ours.”

“Should we put it to a vote?” Rina asked.

I noticed she was sitting on the opposite side of the table as Ezra, and she’d been glaring daggers at him or pretending to ignore him most of the time we’d been here.

I was intrigued to know if something had happened between them, why she seemed so disgusted by his presence.

Wendy looked between all of us. “I agree with Eryne. And I want to unwrite the wrongs of my ancestors. I think we owe it to everyone in town.”

Everyone murmured their agreement.

“So, we’re still doing it then?” Cait asked.

Ezra brushed a piece of imaginary lint off his suit coat. “Great. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we need to strategize. We have to be smart about this, or else.”

Damien rapped his fingers against the table. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day, Vampire.” His eyes seemed to flash a deeper red.

My partner’s lips curled, revealing his fangs. The wolf inside of me was instantly on edge, sensing danger and ready to leap to action at any second. Demon and vampire—I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out who would win.

“No fighting, both of you,” Willow said, reaching out and putting a hand on her mate. “We’re all working together towards the same goal.”

“Fine,” Damien huffed.

Ezra didn’t say anything, just looked away.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

Hours later, I found Eryne outside on Willow’s back porch, slowly rocking on the porch swing. The girls had mostly moved on to what they needed to do to rebuild a magical barrier that would keep humans out without keeping Pleasant Grove shrouded from all those who weren’t witches.

There was a chance, of course, that they were opening up their home to more evil creatures, the likes of which Ezra and I had tracked and hunted all over the country, but it was a trade off they were willing to make in order to restore balance, the way nature intended.

“Oh.” She blinked up at me. Draped over her lap was a knitted blanket, and she was running her fingers over the fibers while staring out across the street. “Hi.”

Willow had gone all out decorating the house for Halloween—one I’d learned used to be her parents house before they’d passed away many moons ago.

Carved pumpkins decorated the porch, including multiple featuring cats.

The entire neighborhood was decorated, just like Main Street, and it truly felt like it could have been a stock photo or something featured in a magazine.

It was cozy and homey in every way, and though I’d never had strong feelings about the holiday one way or the other, I had to admit that I found it charming here.

I leaned against one of the poles of the porch railing, watching her and studying her face. Last night had been amazing, but she was quiet today,

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Last night was…” I sighed. “I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“We can’t keep secrets from each other,” she whispered. “This will never work if we do. Whatever this is.”

“We’re whatever you want us to be,” I answered, though the words felt like cracks in my heart. I wanted more—of course I did.

Sitting down next to her, I took her hand in mine, pressing a kiss to her soft skin. “What’s wrong, sugar?”

She shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

I rubbed my thumb over her hand. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not stupid,” I promised. “I can’t do anything if I don’t know what’s going on inside that pretty head of yours.” I tapped the middle of her forehead, between her bangs

Eryne leaned her head on my shoulder, letting out a small sigh. “I trust you.” My mate looked up at me, those big blue eyes full of so much emotion that my heart clenched in my chest. “You know that, right?”

I brushed her hair back from her face. “I do. And I’ll do everything I can to be worthy of that trust. I owe you my life, Eryne. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I couldn’t repay that debt in a million lifetimes.”

“It’s not a debt, Barrett. You don’t owe me anything. If I had to do it all over again, nothing would stop me from saving you that night.” She pressed a kiss to my lips. “I’d never regret this. You.”

I cupped her cheek, running my thumb back and forth over her skin.

“Eryne. From the very first moment, I’ve never regretted anything.

And I know it’s fast, but—” Here was my perfect opening.

The chance to tell her. You’re my mate. When I opened my mouth, however, I couldn’t form the words.

“But I want to be with you. No matter what that looks like.”

“After this is all over, are you going to go home?” Eryne asked, wrapping her arms around her torso like she was hugging herself.

Home. What would that even look like now? Was home a place, or was it just a person? And if it was, then home was wherever she was. Home was Eryne.

But that wasn’t what she was asking, and I knew it.

“Probably, yeah. I haven’t seen my family in… awhile.” I shrugged. “It’s overdue.” But I wanted to bring her home with me. To introduce her to Walnut Ridge as my mate—as the witch who had saved my life and showed me a completely different one.

“Right.” She nodded her head, biting her lip. “It’s just…” Eryne looked up at the sky. “Fuck, I didn’t think this would be so hard.”

“Sugar, are you breaking up with me?”

She laughed. “No. The opposite, actually.”

“Thank fuck, because I’m not letting you go.” I pulled her into my lap, cradling her body. “You’re stuck with me, Eryne. No matter what happens, you can’t get rid of me.”

“So, you’ll stay?”

“Yes.” I brushed a strand of hair off her face.

“What about your job?”

“I’m perfectly happy being your twenty-four/seven space heater, baby.

” I winked. “Besides, I can still do my job and stick around town. I can keep Pleasant Grove safe.” That was better than any job I’d ever accepted.

More important, too. Because keeping Pleasant Grove safe meant keeping Eryne safe. Keeping my mate safe.

She let out a sigh of relief, throwing her arms around my neck and holding me tight. I did the same, wrapping mine around her waist, breathing in her sweet scent and letting it steady me. Appreciating the fact that no matter what happened today, at least I had my mate in my arms.

And she was mine.

“It’s time.” Cait’s voice was ominous, like a prophecy we couldn’t escape from, and we all followed her into the backyard. The sun was setting, and we still had to prep for their spell circle before the moon was in the perfect position over the sky.

“We’ll perform the ceremony in the spot where the barrier is the weakest,” Willow explained, like we hadn’t all been there when we made our plan.

She turned to Ezra and Damien. “You two are on standby in case that… thing—” A visible shiver ran through her body.

“—decides to make an appearance. And Barrett will stand in for me.”

“I’d feel better if you stayed in the house,” Damien was saying, not for the first time.

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “And I’m not leaving my girls to do this alone.”

He sighed, like he knew that would be her answer, kissing her lightly as he rubbed his hand over her bump. “I just want to keep my girls both safe.”

I turned away, feeling like I was intruding on an intimate moment between them.

Eryne walked towards me, wearing a velvet cloak over her dress.

The rest of the coven all wore identical ones, with pointy witch hats on their heads, and the energy was completely different than it had been hours before.

Maybe it was because of the full moon, but it felt like I could feel magic buzzing through the air, pulsing all around me.

I could even feel it in my veins—maybe because we’d been created by witches.

I didn’t have magic, but I’d be acting as a conduit, and I was just glad to be able to help.

My mate extended out her hand to me, and I took it, interlacing our fingers.

“We’ll do it together,” I promised her.

She nodded. “Whatever happens, I’ll never regret any of it,” she reminded me.

They were words I’d keep reminding myself of, over and over. Especially because I didn’t know how much longer I’d have them.

How much longer she’d truly be mine.