Page 27 of Stolen Magic
“I swear it’s not. Come back inside.” My face was on fire and the chuckle that came from behind me nearly melted my skin. “Char, don’t make me physically drag you in here.”
“Fine.” She released her hold, and the door swung with me still clinging to it. I bounced off the opposite wall like a pinball and glared at her when she sashayed her butt in.
“Sorry, I really have bad timing.” My friend, who was supposed to havemyback, apologized to the wolf, although he still couldn’t see her.
The audacity!
Chapter Twenty-One
“Iknew that Dimitri had nothing to do with it.” After repeating everything we discussed and turning her visible, I gawked at Char while the aforementioned wolf graced her with a friendly smile I’d never seen on his face until that moment.
“You wanted to wax all the fur off of his wolf.” My reminder earned me a stare that promised bad things for my future if I lived long enough to have one.
“And the blonde?” Char mentioned Angela, and guilt drilled a hole in my chest. “Who was she?”
“His wife to be.” I thumbed the air toward Dimitri.
“Another problem forced by my father that I will need to fix,” the shifter rushed to assure my friend when she speared him with her disapproving glower. “If my suspicions are correct, Angela is the reason he hasn’t reached out to collect the book. Why not take a rival pack down along with his son, if it’s on the menu? Angela is the daughter of the Alpha from our neighboring pack. ”
“Huh? He is too much into wedding planning, so he forgot about his assassination attempts?” Although I hated the jealousy in my tone, I couldn’t prevent voicing my bitterness. Char fought to keep the smile from emerging, but Dimitri’s lips twitched at one corner.
Not one to go for just a pretty face, I couldn’t understand my reaction to the shifter, especially after finding out about his engagement. I might be a witch, but I grew up reading and watching the story ofLittle Red Riding Hoodoften enough to know what happened to gullible, dumb little girls.
They got eaten by the big bad wolf, that was what.
A shiver slithered up and down my spine.
“… he doesn’t understand that, if the truth comes out, he won’t only be destroying me. Our entire empire, something he covets more than the life of his son, will go down with me,” Dimitri grumbled, but I missed what he said before it.
“What exactly do you expect us to do?” From where I stood, there was a big fat zero on the possible things list that we could do.
“You could tell him that there was no book,” the Alpha suggested so casually I had to blink a few times in case I misheard him.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You could say you tried but found nothing.” He stopped my protests with a flick of a wrist. “That book is the only evidence he can use against me. After the attack on the beach, he already knows you are a witch, but that is something we can work with.” Sincerity oozed out of him like honey. “I will protect you, Miss McCullough.”
“Let me get this straight. You”—My finger poked at his chest since he stood close enough to touch—“will protect me”—The same finger jabbed at my own chest—“after you threatened me with exposing me to MPO? Did I hear that right?
“I simply needed the book and the name of who wanted it.” Dimitri made a face as if he smelled something foul. It irked me that he pulled it off without looking like he made a grimace. “I wouldn’t have done it.”
“And I should trust you because …”
“Honor among thieves?” His arched eyebrow mocked me when he hit me with my own stones. Meanwhile, Char’s head swiveled between us like she was watching a tennis match.
“No way, Jose.” Strands of my hair slapped my cheeks from how hard my head shook. “Next. I’m not lying. If you knew anything about me, you’d know how ridiculous that plan is. I might be a thief, but a liar I’m not.”
“She does have a point,” Char chirped and shrugged when I looked at her angrily. “You suck at lying.”
“It’s the only way for all parties to walk away unharmed,” Dimitri persisted.
“See, that’s where you are wrong. It’s the only way you and your psycho father walk away unharmed. I see a lot of harm coming my way with that plan.” My feet shuffled toward the door. “We are wasting time here. I have bags to pack, scramming to do, and all that. Good luck with your wedding.” My fingers wiggled in a goodbye, and I grabbed the doorknob.
“He will find you if you run.” My blood turned to ice at the shifters even tone. “Here, I can protect you.” I bristled at his boldness. Who the hell did he think he was?
Before I unloaded all my frustration on the Alpha, Char spoke. “There is another way.”
Dimitri and I perked, and I shuffled to join them with a longing look aimed at the padded door.
