Page 37 of Witchblood
Liam pulled us to a stop and gazed down at me. “You trust him more than the Volkov?”
“The fae can’t lie.”
“But they are really good at bending the truth,” Liam pointed out.
“You’ve met a few fae in your time then? At least with them you know to sort of expect betrayal. They look out for themselves first. Most won’t lie to your face, even if they are twisting the truth. It comes out as a poetic brush off if they are avoiding telling you something. With the wolves it was always pretty lies until the claws came out. I prefer knowing to always watch my back.” I’d never felt safe amongApa’s pack outside my wards. “Instead of waiting for someone I thought loved me to stab me in the back.” Plus I always felt like Robin hid in my presence somehow. Maybe the other fae couldn’t find him if he were surrounded by wolves or evenwitchbloodlike mine. We never talked about it. I just knew I had his back and he had mine.
“Are you talking about Felix or someone else?”
I said nothing. Liam was right about me running from a lot of my past. I wasn’t ready to share that yet. Not even with Liam. I’d been too young, and the past year made me too raw.
“What did they do to you? There are no stories of anyone hurting you. In fact, it was always the opposite. Tales spread about how thewitchchildfooled the Volkov again, or got away with another prank.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything people tell you. It’s a lot like a game of telephone. By the time it gets through to the other side, nothing is actually as it was.”
Liam seemed to just examine me for a minute. “The Volkov loves you. Anyone can see that.”
Did he? I wasn’t so sure. Not after Felix. But perhapsApa’saffection had more stages than most and Felix just ranked above me. Biological bond and all that.
“Hmm.” Liam huffed after being rewarded with silence again. He tugged us back toward the bakery. Another line was forming. “I need you to make more muffins.”
Not a smooth subject change, but I let it go. “Okay.”
“And eat something. There’s fresh bread and cold cuts in the freezer.”
“Yes, sir,” I said as we entered the shop and went off to attend the crowds. Thankfully he was leaving me alone to brood for a while. Maybe the next time he asked me something personal I’d be able to share something. Or maybe I should just go with my gut instinct and run before I got us both killed.
Chapter 17
The day flew by in a flurry of customers, baking, and conversations with the locals who were a very chatty bunch. I’d ended the day by giving a boy who appeared to be around four years old, a free cookie from a sample batch I’d thrown together during a lull. The shop didn’t have cookies regularly. Much like their cake rules, cookies were special request. Liam’s comment was just that they couldn’t do everything, though the bakery would be expanding and eventually have more variety. His pointed look at me while saying that did make my heart pound a little. I dabbled in baking, but tea and alchemy had been my passion. Liam didn’t push when I didn’t reply. Maybe he was getting used to my silent brooding.
“What’s your name?” I asked the little boy. He had a mop of brown curls and rich burgundy colored eyes. His mother stood a few feet away talking to Liam about something to do with an upcoming meeting. She wasn’t a wolf, didn’t smell like wolf, and neither did her son, but maybe they were related to one who didn’t come around much.
“Nicky,” the little boy told me.
“Nice to meet you, Nicky. I’m Seb. I’ll need you to give me your honest opinion of this cookie. It’s a new recipe.” I’d already asked his mother if the boy had allergies and she’d indicated he could eat anything I gave him.
“I like cookies,” Nicky told me.
“All kinds of cookies?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, as a connoisseur of cookies, I must have your opinion.” I held out the plate of cookies and waited as he carefully selected one. A chocolate chip cookie was a chocolate chip cookie, but I’d worked hard to balance the white and brown sugar ratio for the perfect chewy snap. Nicky took a giant bite, nearly shoving the entire cookie in his mouth all at once. I had to fight to keep from laughing. In less than a minute he was covered in chocolate, but the grin was worth it. The cookies had his stamp of approval.
“Sorry for the mess,” I told Nicky’s mother when she came to retrieve him.
“Kids attract messes. It comes with the territory. Thanks for distracting him while I got my work order placed. Usually he’s pawing the glass and begging for everything in the case,” she said.
I grinned down at the little boy who was busy licking chocolate off his fingers. “Now that’s understandable. I want everything in the case too.”
Liam handed her a bag of cookies and a stack of napkins, thanking her again for her business as he escorted her out. Since it was almost four in the afternoon, I was beat. Not that I hadn’t done long shifts before, but I didn’t have the stamina of a werewolf, and I was still healing.
“Dylan’s going to drive you home,” Liam said as he came back in.
“What about you? You’ve been here all day too.” Shift had changed for everyone else. Liam had tried to get me to go home at lunch time, but I’d been in the baking zone by then and not willing to leave batter unattended. My leg hurt and I’d been nursing a headache most of the afternoon. If he could keep going, so could I. I tried not to think too hard about how safe I felt with him close.
“I’ve just got to prep the evening crew. We’re only open another two hours anyway. Maybe once next door opens up we’ll run later, but right now it’s just easier to put everyone on the morning rush than linger for the few who trickle in late.” Liam never stopped moving. He didn’t wait for someone else to do any of the work. If the shelves needed to be stocked he did it, he mixed batches, ran the checkout, and even brewed coffee. I couldn’t help but stare at him in awe. In my entire life I’d never met an alpha so involved in everyday normal things. It was likelifewasn’t beneath him. He wanted to live in the here and now, even if that made him sweaty and tired.