Page 12 of The Wolf and His Forbidden Witch
She nodded. “Aunt Colleen is only twelve years older than me, so sometimes it seems we’re more like sisters. We live in an apartment over her store in Salem, where we offer readings and sell magical ingredients or supplies, unless we’re on an assignment for the network.”
“Do you like it?” His eyes probed her.
The way he asked that question suggested he could read her underlying reservations. Perhaps she’d unintentionally conveyed it in her tone. “Sometimes.” She shrugged. “And others…” No need to tell her client that she had doubts about continuing with what he’d hired her to do. “What about you?” She diverted the conversation to him. “I know you’re a badass CFO and beta shifter of your pack. Is there time for anything else?” She tilted her head, hoping it didn’t sound as if she was probing about his personal life, and then sipped her wine.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really. It keeps me busy.”
“What about family?”A girlfriend?
“My parents died when I was young—a direct result of violence between packs.”
“Oh.” Empathy swept through her. She leaned back in her chair. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It was a long time ago.” He drank some beer. “But it’s one of the main reasons I want to avoid violence. They were killed in a pointless battle with another pack while traveling in Quebec. I ended up traveling south with my two younger sisters and we were taken in by this pack.”
“Are your sisters here?”
“No.” He shook his head. “They found their mates and moved away with them.”
She pursed her lips as they itched to ask something, wondering if it was too personal. It tugged at her with a perplexing discomfort.
Curiosity won out. “You haven’t found your mate?”
He fixed his eyes on her, and she couldn’t look away. In that moment, his expression appeared so vulnerable, it tugged at her heart. He opened his mouth as if about to say something, but then snapped it shut and glanced toward the entrance of the pub. Victoria had just entered, and she stared at them with cool eyes.
Grayson adjusted in his chair. “No.” He faced Aurora again.
At first, she thought Victoria’s dislike was because Aurora was a witch. Now she had another thought. Was there something going on between Victoria and Grayson?
* * *
In Damon’slog cabin an hour later, Aurora put Victoria out of her mind. Why bother caring about some shifter who would be out of her life soon enough?
Grayson introduced Aurora to Damon, a dark-haired enforcer with a rather wild look about him, and his mate, Sophie, an auburn-haired human with a kind smile, and then got right to the matter. “The Sacco pack has not relented on their demand. They still insist that an eye-for-an-eye means your head.” He nodded to Damon.
Sophie gasped and covered her heart. “No.”
“It will be okay,” Damon soothed her.
The gentle way he cared for Sophie’s well-being although he was the one being threatened pulled at Aurora’s heartstrings. The way he looked at Sophie was as if she was the most important thing in the world. Would anyone ever look at her like that? Unexpected longing rose inside her.
Grayson would meet his mate one day. Would he look at her like that? A pang of jealously twisted her gut, which was ludicrous. Why was she reacting so foolishly? She was a professional here on an assignment. Aprofessional, she reminded herself.
“Damon, you need to leave the area until we settle this dispute,” Grayson said. “It’s for your protection.”
He stood up straighter. “I can’t do that. I’m the reason this whole mess started to begin with.”
“But your continued presence will stoke their thirst for vengeance.” Grayson exchanged a glance with Damon, imploring him to listen.
“I should be here to defend the pack,” Damon insisted.
Grayson exhaled. “I understand that your role as an enforcer makes you feel a duty to the pack, but in this case, you’ll do a greater service by leaving for a while.”
“But—” Damon countered.
“I’m sorry, it’s on alpha’s orders,” Grayson declared in an understanding, but firm tone.
Damon nodded and glanced down. He then raised his gaze back to Grayson. “I’m not going anywhere without Sophie.”
