Page 1 of Pitch a Witch
1
“No.” That one word came like a slap across my face.
Bristling at the blatant refusal, my arms folded across my chest like they had a mind of their own. Standing in Alex Greywood’s home office was not my favorite pastime on the worst of days, but it was a solid plan to get my ass out of pack lands and back where I belonged. Unfortunately, I had to act like a ten-year-old having a tantrum, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do.
“They”—Speaking slowly and deliberately, I narrowed my eyes at the Alpha, who was scowling down his nose at me—“owe me a Mercedes SLK55. It’s a convertible, might I remind you. I have every right to demand they compensate me for my way-over-one-hundred-thousand-dollar car … in person.” My forefinger snapped at his face like a whip on that last part.
With a tortured groan that made me think the conversation was causing him physical pain, Alex shook his head at me. “I know how much that car costs. Hazel, but we need to deal with the vampires delicately, as you well know. We can’t demand anything if we are trying to convince them not to amalgamate with the demons and to leave you alone. It’s your life we are talking about here, woman. You must work with me on this.”
“Tell that to my poor car. They pulverized it, Alex.” Widening my peepers to get my point across better, I slammed my fist on his desk for emphasis. We both knew this had nothing to do with the vehicle or how much it cost since that was small potatoes for Danika’s bank account, but the great person he was, the Alpha played along with it … for the moment.
“Pulverized it.” His mouth twisted as if me repeating that fact was a foul stench drifting up his nose while I grinded my fist into the palm of my other hand to add a visual experience. “As in smashed it like it owed them a life debt. Its guts were sprinkled all over the road, too. You can check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me, since it’s used as a scarecrow in the middle of a freaking cornfield now.”
A soft click announced the door of the office opening, and Amber poked her head inside, brightening the moment her eyes landed on her mate. He dropped the glower as well, turning his body toward her like she was the sun in his solar system and he gravitated toward it subconsciously. It was always as disgusting as it was fascinating to see how much these two loved each other. And I meant disgusting in the sweetest possible way. Anyone around them wished to find a connection like that, but rarely anyone got lucky enough to experience it.
One thing I knew for sure was I’d never find that in my lifetime.
“I can come back later if you two are busy,” Amber addressed Alex, but her warm smile was aimed at me.
I curled the corners of my lips tightly in return, fighting the need to squirm. I adored the redhead more than anyone else and didn’t deserve her kindness. With her presence, my plan to get back to my house had gone down the drain, however. Guilt drilled a hole in my stomach from the thought.
“No, no. Please come in, my love. Maybe you can talk some sense into her,” Alex huffed, waving a hand toward me as if there was another idiot standing inside his office with us and he needed to point out who he was talking about. “She’s as stubborn as any other female in this house. It’s like talking to a brick wall. Are we absolutely certain she’s not a shifter?”
“Why is it that I’m being called stubborn for refusing to let them get away with constantly causing unnecessary damage to others?” Turning from Alex to Amber, I raised my eyebrows all the way to my hairline. “Do you know what I’ve had to sacrifice because of demons and vampires lately? Do you?”
“Is this about the boots again? I swear to the full moon I will start howling if I hear one more thing about shoes or clothing,” the Alpha snarled at me, his finger pointed accusingly at my face.
Amber snickered, stepping inside and closing the door. I watched her from the corner of my eye as she moved to join him behind the long wooden desk while I continued my argument, disregarding the little tid-bit that I was an adult woman and not a snotty child.
“They were designer boots, as I’ve pointed out many times. You are a guy, so of course you don’t sympathize with my pain on that matter.” My pout made a muscle twitch under his green eye. The blue one shot daggers at me. “I just bought them, too.” Was I acting like a sullen toddler? Why, yes. Yes, I was.
“Sit down, love.” Amber patted her mate on the chest and, none too gently, shoved him in the leather chair. He huffed and narrowed his gaze on her but wisely stayed silent. “We don’t want you to burst a blood vessel while Hazel here is trying to find a way to leave pack lands.”
“What … I … I would never.” Stuttering and acting appalled at the accusations, I made the mistake of laying it on too thick. “I’m not dumb to leave when I’m safe and protected here.”
I winced.
I should’ve just stopped at “never.”
Damn it.
“Like you didn’t try to sneak out yesterday when the patrol found you trying to hot-wire one of the vehicles?” Amber giggled good-naturedly, but a storm darkened her mate’s face as his eyes drilled holes in my face from across the desk.
My mouth opened and closed, yet nothing came out of it. Admitting defeat was never easy for me, but I had it on good authority that this battle wouldn’t be won if what I knew about Alex Greywood was true. Not at that moment anyway. So, shrewdly I shrugged and toed the edge of the rug with my shoe like a teenager. It was painful to see my masterplan backfire.
“If I say I was testing how effective your beta’s teams were when on patrol, would you believe me?” With a syrupy smile plastered on my face, I mockingly fluttered my eyelashes at the Alpha. I was going out of my freaking mind. He knew it, I knew it, and the entire fucking pack knew I was ready to peel off my own skin from frustration.
Instead of shouting, reprimanding, or even kicking me out as any other person with a brain would’ve done in his place after my obnoxious behavior, Alex slouched in the chair with a sigh. “Why?” was all he asked, and it came out in a low, even tone while he rubbed a hand over his face.
“It’s been eight days, nine hours, and thirty-four minutes, Alex. No one has returned with any answers or a fucking solution to my little problem here.” His arched eyebrow chafed at me bad.
Not even Amber shaking her head at me in disappointment could change the fact that I was miserable enough to risk death just so I could join Sissily out there. I missed my friend more than anything else, although she probably hated my guts after seeing what kind of a freak I was.
“Yes, I’ve been counting, damn it. You would be, too, if you had to hide like a coward while everyone you care about is risking their life out there.”
“Who are you and what did you do to Hazel?” Astonished, I gaped as he peered at me with a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
It took my brain a moment to register that he’d joked to lessen the tension radiating from me. Ever since I was deposited on his doorstep like some unwanted offspring, I worked hard daily to learn about the unexpected magic I suddenly had. Be it with Amber in the mornings where she did everything to make me comfortable with all the emotional changes happening inside my body, or with a multitude of shifters, including their Alpha, to keep me in top physical shape so I didn’t succumb to my powers. I still felt trapped, no matter what little progress I’d made or whatever fun I had, by the fact I was no longer a dud.
