Page 12 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“Witches’ bells,” I told Jenny. “They’re said to add a layer of protection when placed at the entrance to a home.”

“But no one lives here,” Jenny observed.

“I bet the cat does,” I replied, pointing toward the tabby.

Jenny smiled at the cat, who had lifted his head in curiosity as we came inside the shop. “Are those to keep you safe, big guy?” Jenny said as she knelt next to him and held her hand out for him to sniff.

“He doesn’t like people touching him,” a man said gruffly from behind the counter.

“Oh!” Jenny started and pulled her hand back. “Sorry.”

The cat stretched his front paws out in front of him and gave a lazy yawn before closing the distance between himself and Jenny, wrapping his body around her legs and nuzzling against her.

“He seems to like her,” I remarked with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hmph,” the man said with a frown.

I turned my back on the man and screwed my face up at Jenny, eliciting a chuckle that she immediately covered with her hand. She gave the cat a brief head scratch and got to her feet to follow me as I looked around at the herbs.

Aside from plants, the shop was well-stocked with candles, incense, and crystals. An entire wall was devoted to tiny drawers with labels describing their contents.

“Carved frog figurines, eagle feathers, twine, onyx beads, blackthorn twigs,” I read the labels quietly as I walked down the aisle. “There’s all kinds of interesting things here.”

The bells made another tinkling sound as a trio of young women entered the shop. All around the same age, they wore flowy linen pants and tight-fitting crop tops. They were covered in jewelry, both silver and beaded, and were clearly regulars here.

“Did you get any of those gold pillar candles in yet, Fred?” one of the women asked the shopkeeper. Her hair was as dark as a raven’s, making her pale skin look even more white. The contrast made her skin almost luminous.

“Not yet,” he replied.

I went back to reading the descriptions on each drawer when the shopkeeper spoke again, this time much louder.

“Hey! Tell your kid to get their hands off my stuff,” Fred snapped at me.

I turned to see what had caused him to react with such alarm and saw Jenny’s face turn pink. She slowly removed her hand from a beautiful red cloth that was draped over a wooden dowel rod.

“She’s just feeling the fabric,” I told him, one eyebrow raised.

“This is why I don’t like having kids in here,” he grumbled. “Just keep an eye on her, will ya? You break it, you buy it.”

I saluted him sarcastically and rolled my eyes at Jenny as I walked toward her. Fred seemed to have had enough of my antics and took the opportunity to go into the back room, leaving us and the other women to browse in peace.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, hon,” I assured her. “Some people just want everyone else to feel as miserable as they do.”

“These people really don’t like us, do they?” Jenny pointed out quietly. Her shoulders had hunched over, as if she were trying to make herself appear smaller than she was.

I reached over and ran my hand across her shoulders, pressing gently in between them. “These people don’t know us,” I reminded her. “And their opinion of us is none of our concern. We know who we are, and we’ll carry ourselves the way we always have. Don’t let that guy make you feel like you’re wrong when you aren’t.”

Jenny smiled at me, and I smiled back. My daughter had been through enough teasing in her life to know the drill by this point, but I didn’t fault her for her reaction. Anyone would have a similar reaction to being scolded, and she was only a child.

“Don’t pay any attention to Fred,” said the woman who had spoken before.

“He’s crabby with everybody,” another woman—this one with mousy brown hair—assured us.

“I appreciate you saying that, but it’s okay,” I replied. “We know we aren’t welcome here.”

“Don’t be silly,” the brown-haired girl said with a wave of her hand. “You’re guests of the alpha. Of course you’re welcome here.”

“I think ‘guests’ might be reaching,” I mumbled.

---