Page 31 of Taming the Wicked Wolf

Emilia’sentire demeanor has changed since we left Madison. It’s as though she has finally taken the first few steps to reclaim her freedom.

After the club, we spent the rest of the night talking in our hotel room until she fell asleep at nearly four in the morning, tucked against my chest.

I had been searching for a way to show that I was strong enough to be considered the heir of the wolf demons. Making as many deals as I could and expanding the influence of my family name, but for what? A pat on the head? I still felt hollow.

Turns out, all it took was a strong-willed witch to remind me that I never needed it. I was always worthy of my family because I am their son. I didn’t need to prove it.

What will come of us when I tell Emilia that I no longer wish to keep our bargain? I’m not sure what the future holds. All I can do is hope I have the chance to show her she means so much more to me than the price of her soul.

“Silas?” Emilia asks, shaking me from my thoughts, the outside world rushing past the passenger side window.

“Hm? Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said that the playoffs are coming up, and I was thinking of getting Mr. Jankowski a couple of tickets to the game as a thank you for watching Poppy.” She glances over then moves her hand off the steering wheel to my knee, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Tickets would be a great idea.”

“Shit,” Emilia hisses out, her shoulders tensing as she grips the wheel, “shit.”

Chase is standing at Mitchell’s front door, flailing his arms, arguing with Mike while Carly Beth leans against the wall, looking very uncomfortable with the entire situation.

There has been no sign of him since the night that I kissed Emilia, I had even thought he decided to give up. Now I know it was foolish of me, he was just biding his time to reemerge like the serpent he is.

Even now, his irritation is clearly surface level, all the emotion drains from his face as he finally notices our car turning into the parking lot.

“You should stay in the car.” Emilia says, grabbing her purse as she climbs out.

“And you should know by now that I am not leaving you.” I close the door and follow her closely, Chase’s gaze darts between the two of us.

“Don’t worry, the cops have been called.” Mike says, holding his hands out as though he’s trying to soothe the situation.

“Not sure how he found out, but he knows about Madison,” Carly Beth says, “I didn’t say anything. My mom doesn’t even know I went.”

“It’s fine, Carly Beth,” Emilia sighs, “Chase, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here because I’m genuinely concerned about you.” He stands tall, shooting a glare in my direction, “You let thisstrangermove in with you. I contacted your old school, there is no record of Silas ever being a student.”

“You contacted them illegally.” Emilia adds, “The only way anyone from that school would offer that information is if you had someone at the sheriff’s office pull some strings. That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“So, you won’t deny that Silas isn’t your ‘old friend’?”

Chase really thinks he has something with this, and sure, it might have been a misstep on our part not to come up with a better cover.

“That is none of your business, Chase.”

“It is my concern if you’re letting a stranger live with you and sleep in your bed. Did you even try to run a background check on him before you invited him in?”

“I sleep on the couch.” I say, earning myself a glare from Emilia.

While they continue to bicker about the legality of Chase’s prodding, something isn’t adding up for me. Not just his blatant disregard for the law, but a key detail that I think we’ve all overlooked.

He never visits her apartment when she’s home, he waits until she’s at work. It’d be easy enough to avoid her if he knows her schedule, but still there’s room for error, unless he has someone watching her 24/7. Not someone, but something reporting back her movements.

“Emilia.” I straighten, glancing back at her car, “The Spymaster’s Charge.”

“What?” she chirps.

“The reason Rafe knew where Sasha was during the first half of the book. Maybe that’s how Chase knows we were in Madisonover the weekend and every other time that he has shown up at your apartment while you weren’t home.”

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