Page 36 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
barrett
ONE MONTH LATER…
“ W ake up, baby” I said, reaching over my center console and placing my hand on my mate’s thigh, squeezing it lightly. She gave a grunt of annoyance, blinking her eyes open a few seconds later.
“We’re almost there, sugar,” I told her, knowing the sign for Walnut Ridge was coming up soon. An excitement filled me like I hadn’t felt before—at least, not in a long time.
I couldn’t wait to show her everything. It was my first time going home in so long, and I couldn’t wait to show my fiancée the town I’d grown up in.
To have my family meet her, to get to know the woman I loved.
She’d taken off work from the café for the next two weeks, ensuring everything was ordered, schedules were made, and everything was prepped so the operation would still run without her.
If anything else happened that my mate hadn’t anticipated, they could always call her and she would troubleshoot from here.
But I was glad to be taking her away. To get her all to myself for awhile. No coven, no coffee shop, no best friends. Just the woman I was going to marry and me.
I squeezed her thigh again, not taking my hand off of it, simply running my thumb over her skin. That was how we’d spent most of the drive, because my wolf hated when I stopped touching her, even for a second.
He was damn possessive, but so was I, so it all worked out.
The pull-out for the overlook came up on the road, and I turned off, parking the car and going around to open her door. She placed her hand in mine and I guided her towards the railing.
“Welcome to Walnut Ridge, Eryne,” I said, tugging her into my side. We stood at the overlook, the town expanding below us, nestled between the mountains. It was the perfect place to hide a community of shifters, to assure we’d never be discovered by the humans who once hunted us to near extinction.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, eyes wide as she took in the view.
There was a light layer of snow that had settled over the town—common for November in Vermont—and it looked every bit like a winter wonderland. My wolf ached to run, to jump and leap through the snow, but I wanted to capture every single one of Eryne’s reactions, so I didn’t dare shift.
“It’s even better in the fall,” I told her. “When all the leaves are orange and yellow, the landscape looks like a blanket.”
Eryne let out a happy sigh. “I can’t believe this place is real,” she whispered, her fingers reaching out like she expected it to be a painting.
“I know what you mean,” I said, tugging her to my side.
We were both wearing jeans, though Eryne had pulled on her favorite dark green sweater this morning and a pair of Doc Marten boots, while I’d grabbed a waffle knit thermal shirt and my favorite jacket.
Pressing my nose to her head, I inhaled her sweet scent.
Somehow, she always smelled like apples and cinnamon, though I’d determined part of that was her apple shampoo. Still, she was good enough to eat.
“Ready to meet my family?” I asked, turning to her.
She nodded, twisting her ring around her finger. “Are they going to think this is crazy? That we jumped into this so fast?”
I shook my head. “My mom’s going to love you. And so is Freya. I just know it.”
Besides, wolves moved notoriously fast. Once someone found their mate, it was hard to resist the pull of fate. I should know—I’d tried my hardest for so long to hold back. It had been impossible while being surrounded by her sweet scent and soft smile though.
My wolf let out a grumble of satisfaction as she reached up, running her fingers over my beard. She liked it, so I’d let it grow in, keeping it well-groomed but at the length Eryne seemed to love.
With a deep inhale of breath, she pushed her shoulders back, looking at me then the town nestled between the ridge. “Let’s go.”
We both got out, shutting the door behind us, and I interlaced our fingers as we walked up the path, pressing a kiss to the top of her hand. My mother’s house was just the same as I remembered it—small, cozy and warm, but filled with so much love. It smelled like fresh-baked bread and home .
Though it wasn’t home anymore—home was the witch beside me, the one who had captured my heart and soul.
“Remember that I love you,” I said, holding her gaze.
“That bad?” She laughed.
It was the opposite. I was pretty sure they were going to shower her with so much affection she wouldn’t know what to do with it. I just smiled. “You’ll see.”
I knocked on the door, finding my mom at the other side, wearing an apron covered in flour, her hair pulled back into a tight braid.
She had the same face as Freya and I, the same dark auburn hair we all shared and the same amber eyes as mine.
Meanwhile, Freya had gotten my dad’s blue eyes, and both of our parent’s love of reading.
She was a librarian, a year younger than Eryne, and my best friend growing up.
“Barrett,” she said, wrapping me up in a bear hug before I could even protest. “My baby boy is finally home.”
“ Mom ,” I protested, trying not to roll my eyes because I was closer to thirty than ever, and she still treated me like I was the toddler who didn’t know how to shift yet and was scared of the dark.
She let go of me, and her eyes drifted over to Eryne, who was standing on the porch awkwardly. “Oh, and you brought someone with you. Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hi,” Eryne murmured, looking bashful.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet someone important to me. Eryne. My mate.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
“After all these years, he finally brought home a nice girl.” Mom gestured inside. “Come on. Let’s get you both inside and then you can tell me the whole story. I’m sure you’re both tired from the long drive.”
I left our bags in the car and headed inside my childhood home.
“You look…” Eryne whispered as we followed my mom into the kitchen. “ Wow .”
I laughed, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “I know. We get that a lot.”
“Mom,” came my sister’s voice. “Who was—” Her eyes widened as she saw me. “B.” She grinned.
“Hi, Fey.” I opened my arms for a hug.
When we pulled away, she peered at Eryne curiously.
I turned to my mate. “This is my sister,” I said, gesturing to the dark auburn haired woman. “Freya. Freya, this is Eryne. My mate.”
“Hey,” Eryne said, sounding shy. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Freya’s blue eyes lit up as she took in the woman at my side.
“Well, I definitely didn’t expect this when you said you were finally coming home for visit, but I can’t say I’m upset.
” My mate stuck out her hand for a handshake, but my sister went in for a hug instead.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Freya turned her attention to me. “Wow. Mated. Look at you.”
I puffed up my chest, wrapping an arm around my mate and pulling her into me. “It’s a long story, but we’re happy.”
She rested her hand on my chest, nuzzling into me. “Yeah. We are.”
Freya’s eyes widened, and that was when I realized that it was her left hand—the one wearing my ring—that was in full view. “You’re getting married?” She practically squealed. “Why didn’t you lead with that? This is so exciting!”
Eryne blushed, her blue eyes catching mine. “It’s still new.”
The engagement still felt like a dream to both of us.
After I’d proposed on Halloween—not wanting to wait any longer—we were taking our time with figuring out when we wanted to get married.
After all, we’d only been together for a little over two months now.
I didn’t care if we got married tomorrow in the woods, but I wanted Eryne to have the wedding of her dreams. Whatever that looked like.
“I’m so happy for you. I can’t believe my brother is getting married.”
“What about you? Any boyfriends I should scare off?”
Freya wrinkled her nose. “You think I have time with how busy I am working at the library? Besides, you know how small this town is. Who would I even date?”
“I keep telling you there’s some nice boys down at the fire station, sweetie,” my mom said, coming into the living room holding a plate of cookies. “You never know.”
Freya groaned. “Mom, my mate is not some firefighter who is going to waltz out of the station and sweep me off my feet.”
“You never know.” My mom winked. “I have a good feeling.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “You have a lot of feelings. Doesn’t mean they come true.”
Eryne looked at me and snorted. “I said that once, too. Turns out he sort of did.”
I leaned down, pressing a kiss to her nose. “You saved me first.”
“At least one of you is settling down. Come on. Tell me everything.”
Hours later, we left my mom’s house, our backset full of baked goods after we’d finished dinner. We’d told her our entire story—or at least the PG version of it—and she couldn’t believe it was real.
They’d also only been a little pissed at me for keeping my job a secret all these years, but hey. You win some, you lose some.
And I’d won a lot with my mate.
“She’s amazing,” Eryne said, letting her eyes drift shut as she relaxed into the seat. “Your mom.”
“And only a little intense,” I joked.
I started driving towards our family’s cabin in the mountains. Mom had asked us if we wanted to stay with them for the night, but we wanted our privacy.
After all, I had plans for my mate.
My girl hummed. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s beautiful.”
I squeezed her thigh. “Just wait. It’s only better up at the cabin.”
She gave me a shy smile. “Do I get to see you run around in wolf form again?”
I barked out a laugh. “Maybe. Why do you ask?”
Eryne gnawed on her lower lip. “I think it’s hot, watching you shift. Plus, I like your wolf. He keeps me warm, remember?”
“I keep you warm, too,” I reminded her, thinking about exactly what I planned to do to her tonight once we got back to the cabin. After I stripped her bare, making her come on my tongue, I wanted to make her scream my name until her voice was hoarse.