Page 17 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King
“No, honey,” Adelle said with a laugh, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. “A nightmare is Rune catching you sneaking out of the compound.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, her energy infectious as she grabbed her own things to prepare to leave.
As we headed toward the door, she threw an arm around my shoulders. “Welcome to the Quarter, Maple. Let’s make some bad decisions.”
And just like that, I found myself swept up in Adelle’s world, wondering what kind of trouble the night would bring—and if I was even remotely prepared for it.
Piles of paperworkwere stacked high on my desk. Couldn’t it all be magic and that be it? Why did I have to make sure the water bill was still paid or ensure people got salaries from their shops in town? I scrubbed my hands down my face as I looked over everything that needed to be done before the weekend was over. I sat back in the leather desk chair and weighed my options.
Louis tapped on the door before he entered the room. “What has you all up in knots?”
“Where do I start?” I sighed. “We could start with the marriage contract that I didn’t know about until my father’sdeath. The one that states our marriage was binding the moment it was signed. The fact that the coven will lose its mind if they find out that this is acontract. But I just broke up with Babette two weeks before I technically got married.”
Louis took a seat across from me and kicked one ankle over his knee. “The sooner you tell the coven you’re married, the better, but it won’t look good. It will look like you were cheating on Babette.”
I pulled my hands down my face. “I know, so that’s why I’m trying to keep all of this a secret. She’s new here, maybe the more I hang around her, the rumor will start that we are dating.”
Louis rolled his eyes. “You know the coven is already wondering why she’s here. They aren’t going to believe you just started dating out of the blue.”
I leaned forward against my desk. “Then I guess we better start a new rumor.”
Louis’ brows jumped on his forehead and it pulled the skin around the scar that stretched across his face. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
“I’m thinking we start a rumor that is centered around the truth. She’s here to help with the wolves, she has an affinity or her magic can help.”
“What is her magic?” Louis frowned.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “We haven’t exactly spoken much.”
I leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking beneath the weight of my exhaustion.
Louis shook his head. “You can’t afford to not know, Rune.”
Anger fizzled under my skin. “You think I don’t know that? I’m well aware of what is at stake here.”
Louis held his hands up in surrender and rose from his chair. “I’m just trying to help you. There’s no reason for you to do this alone.”
“My father did it alone,” I muttered.
Louis looked at the portrait of my father on the wall. “And look where all of that got him.”
My jaw clenched. “He did what he had to do.”
“And so will you,” Louis said, his voice softer now. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to do it the same way. You have people. Use them.”
I let out a slow breath. “I just need more time.”
“You don’t have time,” Louis said flatly. “The wolves are moving faster, the coven’s growing restless, and now we’ve got a girl in a silk skirt and combat boots being whispered about in every hallway.” He gave me a pointed look. “People want answers. You can either give them the ones you choose or wait until someone else starts making up their own.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Because he was right. Again.
Louis lingered by the door for a moment, then added, “If you’re not going to talk to her like a husband, then at least talk to her like a leader. She’s not stupid. She’ll know what’s at stake.”
Talk to her like her husband? She didn’t even know we were actually married. I’d managed to make all of this harder and worse on myself when I should have come clean from the beginning but admitting we were already married meant she would have to be in my quarters, taking up my space and I didn’t know how I could keep her away when she was that close.
I shoved away from the desk and stood up. I rolled my shoulders back as I thought about everything that needed my attention. I’d written the checks and signed off on paperwork, now all I needed to do was find Maple.
Maple wasn’tin her room, the kitchen, the library, or even Adelle’s room. Adelle was also nowhere to be found, which meant only one thing… Trouble.
