Page 156 of Sigils & Spells

“You offeredto walk away from the pack?” Corwin asked incredulously.

“I couldn’t not make the offer, Corwin.”

“That sucks,” Sal said.

“Yeah, well, hopefully she won’t take me up on it, but I meant it. I’d rather be a lone wolf with my mate at my side than alpha of this pack without her.”

“What are you going to do if she decides she doesn’t want a mate at all?” Warren asked.

“Keep trying to convince her, I guess,” Jared said, trying not to panic at the thought of it. “Honestly, I’m just trying to be understanding, even though it’s really hard. She’s not a shifter though. She expected to have a choice and that choice for her would have been to remain single.”

“I can’t even imagine it,” Rocco said. “I mean, think about it. You have no idea who you’re meant to be with and you don’t even have shifter senses, so you can’t tell when someone’s emotions are getting the better of them or when someone’s lying, yet you somehow have to pick the right person to mate with for life? It’s nuts!”

“No wonder the divorce rates among humans and witches are so high,” Sal said.

“Not to mention those stories of women who were married to serial killers or rapists for decades and never suspected a thing,” Rocco said.

“I guess you can’t blame her for not wanting to take the risk,” Corwin said. “It probably seems easier, not to mention safer, to just be alone.”

“What a terrible thought,” Jared said. “I think that’s the part that upsets me the most. Knowing that if she turns me away, she’ll always be alone.”

*.*.*.*.*

“He saidthe sweetest things to me,” Pippa said.

“Like what?” Jo asked.

“Like how I’d never be alone, that he’d always be there to support me, that we’d grow old together, and that I’d not only have this coven, but his pack too.”

“Wow,” Amaryllis said. “That’s so romantic.”

“Yeah.” Pippa stared down at her hands. She hadn’t even told them the most romantic thing of all.

She closed her eyes. “He said he’d choose banishment with me,” she whispered.

The other witches gasped, then fell silent.

Natalie drew in a deep breath and said what Pippa was sure they were all thinking, “Woman, if you walk away from that wolf, you are insane.”

“I know. I just—” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I have enough courage, if I’m strong enough. He deserves so much better than me.”

“Oh, knock that shit off,” Natalie snapped. “He doesn’t want anyone else. He wants his mate and he’s damned lucky that it’s you. You’re strong and capable and you’re going to make a wonderful life together. You just have to reach out and grab it.”

Pippa nodded. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat, then said it again, stronger. “Yeah. You’re right. I just have to—” she dragged in a shaky breath “—pull it together, right?”

“Exactly.”

At that moment, Hocus Purrcus, who had gotten bored with all the talking and had disappeared a while back, returned.

He set his front paws on her knees and dropped a piece of paper from his mouth.

It landed in her lap.

“What’s this, H.P.?” The paper had clearly been chewed on by the cat as it had a number of puncture marks. She carefully unfolded it and stared at the message written inside.

“What is it?” Amaryllis asked.

“It’s a note from Jared, but it’s not the note I found this morning. This one says, “Thanks for an amazing night. Call me. And it has his phone number on it.”

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