Page 16 of The Forty-Year-Old Virgin Witch

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It was crazy to think I’d first glimpsed Aggie only two days ago. Imagining my life without her already felt impossible.

The trip to visit my aunt had been an absolute whim, and more of a stalling device than a decision made purposefully. I’d been away from my pack for two years now, and literally couldn’t go back to them empty handed. My father’s disappointment hung around my neck like a heavy weight, but it had nothing on the disappointment I had in myself. I had potential to be an alpha—we’d both felt it ever since I was a boy. Yet an alpha needed a mate, someone to balance and ground him.

For the others in my pack, it had seemed laughably easy. A smile, a beckon, and then a mateship a few days later. It was too easy. Yet at the same time, I had never been overly interested in other females. I’d bedded them, but they’d had the same expectations I had: a quick tumble and the ability to brag they’d been with me. No female had even captured my attention the way Aggie had. And yet…

If my father knew I was sniffing around a witch, he’d be pissed. It wasn’t unheard of for a wolf to find a mate of another species, but it wasn’t done if one was to be the alpha one day.

I snarled, and a woman tending to her flowers jumped. I shot her an apologetic look, and she immediately beamed at me. Having a pretty face was good for something, at least.

Despite the nagging, I’d grown attached to my aunt’s house in the last week or so I’d been here. It was quiet, which was different than the hustle and bustle of pack or city life. I found I preferred it.

Yet once in the village, the curiosity of others was intrusive. Daughters and mothers both pushed themselves at me, and it was annoying. Abroad I could be as rude as I wanted. But here in my aunt’s town, I didn’t want my actions to reflect poorly on her, so I tried to be as polite as possible.

Even if they were all busybodies.

I catalogedthe smells from Aggie’s fridge in my head, going over what I needed to purchase.

“Eggs, whole milk, chicken, cheddar cheese, mayo, strawberry ice cream.” There had been another scent that was hard to identify, but I knew as soon as I was inside the store I’d likely pick it up.

The town market was barely more than an overly large shed converted into a store, but it had everything I’d smelled. After a moment of investigating, I matched the odd smell to a tiny freezer plugged in at the back wall. I opened the door, and stuck my head in. I realized that I had smelled two separate items, so I grabbed one of each and then made my way to the register.

“Ah, you must be shopping for Miss Aggie.”

The old gentleman behind the counter only laughed as I raised an eyebrow.

“She is the only one I keep those for,” he explained. “Says she misses them from the States.”

Looking down, I couldn’t help but grin. You couldn’t get more American than burgers and hot dogs, that was for sure. I wondered again how an American witch ended up so far from home.

The older man said an amount, but I had no idea what it meant. I held up the pack credit card with a hopeful grin, and he rolled his eyes.

“You’re lucky. Just had it installed last week.”

He pointed to the card reader in front of the counter, and I released an uneasy breath of air. That would have been embarrassing—to return with nothing. The vamp would be unlikely to let me forget it, too.

I gathered the groceries easily in one hand, to the shock of the cashier. I stopped and shifted some to the other arm, trying to look properly weighed down

“Well ... thanks.”

I hustled out of there probably more quickly than was polite, but I hated how people stared. If there was one thing that would be good about returning to the pack, it would be not having to hide my strength anymore.

Unless Aggie wants to stay.

The thought almost caused me to stop. I had told her I’d stay here, hadn’t I? As I turned the thought over in my head, I realized I was ok with it. Hell, I’d repress my inner wolf for the rest of my life if it meant I could be with her. It was hard to explain, but I felt my own connection with the earth strengthen when I was with her.

In no time at all I was back at the cottage.Planning your future tended to do that.

“Did you get everything?”

The vamp looked up as I gently nudged open the front door with my toe. He was at the sink washing lettuce and had a ridiculous purple apron around his waist that must have belonged to Aggie. I squelched the desire to make a smart comment and laid everything on the table instead.

Karl had been busy while I was gone. Carrots, onions, tomatoes, squash, and a hodgepodge of fruits and other herbs were carefully laid out on the table, ready to be stored. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Her garden is quite sufficient.Not that I would expect anything else from a witch."

worked side by side quietly, him putting away the herbs and veggies, and me sorting out the fridge. Once finished, we both glanced at her sleeping form, and then back at each other.

“So…have a seat?”

Karl sat stiffly at the kitchen table, and I slumped down next to him.

“I’m guessing you’re not leaving unless she asks?”

Karl’s glare could have stripped paint from a stone, and I laughed.

“I figured.”

Karl and I settled in, waiting for our witch to awaken.

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