Page 86 of Unhinged Magic
Was she for real? Did she really believe that? “I don’t know how to live with this,” I whispered into her hair, my fingers tangling against her scalp. “With all of it.”
She pulled away, pushing hair from my forehead. “We take it one day at a time, and I will be here every step of the way to support you.”
I couldn’t grasp the words coming from her. She was incredible, sostrong. I had put her through enough already, now this.
“I don’t deserve you,” I murmured.
“Yes, you do, and fate seems to think so, too.” She smiled, that cute as fuck dimple pinching her cheek again. “But you need to promise me one thing.”
Anything.
“What’s that?” I asked, ready to promise the world if she asked for it.
She continued, her tone serious now. “Nevershut me out.” Her request lingered between us, a silent yet potent promise.
“Done,” I agreed, and I meant it.
We drove in silence as we made our way to Coffee Cove, a comfort I rarely welcomed, but right now I desperately needed. We had so much to work through, but, as she said, we would take it one day at a time and work through it together. I was the luckiest man alive.
Skye
IglaredsuspiciouslyatScar sitting opposite me in a booth at Jinxed. Her long fingernails were painted black now, wound around the stem of a wine glass, turning it slowly in a clockwise motion. For the entire hour we had been here, she had been eyeballing Reid, who took drink orders at the bar. My bet was he had something to do with the reason she hauled my ass down here on a whim. She liked him, that much was obvious. But it seemed he was oblivious to the fact his smoking hot friend had one banger of a crush on him.
“You like him,” I said, nodding in his direction.
Scar bristled for mere seconds before a careful mask muted her features again. “Who, Reid?” She made a show of acting like she had no clue what I was talking about.
“Yeah, Reid,” I said simply, unable to stop the smile on my face. “Admit it.”
She leaned against the back of the booth, folding her arms across her chest, daring a look in his direction. She not-so-subtly pulled her gaze away as he lifted his chin in acknowledgement.
I sweetly gave him a wave instead.
A brow arched, he lifted his hand in return.
I let out a light laugh, directing my attention back to my best friend. “Not subtle at all. Why don’t you just ask him out?”
Scar huffed, taking a long drink of her wine. “You don’t screw the crew, you of all people know that. Besides, Reid doesn’t date.”
I laughed inwardly at her comment. Ididknow about that. In fact, I was the best example of why youdon’t'screw the crew'.
“Unless you’re fated mates, of course.” She lifted a finger pointedly. “That’s different.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, well, we all know how that’s worked out for me so far.”
“About that…” She dug into her handbag, pulling out the photo from the house. Her elbow rested on the table as she held the photo between her middle and index finger, wiggling it in the air. “That’s why I brought you here.”
Both confusion and apprehension hit me at once. “Wow, must be good news if you need to liquor me up first.” I took a long drink of my vodka soda. “Hit me with it. What did you find out?”
She pushed the photo across the table, the couple staring back at me. “That,” she said, pausing for a moment, waiting until I looked up at her again. “Is Edward and Iris Moldsworth, the original owners of the manor.”
“Okay...?”
Scar dipped her head to the side, her lips pursing before she spoke. “I asked the Elders to look into it for me. They seem to think Iris contracted a nasty virus that ultimately caused her death. Sadly, Edward passed away a year later.”
I stared at the photo, their somber story still no help. “That’s bittersweet. Maybe what they say is true. You can actually die of a broken heart.”
I imagined what a love like that would feel like. To lose a loved one that you cared so much for that it caused your ownheart to want to join them on the other side. It was beautiful, yet devastatingly tragic. I picked up the photo, studying it closely. There didn’t seem to be any obvious size difference like that of a werewolf or starved of the sun like a vampire.
