Page 15 of Return to Garoureve

Chapter 6

Ittookthreedaysbefore Henrik returned to the shop. At first, she feared he wasn’t coming back at all, and her magic had scared him away for good, which would be... good. It would be good for them to be separate. Being together was impossible. He should keep his distance.

What if she lost control of her abilities? What if the next thing to catch fire was him?

When he returned, he once again had a potted plant in his hand, only this time, it was filled with poppies. It wasn’t even the time of year for poppies to be in bloom, particularly this far north.

But, she knew what he meant with them. Calm and peace... unless he was bringing them for medicinal reasons, in which case, she should probably remind him that she was never too good at making medicine.

“Thank you,” she said, her words clipped as he set it down on the counter.

He dipped his head slightly, then backed up a few steps. There was a clear distance between them, but he didn’t turn to leave, and instead stared at her. He didn’t speak, which was a shame, because she loved hearing his voice.

“I spoke to my mother.”

Shit. She hadn’t meant to say that.

“And?” His voice sounded so hopeful.

“And she fucked up. There’s no fixing this.”

The silence between them said it all, and after a few minutes, he nodded his head and left.

“IsVioletin?”

Violet looked up from her client, startled. This was the first time Henrik had stopped by in the early evening. Normally, she only had clients after dark. Something about feeling settled, but also so she had her day free for whatever she so chose. She had assumed, when he hadn’t shown up during lunch, that she had scared him off for a few days.

Apparently, he was simply stopping by late.

“She’s with a client right now,” Drake answered. Violet winced, annoyed he would be the one at the desk. He would be the least forgiving. For as much as the two of them were not friends, he was also very protective. “You can leave a note if you want.”

Violet could sense the hesitation, and for half a breath, she wanted to run out there and say something to him. Sam was staring at her phone, completely zoned out while waiting for her to finish prep work. It would be okay, for just a minute, right?

“Naw. I’ll, uh, stop by tomorrow.”

She should go out there and see him. Just, show her face. Say hi. She should—

Setting down everything in her hands, Violet rushed to the doorway, bumping her thigh against a cabinet on her way. She groaned, hopping awkwardly to look out towards the reception desk, only to see him pushing open the door and leaving. Shit, she had missed him. She had—

“Girl, you okay?” Sam asked. Turning around, Violet gave her friend a tight smile. Yeah... better to play it off like she was in physical pain rather than admit her heart was breaking.

“Yeah. Just ran straight into that thing.”

“Where were you even going so fast? Girl, you made me think there was a food truck or something out there.”

Violet laughed as she went back to her work, getting ready to sit down and add a little ink to her friend’s skin. She needed to stop thinking about Henrik and think instead about her art. She needed to lose herself in the vibrations of the machine and the power in her fingertips.

She needed to stop thinking about her wolf soulmate.

“Just a guy out there.”

“Just a guy? Vi-o-Vi, don’t tell me you’re cheating on me.”

Violet rolled her eyes at her friend’s teasing, and picked up her gloves to begin. “I told you, my heart is already taken.”

“And is this the guy?”

Violet smiled to herself, but it felt bittersweet and empty.

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