Page 16 of Warrior Witch

Bruin’s jaw ticked.

“Now, I’m more than happy to get all these vines off you and watch you ride off into the sunset on that bike of yours. But I’m gonna need you to agree to, y’know…” I waved a hand in the air, searching for the right words. “Leave me the fuck alone.”

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“Fair question. Let’s say, because I could kill you right now. Probably wouldn’t be the first murder in one of these rooms.”

Bruin’s laugh cracked across the space between us. “Hah! That’s an empty threat if I ever heard one. You’re a cunt, not a killer, sweetheart.”

Hm. Couldn’t deny that.

“So let me tell you what’s actually going to happen,” he continued. “You may not be a killer, but I am. And you fucked with my club, so you’re gonna pay for it. I don’t care how you die, but the prez wants it done. That means a fucking good payout for me. Tell me, do you know how long someone can stay alive if they have water? I can wait you out, bitch, but you won’t be escaping me. Whether I kill you back at the club, or here on the road, Prez is gonna love seeing your drowned corpse.”

Bruin hissed as the vines visibly tightened at his words. Rather than apologizing, he turned a dark grin on Kylen. “Oh, they didn’t like that at all. How interesting.”

The nature witch waved a hand at the vines, and they relaxed their grip, though they still looked uncomfortably tight. He flashed a concerned look at me, which I returned with a nod. Things were fine. I could handle his threats.

“Sadly, none of that’s gonna work for me.” I took a deep breath, readying myself to explain this crappy situation I’d been thrown into that made the MC look like the smallest, most adorable potatoes by comparison. Guess it would be news to Kylen, too. “You see, I’m on this blood-moon-vision-quest-thing. Crazy big deal, or so I’m told. And I really don’t have the time or the patience to deal with a bunch of butthurt biker egos before finding out if I’m gonna live to see next month.”

Silence filled the room as I struggled to unclench my jaw. Did I really believe that my life could be in danger from this quest?

Your time is as short as your temper.

I’d be an idiot not to see that comparison didn’t work in my favor.

Kylen gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I hadn’t even heard him move over to me, but his presence helped me steel my spine.

“So let’s make a deal,” I offered, meeting Bruin’s surprised gaze. “You give me the time to deal with this quest. A few days to see what’s what and potentially save my own life. Then, once that’s done, I’ll go with you willingly.”

Bruin’s eyes narrowed, searching for the catch in my offer.

I pressed on. “Think about it. You were ready to kill me yourself, so I might save you the trouble. And on the off-chance I save myself, you get to bring me back, brownie points and whatever payout to you, and we’ll see how your boy band fares against me a second time.”

A laugh bubbled out of him, half genuine and half mocking. “Fuck it! You’re dead either way, aren’t you?”

“Thought you weren’t going to underestimate me again?”

“True. Tell you what, I’ll take your deal on one condition. You let me follow you on your little vision quest.”

“Don’t trust me not to run away?”

His grin widened. “That, and I want a front-row seat to your death.”

***

The fucking nerve of that asshole.

Gravel crunched under my boots as I stomped from the motel to the diner. Despite the agreement to let Bruin tag along and watch my potential death, I wasn’t ready for Kylen to release him from the vines in case he tried something during the night. This left me playing delivery girl for the two of them.

Forget blood moon vision quests; my latest mission was getting takeout. Hopefully, there wasn’t as much risk of death with this quest.

A chilled breeze swept around me, and I shivered, regretting not grabbing a sweater before I left. There was something in the air around here that didn’t sit right with me. As I crossed the small dirt road separating the motel from the diner and gas station, I felt the same pull from the vision. We were close to Spells Hollow.

Pulling up the map on my phone and comparing it with the directions from Reddit, I could see I was right. The town was just over five miles down that road. A short drive, or a decent woodland hike for a city girl like me.

As I walked past the woods, my gaze fixed on my phone, a warm wall of muscle suddenly blocked my path and jolted me out of my thoughts, making me drop my phone in surprise. At least I didn’t zap it, I guess.

“Ah! Oh, shit, sorry!” I scrambled on the ground for my phone. I’d only just finished paying it off a few weeks ago, and I was determined to get every penny’s worth now.

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