Page 24 of Taming the Wicked Wolf

“Did you find out anything about this weekend?” She asks, ripping off a ticket and shoving it across the window to the line cook.

“This weekend?” I ask, glancing at Silas, whose ears perk up, before I turn to her.

“Girl’s trip up to Madison,” she rests her hip against the bar, “us renting the hotel rooms.”

“Oh, I’m still trying to find someone to watch Poppy for the weekend.” I explain.

“I’m sure Mr. Jankowski could,” Silas says, “He offered to watch her just the other day.”

I turn to Silas, “What kind of conversation brought that about?”

“He said in the years he’s been your neighbor, he’s never seen you take time for yourself.”

He has offered to watch her a few times before, especially when I go over to feed his fish while he’s out of town. I guess it couldn’t hurt to ask him.

“Perfect.” Carly Beth claps, threading her fingers together, “Does that mean you’ll go?”

Silas raises his brow, almost like he’s daring me to say yes. It really feels like the two of them are kind of ganging up on me at this point.

I want to say yes, desperately. It’s been years since I’ve gone to an actual bar where I’m not expected to serve drinks. The whole Chase situation isn’t behind me yet and it feels like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I’ve decided that I’m finished with putting my life on hold out of fear when I gave my soul up for demonic protection.

Silas could have intervened, but he let me stand on my own two feet. He trusted I would be okay, so maybe it’s time I trust myself as well.

“Sure, let’s do it.”

Carly Beth squeals, grabbing my arm, “This is going to be amazing. We can drive out early on Saturday to beat the traffic and come back Sunday morning.” She turns to Silas, “You’re coming, right? Since you’re kind of Emilia’s bodyguard.”

“Wait, I thought this was going to be a girl’s trip?”

“It still is. Wouldn’t hurt to have a guy around to protect us. Just in case.” She shrugs, “What do you think? Unless you’re busy.”

“I’ll be there.” Silas nods, shooting me a smile, “Emilia knows I would drop everything for her.”

His wolf hearing is a lot better than I thought.

ELEVEN

Silas

It takesus close to an hour and a half to reach Madison, all the while, Emilia expresses her anxiety about being away from Poppy over the weekend. It’s adorable. She went as far as to make a list of essentials, including the dog’s favorite toys and a couple treats, placing them in a small overnight bag.

She only calms down when Mr. Jankowski sends her the third photo of Poppy, excited to visit with his daughter Katie for the afternoon.

Madison is just like any other city. And, being like any other city, it’s full of unsuspecting mortals living peacefully alongside the supernatural. I catch a few demons walking down the sidewalk with their human mates, or buying groceries from the bodega down the street like there’s nothing more natural in the world.

From what I can tell, most of them are half-demons, like me, which begs the question if I would be happier here instead of trying to fit into a place where I’m not seen as an equal. My only worth comes from the power I can feed the collective throughmy deals, Emilia’s power, though she’s giving it willingly in exchange.

I find Carly Beth waiting in the lobby after Emilia sent me down so she could change. We stand in companionable silence for a while before she begins to pepper me with questions.

The usual, asking where I grew up and other facts that I could easily pass off without extra explanation. Yes, I grew up in a small town in England. It was nice, quiet. Yes, my parents are still together and we are fairly close. A gentle prodding to make sure I deserve Emilia, which I sure hope I do.

“So, what classes did you two share back in college?” She asks, leaning against the wall, her attention split between me and the text conversation on her phone.

“College? Oh,” I clear my throat, “We first met in Art History, I took it for my Humanities credits.” The words feel foreign to my tongue, but I still deliver them, just as Emilia had instructed on the drive here.

Carly Beth hums in response, possibly in agreement or to refute the claim, I can’t tell.

“Was that before or after you were in the band?”

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