Page 33 of The Bookseller and the Alpha (Witch Twins #1)

Calypso

Unlocking my front door, I pushed it open it slowly, unsure what I’d see.

Everything last night had been such a jumble.

The adrenaline punching through me after Elie’s call.

The fight. Knocking my head. The paramedics.

I thought I’d prepared myself for whatever I would find, but I’d been wrong.

At the sight of the damage, I let out a small sound of dismay before I locked my lips on it.

I would not cry. I was strong. I could fix this.

I took a step into the room, surveying the disaster site that was my living room.

Glass shards glittered on my carpet. Crime scene tape spread across the frame of the shattered balcony door, fluttering in the morning breeze.

I didn’t even know how it had been broken.

The apartment was frigid in the winter air.

I’d need to get the glass fixed as soon as possible.

The couch had been overturned in Sam’s scuffle with the intruder and my bright, handmade cushions were spread across the floor.

My chest hurt. Someone had come into my home.

They’d tried to take me. They’d hurt Sam.

Lovely, funny Sam. I took a deep breath, letting the hurt and shock settle inside me.

It had happened. I couldn’t change the past but I could control how I dealt with it.

I could fall in a heap later. I had things to do first.

I found my phone in my bag. The screen was black.

Dead. It figured. But when I plugged it into the charger it powered up instantly, the battery fully charged.

Had Luc turned it off and charged it for me overnight?

I didn’t want to acknowledge the warm flutter in my middle at the thought.

But it dissipated immediately when I saw that Elle had left me over a dozen voicemail messages and a whole series of texts.

Fuck. I’d forgotten to call her. I was a terrible sister.

I read her last text.

Elie: If you aren’t dead I’m going to kill you myself.

I typed rapidly.

Me: I’m fine. I had to get checked at hospital, but no concussion. I’m so sorry.

As I expected, the phone rang thirty seconds later. “Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t answer the phone? At least Luc called me.”

My insides twisted with a mix of relief and annoyance.

Relief that Elie hadn’t had to worry all night, but it was another debt I owed to Luc.

And right now I didn’t want to owe anything to the annoyingly overprotective Alpa.

“I’m sorry Elie. Really sorry,” I repeated.

“I didn’t think. I was groggy and forgot to ring you. ”

“What happened? Tell me everything.”

I filled her in on what we’d learned. That someone was using a portal spell and had bypassed the wards she’d put on my shop. And they’d broken into my home.

“That’s high-level magic,” she said, after a long silence.

“That’s what Luc said.”

The next silence sounded… interested. Shit. I hadn’t intended to tell her anything about Luc. “On a first name basis already are we?”

“Um, yeah.” I worried at my lower lip.

“Do you like him?”

Did I? I could feel my face heating up. Like wasn’t the right word.

He exuded such sexual chemistry that we’d nearly had sex in his lounge room.

Last night and this morning I had liked him.

That was the problem. I liked him too much.

I’d seen past the aloof exterior he showed to the world.

He’d shown me that there was another person underneath.

A caring, compassionate man. A scorching hot man, who’d kissed me as though he needed me like air to breathe and played my body like a virtuoso.

And my heart immediately wanted more than I could have.

“He’s not for me,” I muttered. "I’m just the job.”

Elie sighed down the line. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I’m just stupid when it comes to men.”

“If he hurt you I’m gonna kick his ass.”

“Don’t!” The words came out on a shout. “Please don’t,” I tried again. “It’s no big deal.” Elie said nothing. “Promise me,” I demanded. “It’s my problem. Not his. You can’t fight everyone who makes me sad.”

“I can.” Her voice was hard.

“I love you for it, but just… don’t. Okay?”

“Fine, I promise.”

“Thanks. I gotta go. I’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do and someone’s coming later to ‘improve my security’ apparently. I want to get things tidied up first.”

“I’m glad you’re finally doing something more about safety,” Elie’s voice down the line was warm. “I’ve been telling you for years that you need to do more.”

“I thought maybe you’d organised it.”

“Nope,” she said. “But it sounds like something a high-handed Alpha would do.” She laughed and hung up.

Well, fuck. She was right. But I shut down the thrill that came with that thought. It wasn’t personal. I was part of his investigation. A witness. And maybe there was an ongoing threat.

It was only after the call that I remembered I hadn’t told her about my hair and my eyes. And the levitating. I’d tell her later.

Next, I needed to collect Pompy from Mrs S.

When I followed my neighbour into her apartment, Pompy acted as though I’d been away for weeks, rather than one night.

She was sitting on the couch, in front of the television and her entire body wriggled in happiness, when I walked forwards and picked her up.

She kept wiggling her little body as she covered me in kisses.

“Are you all right?” Mrs S asked as she let me into her apartment. “And the young man?”

“Sam and I are both fine,” I said.

“But you didn’t come home,” she noted. “I was watching for you.”

“A friend looked after me.” Not as much as I’d have liked, I thought.

Mrs S had turned towards the kitchen. “That’s good,” she said. She busied herself putting on the kettle and laying out cups for tea. “Maybe you should stay longer with your friend, until the damage in your place is fixed.”

“I’ll be all right, Mrs S,” I said, ignoring the way my nipples tightened and heat pooled in my core at the idea of staying at Luc’s place.

I sat down at her table, as she brought over the cups of tea, knowing that she wouldn’t let me help and tried to convince myself that I’d be able to sleep in my ruined apartment.

The thought of having a big strong Alpha to protect me was very tempting.

I pushed it away. I am a strong capable independent woman.

I can do this. I don’t need the big Alpha to look after me.

But he’s very sexy, part of my mind argued back.

Gah. No. The man was not for me. I pushed my hair out of my eyes and straightened my spine.

“Pompy and I can camp out in the bedroom. We’ll be fine.

I have lots of blankets.” And that was true.

I had a lot of blankets, mostly handmade, bright scrappy ones.

“And the building security is being improved.”

As I took my first sip there was a noise in the corridor and Pompy barked sharply from her spot at my feet.

“Are you expecting anyone?” My elderly neighbour’s face was pinched with concern.

“I don’t think so,” I stammered. My heart sped up.

I put the teacup down and it clattered against the saucer in time with the trembling in my fingers.

Could it be the intruders coming back? The tea threatened to return.

I hated how anxious I was feeling. I didn’t want to be afraid.

I scooped Pompy onto my lap. “Quiet,” I whispered.

Her tail thumped and she leaned in to lick my ear.

The apartment was silent save for our breathing. Then, loud knocking on a door. I jumped. My door. Someone was at my door. My chest hurt. In my peripheral vision I watched as Mrs S carefully pushed her chair back, avoiding any noise and tiptoed into the kitchen.

“Ms Ferrera, it’s Palace security. You weren’t at the advised location. Please let us know that you are safe or we will have to break down your door.”

I almost melted into a puddle of relief.

Luc had told me to wait for an escort but I hadn’t waited for them.

He had sent guards. In the kitchen, Mrs S had pulled a carving knife out of the drawer and held it low, by her side.

My eyebrows rose. It looked like she knew what she was doing. I shook my head slightly.

Still carrying Pompy, I walked to Mrs S’s front door and peered out the peephole.

I could just make out two women in the same black uniform that Billy and Sam had worn yesterday.

I almost opened the door but then I hesitated.

While it was possible that the people at my door were pretending to be Palace security, it didn’t seem likely.

Still, I needed to start being smart. Leaving without waiting for my guards had been impulsive and stupid. I had to do better.

Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through my contacts.

Knowing how Alphas (and this Alpha in particular) liked control it was no surprise when I saw that “Sexy Alpha” had been added as a new contact.

I rolled my eyes. That wouldn’t do. My fingers tapped a new sequence of letters before I sent him a text.

Me: Did you send me two female bodyguards?

The reply was almost immediate.

Annoying Alpha: Their names are Akira and Leylani. Get them to show you their ID.

Me: Understood. Later we’ll have a conversation about boundaries and privacy.

Annoying Alpha: Your safety is more important than your privacy.

His high-handedness shouldn’t have warmed my insides, but it did. Something about his over-the-top protectiveness made me feel special, even though I knew I wasn’t. I couldn’t be.

I opened the door. “I’m here,” I said quietly. The black-clad figures whirled around.

The woman on the right gave me a small bow. “Ma’am let me show you our ID. Luc said you should have two guards today, after what happened to Sam. I’m sorry we were late, we got a bit held up.”