Chapter Nineteen-Conrad
Last night was the best night of my life to date, hands down.
Sleeping curled around my sweet Bella? It was heaven on earth.
But all that post-coital bliss and my plans for waking her up with my head between her warm, think thighs faded the second I heard that phone ring.
My sexy little Witch slid off my body, trying to be stealthy, but I was so attuned to her I was alert and ready before she even noticed.
I tried not to let rage and anger take over, but when I saw the smoke curling over the bakery roof?
Something primal in me snapped.
Not the calm, calculated awareness of a predator. No.
This was the mate part of me—the beast in my blood—rising up, ready to burn down the whole damn world if it meant keeping Bella safe.
“Oh, oh no,” she murmured softly.
And the second I saw her—pink Crocs, hair mussed, eyes wide with worry—my Python uncoiled inside me, pushing for control.
It wanted to wrap around her, shield her, make damn sure no one and nothing could ever hurt her again.
“Stay behind me, Sugar,” I murmured, but she was already pushing forward toward the yellow tape, toward the fire crew and Petyr.
My girl didn’t understand—when I said stay behind me, I meant let me take every hit for you until I’m dust.
I caught up in two strides, slipping my hand into hers.
She didn’t pull away.
Good.
Maybe she was starting to get it.
Maybe she was beginning to understand what she meant to me.
It soothed my beast a little. But the truth was I’d never be okay with her so close to danger.
“My Witchy! There you are!” Petyr’s voice carried over the crowd.
He looked tense, a streak of soot across his temple, but otherwise fine.
My muscles loosened a notch. I knew if there was still a lingering threat, her Domovyk familiar wouldn’t be so calm.
“What happened?” Bella asked, rushing to him.
“Small fire in dumpster only. Damage is minimal. No injuries,” he assured her.
His eyes cut to me, sharp and assessing, like he knew exactly what was going through my head.
And he probably did.
The man might not be a Shifter, but he was family to her.
Which meant this moment mattered.
“I’ll be doubling patrols until this bastard is caught,” I told him, my voice like gravel.
“Conrad, you can’t—”
I narrowed my eyes, and kept right on talking.
“She’s not walking anywhere alone. Not at night. Not even across the damn street.”
Bella opened her mouth, probably to tell me I was being overbearing, but I kept going, loud enough for everyone in the parking lot to hear—Jax, Ryan, the Sheriff, half the fire crew.
Hell, even the damn Domovyks had gone silent.
“Bella Strega, you’re mine, and I protect what’s mine,” I said, my voice carrying over the hiss of the hoses.
“Does everyone hear me? I don’t care how long it takes her to say yes to my claim or accept that we are bonded, bite or not, but this little Witch is still mine.
And I’m putting everyone on notice. Everyone in the whole damn town.
This is going to stop! I will protect her with everything I have until my last breath, and if anyone here has a problem with that, they can step the hell up now. ”
Bella froze, those big eyes snapping to mine.
Yeah, Sugar, I meant every damn word.
Petyr didn’t blink.
Didn’t flinch.
Then, slowly, he smiled. It was a knowing, almost smug smile—the kind a man gives when he’s been waiting for someone to finally grow the balls to say what needed saying.
“Then you have my blessing, Python,” he said, clapping a broad hand on my shoulder. “She is stubborn, but she is worth it.”
The crowd murmured, a ripple of amusement and approval passing through them.
Bella’s cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t run.
Didn’t deny it.
Didn’t tell me to shut up.
And for now, that was good enough.
Then, she stepped closer, her arm brushing mine, and whispered, “You’re impossible.”
“Damn right,” I murmured back, dropping my head so only she could hear the next part. “But I’m yours, sweet Witch. Always.”
And as far as I was concerned, that was the end of it.
The town knew.
Her people knew.
Now it was just a matter of time before she admitted what I already knew in my bones—Maribella Strega was mine.
Not in the casual, oh yeah, we’ve been seeing each other way.
No. This was bone-deep. Blood-deep. Mate-deep.
The Python in me already recognized her, claimed her, marked her in ways she probably didn’t even realize yet.
And the man in me? Yeah, he was just as far gone.
If anyone so much as breathed wrong in her direction, I’d be right there. Slaying Demons, fighting Dragons, wrestling rogue Shifters into the dirt—hell, I’d even sit through a Warlock HOA meeting if it meant keeping her safe.
And it wasn’t just because my Python was that freaking awesome—though, for the record, he was.
It was because this woman, hell, she owned me. Entirely.
She had my Python.
My fealty.
My loyalty.
My heart, mind, body, and soul.
All of it.
Maribella didn’t just sneak under my skin—she built a damn condo there and hung curtains.
She was in my blood now, in every beat of my heart, in every instinct that told me I’d be less than a man without her.
There was nothing I wouldn’t do to ensure her safety.
My sweet Witch had the biggest heart. And I vowed to keep it safe—no matter what.
I’d already made peace with the fact that I’d kill for her.
But more importantly, I’d live for her.
Every sunrise, every laugh, every cinnamon-sugar kiss—yeah, those were mine to protect.
She just didn’t know yet that forever wasn’t a question.
It was already decided.