Page 20 of Charmed and Dangerous

Saul stood, bracing his hands on the table. “Mission accomplished. Maeve is the right female for me and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your nose out of my mating.”

His father got to his feet slowly. “If you think she will be right for you and the clan, I will support you. But I’ll wait on handing over the leadership until the mating is complete.”

Saul barely restrained the snarl, knowing his father and alpha would not tolerate the disrespect. His father stared him down for a long moment, then swiped the loaf of bread and stalked out of the bakery with a final jingle of the bell over the door.

Saul waited a few minutes until he’d calmed down before locking everything up and leaving out the back. He walked the back way to the Dupree’s potion shoppe hoping to catch Maeve before she left for the day but was greeted by the oldest sister, Tempest, who barred the door, arms folded and a stern look on her face. She informed him Maeve had left a couple of hours previously and her ball-withering stare had him rethinking any additional questions. Anyway, he knew where she would be. Her greenhouse.

He pulled up to find her great-aunt sitting in the chair by the roses, rocking and humming to herself. She opened her eyes when he walked by and grinned. “Cocked it up already, huh? I expected better of you, bear. Though every single bear I’ve known has screwed it up at least once.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, though he was starting to wonder.

She cackled and waved him off. “You’ll find out.”

He headed to the greenhouse and opened the door. The smell of fresh flowers, herbs, and moist soil enveloped him, along with sorrow and pain. His mate was sad. She was in her happy place, but it wasn’t helping.

He walked through the paths around her plants until he came to the ecosystem for the Devil’s Thimbleberry that Cornelius Digby had given her. She was seated on a bench staring at the purple plant and the berries that had sprouted from it. He watched her for a few minutes, waiting for her to see him. When she didn’t move, he cleared his throat.

“Maeve? I went to the shoppe for you, but Tempest said you had already left. I thought we were going to dinner tonight.”

Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t turn around. Her honey badger, Hazel, was curled up on her lap, snuggling into her. Hazel peered over Maeve’s arm balefully at Saul and he stayed away from the wicked claws, in case she took a swipe at him.

“I needed some time to think.”

That was never a good sign. No male ever liked hearing their mate saying they needed to think. He eased onto the bench next to her, keeping an eye on Hazel’s claws. “Is there anything I can help with?”

She turned her blue eyes to him, shining with tears. “I think we moved too fast, Saul. The love potion affected us both. It was all an illusion.”

Chills ran up his spine as his bear pushed at him to be let out. “Maeve, I told you. The love potion had no effect on me. I was feeling a mate bond with you before the festival.”

She winced. “The Duprees tested the love potion on me the day you came into the shoppe when you thought they were blowing up the block. Two days before the festival. I was under the effect of the potion. I influenced you without you knowing about it.”

He laid a hand on her shoulder, and Hazel snarled at him. He lifted his hand carefully while Maeve laid a soothing stroke on Hazel. “I don’t believe that.”

“Either way, Saul, you need someone stronger than me to lead your clan. I’m not the right person for your clan. They scare me.”

He took her hand, willing her to believe him, feeling her slipping away. “You only spent one day with them. It took you time with me, too. Bears can be overwhelming. I know you can handle them. And you’re stronger than you think. I believe in you. Why won’t you believe in yourself?”

“Saul, we’re different people. I’m a witch, an introverted witch with limited power. If I had more power, maybe it could work. But I’m not. I care for you too much to damage your position with your clan. They need you.” She laid a hand on his cheek. “Thank you for the past few days. I will treasure them always.”

Hazel jumped to the ground, and Maeve got to her feet. She walked away and the bear inside of Saul wanted to roar in pain. “You’re being a coward. Why won’t you fight for us, for you? We can figure this out. I can step down, wait to be alpha. We can find a way.”

She whirled around. “Absolutely not. Your clan needs you. And I know who I am. It was a dream for me to think I could be anything more than I am. Goodbye, Saul.”

And she raced out of the greenhouse, leaving him brokenhearted.

Chapter

Nine

Maeve hid in her greenhouse for the week, not even going into the shoppe. She knew she was being the coward that Saul accused her of, but she didn’t care. She needed to protect her heart and let the potion wear off. Cornelius Digby was correct about love potions. They rarely worked as anything more than inspiring attraction. That always wore off after time and distance. She needed to give her and Saul that time and distance to let the affects to wear off. In the meantime, she was exploring antidotes for love potions and calling the Duprees asking about the love potion, hoping they would eventually share the ingredients, but no luck.

By the weekend, she had exhausted all of her resources and was tired from not sleeping at night and thinking of Saul constantly. She was dozing on the couch in her greenhouse when someone flung open the door and stormed in, followed by her great-aunt Geillis, who was yelling at him to stop.

“Maeve? Maeve, are you here? We need you.”

She roused herself from her light sleep to blink blearily at Saul, who loomed over her, his hair sticking out all over the place and a panicked look on his face. “I need your help. Please. Come with me. It’s Brady.”

She thought of the adorable bear cub son of Saul’s sister and her mate, with his impish ways, and her blood ran cold. “What’s happened, Saul?”

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