Chapter 5
My knuckles ached from squeezing the whiteboard marker clutched in my fingers. I was in the middle of a routine derivation for my physics students. It was Friday afternoon, and our lecture felt endless today.
Mostly because of what had happened yesterday—
“Uhm. Professor Miller?” Maria’s hesitant voice had me turning.
“Yes, Miss Torres?”
She chewed her bottom lip, contemplating the board behind me. There was a pencil tucked into the bun of dark curls she’d piled atop her head. “Shouldn’t that be acceleration multiplied by time squared, not velocity?”
I whirled back around, glanced over the variables on my derivation, then sighed. My shoulders sagged. “Yes. It should be. Thank you—for paying attention. Unlike the rest of you,” I added, teasing.
I rushed to rearrange the variables, erasing the ones I’d gotten mixed up.
I was a mess, running on almost no sleep and frayed nerves. Something told me the day wasn’t going to get any easier. Between Ambrose’s persistent texts. The threats he’d sent. Yesterday afternoon…
At least I was functioning.
I just needed to get through the rest of this class.
The thunk of a crash bar sounded, followed by a slice of outdoor light. I glanced up at the back of the amphitheater style lecture hall. A tall figure slipped inside. My voice faltered but I kept speaking as Axel took up a position in the shadows. I could just make out the crossing of his arms.
A few students craned their necks to see who had slipped inside.
What the hell was he doing here? After yesterday, I definitely didn’t want to see him.
Not when I’d been up all night going back through everything that had happened.
When the wolves first showed up on his property, I thought it had been an act. Something he’d staged to frighten me. To teach me a lesson for trespassing. But it had been real—all of it.
He’d transformed right in front of me, into a massive silver wolf, clothes splitting away. The sight of him tackling my pursuer continued to play in my mind on repeat. The way they’d fought. The fear I felt through every fiber of my being as I ran, desperate to reach safety.
But what stood out the most was not his violence. It was the way he first placed himself in front of me. To protect me.
I blinked, then cleared my throat. “All right, that’s it for today.”
We still had five minutes, but I was done. My students quickly packed up their belongings. I did the same. When a few of them lingered, I rushed them through their questions.
Once the room was blessedly empty, I braced for the inevitable.
Axel descended the stairs passing rows of seats.
I couldn’t help but take in his broad shoulders, the way his muscles filled out his green T-shirt.
The hint of tattoos peeking out from the sleeves.
There was no possible way his jeans were standard size.
He probably had to special order them online to fit his tree trunk thighs.
“Physics professor, hmm?” He came to a stop at the lectern where I stood. My gaze snagged on the scar and ruined eye, but I quickly looked away so I wouldn’t be caught staring. That was when I saw what he held. My cheeks flushed.
“Left this behind.” He set the detector on the lectern surface when I made no move to grab it. It saved me from having to order a third one, at least. But that wasn’t what concerned me.
“How did you find me?”
“Finding people’s a specialty of mine.”
Of course. Because wolves were excellent trackers. It was a dumb question.
“Okay. Well. Thanks.” I slipped the device into my bag and slung it over my shoulder, making to leave.
Axel stepped into my path. “Want to tell me why those wolves were after you?”
For a moment, I simply stared at the empty lecture hall. Then a laugh burst from my chest. “Funny.”
I tried to step around him but his hand shot out, wrapping around my arm. His grip was firm, but not painful. It put us overly close to each other. He leaned in, his breath coasting over the shell of my ear. “They came for you, witch. Not me. Ask me how I know that.”
I swallowed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? Because I kept one alive. He said some interesting things before I ended him.”
Ended him?! My pulse sped up.
I pushed down the nervous lump rising in my throat and said, “I’m sure he was just—”
“Those wolf mercenaries wanted you alive. To be delivered—unharmed—to their client.”
Everything in me went cold.
“Ah. I see this means something to you.”
Ambrose’s words from earlier in the week came back. If you don’t come home, I’ll have no choice but to bring you home.
Bile climbed my throat.
“Did…” I licked my lips, trying to find my voice. “Did he—the wolf, I mean—say who hired him?”
“No. Apparently their client didn’t provide a name.”
I lifted my chin, finally meeting his eyes. If he expected me to flinch away from the damage on his face, he was mistaken. “How do you know he wasn’t lying?”
“I’m something of an expert at prying a man’s deepest, darkest secrets from his lips.”
“Right.”
“I think it’s time you tell me exactly what you were doing on my property—”
The crashbar sounded, signaling the entrance of someone. We both looked up as a student made their way into the lecture hall, presumably to wait around for the next class. A moment later, two more students entered. I glanced at the clock.
“The next lecture’s starting in ten minutes.” Then I repositioned my bag, pulling free of Axel’s grasp. Without saying another word, I strode to the stairs and made my way up and out of the hall. Axel kept pace just behind me.
I used this time to consider my options. If I told him my intentions, he could very well forbid me from setting foot on his land—again. And round and round we’d go. Him forbidding me, and me breaking the rules. But, maybe if I told him, there was a chance he would sympathize with my plight.
The sunshine was a balm to my skin as I stepped outside.
Stopping, I turned to face Axel. “My next lecture isn’t for another hour. If you’ve got time, we can head to The Roost and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
He glanced around, almost on edge. I didn’t miss the way his jaw tightened as he considered my offer. When a group of students passed him, almost close enough to touch, he flinched, stepping closer to me instead.
I’d unpack that later.
“The Roost,” he repeated.
“If you’re up for it. I’m not just going to tell you my business right here out in the open.”
I could have invited him to my office. It was closer. But the thought of being alone with him in close quarters made my heart jump uncomfortably, in a way I couldn’t quite decipher.
“Fine,” he gritted out, then motioned me forward, eager to get moving.
We made the walk in silence. I barely noticed the students in the quad as we passed through. Or the cute window displays on Main Street.
Iris failed to hide her shock when we entered together, mouth hanging open as she watched us.
Axel didn’t bother to open the door for me, not that I allowed him to.
I made a point of reaching for the handle before he could, because I didn’t need proof that he was anything but a gentleman.
He’d made that perfectly clear, even if he had put himself between me and the other wolves yesterday.
As if reading my mind, he made a scoffing sound.
I marched right up to the cash register. “Becca?” Iris threw a nervous glance at the towering male just behind me. “Didn’t expect to see you here with…”
“Me either.”
“Right.” Her eyes lingered on Axel a touch too long before she said, “What can I get you?”
I ordered a black tea and cinnamon roll. Then I turned and looked expectantly at Axel, who merely glared down at me before his eyes flicked up to Iris.
“Your usual, then?” Iris asked, immediately brightening. Huh.
He grunted, stepping forward as I pulled my wallet out. Before I could grab my card, he handed Iris a stack of bills. “Keep the change,” he ordered, then stalked off.
Iris stared after him, then looked at me. “What the fuck?!” I silently mouthed. She merely frowned.
I closed my eyes for a moment, steeling myself before I turned—
To find Axel had taken a seat at my table, in my preferred chair. God, I was going to kill him.
Gritting my teeth, I all but stomped across the cafe and grabbed the one opposite him. It was unnecessarily noisy as I dragged it out and flopped into it. Making sure to glare daggers at him the entire time.
His lip twitched, but the movement was so quick that maybe I imagined it.
We remained locked in a staring contest. Neither of us backed down. The silence stretched on. It wasn’t until Iris came over and deposited our orders that I blinked. Then my tension melted.
“A chocolate-chocolate-chunk cookie? That’s your usual?”
“What’s wrong with chocolate?” He lifted his black coffee and took a sip before picking the cookie up and taking a massive bite.
“I mean, nothing?”
He grunted, like my answer meant little to him.
My mouth went dry as I watched him chew, his powerful jaw no doubt pulverizing the cookie in his mouth. My thoughts flashed back to the sight of him chasing down the second wolf yesterday. The way fresh blood dripped from his maw. Blood from the other wolf he took down first.
And just like that, my mood instantly soured.
I quickly doctored my tea with cream and sugar before picking up the mug, clutching it like a lifeline. To give him credit, Axel was patient. He didn’t break the silence. Didn’t demand answers. He simply pinned me with that unnerving stare while he polished off his cookie.
I swallowed down a sip of tea before setting my mug down. The liquid was hot, scalding my throat on the way down. But it was exactly what I needed.
“Right. So. The reason I was on your land is because I need to find the entrance to a cave system.” I studied his face.
His expression didn’t change. Not even a muscle twitch.
“A cave system that’s on your land. There’s this story about a powerful curse that was broken in one of the cave’s chambers using a ceremonial knife.
That knife never left the site. So I need to find a way into the cave and use the knife. On myself. To break a curse.”
He set down his coffee with a deliberate thunk. “What kind of curse?”
I blinked. “Does it matter?”
“It does when you’re tromping around on my land.”
“I—I don’t tromp,” I sputtered.
“What kind of curse?” The words came out more forceful this time.
“A blood magic curse.”
“Goes without saying.”
“Right.” Because in order for a witch to curse someone, they had to use blood magic. Blood witches didn’t pull energy from themselves, they used other means, taking from the world around them, but mostly from the blood of others. Not like light witches. Which is what I was.
“Fine,” I said.
So I told him about the Blackthorns. About the curse their family had placed on mine generations ago. How they saw us as rivals and had taken measures to ensure we never became more powerful than them.
“Every time I do magic, whatever magical energy I use is lost. It’s magic I’ll never get back. The more powerful the magic, the more I lose.” My voice hitched on the last word. I thought back to our first encounter. “I’ve tried so hard, all my life. But sometimes you just can’t help it. And now…”
“You used your magic on me.”
“I did.” My cheeks flushed.
At last, something shifted in his expression almost…softening. Maybe, just maybe, he felt some shred of remorse.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to take a gamble, giving him something honest. “It’s like I’m losing myself one piece at a time. And it hurts. All because of this stupid, selfish curse.”
“So you want access to my land to break this curse.”
I let out an exhale. “Yes.” He continued to stare at me. “Look, I’m not asking you to help me. I’m just asking for access.”
He rocked his jaw from side to side. “Don’t like witches. Don’t want one on my land.”
“I’m barely even a witch. Not anymore.”
Saying the words hurt. But they had the desired effect. Once more, something flashed in his gaze. Something unreadable.
“Fine.” His single word was bit out through clenched teeth. “On one condition.” I braced, because I knew what was coming. “You tell me who sent those mercenary wolves after you.”
The breath fled my chest. “It was Ambrose Blackthorn.”
He leaned back to regard me.
“Ambrose is the one who hired them, I’m certain of it.”
“The same Blackthorn whose family cursed yours?”
“The very same.”
“And why is he—?”
“Ah ah ah.” I held up a finger. A slow, pleased grin pulled at my lips. “You said who. You never said why. I’ve fulfilled your one condition, Wolfie.” His expression darkened and he looked ready to react. “You can huff and puff all you like. But you gave me your word.”
He chewed on that until his expression flattened.
“Yes. Fine. I’ll grant you access.” Then he stood abruptly, lifting what remained of his coffee, draining it in a few gulps. He snatched up his trash and stalked toward the bin, depositing it on the way out the door.
I watched him go wearing a victorious smile.
Because over the past few days I’d discovered something about Axel.
His bark was louder than his bite. If he really meant to harm me, he shouldn’t have stood between me and Ambrose’s lackeys.
And maybe…just maybe, there was something soft hidden underneath all those gruff layers of asshole he wore.