Chapter 30
Sylvan
I’m not happy that Verena is visiting.
I watch from the window as Morgan dashes down the steps to meet her friend. The red-headed witch just got into town, and she’s staying with us for five entire days. I still can’t rid myself of the uneasiness I feel around her.
By the end of her visit last time, I’d concluded that she was just fine. Safe enough. I even convinced myself I liked her. But as I watch the two of them, I can’t ease the worry in my gut.
Maybe I’m just being paranoid. The fact that we haven’t seen any more signs of the darkness or creatures has left me paranoid. Every day we get closer to the Wolf Moon, I’m scared something terrible will happen. That something will shatter this illusion of happiness Morgan and I have built.
My entire life, I never had a home. As an adult, I’ve bounced from place to place, picking up jobs, always on the move. Living with Morgan this year? It’s the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place.
And it’s the first time I’ve ever felt like I have a home.
Now I have a stranger I don’t like coming into that home, again, and I’m unhappy about it.
The front doorknob shakes and I frown. I hear Morgan and Verena’s voices chattering and go still when the door doesn’t open.
“You think so too?” I whisper to the house.
“Sylvan!” Morgan calls. “Let us in, wolf!”
I narrow my eyes and look around the room. Tabby has never locked someone out except the creatures.
I go to the front door and it takes a couple moments of pulling before it finally swings open.
Morgan crosses her arms on the other side, scowling at me.
Her blue hair is up in a messy bun, and she’s picked out a black velvet skirt with a thick turtleneck on top—one I want to shred with my teeth.
This is, perhaps, the only downside to it being colder outside now.
I love when Morgan is almost naked around the house.
“What the hell?” she asks.
Verena’s eyes brighten on the other side. “Come on. I thought we were friends last time I left.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle nervously. “Wasn’t me.”
Morgan’s frown flickers across her face, but she refocuses on her friend. I hold open the door as they both come in, their conversation jumping back to whatever they were laughing about outside.
“I don’t know, I just think playing a prank on the witch would be fun,” Verena says. “Especially because she deserves it.”
“It would be fun,” Morgan says. “But . . . I don’t know. I’ve never been someone that likes revenge. That’s more of Maeve’s style.”
I don’t know what unfortunate witch they’re talking about. I stick my hands in my pockets as I follow them to the kitchen, lingering like a shadow. I don’t care if I annoy them, I don’t want to leave right now.
“How about we go into town for lunch?” Verena asks. She leans against the counter and flashes me a bright smile. “We can give the bodyguard a break.”
“No,” I say firmly. “I don’t take breaks. Where Morgan goes, I go.”
Morgan shoots me another look, and I meet it with an even darker one. She’s lost her mind if she thinks I’m going to leave her now after seven months of almost always being at her side.
“I’m safe with Verena,” Morgan says. “Besides, we haven’t seen anything weird.”
Verena frowns. “Weird?”
Morgan waves her hand. “Just strange neighbors.”
Oh. So Morgan never told Verena about the darkness. I frown, but keep my mouth shut.
“Well, I’m not worried about neighbors. We’d be fine. A town this small? Nothing happens,” she chuckles.
“I said no,” I say again. “I’ll give you both some space. You can walk ahead. I’ll sit at another table. But I will be guarding Morgan. There’s no negotiating this.”
“Sylvan,” Morgan says tightly. “Can we talk?”
I sigh and shrug my shoulders. I follow her to the foot of the staircase and cross my arms as she keeps her voice low. “Why are you being weird?”
“I’m not,” I say. “You’re out of your mind. I’m not leaving your side, Morgan. We’ve made it this long.”
“Well, maybe I want some space.”
I snort, which is not the right reaction. It just pisses her off. “Just a few days ago, you wanted me to stay by your side.”
“I was in heat.”
“And?”
“I’m clearly not right now. So I’m thinking clearly.”
I press my lips together and rake my fingers through my hair. “Not doing it. Sorry. You can hate me. I don’t care. I won’t leave your side. This is my job, remember?”
Yeah, that also doesn’t help at all. A mix of pain and anger flash in her pretty brown eyes.
Morgan should know by now that she’s more than just a job to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is my job.
Protecting her is my priority. I don’t trust the other witch. I don’t trust anyone, for that matter.
“Sorry,” I say firmly. “I’m not budging on this.”
She groans. “Fine. Whatever.”
She marches back to the kitchen, but I stay in place, listening. I still can’t hear Verena’s heart beating.
It’s so strange. Every creature has a beating heart. Daimons, werewolves, witches. We’re all living. So why can’t I hear hers? It bothered me last time, but this time it’s just . . . I don’t even know what to think. Her magic is bizarre, and not in a way I like.
You’re being ridiculous, Morgan tells me.
I smirk. At least she’s still talking to me. I don’t care, little witch. Sorry. I protect what’s mine.
I am not yours. She slams the door on our mental link, and I swallow a laugh. None of this is going to make me change my mind. I will restrain her to my bed if I have to, and knowing her, she’d like it.
The two of them start chatting again and I circle the house like a shark—staying out of the way, but still within earshot. They’ve decided to just have lunch here, which I’m content with.
My phone rattles in my pocket right as I hear Verena cackling at something Morgan did. I narrow my eyes and pull it out. It’s an unknown number. I almost don’t answer, but decide to say fuck it.
“Who is this?” I snarl.
“Zach.”
My eyes pop wide. “You’re alive.”
“Barely.”
Fuck. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I glance at the kitchen, then head upstairs for privacy. “Where the hell have you been?” I ask the moment I close my door. “Morgan has been worried sick.”
Zach lets out a soft, tired laugh. And it worries me. All the alarm bells are ringing in my head. “Glad to know someone cares. They almost caught me.”
“Who?”
“The darkness. The creatures. The fuckers hunting omegas. Well, they did catch me, but I escaped. Someone . . . helped me.”
“When did you escape?” I ask. “Fuck. Where did they take you? I didn’t know. Are you okay? Come back to the house. We have space—”
“No. I can’t be there. I escaped before they took me to wherever their operation is, so I still don’t know. It’s somewhere in Hex Ridge, though. I’m okay, Sylvan.”
“You don’t sound okay.”
Never in the years we’ve known each other have I felt like this. I can hear how not okay my brother is.
“Come here,” I say again. “It’s almost winter. It’ll be cold. Snow will be coming soon, I can smell it in the air. You’ll be safe here.”
“I won’t be. No one is. Morgan isn’t either. You need to get her away from the mountains, Sylvan. They want her. Just have her pack up and leave.”
“We can’t.” My heart is pounding in my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to calm myself, but his tone is scaring me. “We’re bound to this house. We have to live here—”
“Fuck the contract or whatever it is. Mate your witch and leave that place. Get out of Hex Ridge. She’s in danger the longer she’s there.” His words are clipped. He sounds like he’s in pain. And tired.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. I have to go. I’m still running. I have to get to the border of one of the other territories, and I think I’ll be okay. I’ll call soon.”
“Zach,” I growl.
“If I don’t call in two weeks, assume I’m dead. Okay?”
“At least tell me—”
The line goes dead and I curse, clutching my phone and slumping against the door. Fuck. I’m worried about the bastard. What the hell even happened? I need details, but more than that, I need to know when he’s safe.
I rub my chest. I’m angry at myself. Angry at my father.
Finding out about Zach’s existence used to be a gut punch, and it’s not like we get along.
I’m not even sure we can say we love each other, or even like each other.
But this gnawing feeling is making me sick to my stomach.
He is my brother and I do care about him. Maybe more than I realized before.
There’s a soft knock on the door and I frown. I crack it open, and Morgan is standing there.
“What?” I ask.
She slips into my room. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
She tilts her head, and I curse the fact that this bond goes both ways. She probably felt my concern.
“Zach is alive,” I whisper.
Her eyes widen. “He is? What happened—”
I shake my head. “We’ll talk about it later. Okay? He’s okay. He’ll be okay.”
Morgan presses her lips together, her eyes shining. “Okay. He couldn’t text?”
“No,” I murmur. I step closer and slide my hand behind her neck, rubbing small circles with my thumb along a tight tendon. “I know I’m overbearing, but it’s because I want to protect you.”
“I know,” she breathes out. “I know that.”
“I will give you and your friend some space, but I cannot leave you.”
“It’s okay,” she says. “I know that too. I was just being difficult, and I don’t know. I think she’s a bad influence on me sometimes.”
I decide not to say anything to that, and instead, shock us both by leaning down and brushing my mouth over hers.
Morgan lets out the softest whimper, melting against me.
Fuck, I can’t resist her. Even knowing we’re not alone in the house.
I push her hard against the door, devouring her mouth until her heart is racing.
It’s the first time we’ve ever kissed while not in heat.
Her arms wind around my neck, and I melt into her.
It could be like this all the time.
She whimpers as I press my forehead to hers, breaking our kiss. We’re both panting as I tuck a strand of blue behind her ear.
“Wow,” she whispers.
I smile. “Not just the heats then, huh?”
Morgan closes her eyes with the softest, most pleased smile. Her cheeks are pink and her scent is warm and inviting.
“You should go back downstairs,” I murmur. “Before your friend tries to come find you.”
Morgan sighs, her expression turning wistful. “Just a few days. And she’s rooming on the other side of the house. It’s not like she has werewolf hearing . . .”
My brows arch. “Is this an invitation to your bed tonight, Morgan Foxglove?”
“It is.”
She leans up on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek, beaming as she reaches for the door. She twists the knob, but it won’t budge.
“What the hell?” she whispers.
“I don’t know,” I say. My gut twists with worry. “The house doesn’t like your friend.”
“Tabby was fine with her last time. I don’t know why she would be different now.” Morgan twists harder and yanks, letting out a frustrated groan. “Can you get us out? Break down the door?”
“I suppose. Step back.”
I throw my shoulder against the door and it just creaks in response, the walls trembling around us. I shake my head, exasperated.
“This is ridiculous.” Morgan’s voice is strained. “It’s like it doesn’t want us to leave.”
“Maybe the house is a sex voyeur.”
We both pause to consider this, but then Morgan snorts. “In all these months, I’ve never even thought about the fact the house knows when we have sex.”
“I just accepted it some time ago,” I mutter, pulling on the doorknob with every ounce of strength. “It’s not like we can tell her to pull her shutters down.”
Morgan laughs as I give the door one last pull. Finally, it budges, and the door flies open.
Verena is standing right on the other side.
Her eyes are full of darkness.
There’s a silver gun in her slender hands.
“Goodbye, Alpha.”