Page 6 of Payback is a Witch

“Sorry.” I swallowed my pride and locked gazes with Danika without any bravado this time. “That was uncalled for but I’m still riled up from the fight and everything else. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

One perfectly shaped eyebrow rising up was my only answer.

“I came to ask you to put me back on the roster for city patrol.”

“You were never on the roster.” She drawled but I acted like I didn’t hear her. That was semantics.

Taking a fast breath before she would dismiss me I rushed to convince her better. “I have control of my magic now. Alex can confirm it, too. Plus, I’ll be more productive here than hidden on pack lands. It’s not like trouble doesn’t find me there as you have witnessed yourself. At least here you’ll always have an eye on me and my whereabouts.” Giving her a sharp nod for no reason I remembered one more thing so I stabbed a finger in the air for emphases. “And I’ll have a partner. So, I can’t be wayward without you being alerted about it.”

Danika squinted at me like I had some hidden agenda or something. In all honesty I was going insane and had to be productive or I would go find someone to kill me myself.

“It’s a win-win. Really.” Nodding encouragingly like a bubblehead when she stayed silent, I held my breath.

“I’m willing to add one of my males to every pair you send out if you allow Hazel to join in patrols.” Alex’s deep voice warmed me inside like nothing ever could. “The pack still stands to protect her, no matter where she goes.”

The support from the Alpha and his family ever since that cursed day I unlocked my magic has been something I. never dreamed of having. I owed it to them as well as handful of others that stood by me to do something with this power instead of hiding like a scared little girl.

“I do not believe this to be the right time for you to join our ranks, Hazel.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Danika closed her eyes briefly allowing us for the first time to see how exhausted she was. “Mr. Greywood, as admirable as your dedication is to keep my granddaughter safe, I am trying to keep her out of sight for a good reason. There are seven delegations arriving in Cleveland as we speak to reassess the Gatekeeper’s coven and our dealings here after word has gotten out about Hazel’s magic. Which I denied, of course.”

I had no idea how I missed that Danika was not her perfect self. As she allowed the mask to slip, I could notice the tightness around the corners of her mouth and eyes and the rigid way she held herself so much different from her effortless elegance.

“What do they want with Hazel?” the Alpha’s question snapped me out of my close examination of Danika.

“They want to make sure she is not a danger to society.” Her pointed look annoyed me to no end. “I need to meet with all of them first before I know how to proceed.”

“You think the male sneaking around the building in the middle of the day had something to do with it?” Alex stepped away from me and started pacing a tight line next to us. A deep line formed between his eyebrows and he glared at the bare floor like it owed him a life debt. “Maybe I should try questioning him.”

“Be my guest.” Danika swirled a long-fingered hand in no specific direction. “He will talk, I do try not to kill him, so it takes a bit longer.”

Alex opened his mouth to reply but the opening of the door had all three of us turn in that direction. Sissily popped her head and quickly read the tension in the room as her gaze darted from Danika, to me, to Alex. Not bothering to ask if it’s okay to join us she darted inside slamming the door behind her and rushed to stand next to me.

“They are here.” My best friend told Danika before looking me up and down. “What did I miss?”

Chapter 4

“I’m pretty sure we can sneak out when they all enter the main ritual chamber.” Sissily whispered before sticking her head out of the door to see if the hallway was still empty.

Which it was. In the last nerve-wracking hour, not a soul moved that we could see yet the crazy female insisted on checking every twenty seconds. After she announced that the delegations had arrived, Sissily got stuck with me in the empty office. Danika invited Alex to accompany her and after firmly ordering me and by default Sissily as well, to stay put and not move a toe outside the room, she left us to be prisoners in a cage with a door wide open.

“I’m not running away.” I told my bestie for the umpteenth time leaning a shoulder on the wall next to where she was peeking out the door. “You can leave the door open, you know. They’re looking for me and I’m hidden from view. If they see you standing there just smile and pretend you’re doing pilates using the doorframe.”

“Do I look like a crazy person to you?” Pulling back and away from her stakeout she turned to face me fully blowing away a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail.

“Yes.” I deadpanned and it took everything in me not to laugh when her mouth dropped open. “Next question.”

“You are such a jerk.” Huffing in pretend annoyance she thumped her forehead on the closed door. “I want to know what they’re talking about.”

“How much you wanna bet they are sharing recipes on how to preserve a penis in a jar?”

Sissily’s laughter helped calm my nerves down if only for a moment. We snickered like high school girls remembering the time we had to clean up the library and I found a book with all sort of crazy things in it. My best friend even had tears trickling from the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard.

“Dear goddess my stomach hurts.” Pressing a hand to her chest she took a deep breath to stop herself from laughing. “It could be for Minotaur testicles, too, you know?” reminding me of the time I offered River Blackman the said testicles just to get him away from me.

That doubled both of us over for a good few minutes. It felt like the good old times when no one was gunning for my head and we could do whatever we wanted. As short-lived as it was, it did feel great to joke around for a moment. Seeing Sissily wipe tears from joy made it worth it.

Until something clattered in the hallway loud enough for both of us to freeze, and fall immediately quiet. Sissily watched me wide-eyed, a hand pressed to her mouth but I raised a finger in wordless plea for silence tilting my head and straining my ears in hopes to hear if someone was headed our way.

The freshly rebuilt office was still empty so no one should be using it for anything unless they were specifically looking for us. Or they heard us chortling like fools. I wanted to slap myself but it was too late to turn back time. Instead, using my hands and fingers I asked Sissily to open the door and check. She swirled a finger around her temple to tell me I’m nuts. As if I didn’t know that already.

---