Page 22 of Witches and Wine (The Mythical Mates of Arcane Cove #1)

Having never been good at reading the room, Harkin lit up the cigar, the embers pulsing orange as he took several puffs and let it rest in the crook of his mouth.

“She hasn’t exactly been the best mate. She’s quick-tempered, selfish, constantly trying to make me jealous, and has no interest in pack affairs.

” The wolf’s neck cracked as he rolled his shoulders.

“I’m not entirely sure why I was mated to her to begin with, but shifters follow the bonds. It’s what we’ve always done.”

Hermes snatched another chocolate bar from his stash with such speed my godly eyes barely caught it. “Can you be mated to another?”

My intrigue was building to the point that I might be persuaded to ask the shifter a question.

“It’s possible. But I’ll be a Lonewolf if need be.

I’d probably be happier at this rate.” Harkin removed the cigar and poised it between two fingers, using his thumb to scratch his cheek.

“My point is, if she wants to reject me, fine. But I at least deserve the fucking respect of her saying it to my face .”

Fuck it. Chelsea was worth the blow to my ego.

“How did you know Malia was yours?” I flicked my claw in the groove I’d already made on the counter.

Harkin arched a thick, dark brow. “Thought you said you’re not a shifter?”

An ego was a fragile, petty fucking thing.

“Forget I asked,” I retorted, turning away.

“For moon’s sake, Wine-o, why do you ask? Hm? I’ll humor your ass,” Harkin countered, blowing a spiraling coil of smoke my way.

For several breaths, I remained silent. Thoughts such as would Chelsea reject me too if she was my mate? Had she had her fill after we fucked? That last one seemed absurd and very unlike the Red I knew, but I was at my wit’s end.

Hermes kicked my shin and widened his eyes at me when I glared at him.

“You have a female you suspect to be your mate, do you?” Harkin asked the question for me, putting the puzzle pieces together before I had the balls to ask it myself, which further agitated me.

I gave Harkin a curt nod. “She’s a witch.”

Harkin looked visibly surprised, his ears perking.

After blowing several smoke circles, he nodded.

“Interesting. I wish I could give you a concrete answer, but it’s different for all species.

Most “monsters”—if you want to label us that—know as soon as they lay eyes on them.

It’s second nature. But like you said—” He pointed at me with the cigar. “You’re something different.”

A Greek god with a beast who was neither shifter nor monster—a fucking paradox I sorely wished for the first time in my clandestine existence that I didn’t have.

“Tell him why you feel she is, though, bro,” Hermes urged.

Sighing, I furiously rubbed my face with both hands.

“I felt this strange connection to her the first time we met. I assumed it was the attraction. She’s fucking hot, and I’ve always dug redheads.

But she was the polar opposite of me, which made zero sense in my head as to why I’d pursue her.

Yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

I became consumed by her.” A daze overtook me, and I stared at the wood grains on the counter, their swirling patterns morphing into Chelsea’s auburn hair when the wind caught it right.

“You felt the urge to protect her? To claim her?” Harkin asked, propping a knee on the counter, a knowing smile edging his lips.

I narrowed my eyes at the shifter because I was treading dangerously close to having to tell him he was right. “Yes,” I whispered, the word coming out more like a question.

“She’s yours, wine god. Not a doubt in my mind about that.” Harkin let out a hearty chuckle. “The real question is, does she know that? And would she even want you?”

Rage tore at my bones at the very implication, and the beast poked through. “What the fuck did you just say?”

Harkin threw his cigar to the floor, glaring at me, fur starting to sprout over his shoulders and neck.

Hermes sped to the cigar, stomping it quickly with his boot before shoving Harkin away. “Alright, Harkin. I’m going to ask you to leave before you two do more than make me buy a new countertop. I’ll zoom your way if and when a letter arrives from Malia. Sound good?”

Harkin pulled away from Hermes’ grasp, the fur disappearing into his skin. He pointed at me, the yellow in his eyes still brightened. “Don’t think you’re better than me just because you’re a god. You lot are just as monstrous as we are. Maybe worse .”

Hermes and I stood motionless and silent.

Harkin gave a final snarl before yanking open the door, not using the same care as he had when he’d closed it and pounding it against the wall.

Hermes eyed the vertical crack traveling down the door’s center and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What are you going to do now, Dion?”

Cracking my knuckles, I forced the beast down, glamouring the horns and claws away. “I’m going to find Chelsea. And I’m going to tell her.”

“Tell her what exactly?” Hermes asked the unease in his tone doing nothing to sway my decision.

“That’s she’s mine .”