Page 20 of Knot the Witch Next Door

“Hi Milla! How are you feeling today?”

“Not so great.” My groan of agony was not faked. “Could you pop over and help me with the last of my packaging and then take them to be shipped? I’ll give you my business credit card… and…”

Agony gripped me and I curled up in a ball on the floor.

“I’ll be right there.”

A minute later there was a knock at the front door. I couldn’t get up to answer, and after another round of knocking, Rosemary let herself in. “Milla?”

“In here,” I croaked.

She came into the room and gasped as she saw me on the floor. She ran over and went down to her knees to gather me to her. “Oh my God! You’re burning up and sweating like crazy, girl. You shouldn’t be working when you have a fever like this. Let me help you to your room and take your temperature. Do you feel like you need to go to the emergency room? Where are you folks?”

“No emergency room.” The whole town would know I was in heat by dinnertime if she took me there. “Cold shower. Mom and Dad are at the flea market.”

I shook the entire time Rosemary helped me up and led me to the elevator near the front foyer. Good thing we had one in the house for my mom as I didn’t think I could handle stairs at the moment. Even better that Rosemary handled big, scared dogs at her job, so she wasn’t wilting under my weight.

“Carmilla, what are you doing? I know you’re dedicated to your business, but if you’re this sick, you shouldn’t be out of bed.” She chastised me as she shut the elevator door and hit the up button. “I really think you should go to the hospital though. Even without taking your temperature, I can tell your fever is really bad. You can’t die until after my wedding. No one else is qualified to be my maid of honor.”

I managed a squeaky little laugh. I was the worst friend ever. If she knew I’d slept with her brother… I couldn’t stop myself as I started to cry.

“No, honey, it’s okay. You’ll be okay.” Rosemary rubbed my back. The elevator dinged and she helped me shuffle down the hall to my room. “Can you get into the shower or do you need help? I’m going to get you some meds—”

“No.” I shook my head and climbed onto my bed. Another wave of pain lanced through me, and I tried to muffle my cry into my comforter. My instincts told me to run out to the tree house. I needed to be in my nest.

“I’m freaking out, Milla. I’m turning on a cold shower. You’re going in clothes and all.” Rosemary dashed into the bathroom and water sprayed against the tiled floor of the shower. She came back to fetch me, but I clung to the bed.

It was now or never. “This isn’t a fever. No meds will help.”

“What? You’re—”

“In heat.” I barely got the words out. I was at once petrified and relieved.

“Oh shit.” Rosemary ran her hands through her hair and blew out her shock, calming herself. “Okay. In heat. Damn. But when? How?” She wrung her hands together. “Oh no. Was it yesterday at the farm? There were lots of people there. You came into contact with an Alpha. Fuck! What a crappy friend am I to let my friend out of sight and get triggered by some random Alpha.”

“No! It wasn’t your fault.Notyour fault.” I refused to have her believing she did anything wrong. She always had my back. While it would be easy to go with her story—it would was logical and so convenient—I couldn’t let her take any blame. But if I told her it was Deacon…

I sucked back a sob.

“Yes, it was my job as your escort.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Your parents trusted me.Youtrusted me. I’m such a shit. I just got so wrapped up in myself—”

“No.” I forced myself to sit and grabbed her hand in both of mine. “You are the very best of friends. Don’t ever think otherwise. It wasn’t your fault. I was already… I already…” Fuck this was hard. But I could not let her think she was responsible. I’d rather she hate me than think ill of herself. “My heat had already been triggered before then.”

Rosemary blinked several times and wiped her eyes, keeping her one hand in mine. “But when? You’ve not left the house for over a week because you’ve been so busy making the last of your Halloween crafts.”

I was no witch tied to the stake crying my innocence. I was guilty, and even worse, I had enjoyed every hot second with Deacon. Swallowing hard, I opened my mouth and whimpered.Be brave, Carmilla. Don’t let your bestie think she’s a bad person.

“Last week, when Deacon came to fetch you…” It was all I managed to get out before another wave of pain surged through me. Letting go of her hand, I writhed on the bed. My vision went black and red on the edges.

“But he… You…” I glimpsed out of the corner of my eye as the realization hit her. Her jaw dropped as her eyes went wide, and then she looked away from me. Looked away and slumped her shoulders.

Rosemary hated me now. I’d lost my best friend, but at least she wouldn’t carry any guilt with her. She deserved the happiest of lives, and I wanted her to have it even if I wasn’t a part of it.

I buried my face into the blankets, panting and trying not to scream. I deserved every second of agony. My suffering was the price I needed to pay for betraying my best friend andeveryone I loved, and I would endure it forever if I had to just to ensure they were happy.

CHAPTER TWELVE – Deacon

My Sunday afternoon movie with Kat was one of the best times of the week. No one else in the house had any interest in films, but Kat was already a keen critic. I loved hearing her take on my old favorites.

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