Page 55 of Haunted Hearts

“It’s nothing…”

“No, don’t give me that crap. I want to know what’s bothering you. How can I help you if I don’t know what’s going on?” I give her a little squeeze. “Come on, open up.”

Willow lets out a heavy sigh, her attention going back to the scrying pool. “Well…” she pauses. “For one, Brock and I got into a fight. I didn’t even see it coming, and now I don’t know what to do about it. Kwil, I… IlikeBrock. I didn’t mean to drive a wedge between us.”

Oh, I didn’t expectthis.

“What could you two have possibly fought about? You hardly know one another.” I try to weed through what little I know about the guy. Is there anything there that would cause a rift between them?

When Willow hesitates again, this time for longer, I have a sinking feeling that I know what the topic of their argument may have been about.

“Brock has some…reservationsabout my arrival to the Realm of the Dead and how it came around.” We both wince. “I told him that I made the decisions that led me here and I don’t blame any of you for anything. Brock wasn’t a fan of that answer. So, I let him know that if he can’t play nice, then he doesn’t get to play at all.”

Well, this explains a lot. Brock must have told Theodon how he feels about him and us. Knowing Theodon as I do, he’ll do nothing to jeopardize his relationship with Willow, even if that means having to deal with Brock’s coldness towards us. My earlier conversation with Theo makes more sense too. He won’t tell us about the reaper’s issue with us, sowedon’t hold a grudge against him. I surprise both of us as a soft chuckle slips past my lips. Willow blinks up at me as I turn to face her all the way. Willow shifts so that she’s facing me as well. Taking her hands in mine, I smile down at her.

“You can’t blame him for being upset, Willow. Hell, if our roles were reversed, I don’t know if I could play it as cool as Brock’s been about all of this.”

Willow scowls. “But none of this was your fault—”

“Actually, as I recall quite clearly, your death wasdirectlymy fault,” I interrupt before my throat can squeeze shut as the painful memories trudge up dark emotions. “And while it was justified and we’re all together now, the events leading up to your death are indirectlyourfault as well. Brock may not have had a life in the Realm of the Living but think about it, Little Minx. As a reaper he understands and values life. And as a mate, he most likely values your life above all others. He was born to be yours, Willow, and if he feels even half of what I feel for you, he’d want to make sure you had everything, including a full life, before you met your end."

The defiance on Willow’s face melts away slowly.

“I didn’t think about it like that…” She frowns. “Maybe I was a bit harsh.”

“There is nothing ‘harsh’ about you,” I correct gently. “But you sure know how to put people in their place. Just be patient with the guy, Willow.”

She tilts her head as her pupils narrow on me. “You’re awfully calm talking about the man who wants whatyouhave with me. Why is that?”

I shrug, “I’m going to need all the help I can get keeping you happy, or your dad is really going to kill us.”

Willow laughs and gently pushes me away as she shakes her head. I don’t let her get far. My fingers wrap around her wrist, and I tug her back. When she looks up at me, the deep emotions flickering in her gaze have lessened significantly.

“See? Aren’t you glad you told me? Now, what else is bothering you?” Before she can answer, I swoop down and plant a kiss on her lips. Her smile lingers a little longer before it falls away.

“Fulton reached out to me.”

My heart comes to an abrupt stop. Both of my hands land on her shoulders so that I can turn her to face me. I do a quick visual inspection and then sniff her. There’s no smell of blood and she doesn’t look like she’s in pain.

Kill warlock, the monster’s sinister voice snarls in my head.Tear apart.

I don’t disagree with its plan. Pushing the monster back, I focus on Willow, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Willow doesn’t hesitate. She dives into the story about the necromancer reaching out to her, what Fulton had threatened, and what happened afterwards. She bends down and lifts a skull up from the floor that I hadn’t noticed before.

“I thinkthiswas the weirdest part of it all,” she admits. “The rest just pissed me off.”

Willow raining bones down from the sky is the least of my concerns. In fact, the concept seems to excite the monster in me. That could be because it’s a psychopath, though.

My main focus and concern is Fulton. It takes a full minute for me to compose myself. The warlock threatened my mate from a whole otherrealm. I’m sure Fulton can’t do anything from there but the fact that he’s actively searching for a way to get his hands on Willow… I’m seeing red.

“Hey, Mystery Man, I need you to breathe or you’re going to pass out on me.”

Willow’s voice drags me back into the moment with her. When our eyes lock, she winks.

“There you are.” She tosses the skull into the corner of the room. “He’s not going to get me, Kwil, you know that right? I won’t let him, and you and the others won’t allow it to happen either.”

My hands tighten on her shoulders, as if that would keep her with me for always.

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