Page 25 of The Warlock & the Witch

Energy thrummed. He assumed it was from her before he realized that he knew her energy—and he didn’t recognize this one. In the blink of an eye, he was on the move, exiting the cottage through the window in the room and running to the source. His magic was on the move, too, building and building in his arms and legs as he turned the corner, ready to launch the strike—

“No! Don’t you dare!”

A shadowy figure charged toward him, but Pearl was already grabbing his shirt and hauling him out of the way. He didn’t budge, so she spun to face the charge, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. Henry protested, grabbing her wrist to get her out of the way.

“Pearl, get out of—”

“You!” she hissed, ignoring him. “Don’t you dare. Moon, focus!”

Moon?

The name glissaded in his senses and settled. The figure crossed a beam of moonlight, allowing him to see what the shadow hid earlier: a younger man with sleek muscles, but covered in fur and limbs longer than they were supposed to be. Comprehension dawned that it had been in wolf form earlier and ready to attack him, but Pearl’s command brought it back into focus as the yellow eyes turned golden and the fur disappeared completely. When Moon finally skidded to a halt in front of Pearl, the man was naked and vibrating with wariness.

“Cover up,” Pearl snapped. Henry raised a brow when Moon immediately turned sheepish and hastily let fur grow on his private parts. Then the man met his gaze.

“Intruder,” Moon declared. “Trespasser.”

“Look more closely,” she said.

Those golden orbs swept over him from head to foot, a thorough assessment. They settled on his face and Moon emitted a bloodcurdling growl. It was territorial, which he supposed made sense, since Moon had been adopted by the Suttons and granted residence here along with Maddox—the only two non-warlock males to be given the privilege.

“Lyra,” Moon bit out. “He’s definitely an intruder.”

But Pearl was shaking her head persistently, then shooing Moon away. The man eyed her in disbelief before reluctantly moving away. Just a bit.

“Gunther would have been,” she returned. “But Henry isn’t. I invited him here.”

The turn of conversation made Henry feel left out—and as confused as ever. He made a sound to express his frustration until Pearl finally turned her head his way.

“What do you have against my brother?” he demanded.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. For the first time, he watched her battle with an uncertainty that didn’t suit her overall confidence. Pearl was the epitome of confidence, even when she was laden with fury for his brother, or cursing a potion that wasn’t working right.

“Maybe you should ask him yourself—”

“I’m asking you.”

She sniffed. “It’s a long story and it’s none of my business. Besides, I think hearing it from his mouth—the truth, at least—would make it more believable for you.”

He waited for more, but she was done with the subject, firm on her stance not to say anything. Belatedly, it registered that they were still standing close, allowing him to see the darker flecks in her white-gray eyes. He was also still holding her wrist, and it quivered when his thumb rubbed it soothingly—an action he never did to anyone, but his mother did to him when he was a kid.

Taken aback, he let her go and flexed his hand behind him. He cleared his throat when she kept her gaze on him, refusing to look back and sternly eyeing Moon instead.

“Is he done with his wilding?”

“I wasn’t wilding,” Moon protested. “I was protecting my territory. Your presence is strong.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“I’ve experienced stronger.”

Pearl bit back a snort at the well-placed jab. Henry took it with a frown, triggering her snort to finally come out.

“He’s right, you know, no insult intended. We have experienced demons from hell, a dragon shifter in full rage mode, and a Fae army intent on murder.”

“And a family of warlocks and witches can’t compare?”

“They can. But at the end of the day, a family of warlocks and witches is our ally when push comes to shove.”

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