Page 25 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

“Don’t back out of your opinion now,” she prodded.

When I didn’t answer, she stopped and crossed her arms across her chest. I tried to keep walking, but she snagged my arm. I stepped closer to her, until only a breath separated us. Our chests brushed. Freya peered up at me, so small but so powerful. She could topple mountains when she looked at me like this—with intensity that only Freya could manage.

“Sweetheart,” I whispered. “You’re too scared to admit we are something to each other.”

For a heartbeat, her gaze softened, and those big eyes stole my breath. Without thinking, I kissed her. She sighed into my mouth and locked her lips to mine. I cradled her delicate jaw, gripped her waist with my other hand, and pulled her closer, until we fit together like puzzle pieces. I swept my tongue into her mouth, needing to taste her, then grazed her lip with my teeth. Freya gasped, and I lost myself in our kiss.

My magic hummed pleasantly, mingling with Freya’s. I tried to quiet it, but the sensation of Freya’s body pressed to mine eclipsed my thoughts.

Her hands ran up and down my back. When her nails dug the slightest bit into my skin, I groaned. Every time, Freya kissed me like it was our last chance at it. Every time, I loved it and loathed it and needed more.

“When I heard groaning,” a familiar, grating voice said, “I figured I should head this way.”

Freya freed her mouth from mine, but I held her close as I met Ryder’s gaze. He flashed me a grin. As he stared, his freaky eyes reflected the moonlight that slipped through the trees. He crossed his arms across his broad, shirtless chest.

At least he has pants on.

Freya turned in my arms to face him, and I released her, except for the hand that lingered on her hip. I couldn’t completely remove myself from her and not only because this was Ryder—Freya’s werewolf ex who’d asked her to meet at their old make-out spot—but because this was where the tracking spell had led us.

I didn’t share Freya’s faith in Ryder. Freya was more capable of taking care of herself than I was lately, but boyfriend or not, I wouldn’t let her loyalty to him get her hurt.

“Ryder,” Freya greeted. “Thank you for meeting us.”

Her gaze scanned the woods beyond him, and Ryder scoffed.

“Do you think I brought back-up?” he asked. He studied the two of us. “ShouldI have brought back-up?”

With a sigh, Freya pulled the pendant out from under the neckline of her black shirt and other jewelry. From the way it shined, she had wiped her blood off it. Freya held it out to Ryder.

“Do you recognize it?” she asked.

Ryder took a deep breath and stepped closer. His face softened in a way I had never seen before. He was transfixed by the pendant.

“I…” He reached out to touch it then snatched his hand back and shook his head. His usual scowl returned. “I’ve never seen it before. What is it?”

Freya and I shared a look. He was keeping something from us.

“We’re not sure,” I answered honestly.

“We performed a tracking spell,” Freya explained, “and the results were… unorthodox. I saw several locations.”

“And one of them was mine?” Ryder asked. He swallowed.

I had never seen Ryder nervous, but I was pretty sure this is what it looked like. His brow was furrowed, and his ambereyes were round. Freya nodded, and he studied the pendant further.

“Something is strange about that thing,” he said.

“You don’t know anything about it?” I questioned. “Or why it led us to you?”

Ryder snarled. “No. I’m not a liar, human.”

I bristled. In the craziness of the last day, I had forgotten my transition wasn’t known. Since the battle, the dark witches and vampires had kept their distance, and the Coven of Hecate had kept theirs. Though Freya had wanted to learn what punishment her Lucifer-loving neighbors had received, she hadn't wanted to reach out and risk them learning about how she had saved me.

Even the wolves, the longtime allies of Freya's coven, had been kept at bay. Ryder knew about my brush with death, but he wasn’t aware of what it had taken to bring me back to life. We had kept my new powers on the hush, specifically to avoid any trouble it could bring our way.

We’d been swimming up shit creek without a paddle on that endeavor.

“What was that?” Ryder demanded and studied me further. “You’re usually disgustingly proud of your humanity. Why’d you flinch?”

---