“Oh wow, Noah,” I said on an exhaled breath. He tied to Liath Macha to a post and helped me down.
“I told you it was a beautiful view,” he said, kissing the top of my hair.
“It’s more than beautiful,” I insisted, “It’s unbelievable!”
We ended up sitting in the grass and he told me about the Celtic legend of Liath Macha, who was known as the King of the Horses, and his rider Cú Chulainn.
“On the day of Cú Chulainn’s death,” he said, finishing the story, “Liath Macha refused to be tied to the chariot. It wasn’t until Cú Chulainn stepped in to try and tie him that he gave in, but he cried tears of blood in protest. In battle, Cú Chulainn was struck by a spear and fell out of his chariot. Liath Macha protected his body by killing fifty men with his teeth and thirty with his hooves.”
“And this is the violence you had in mind when you got this horse for your birthday?” I asked dubiously. He laughed.
“That story is awesome! Of course I imagined taking my horse into an epic battle. What young guy wouldn’t?”
We decided to head back down the trail, only this time Noah mounted Liath Macha as well, his arms wrapping around me to hold onto the reins. It was scary knowing there wasn’t someone on the ground leading the way, but Liath Macha was smooth and steady as he followed Noah’s physical commands.
I couldn’t help the smile that fell on my face as I leaned my back against Noah, loving the feeling of his warm strong arms around me.
“This seems pretty epic too, doesn’t it?” I asked out loud. He laughed.
“Absolutely. Riding a horse through nature with a beautiful woman in my arms? Oh yeah, Cú Chulainn would definitely be jealous.”
➹➹➹
Noah
The next day, I discovered my cheeks were sore from smiling so much. I think I told almost every person I interacted with since the moment Sophie and I kissed that she and I were now together. I even brought her up to the man who was delivering new parts for Frankie’s motorcycle. Sophie was joking when she mentioned passing out flyers but I genuinely had the desire to shout the news from the mountaintops.
It was a feeling of such fulfilling happiness knowing that she felt our connection too, that she wanted to be with me in the way I desired her. If only I had known she had been feeling this way all along, I would have wasted a lot less time not kissing her. I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes, focusing on the sensation of the slightest tug on my ribs, pulling me to her. She was at her job interview, no doubt charming the face off of her potential employer.
“Earth to Noah,” Frankie’s voice interrupted my concentration. My eyes flew open to find her waving her hand in front of my face.
“What?” I asked, too happy to be annoyed.
“You’re leaving. I’m sick of seeing your dopey smile,” she answered with mock sweetness, as she leered at me from over the back of the couch.
“Glad to know you’re so happy I’m happy,” I responded sarcastically.
“Personally, I liked you best in your tortured soul days.” She bent down suddenly and lifted the couch off its back legs, causing me to roll to the floor. “Go,” she commanded.
“Where am I going exactly?” I asked. The carpet under my face muffled my question.
“To see your mother,” she responded, taking my spot on the couch, “She has something she needs you to do.”
“What?” I lifted my head in wonder. Frankie ignored me and turned on the television. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up, making my way to Ma’s office. I hoped it wasn’t a bothersome chore or something that would take up too much time. I wanted to be available the second Sophie’s interview was over so that I could hear all about it.
“Ma?” I knocked on her door.
“Come in,” she called out. I opened the door and entered her office, pleased to see her looking like her old self again. She looked up at me and smiled, gesturing toward the chair in front of her desk. “I’m glad you’re home,” she said, as I sat down, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Given our predicament with the Rippings in Canada,” she began, “I was thinking it might be a good idea to reach out to the local coven and see if any of them have an idea of who the witch helping Beau might be.”
My heart plummeted in anticipation of what she was about to say.
“Unfortunately Eden is out of reach, but her daughter Chloe is running the coven in her absence. You two were close friends only a couple years ago, so I figured you’d be the best candidate to reach out to her. She’s more likely to share what she knows with you than anyone else.”
“Eden isn’t available?” I reaffirmed. The only reason Chloe and I had met back in the day was because of Eden’s friendship with Ma.
“I’m afraid not. As acting High Priestess, however, Chloe will have all the information we need. Do you think you could call her?”
“Of course,” I consented halfheartedly. She smiled as I stood up to leave the room.
“I’m sure she’d love to hear that you Arrowed,” she added thoughtfully before I closed the door behind me.
That was exactly the problem. Chloe was the last person on Earth who would be happy to hear of my Arrowing, because in the past when I rejected the clan’s rules about romantic engagements pre-Arrow, I allowed myself to get involved with her. We were young and foolish, but at the time it was exciting to spend a summer fooling around in secret. It all came to a crashing halt, however, when it became all too clear that her feelings were growing serious and mine were not. I was not going to Arrow on her, and I couldn’t allow it to go on any further.
In a desperate attempt to stay together, however, she approached me with a spell that she was convinced could take away the possibility of an Arrow. I could be with her and we would never fear that at any moment I would fall in love and leave her for a complete stranger. She thought I would be happier that this way, knowing I could exercise free will and choose whom I wanted to love. I did not share the same mindset, unfortunately, and it broke her heart that I was electing to love a person I had not even met yet over being with her.
I had often thought back to that moment and wondered whether I made the right choice, particularly when Arrowing seemed to have gone extinct. Given where I was now, however, there was no doubt in my mind that I was grateful to have selected to trust the Arrow to pair me with the right person.
Taking a deep breath, I scrolled through my contacts until I came across her name. I lifted the phone to my ear and silently begged the dial tone to go to voicemail.
“Well, well, well. Noah Mactire,” her voice broke through the dial tone. My palms began to sweat.
“Hey, Chloe, how are you?” I asked, fighting to keep my tone casual.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, Noah?”
“I actually have a question. There’s been some interesting things happening in the shifter world and I was wondering if a certain witch had some insight into it.”
“Interesting things, huh? Three years of the silent treatment, these things must be pretty exciting for you to call me.” I winced and waited for her to continue. “You’ve enticed my curiosity. When should we meet?”
“Meet”? I had been hoping this was going to be a phone conversation. “Oh, uh, um, well,” I stuttered, trying to come up with an answer.
“I had forgotten how eloquent you were,” she interrupted, “Tell you what, tiger, text me with a time and place and I’ll be there. In the meantime, I have to let you go, as I am extremely busy and important. I’m head of the coven now, in case you hadn’t heard.”
“I had heard. Congratulations,” I said earnestly.
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up without another word. I stared at my phone in disbelief, wondering if this was going to be a mistake.
Chapter Thirteen
Sophia
“So I’m going to be upfront and honest with you,” Mrs. Wilson said, folding her h
ands on her small desk, “You probably have the job unless your paperwork shows you to be insane or a criminal.”
“Oh.” I shifted in my seat. “Well, I’m neither of those.”
“Actually, we have hired some criminals now that I think about it,” she thought out loud to herself. I could not believe how blunt this woman was. From the moment I shook her hand she proved herself to be a very upfront and brutally honest woman. “Anyway, from this interview alone I can see that you’re a very intelligent and capable young woman. I just need to run it by my husband and then we’ll review your availability and see if we can come up with a schedule for you. We should have an answer for you by tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s great, thank you so much,” I said, standing up clumsily from my chair. Her office was small and cluttered and maneuvering inside it was not an easy task.
“Don’t thank me, we’re happy to have an extra helping hand and healthy back,” she waved her hand dismissively, “Plus, maybe if you worked here my son wouldn’t act so miserably bored to tears. Speaking of- if you see him out there can you tell him to decide what he wants for dinner tonight?”
“Sure thing,” I agreed dutifully, “Speak to you soon! And thanks again!”
The second I stepped out of her office and into the back aisle I saw Mark, trying to lean casually up against the deli meat station.
“Were you listening in on my interview?” I put my hands on my hips and his face reddened.
“No.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You are so busted.” I started walking towards the front of the store and he followed me, excitedly.
“So?” he asked, “How do you think it went?”
“Your mother is a very direct woman, but I’m still not exactly sure if the job is mine. She said she had to go over it with your dad.”
“Job’s yours,” he insisted. I decided to believe him and broke out into a wide smile. “Hey, maybe I could be the one to train you! That way you get the best insight into all the secrets of Wilson’s Grocery.”
“Secrets?” I asked, “Like what? A secret tunnel behind the dairy fridge?”
“Maybe,” he sang teasingly. I laughed.
“Well thanks. I’d love it if you trained me. Mostly because I don’t know any of the other employees well enough.”
“You’ll get to know them soon. Just wait, by next week you’ll know too much about them.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“What are you up to now? I get off in an hour. We could get ice cream to celebrate and I could give you a little introductory course on the surreptitious lives of our coworkers.” It sounded like fun, but I already had plans.
“I’d like that, but I’m actually headed over to Noah’s.”
“Oh, okay, that’s cool.” He shrugged, and I chewed my lip as I decided this was the moment to tell him.
“Actually, last time we talked I know I told you Noah and I were just friends, but since then that’s kind of changed.”
“Oh really?” His expression was guarded.
“Yeah.” I shrugged, trying to play it off casually. “It just sort of happened. Anyway, I figured I’d tell you so that you’d have a big scoop for all the grocery gossipers.”
“Actually I have a bit of a confession too.” He looked nervous, which made me feel uneasy. “There aren’t any grocery gossipers.”
“What?”
“Don’t get me wrong- people in the town definitely talk, just not as much as I suggested they did. I was just curious about you and Noah but when I asked you seemed a little put off by the question so I decided to blame it on some imaginary elderly rumormongers.”
“I see.” I nodded. He was squirming so terribly I took pity on him and decided to let him off the hook. “So I’m not a local celebrity, then?”
“I’m afraid not.” He smiled, relieved at my sense of humor.
“And here I was, afraid to go outside on a bad hair day.” I sighed in mock disappointment. He laughed and I shoved his arm playfully. “I better get going. By the way your mom wants-“
“-to decide what I want for dinner,” he finished for me. I gasped.
“You were listening!”
“I was curious!” He held up his hands in surrender.
“You are the Grocery Gossiper, Mark Wilson,” I said as I shook my head, disapprovingly. He hung his head in mock self-pity.
➹➹➹
Noah
Since my phone conversation with Chloe, I had been racked with so much anxiety that not even doing mechanical work eased the tension in my mind. I was too preoccupied with worries over seeing her again, and the prospect of telling Sophia my secret. I could tell with each passing day her patience would only lessen more. It was just as Milo warned me, there was only so much longer I could put off the truth. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get over the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
I heard her pull up and I hurriedly went to wipe my hands clean of grease. She had already turned off the ignition and had gotten out of the car before I was clean enough to come out and greet her. Once again she looked amazing, even though she was only wearing jean cutoffs and a white linen shirt. Her grin lit up my already sunny sky and I was immersed in the overwhelming sense of ecstasy that I usually felt when she was happy.
"Hey there.” She ran towards me and jumped into my arms as I kissed her greedily, rejoicing in the knowledge that she was mine and mine alone.
"You're in a good mood," I said, pulling back slightly. I still held her high in the air, my arms around her thin waist. Sometimes she felt so fragile. I'd never forgive myself if I put her in danger. Was telling her my true identity worth the risk?
"Yeah, well," she shrugged as I placed her back down on the ground. Suddenly, the grin was back, "I think I got the job!"
"You're kidding!" I immediately lifted her back up into the air, spinning her around. We stumbled a bit as we kissed again, but I was able to recover our balance without breaking away.
“So what’s the plan for this evening?” she asked, running her fingers through the back of my hair when we finally parted. I resisted the urge to shudder in pleasure at the sensation.
“Whatever you want,” I insisted, “This is your celebration.”
“It’s just a job at a grocery store.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m down for something chill. Maybe a game night?”
“I think the guys would be down for that,” I said, nodding in agreement, “The ranch is closed for a wedding weekend so at the moment mostly everyone’s free.”
“Awesome.” She started to head off toward the house but I reached out suddenly and grasped her hand, pulling her backwards. “What’s up?” she asked tentatively as I began to lead her through the yard to our favorite secluded tree.
“What’s the rush?” I murmured, walking backwards with a raised eyebrow, “It’s only five. We have all evening to play with teams. How about a little one-on-one first?”
“You are so cheesy!” She laughed, but the pink in her cheeks gave her away.
“Is it working, though?” I took her other hand in mine as well. I was practically dragging her, but I was anxious to feel close to her. It felt like it was the only thing that would quell the worry in my stomach and assure me that we were going to be okay.
“Embarrassingly, enough,” she said as we reached the tree, “It is, a little bit.”
I pulled her up against me and positioned us at our spot between the two thickest tree roots. “Good,” I mumbled before attacking her mouth.
She gasped at my intensity, and her hands fisted around my t-shirt in response. I placed my hands on either side of her face as I gently coaxed her mouth open. Groaning at the sensation of our tongues meeting, my hands moved into her hair and I buried my fingers in her wavy locks. She pressed into me, her back lifted from the trunk of the tree and I mentally tried to fight the arousal that she could no doubt feel growing in my pants. The Arrow’s response to her was always so instantaneous I just
wished I could enjoy a couple moments with her without being at risk of coming off like a total horn-dog.
Throwing caution to the wind, I placed my hands under her thighs and lifted her up, turning us around and placing her in my lap as I sat back against the tree. This new position rocked me to my core but I exercised restraint to the best of my ability as my hands gripped her back. My mouth made its way from her lips to her jaw, and I ducked my head under to gain access to her neck. She let out an involuntary hum as I licked at the pulsing vein in her neck. Her heart was beating just as fast as mine. She was just as affected as I was.
The realization of this stilled me and I found myself hugging her tightly, my head laid against her chest to take in every beat of her pulse. We were both panting. She must have sensed the shift in my mood because she laid her cheek against my forehead and began slowly stroking her thumb across my cheek.
“Everything okay?” she asked, when our breathing stabilized. I closed my eyes, taking in one last heartbeat before I leaned back and smiled as convincingly as possible.
“Better than okay,” I assured, “I guess I’m just a little too excitable today.”
“Someone really likes Game Night,” she murmured, her thumb still gliding across my cheekbone. I laughed, taking her thumb in my hand and kissing it.
“No, someone really likes you.”
“Well good, because the feeling’s mutual.” She kissed the tip of my nose and my heart nearly burst from the adorableness of it. I stood, keeping her wrapped around my waist as I kissed her one final time before setting her down on the ground.
“Come on.” I tilted my head towards the house. “Let’s go raid the board game cabinet and see what we have to work with.” She took my hand in hers as we walked back across the yard.
“If we play Monopoly, I call dibs on the car piece.” She swung our arms playfully.
“As you wish, dear.”
“Don’t call me ‘dear’.”
“Bubba?”
“Yes, perfect.”
“Really?”
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