Page 26 of My Hexed Honeymoon (The Bridgewater Pack #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The trail curves upward, damp earth soft beneath our hiking boots. I shift the weight of my pack higher on my shoulder and follow the invisible thread tethering me to Talia. She hikes a few feet ahead, curls bouncing, humming under her breath like this is just a nature stroll while Riven sulks.

It’s almost like they’ve switched places. Since the vampire’s been a thorn in my side since they arrived at my wedding, I can’t help but be extra amused by that.

Although our dangerous mission went disturbingly well, so I’m not sure why Riven’s so damn moody.

They certainly didn’t hesitate to jab at Talia and me when we were arguing and fighting our sexual tension on the hike up—then there was the blatant flirting with my wife—so again, struggling to care, though Talia’s trying.

Talia. Natalia. My wife.

Her ass.

Her laugh.

My growing obsession with her is the only thing going through my head, a record stuck on repeat.

I should be focused on our surroundings—the rustle of branches overhead; the distant bird calls; our sketchy vampire companion; and how much farther we have to go.

But mostly I’m replaying the taste of Talia’s skin and all the needy little noises she made as I moved inside her this morning.

I could live in that moment for the rest of my goddamn life.

I’d convinced myself this trip would be about duty. Finding the Blood Loom. Protecting the pack. Enduring my forced marriage to a witch.

Suddenly it’s become so much more.

Talia slows as we reach a break in the trees. A stream cuts through the forest, wide and glittering in the noonday sun. She waits until I draw even, then glances up at me with that unreadable expression she’s so good at giving me.

“I need to sit by the river and cool my blistered feet for a bit,” she says.

“We need to return home and use our weapon for the war we’re embroiled in,” Riven snaps. “Your fragile human needs are even more bothersome on the way down—just suck it up and let your pup carry you the rest of the way.”

Well now we have to soak our feet and take our sweet time.

I stretch out my fingers and take her hand. “Take your time. Whatever you need, baby.”

“Come with me?” There’s a hint of desperation creeping into her voice and the green eyes she turns on me.

“Fucking humans,” Riven says, storming toward a shady cluster of trees.

“I’m a witch, fuck you very much,” Talia calls after them, so I guess she’s done placating the vampire. I have to hide my grin behind my fist, but if I’m being honest, I don’t try very hard.

Let the bloodsucker see she chose me.

More than that, though, I’m proud. I know she doesn’t stand up for herself very much, and I think that’s the first time she referred to herself as a witch that I didn’t flinch.

“This way.” Her voice is soft, but the undercurrent is serious.

We veer off the main trail, following the water downstream. The hum of insects grows louder, the air thick with the smell of moss and pine and something faintly sweet—like crushed wildflowers underfoot.

As we near the river, I hope talking isn’t what she came here to do because it’s way too fucking noisy.

“Is this loud enough to drown out what we say?” she asks, and I’m about to reply yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking.

“If we find a place upstream”—I speak loudly, my throat waking up after a stretch of silence— “it’ll be calmer near the bend.”

She shakes her head. “I mean can Riven hear what we say if we stand here?”

Oh. This is a different kind of talk, and I’m not sure why I’m nervous. I rub my palms over my jeans like I’m an awkward kid in high school, worried his girlfriend is about to dump him before the big dance.

“They won’t be able to hear us,” I answer, my nerves prickling. “I can hardly sort out the noise from here.”

“Perfect.” Talia pulls off her pack and crouches beside the stream, staring at the ripples like they might contain the secrets of the universe.

Is she really going to drop a bomb like that and then play in the water? “I gotta say, suspense effectively built. You’re killing me here—what’s going on?”

She gestures me down next to the water, and I slide my pack off and crouch next to her on the damp grass.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she says without looking up. “I wasn’t sure… but then today it’s still here and it’s not like I have anyone else I can trust.”

“Thank you?”

Flustered, Talia runs a hand over her face. “Shit, sorry. Why is this so hard?”

My muscles go tight. “This is getting worse and worse by the second, and I don’t even know what this is.”

“It’s not bad, exactly,” she hedges, “but it’s important. And weird. Which is why I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”

“Okay,” I say carefully. “I’m all ears.”

As if afraid to commit to her plan before this very moment, she nods to herself and settles more fully in place. “I’m choosing to trust you. I need to be able to trust you.”

“You can trust me,” I promise, letting my vow ring through the words.

After glancing around one last time, she looks me dead in the eye and says, “There’s something off about the Blood Loom. The vampires aren’t telling us everything.”

My gut clenches. “You think it’s a trap?”

“I think there’s more to it than they let on.

And not just because it’s carved from someone’s freaking femur and etched with coven runes,” she adds, her mouth twisting.

“The way Riven’s acting only confirms my fears.

It’s more than a way to amplify their magic, Diego.

And this is where it gets weird, it’s also… connected to me.”

Foreboding causes the back of my neck and my scalp to tingle. I already know I’m not going to like the answer—that it’s going to be connected to witch magic and I’m still trying to be okay with that.

I lick my lips and force out the low question, all too aware of why we needed the noisy water to cover our conversation now. No matter how I try to twist it around in my head, if we don’t hand over the loom, we’ll be going to war with the vampires.

I’m not saying I’m not willing, but I’d like a lot more information before sentencing any of my pack members to die. “Connected how?”

“In the Hollow a voice told me I was deeply connected to the loom and the power within the shadow realm. And when I found the loom… I was holding it. Not me, but a different version of me if that makes sense.” She shakes her head again.

“I mean, I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s like the loom…

recognized me. Like it belongs to me. Like it’s meant to be mine. ”

The words settle over me like a chill.

“And not in a power-hungry way,” she says, her voice so quiet my ears have to strain to hear, even from right beside her.

“In a protective way. Like the Blood Loom truly could be the key to changing the tide of this war, but only if it’s used by the right person, and I know down in my bones, that’s me.

“Because if the vampires or anyone else gets their hands on it…”

“They’ll use it for bad. Basically,” I add when that sounds too simple for what we’re dealing with.

“What do you want me to do?”

Tears rise in her eyes, and I’m afraid I’ve said something wrong until she lunges and wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you,” she says.

She sits back on her heels, her expression resolved where worry was before. “Riven wasn’t kidding when they said the vampires are running out of patience. Once we return to the compound, we’ll tell them that we need to study it more. They’ll be mad but it’ll give us time to figure things out.”

Talia sinks her teeth into her lower lip, back to worried once again. “Actually no, they’ll summon vampires who’ll come running the instant they find out.”

I nod. She’s not wrong. I didn’t want to tell her that her original plan was far too optimistic, but the information is too heavy for me to celebrate.

This whole mission just went from done and about to wrap up nicely to entirely fucked within a handful of hours.

“Diego, I need you to help me protect it at all costs,” she says quietly, her hand drifting to the pack where she’s secured the loom. “I need you to keep it safe, not just from Riven and the rest of the vampires… but from everybody.”