Page 15 of Hybrid Hearts

“It’s not nothing. It’s badass,” Carter adds.

“The ghost heard them planning to kill you for doing that.”

“Well, that’s pretty dramatic,” Rachel says, stepping past me. “But it sounds like something the top bitch might say when she’s pissed off.”

She isn’t the slightest bit worried about this. Carter doesn’t seem to be taking it seriously either.

Maybe it was nothing. The ghost might have been trying to freak me out.

That seems far more likely than coming across a spirit who isn’t totally self-absorbed.

I try to relax as I follow them both into the kitchen.

I find Carter grabbing sodas from the fridge while Rachel looks at the cooking prep with a raised eyebrow. She goes over to the cookbook that’s open on the counter.

“This looks ambitious,” she tells me, casting her gaze over the recipe.

“It’s easier than it looks,” I say, hoping I’m right.

It doesn’t come naturally, but I like that my efforts have the ability to make her smile. I’ve been trying little bits at a time to get better, and I wouldn’t call it fun, exactly, but I’ve been known to get in the zone with it and sometimes the end result is pretty incredible.

“Well, how can I help?” she asks.

“You can pass me the spices,” I tell her.

Carter wraps his arms around her from behind and he leans his head against hers. It makes the blue streaks she lets him dye into her blonde hair seem more prominent. A little hint of jealousy bubbles up inside, that I attempt to squash back down quickly.

He feels it because he’s an Omega and because he can read minds.

He doesn’t say anything, but I catch the way he looks at me.

He feels sorry for me. That asshole.

Don’t fucking read my mind, I think at him.

I turn away and go back to prepping the meat.

“Spices?” Rachel asks when Carter lets her go.

“Right,” I say, looking at the book. “Paprika, first.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Carter says, disappearing with a can of soda.

I let out a breath and try not to think about it.

When I look out the window, the ghost is back, and I realize the ball of dread isn’t gone.

I know Rachel isn’t worried about those witches, but I will be until I know for sure they’re not going to hurt my mate. Rachel is powerful. She might be the most powerful witch in town. That doesn’t make her invincible.

I’ll talk to Adrian when I go to the bar after dinner.

He’ll know what to do about this.

Chapter Nine

adrian

TheWitchandWolfis finally starting to draw in more customers, which is good for the business even if it means there’s only one day a week where my whole pack can be together. It’s taken a lot of work to get to a place where it feels like the bar is running like it used to back when my parents were around. There’s still a long way to go to get us out of the red, but it actually feels like that’s going to happen now, and it’s all because of Rachel.

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