Page 9 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)

I was ravenous, and after barely eating for the last two weeks, I knew why. My metabolism was ten times faster than a regular humans, part of how we managed to heal so quickly. It also meant I had ordered way more food than the witch opposite me, and I was quickly gobbling down dish after dish.

When I finished most of my first plate, I looked up at her. She’d ordered a cinnamon roll with a side of apples, and it was so her, I almost smiled. Watching her was proving to be an enjoyable pastime.

“I never thanked you for taking care of me,” I said, pausing eating to stare at her.

“Oh.” Eryne blushed, dragging a forkful of food through the puddle of icing on her plate. “It was no problem, really. I couldn’t just leave you there to bleed out and…” die. I heard the unspoken word.

“You could have. For all you knew, I was some big, scary wolf, who could have just as easily snapped your neck with my jaw.”

“I did consider that,” she admitted, not making eye contact. “But only for a moment.”

Hmm. So she wasn’t scared of me, then? “What changed your mind?”

“Your eyes. From the first moment I saw them, I thought they looked so human. Now I know why.” She giggled to herself. “You also acted more like a domesticated dog than a wild animal.”

“Blame my wolf,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He likes you.”

Her eyes widened. “Your wolf? Is he like… a separate being that lives inside of you? Can you talk to each other?”

I shook my head. “He’s an extension of myself. I am the wolf, and the wolf is me, but it’s more than that. I don’t know how to explain it, other than we’re two sides of the same coin.”

“That’s…” Eryne twirled a piece of ginger hair around her finger.

“Insane?”

She snorted. “I was going to say incredible. But sure, Wolf-Man, we can go with that, too.”

I chuckled. It was so nice to be able to talk like this, instead of being forced not to speak to her in wolf form for all those days.

“About my stuff—” I started. I’d come here on foot, and I really needed to get it. Otherwise I’d need to buy a new phone and set up a secure connection to contact Ezra.

“Oh. Right.” She looked down at her plate. “I can take you there, if you want. I have a car, and I’m happy to drop you off?—”

I cut her off. “I wasn’t going to?—”

“It’s fine.”

A growl left my throat. “I’m not leaving,” I said, making sure she understood. “I just need my phone, and some of my equipment. But whatever brought me here, I think I need to see it through.”

She just didn’t know that part of what I was talking about was her.

“Oh.” Her blue eyes held mine. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Plus, I need to repay you for the last two weeks. And this meal.”

Eryne waived me off. “You really don’t have to do that. I don’t mind.”

“I insist.”

“Fine. But only because I think you’re right. We do need to figure out what’s going on around here.” She dropped her voice. “And I don’t think I can do it alone.”

“You don’t have to,” I promised.

She’d never have to be alone again if I had anything to say about it.

“ This is where you were staying?” Eryne asked, pulling into the parking lot. She’d insisted on driving, so I was currently in the passenger seat. Her car was small—just like her—and I was looking forward to having a moment to stretch before I drove back to Pleasant Grove.

I shrugged, looking at the run-down motel. Sure, it didn’t look great on the outside, but the bed had been clean, and that was all I really cared about after a long day of tracking. “It got the job done.”

“Wow.”

We got out of the car, doors slamming shut. “That’s my car,” I said, pointing across the parking lot to the retro sports car I drove.

“Wow. I didn’t peg you for a car guy.”

I chuckled. “To be fair, a few hours ago, you didn’t even peg me for a guy.”

“The fur was very convincing.” Eryne stuck out her lip in a fake pout. “Who could blame me?”

I liked this. We were almost… flirting? It felt so natural. I laughed, and the sound felt like something opening up inside of me. A chance to not be alone.

After all these years, I never could have imagined how good it might feel to know the possibility was there. We had an easy rapport—a comfort that felt almost too good to be true. I didn’t want to ruin it by saying something stupid.

What if I told her the truth, and everything changed? I couldn’t risk it.

“They probably emptied the room since it’s been a few nights. I probably need to go check in with the front desk.” I’d left my car keys and everything in my bag that night before I’d shifted.

“Okay.” Eryne stayed by my side. I liked that she wanted to be next to me, instead of choosing the easy way out and waiting in the car. “Let’s go get it.”

An hour later, we were back on the road. I’d successfully managed to get all my things back—it only took going a little alpha male at the front desk guy, and some growling. My car was, thankfully, in working order. If I’d waited a few more days, it would have been towed.

Eryne was right in front of me as we drove back to Pleasant Grove, and I was doing everything I could to keep her car in sight. I would have much rather had her with me in mine, but at least things could change now.

As I drove through the wards, the sensation fizzling over my skin but not burning this time, I wondered if what we talked about earlier was true.

Were the wards weakening? Or were they failing entirely?

Unless it something else entirely. If the town had been set up so only witches could get in and out, that didn’t explain how two demons had found this place.

Magic from that many witches was powerful.

Eryne was right. Something was going on here.

She pulled into her driveway, and I took the time to really appreciate her small house.

I’d been a wolf the first time I’d entered her house—and passed out from the blood loss—and this morning, I’d had too much on my mind.

But it was cute. There was a porch swing on the front deck, and even though the house only had one story, it had a charm to it.

Honestly, this place reminded me so much of Walnut Ridge. Even though we were a few hours from the town I’d grown up, it felt comforting.

Though maybe that didn’t have anything to do with the town, or the house. Maybe it was all my mate.