by Vera Sparks
Axle had his head raised cautiously, and Otis sprawled out beside him, his mismatched eyes staring at the door curiously.
I glanced at the map that was still in progress before hurrying to the door.
I swung it open, thinking I might have to put on a fake smile for a neighbor or something, and wondering if I should’ve brushed my teeth first.
“Percy?” I froze as the werewolf gave me a sheepish smile.
My werewolf. My somewhat boyfriend who’d broken up with me a few days ago, hence why I’d pursued Alex.
“Hey, Ivy,” Percy shifted awkwardly in his leather jacket and jeans, and I softened. It was hard to stay mad at him, he was always so sweet.
“What’s up?” I got right to the point as I held the door closed.
Percy noticed this and his brow furrowed a bit.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“Now’s not the greatest time,” I sighed. Not with Alex, the Monica thing, my father, and my Sorceress truth. Now was really not the greatest time.
“Oh,” I saw the sadness and slight anger well in his eyes as he looked down, his jaw set. He thought I wasn’t alone. Which was true, but not in the way he thought.
“Maria is here, and she’s sleeping, she’s gone through some crazy shit. Her brother used black magic to heal her Mom and now her Mom’s turned dark,” I informed him.
“Damn, that’s bad,” Percy said, a tinge of relief evident in his voice. Typical.
“So, can we do this another time, please?” I gave him a soft smile in hopes of making him agree. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. How would I explain to him Alex? That I was giving that a go now? I certainly hadn’t waited, which I probably should have, but as much as Percy meant to me, Alex had always been there, and I’d fallen for him so long ago.
“I do think we really need to talk,” he said as he set his jaw stubbornly.
Damn ‘wolf.
“Fine, but can we do this somewhere else?” I muttered. My stomach knotted and my shoulders were tense at the thought of dealing with this. But it had to be done. Besides, it wasn’t like he lived around the corner. His pack was roughly two hours away.
“Um, sure, we can grab breakfast?” he suggested, giving my pajamas a quick once over. I withheld from covering my breasts, knowing that the uneasiness I felt had made them perk up, and he’d seen that through my top easily. Although, considering he’d seen a hell of a lot more than me, I figured it shouldn’t matter.
“Let me get changed,” I said. “Stay here.”
I closed the door on him and sighed as I leaned against it. I really didn’t want to do this right now. Why’d he have to come now?
I padded to the kitchen and jotted a note down for my Dad to call me if needed, and to take Axle out for the toilet first thing.
Axle was watching me with his head cocked, and I silently walked over to give him a reassuring pat and to stroke Otis. The little pig made a soft squeak in contentment at the touch.
I then made myself invisible and drifted into my room to avoid waking Maria. A quick glance at the bed revealed she was fast asleep, and I went through the door to my walk-in closet.
I solidified as I quietly changed in the dark, using the minimal light under the door to work with as I threw on a bra and blue day dress. That would have to do.
I drifted back out to the living room and grabbed my purse and phone off the counter before heading for the front door. I opened it up to find Percy waiting patiently for me.
“There’s a good waffle place nearby, I’m assuming you drove?” I said as I locked the door behind me.
“You look beautiful,” he stated, his voice low and husky.
I gritted my teeth at his words. It made my body warm, and I turned and smiled sweetly.
“Thanks, you look good too,” I brushed past him, wanting to avoid the possible kiss he’d try to move in for. I was still annoyed with him, although I was more focused on other things.
“I did drive, we can take my car,” he said as he followed me, and I could sense his unease with me. “You’ve pretty much stopped using yours.”
He was right, I’d started jumping even more lately, and my poor little silver Volvo sedan was left gathering dust in the building’s underground parking lot. I should probably start it and make sure it still ran.
We walked in silence to the elevator and waited for it to arrive quietly. The tension that sizzled through the air made me shift uncomfortably as I tapped my foot impatiently. I could feel Percy staring at me, and I fought the urge to take in his strong jawline, his beautiful brown eyes, his dark scruffy hair and the short, trimmed beard. Only a handful of days ago I was lying next to him, awing at his deliciously handsome looks as we had fun in bed.
Not now. Things were different. He’d gotten upset with me when I’d gone to my friends for help when he couldn’t assist, one of which was in his pack, after he’d told me not to get his pack involved. He’d then demanded time, which in my mind, meant things were done. And yet, here he was, soulfully looking at me.
The elevator arrived, and I stepped in and moved to the side to allow him in. I chewed my lip as I held my arms awkwardly.
We didn’t speak on the ride down, but I knew he wanted to, the way he went to start, then he’d shut his mouth and shift his posture, his leather jacket rustling in the quiet elevator. Strange, that my fancy apartment building hadn’t invested in elevator music.
In such a confined space, I could smell his musky scent, his natural werewolf pheromones or whatever that had made him so much more attractive to me. He never wore cologne as it was too strong for his sensitive nose.
We arrived at the bottom floor and I stepped off briskly and headed for the door with Percy tailing behind me. I was still trying to figure out what to say to him. How to say I was giving Alex a shot, even though logic said I should’ve waited for Percy. Whereas my heart, the stupid little thing that it was, yearned to pursue the Australian vampire who I’d become so close to over the past few years.
I spotted Percy’s beat up old navy blue truck on the curb. He would’ve gotten in trouble eventually from reception for it, but our underground parking lot was locked.
Percy unlocked his truck and darted around to hold open my door. I chewed my lip as I thanked him and climbed in. Trying to win himself extra points for being a gentleman.
Percy ran back around and jumped in. The engine sputtered to life, and I relaxed, hoping he’d be too focused on the road in the early morning city traffic to worry about talking.
I was wrong.
6
“I’m sorry for getting upset with you about the warehouse thing. I just really didn’t want my pack involved. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt or winding up in the cages,” Percy murmured as he navigated the three lanes we were now in.
“I know,” I said softly.
“I shouldn’t have gotten so upset,” he sighed as he clenched the steering wheel.
What more did he want me to say? That all was forgiven? If I said that, he’d expect things to go back to the way they were. But it couldn’t. Not with Alex and I now.
“I missed talking to you, hearing your voice, just texting you,” he smiled sweetly.
I shifted uncomfortably as my stomach twisted and my chest tightened. All my muscles were quivering with pent up tension at this whole situation. I wanted to go for a run, relieve it all, hell, just run from all this.
“Thanks,” I said, unable to come up with something better. Had I missed him? A bit, but then I’d gotten caught up with Alex.
Percy’s jaw set as he focused on the road. That was obviously not the answer he’d wanted.
The early morning sunrise was beautiful on the drive, and I focused on the magnificent view as best I could, but the awkward silence made it hard to enjoy.
We didn’t speak until we got closer to the waffle house, and the only words shared were directions. I could feel his body tensing as his mind worked on what to say, what to ask.
> I knew exactly what he expected from all this. Things to go back to the way they were, for us to go back to dating, to laughing, to hot and heavy sex, lunch dates and dinner dates. Chilling on the couch watching my crime shows which he’d become fascinated with. Apparently he’d never taken the time to watch them himself.
We pulled into the rather quiet parking lot of the waffle house, and I climbed out of the tense atmosphere of the truck and drew in the fresh morning air.
The early morning people were already bustling around as they headed to work in their boring, mundane jobs. A few patrons headed inside the waffle house for a bite before work.
“My shout,” Percy said as he joined me and led me inside.
Great. Just to make things even harder. Damn werewolf.
The mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked waffles and chocolate wafted through the air. I drew in the sweet essence of the delicious breakfast and wove my way through the early morning waffle crowd to a booth in the corner.
I slipped into the far side as Percy sat across from me and clasped his hands together on the table. I instantly plucked a menu from the stand and surveyed the choices. It was a difficult decision, and I’d drag it out if I could to postpone the inevitable talk awaiting me.
“I’ll just get whatever you get,” Percy stated as he tried to catch my eyes. I bit my lip as I focused on the menu. Two hot waffles with vanilla ice-cream, maple syrup, strawberries, and blueberries sounded the most appealing.
“Hi, welcome to Lana’s Wafflehouse! Are you ready to order?” a bubbly waitress appeared beside our booth, her wide smile and blue uniform on point. Her curly dark hair was pulled back into a neat bun and she held her hand poised over a notepad with a bright pink pen.
“I’ll get two of the number six please, and a vanilla milkshake for me,” I flipped the menu down to raise an eyebrow at Percy.
“Just water for me, thanks,” Percy waved the waitress off.
“Right, that won’t be long, I’ll get your drinks sorted right away,” she grinned, her cheery voice would’ve brought a smile to my face if she wasn’t leaving me alone with Percy.
I pursed my lips as I set the menu back in the stand, wishing this conversation would just be done with.
“So, what’s going to happen between us now?” Percy asked straight up. “I was hoping that by apologizing and explaining my actions would help us move past this. To continue… what we had,” his voice softened as he reached for a napkin.
“What we had was good, that’s no lie. But when you said that you needed space, I could only assume that was your way of breaking up,” I chose my words carefully as he fiddled nervously with his napkin.
“I don’t know what I wanted, what we are, we’re hotheaded, we react emotionally, not logically. You should know that by now,” he gave me a sheepish grin.
“Yeah, you guys are definitely hotheaded,” I agreed, that was no lie.
“I’ve gotten over it now, I can see why you went to Rose. She’s your friend from long before she was a part of my pack, and of course she wanted to help you. I shouldn’t have thought I’d get a say in that, I just want everyone to stay safe, and after being dragged into those fights and being imprisoned for so long… I couldn’t let that happen to another member of the pack,” he said quietly as he glanced around. No need for the general public to know they had a ‘wolf in their midst. “I’m glad that you figured out who killed Alena, and that Philip paid with his life.”
“Jeremy, his prodigy, is running things now. Changing it all. Starting with the trafficking and the fights. No more unwilling participants,” I informed him.
“That’s good to know, although Rose did inform the pack after you told her,” he nodded.
I let out a sigh of relief as the waitress, Casey, going by her name-tag, returned with our drinks.
I graciously accepted my milkshake and sucked up the deliciously sweet liquid through my spiraled red straw.
“Food won’t be too long, enjoy,” Casey nodded as she flitted off to serve other patrons.
“So, you never did answer. What are we now?” Percy pushed as he ignored his glass of water.
I inwardly groaned as I slurped my milkshake while my mind whirled. What would I say? What could I say?
“I don’t know,” I sighed after I swallowed. I played with my straw as I chewed my lip, Percy’s expectant gaze pressuring me. “I think maybe we should just take a break for a while, see what happens.”
“What? Why? Things were going great? We were enjoying our time together, I was really getting into that NCIS show. The sex was great… wasn’t it?” he hesitated, as if he’d found the fault in all of it.
“The sex was great,” I chuckled as relief washed over his face.
“Then what is it? Why can’t we go back to the way things were?” Percy frowned, his chin jutting out defiantly. He had to know why I’d decided this.
“There’s so much going on right now, Percy, I can’t focus on us,” I said. It was true. “My dad rocked up yesterday morning, turns out he’s a Warlock, I’m a Sorceress. My mother was murdered, that Jasmine chick in the middle realm isn’t an elemental, she’s the Sorceress who killed my Mom. And to top it off, Maria’s Mom, Monica, has gone dark, killing people, so we need to stop her,” I unloaded all my baggage onto him.
I watched the emotions and confusion race across his face as he took all the information in. So much had happened since I’d last seen him a handful of days ago. So much had changed too.
Like Alex. How I’d slept with him, how we were now seeing where things went. But I’d keep that one to myself. No need to kick a ‘wolf while it’s down.
“You’re a Sorceress?” he finally murmured in shock.
“Yeah, not an elemental. My dad is teaching me to cast spells, and he gave me my Mom’s ring to help control my fire power so my emotions don’t cause accidents,” I held up my hand to show off the ring.
“Damn,” he breathed as he sunk back into his seat.
“So, yeah, I’ve had a bit going on,” I managed a smirk.
“Yeah, no shit,” Percy nodded. “I’m sorry about your Mom.”
“Thanks, I’m more concerned with why Jasmine lied to me. What game she’s playing. My Dad did a tracking spell too, my body is linked to me, but it’s not in the living world. He thinks it’s in the ghost realm or the middle realm. He’s going to come with me to see Jasmine once we sort out this Monica thing,” I said as I played with my straw and swirled my milkshake.
“Why’d she kill your Mom?” he asked carefully, not wanting to prod me too much.
“Apparently she’s an ex of my father’s. Didn’t take kindly to him moving on,” I gave a sharp laugh. As if that was a good enough reason to kill my mother, to make me motherless and hurt my father like that. If she’d ever cared for him, she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt him like that. At least, that’s how I felt. Other people didn’t seem to have the same morals as me.
Just like now, how I didn’t want to hurt Percy. I wanted him to be happy, but I wanted to continue things with Alex for now.
“That’s brutal,” Percy growled, the anger in my defense flickering in his eyes.
“Tell me about it. And then there’s this thing with Monica, Maria’s Mom. We found a body in Maria’s house, Mr Hershel, her sweet old neighbor. Then another body, same type of death. Maria was scared when she finally called me. Shaun, her brother, used black magic to cure their Mom. Maria had to sacrifice Mr Fluffs, her cat, as the spell required the sacrifice of something or someone you loved. He then wouldn’t let Maria go anywhere alone for fear of people finding out what he’d done. He was controlling her, and their mother was just getting…stranger. We organized for us all to meet, her mother, her, and I, so that I could see for myself and my father could hide and gauge what she was. Her mother seemed okay at first, then she flipped out on the waiter and cast some horrid spell on him. I stopped it and she set my arm on fire, which my dad healed. He said the power she’s got is demonic, an
d she needs to be stopped as she’s killing people,” I let the words flow forth quietly but rushed, and I relaxed at finally being able to get it all out.
“Jesus,” Percy took it all in with a mortified look. “Are you okay?” he asked tenderly as he reached for my arm on the table.
“Wrong arm, but yes, I’m fine. Just trying to come to terms with all of this, it’s a bit overwhelming to say the least,” I snorted as he withdrew his hand.
“I can see why you’d just want some time then,” Percy said quietly as he mulled over everything I’d shared with him. “Being a Sorceress, that makes you a target, doesn’t it?”
“I think so. My father was teaching me how to shield myself, I’m learning, slowly. It’s fascinating and pretty epic to learn magic,” I said with a sly grin. I was magical. Like a wizard out of that wicked fantasy series with the Potter boy. But no wand was needed here.
“So what’s your next step with dealing with Monica? You said Maria is at yours now?” Percy continued.
“Yes, when she set my arm on fire she disappeared, and Maria came home with us. My father put together a spell to track her down, which we’re still waiting for it to finish. We should have a location by lunch time if all goes well,” I said.
The conversation was cut short as Casey arrived with our breakfast.
My mouth watered at the delicious food set before us, and the conversation slipped from my mind as I dove in.
Percy was as pleased as a peach as he moaned and shoveled food into his mouth, ignoring the looks other patrons cast him. The term ‘wolfing it down’ definitely fit.
I savored the sweet berries and ice-cream, taking my time while I enjoyed my meal. Percy had already devoured all of his by the time I’d gotten halfway through mine.
I ignored the pleading looks Percy gave my remaining food. Not my fault he couldn’t gauge his eating and enjoy it.
I sipped my milkshake as I gave Percy a knowing glance. He scowled, still hungry evidently as he caught Casey on her way back from another table.
“Can I please get a second serve of this?” he asked sweetly, his smooth voice making Casey gleam at the attention.