Eleven
Riley
Gone. It was all gone. The raw, mindless panic that consumed me when faced with a warlock had vanished as easily as Oscar had performed that spell.
One tiny use of magic—out in the open where everyone could see, no less—had removed a fairly significant barrier to me getting the help I needed to end my wandering curse for good.
Now I was standing in front of my fated mate and finally able to take him in.
We both stood tall at around six-one, though his frame was leaner than mine, more of a runner’s build.
Without already knowing he was an academic, I could sense the bookish man underneath that magic.
My nose twitched with the spice of his power and the underlying scent of paper. The combination was oddly soothing.
Before Oscar’s magic, I would have abandoned my cart and fled the well-stocked supermarket. I would have left my friend behind and run back to my cabin and hidden for the rest of the day. Then I’d have ordered delivery because the pantry was bare and I couldn’t ever go to the store again.
In one short magical working, Oscar gave me hope again. So, when he urged me to give Gareth a chance, I couldn’t help but accept.
I wanted to, though. The tiny part of me that had been curious about my mate flared to life.
Almost as if it had taken over my brain, I found myself eager to listen to Gareth.
I must have lost my mind. It was hormones, the connection we shared, something.
That had to be the reason I was putting aside my concerns to listen to Gareth when he was probably spinning me a line.
It was probably why I went and made things so much worse.
“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” I wanted to curse my mother for bringing me up with manners.
Not only was I listening to a warlock, but I was also inviting him home and feeding him.
The absolute joy on Gareth’s face, and the cautious hope on Oscar’s, meant there was no taking it back. “Oh! Um, yes. I’d like that. Give me half an hour and I’ll take this home…” He brandished his basket. “So I can gather my research.”
“Right, okay.” Suddenly, everything was more awkward than it had been. I needed a moment to work through it all. What had I just done?
While the aversion spell was gone, there was still a natural wariness rooted deep inside me.
Years and years of history with an egomaniacal sorcerer would do that to a person, especially one who’d been used as ingredients for his spells.
Just because one curse was gone, it didn’t mean I was about to put my trust in Gareth without making him earn it.
Gareth hurried off without a backward glance, clearly worried I’d change my mind. I had. Over and over, I was swinging back and forth over what I should do. Cancel? Take Oscar and hide somewhere? Actually feed him?
Then it hit me. Sharing a meal between fated mates was part of establishing a bond! No wonder Gareth was so excited about this.
“Wow! Fluorescent lighting isn’t usually flattering, but your mate is hot!
Those cheekbones!” Oscar had a dreamy look on his face.
I wanted to shake him. A feeling of possessiveness washed over me.
I could feel my glare boring into him. “Whoops! He’s all yours, Riley.
” He held his hands up in a placating manner and changed the subject.
“What are we feeding him? You still want me to come for dinner, right?”
That shook me out of my head. “What? Of course I do. I need you as a buffer!”
Oscar bumped his shoulder against mine. “Buffer is on board. We need something quick and easy to feed us, though.”
“Right.” I looked at the contents of the cart.
Nothing in there was enough to make a decent meal, despite my earlier offer to Oscar.
I felt a sudden need to impress Gareth with my cooking.
Growing up with a single parent, I’d learned a few things in the kitchen to feed us when Mom had to work extra shifts.
Paxton, my older brother, had spent a lot of time making sure that I was self-sufficient so he could go to his job, or play football, without worrying about me.
“We need something that doesn’t take a lot of time,” Oscar mused as he scanned the shelves. I wasn’t sure what he thought he was going to find for dinner in the cereal aisle.
“Pasta? There’s this dish that I can make with precooked chicken. We just need mushrooms, cream cheese…” I trailed off as I found where I needed to go to get the ingredients.
My new friend followed me as I quickly assembled everything I needed and checked out.
Together, we rushed to the cabin I was staying in.
“Oh! We’re practically neighbors, look! There’s my apartment just over there!
” Oscar lit up at seeing how close we lived to each other.
“Oh, my cabin when I arrived was the one next door. They’re almost identical. Aren’t they nice?”
“Yeah, much more than I expected.”
“My apartment number’s four if you need me, okay?”
“Sure. Glad to have a friendly face nearby,” I said, as I ushered Oscar inside and began unpacking in the small kitchen. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it would do for making a simple meal.
I put everything I didn’t need away and then washed my hands before preparing the mushrooms.
“What can I do?” Oscar asked.
“You can wash up and then make a quick salad.”
Handing over the vegetables, I got to work alongside Oscar. We slipped into a companionable silence while we worked.
The knock at the door a little while later startled me into almost dropping the pot of freshly cooked noodles. I set them down and looked anxiously at the door.
“I’ll get it. You finish up,” Oscar suggested as he dried his hands.
“Thanks,” I muttered gratefully before concentrating on my task, trying to ignore the feeling of Gareth coming into my space.
My skin felt tight with my anxiety. Some of it was the lingering effects of the aversion curse.
I’d lived with it for so long that it was second nature to want to run away in the presence of a warlock.
It was going to take time to get used to.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. What I longed to do was break into one of my animal forms. Well, my fox form. I wanted to cuddle up in a ball with my tail covering my face, hiding me from the world. I wanted the safety and security that being in that form gave me.
Oscar led Gareth into the cabin, taking his coat and the bottle of wine Gareth had clearly brought with him. He had good manners, at least. At his side, Gareth had a messenger bag. I assumed this was where he had the evidence he was hoping to show me.
I wondered if I was just stringing him along. Now that the first of my curses was gone, would I be open to hearing him out? To see the proof he’d said he had found?
Deep in the recesses of my heart, I knew the answer. Yes. He was my fated mate. It was only natural that I wanted him to be safe to be around. Besides, after all these years alone, I wanted to belong to someone. To Gareth. The person who was supposed to be the missing part of my soul.
The food was ready, and I plated it while sneaking glimpses of my mate.
Dressed in gray wool pants with a cream sweater made of what looked like cashmere.
He looked cool and calm, though I caught the tremble of his hands as he set his things on the hardwood floor.
Everything about him looked friendly, safe, warm, inviting.
The overhead light turned the highlights of his hair into gold. Damn, he was tempting.
Oscar was right, Gareth’s cheekbones were killer. They were high and sharp, giving his features a slightly birdlike feel, with a thin, straight nose under large, intelligent hazel eyes. I often noticed his eyes turned in my direction. He watched me as much as I watched him.
There wasn’t a dining table, so I placed our food on the coffee table and gestured at the others to help themselves. Gareth took a seat in the only armchair, leaving a safe distance between us, and began piling food onto his plate. “This looks delicious. What is it?”
“Um…” I hesitated. Gareth shrunk a little, which made me continue. “it’s creamy garlic chicken pasta. A recipe my mom taught me. I had to cheat and use precooked chicken, but I think it turned out okay.”
Gareth shoved a forkful into his mouth and let out a groan. “Fuck! That’s so good!” he said around a mouthful, making me smile. I loved it when people enjoyed my food.
“Oh my gods, yes! This is fantastic!” Oscar ate enthusiastically, acting as the perfect buffer.
Content that they were happy, I served myself and took careful bites. Now that I didn’t have cooking and hosting to occupy my brain, my tension was flowing back in.
They continued to empty their plates, complimenting the food, until they both sat back, looking full and slightly sleepy.
“You being my neighbor is the best news of the day. I need you to feed me more often. Honestly, I’m a disaster in the kitchen.
I’m useless at anything aside from basic potions,” Oscar remarked with an unrepentant grin.
Gareth opened his eyes sleepily. “That was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time, but I promised you facts and reassurances.
” His eyes met mine, and I saw affection and peace there.
Sharing a simple meal together, even with our buffer, had made him happy.
The very idea caused a pang in my heart.
Gareth asked for so little. He seemed ready to go at my pace.
With a gentle smile, he leaned over to get his bag, exposing a patch of creamy skin and toned muscles. “Okay,” he said, pulling out a notebook. “I’ve been putting this into sections and trying to track down fated?mate pairings near here. We’ve got two couples that fit in Greyhaven that I know of.”
“Is this so they can demonstrate it?” I asked warily.
I looked at the information written in a slightly messy scrawl on the page and then at the photocopies of books that Gareth spread out on the arms of the sofa and the chair.
He’d put a lot of work into this. Over my years as a cursed being, I’d done my fair share of research.
This put all of mine to shame. It was meticulous and utterly undeniable.
In front of me was something I could never argue against. There were cases upon cases of mates showing how their magic didn’t work on their partner.
Even before a bond, they were immune. My eyes scanned all the pages.
Unknowingly, I’d gotten up and drifted closer to Gareth, drawn in by our connection and somehow soothed by all of this.
This, the information he had painstakingly collated, probably taking days of work, was exactly what I needed to see. Then I realized I needed more than words. I needed to see it.
I took a deep breath and trusted my inner senses on this. “Try something on me.”