Page 5 of Pitch a Witch
I was already wiggling my fingers in the back pocket of my high-waisted baggy jeans, which I’d paired with a Prada bralette top that gave me a cute skater look that was still very feminine thanks to the silver Louboutin pumps I had on. The light denim jacket matched it perfectly, too. Skinny jeans were so last season, and breaking up with them was one of the best fashion choices I'd made in a while.
“Shopping.” Grinning like a mad woman, I flicked my black credit card at his face. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We will investigate, plus we will get ourselves lots of goodies. What do you say?”
“I say I’ve never met a female who loves spending money the way you do.” The shifter smiled enigmatically and shook his head at me. “Far be it for me to stand between you and a store. I’m not that brave.”
“You’re hoping that I’ll get too engrossed in pretties that I’ll forget about sneaking inside the coven, don’t you?” Laughing at the sheepish grin tugging on his mouth, I looped my arm through his as soon as he rounded the car and dragged him down the sidewalk. “I can totally multitask.”
“Do your thing, and I’ll keep an eye on everything else.” His dark eyes twinkled when he glanced at me, and a sharp pang stabbed me in the chest.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
All my justifications sounded lame when hope flashed in his irises. The way his body tilted toward me and his warm hand covered mine where I gripped his forearm, or how his smile seemed brighter, flirtier, all of it screamed at me to stop being an ass and hide inside the car. But that meant going back to pack lands where there was no Sissily. There was a special place in hell for those like me, that much I knew.
“You are awesome, Ace.” Instead of turning back, I beamed at him while guilt drilled a hole in my stomach.
You are doing it for Sissily. She’d do the same for you. No matter how many times I repeated it, it didn’t make me feel better. If I had a brain, I would’ve called my friend and asked her to meet us or even visit the Alpha’s house. Stubbornly, I waited for her to call, which didn’t happen. Hurting Ace again only added another stain on my soul—one I wouldn’t be able to wash out.
The next hour or so, I dragged the shifter from store to store, piling his arms with bags and drowning in misery every time he laughed or whistled when I tried something on. To appease my guilt, I showered him with gifts too, for which he protested loudly. No amount of explaining that it was for him helping to keep me sane stopped his grumbling, but I did it anyway.
In the last store, I perched him in the chair in front of the dressing rooms and told him I’d like to try one of the dresses. After I picked one that would look more appropriate on a prostitute than anyone else and made sure he waited with anticipation to see me in it, I ducked out of the store and left him behind. I was at the end of the block, my heels tapping a staccato rhythm over the sidewalk when I heard his roar.
“Hazel!” Ace’s shout bellowed down the street, and I winced.
Fuck my life. Now the whole city knew I was there. Jumping from one foot to the other, I yanked my Louboutins off, and clutching them in both hands, I hightailed it toward the coven.
4
The coven building loomed above me like a menacing beast when I reached the marble stairs that would lead me to the front doors. Half of the domed roof was still caved in from my fiasco in the library, and one side of the obsidian wall was in shambles.
Hysterical laughter bubbled out of my chest when I looked at the keys above the double doors, their red color like a splash of blood over the black stone. One was dangling crookedly while it fought gravity, one was missing, and the third was half visible, the rest covered in soot and dust. If Hecate hadn’t been pissed at me before I blew the coven up, she sure as hell would be now.
A few cars were parked in the parking lot on my left.
“It’s now or never, Hazel.” A deranged snicker rasped out of my throat, and I stretched my legs as far as I could to reach the building faster, my bare feet slapping the marble since I was clutching the silver pumps in my hands like spiked dumbbells used for exercise.
All my hopes rested on my best friend being inside the building.
The glow on my skin, which had diminished while shopping, burst into existence the closer I got to the sizeable entrance. The short hairs on my neck prickled with awareness, alerting me that someone was watching my progress, so I redoubled my efforts. Working out with the shifters had helped for something, at least, though I had a feeling Ace was gaining on me.
Someone shouted when I crashed through the front doors and sent them flying to the opposite sides of the walls before they ducked away from the long hallway. Shock speared through me. How was I capable of doing that when usually the doors were heavy enough to require a full-body shove to nudge them a few inches?
My arms pumped as I flew toward the only place I thought my friend would visit, ignoring the black candles with their unmoving blue flames. As soon as I took a turn to reach the training facilities, voices echoed behind me, lighting a fire under my butt. Whoever I’d startled with my not-so-subtle entrance had called reinforcements.
Secretly, I hoped it was Sasha Airborne they sent after me.
The training room was empty.
I doubled over, panting and clutching my Louboutin pumps to my chest while tears burned the back of my eyes. Mats were pushed to one side, and the standing punching bags were clustered in another corner. Debris sat in a couple of piles with brooms leaned on the wall next to them. Just another reminder of what I’d done to the coven.
I wanted to cry. Dumb really, but there you had it.
Behind me, the door banged open when whoever had given chase finally caught up to me. They panted heavily, too, but didn’t say a word when I straightened and, without turning to face them, proceeded to put my shoes back on. Sweat glistened on my skin, and I wanted to peel the jacket off me, but I didn’t.
“Miss Byrne, we didn’t expect you here anytime soon.” The nasal tone had me grinding my molars instantly.
“High Priest Shadowblood, how very nice to see you up and about.” I turned his way, cocking an eyebrow at the old man. “How’s the noggin? Still ticking, I see.” I rapped my knuckles over my own skull for demonstration.
As always, hatred burned in his beady eyes, and I could’ve sworn all the shadows around us pulsed in sync with the fluttering vein on his neck. I zeroed-in on it, and my magic surged as if sensing a tasty treat. Clenching my fists until my nails bit into the skin of my palms, I shoved it down like Amber had taught me and smiled at him.
