Julian spun around and pinned her against the counter, his arms blocking her in. She could have fought it. In a match of physical strength, shifter beat witch.

  But she didn’t want to move.

  Their eyes locked, and Nora knew he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her so bad it hurt. She waited there, wondering if he would draw it out or put them both out of their misery.

  He leaned in, eyes locked on her lips.

  And then the deafening pulse of the smoke detector nearly made her ears bleed. They broke apart. Nora turned off the heat and covered the smoking sausage with a lid.

  “Open a window!” She wanted to clamp her hands over her ears and whimper. Smoke detectors weren’t kind to shapeshifter senses.

  Julian was already moving across the room, intent on the nearest window.

  Nora grabbed the broom from beside the refrigerator and poked at the nearest smoke detector, trying to turn it off. She nearly smashed the thing to smithereens before it finally stopped screeching at them.

  She and Julian looked at each other for a moment before they both burst out laughing.

  “Too hot for you?” he asked with a leering grin.

  She rolled her eyes. “Put your clothes on, lover boy. And stay out of my kitchen.”

  She saved the sausage, though it was pretty far gone. And she didn’t burn the eggs. She also put on a pot of coffee. By the time Julian was dressed, something she was determined not to be disappointed about, everything was on plates and ready.

  They sat at her small kitchen table, their feet not quite brushing. Nora took a valiant bite of the sausage. It could have been worse. “Thank you for making me breakfast,” she said. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was, but she scarfed it down like she hadn’t eaten in months.

  Then again, she hadn’t been eating much over the last month. The curse had caused nausea, and she’d been eating in fits and starts.

  “Sorry I almost burned down your kitchen.” Julian ate slower, savoring every bite. Nora gave up on trying not to stare. Everything about the man fascinated her, and she couldn’t stop looking.

  He didn’t seem to mind.

  When he’d finished half his meal, he brought up the thing he must have been thinking of all night. “I’ll like to take you to Audra. She’s a better witch than I’ll ever be, and she can make sure the curse is completely gone. More importantly, she might have some insight into that attack last night. I’ve lifted curses before, and nothing like that has ever happened.”

  “You can talk to Audra all you like, I’ve got work.” And she was already late. The sun was high in the sky, and it was well after nine. Nora didn’t sleep that late. Ever. But she would give herself a break considering the situation.

  “You’re not going into work.”

  “You say that like you have a say. I have to go into work. It’s my business.” And she’d been slacking for the last month. She had to see how much she’d screwed up and what needed to be fixed.

  Julian slid her cell phone towards her. “Check your texts.”

  “Were you snooping on my phone? How did you get my password?” The nerve of the witch.

  “No, I spoke with Estelle while you were asleep. She was the one that called me last night and asked me to check on you. I wanted her to know you were still alive. She said you should take the next week off to recover. She and the others are more than capable of handling things.” He was unrepentant in the managing of her life.

  Nora wanted to be angry, but shame niggled at the edges of her mind. Estelle had been bugging her for weeks to get help, and she’d been too proud to do so. She looked at the text.

  Take the week off or I’ll challenge you publicly. I want an alpha at full strength. :D

  Nora scowled at the message. Was the emoticon really necessary? But she’d pushed her pack to the limit. She needed to be at full strength, and she couldn’t bring any more bad magic down on them.

  “Fine, we’ll go see Audra.”

  Julian grinned. “Great!”

  CHAPTER 9

  They’d been on the train for over an hour when Julian spoke. “We need to make a stop before we get to Audra’s.”

  “Where?” Nora had a car and she wished they’d taken it, but they would have been caught in a traffic snarl that never ended if they braved the highways. She didn’t like going into the city. It wasn’t a place meant for wolves.

  “My place. My clothes were purified, but they’re filthy, and I don’t want to go before my coven leader looking like this if I can avoid it.” He twisted in his seat, and she could see a dark stain on the side of his shirt and a rip under one of the sleeves.

  “You could have borrowed Enrique’s clothing,” she said, and had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from grinning when he glared.

  Jealousy had never been a turn on before. She’d walked away from more than one guy who thought he had any say over who she interacted with. But when Julian got jealous, it sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

  There were limits, of course. If he actually said something to Enrique or didn’t trust her to be faithful, they would have a heart to heart. But knowing she caused that visceral reaction in him? That was powerful.

  Had she decided to keep him?

  Inside of her, her wolf was adamant that she should. The human part of her still wasn’t so sure. The train ride was a reminder that Julian’s life was in the city. She wasn’t about to uproot her pack just to be closer to him.

  One kiss and that was what she was thinking? She was going crazy.

  You know it’s more than a kiss.

  “You alright?” Julian asked. He patted her leg, and she covered his hand with her own.

  “Fine,” she responded. No need for him to deal with her crazy.

  A few stops later, Julian got up and Nora followed. Once they got off the train, he headed for the station exit. “We could transfer to another train and get a bit closer to my place, but it’s only a twenty-minute walk.”

  “My legs could do with a stretch.”

  The streets weren’t crowded in this part of the Bronx, and Nora could almost enjoy it. But cars and trains rumbled on the streets and her senses were under attack. Give her the forest any day.

  Julian lived on the third floor of an old brick building whose hallway smelled like pot. “The college kids two doors down seem to have an endless supply of weed,” he explained. “And Doritos.”

  Nora wrinkled her nose. City scents. Really, she could do without them.

  Julian unlocked the door and led her in. The place was neat as a pin and tiny as one too. It was a studio, and his bed took up a good portion of the room. He had a small desk in one corner of the room with two computer monitors and a stack of books that looked likely to topple over.

  His kitchen was against one wall and was much neater than hers. But in a space this small, a person had to be neat or an avalanche of stuff would bury them.

  The smell of pot had faded, and in the room all she smelled was Julian. If she had a bit less discipline, she’d roll around his bed and bury herself in his scent. She might not have liked the city, but there was something undeniably special about being in her mate’s private place.

  Julian opened a small closet and pulled out three changes of clothes and a small backpack. He was planning to come back with her. Nora could protest. She could tell him that their time together ended once they were done talking to Audra.

  Julian would say the clothes were a precaution, just in case he had to come with her. Just in case she needed more magical protection. She could argue. She liked arguing with him.

  But she wanted him back in her place. She wanted him to lie in her bed and cover it with his scent. It was a primal urge and she was sick of resisting it. Let him come back with her. Maybe if she gave into the madness, she would work it out of her system.

  Her wolf snorted.

  Yeah, that never worked.

  But it wouldn’t hurt to try. She could heal from a broken heart. If she never tasted him, she’d regret it forever.

  Julian pulled off his shirt, and she must have made a noise. He froze and looked her way. “I can change in the bathroom,” he offered.

  Nora stalked towards him and plucked his shirt out of his hands, throwing it towards the bed. “No need.”

  He watched her, seeing what she would do. Nora let instinct guide her. This might be her only time in Julian’s private space, and she wanted him to remember her every second he was here. They didn’t have much time. Audra was expecting them.

  But the coven leader could wait a little longer.

  Nora weaved her fingers through Julian’s hair and pulled him close, sealing their mouths together and moaning as she tasted him. The day before the kiss had been pure madness and she couldn’t remember it as well as she wanted to. This time, though? This time she was making a memory that she’d savor forever.

  She opened her mouth and Julian’s tongue surged in, tangling with hers. His hands landed on her hips, pulling her closer. She moved with him and found her back pressed against the wall, Julian’s body caging her.

  It was the kind of aggressive, dominant bullshit she’d never put up with from another shifter.

  But from her witch? Bring it on.

  Her body lit up, pleasure zinging through her at the rightness of the kiss. And each press of his lips, each sweep of his tongue made her want more. Time and responsibility lost its meaning while he held her. The loud sounds of the city outside faded, and they might as well have been in their own little world.

  Julian fit his knee between her thighs, and Nora moaned again. She pressed herself against him, trying to eke out every bit of pleasure she could from this moment. His skin was warm against hers, and she wanted to pull off her top and see what he would do if they were both shirtless, but she’d have to stop kissing him to do that.

  She was never going to stop kissing him.

  His lips feathered along her jaw and down her neck, teeth teasing her with the hint of a love bite that would show everyone what she and Julian were doing. She arched her neck back, giving him better access. She wanted him to bite down hard and leave a permanent mark so everyone would know.

  They could stay in this apartment forever. The bed was only two feet away. And now the tiny size was an asset. They’d rarely have to ever move from the bed, and she’d be able to keep her eyes on him wherever he went.

  Nora’s wolf wanted it. The woman wanted it too. All they had to do was stumble back.

  But Julian pulled away. His lips were red and swollen from the kiss, his eyes dark. And there was something determined, almost predatory, in his gaze.

  “This isn’t over,” he promised.

  Nora shivered. “You’re confident.”

  He grinned. “I am.” Then he stepped back and picked up the clean shirt he’d dropped, pulling it back on. He shoved the rest of his clothes in a bag and slung them over his shoulder. “Come on. We have to go.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Audra’s building had an elevator. And it smelled like an idealized version of a forest. Nora didn’t know how they did it. Usually, artificial fragrances had a nasty chemical scent that couldn’t be disguised. But not this one.

  The halls were wide and brightly lit, with warm colors making the place feel like home. Audra lived on the eighth floor, and she answered when Julian knocked, greeting them with a smile that quickly turned grim.

  “Come in,” she said, waving towards the interior. The apartment was huge by New York standards and Nora shuddered to imagine the price tag. There was an office right beside the front door, and she spotted the kitchen down the hall, as well as a formal dining room. There had to be more, but the rest of the doors were closed.

  Audra was an older Black woman, somewhere between fifty and seventy, who wouldn’t have been out of place at a hippy reunion. She liked long, flowy dresses, kept her hair long enough to fall below her shoulders, and usually wore a serene expression that made her seem timeless and wise.

  Today she wasn’t serene. She ushered them into the sitting room and pointed at two chairs, then sat opposite them on a small couch. She didn’t offer drinks. This wasn’t a social call.

  Good. Nora wanted answers quickly so she could leave the city and its chaos behind.

  “What have you brought me, Julian?” Audra asked, eyes flicking up and down as she took Nora in.

  Nora felt a bit like she was under a microscope. She didn’t like it.

  Julian explained the curse and the attack of dark magic. He talked about magic in ways she’d never heard before, discussing power vectors and dark matrices. He made magic sound like math.

  Yikes.

  But Audra nodded along.

  Julian didn’t mention the kisses. That was for the best. Audra didn’t need to know about their relationship.

  Not that they had a relationship.

  Nora’s wolf scoffed at her. She wasn’t fooling herself.

  When Julian was done talking, Audra looked at her again. “May I hold your hand and do a magic scan?” she asked.

  Nora reached out her arm, scooting to the edge of her seat to reach over the small coffee table between them. Audra’s fingers barely touched her skin and Nora felt a zap, like static electricity, but judging by the way her hand and Audra’s fingers glowed, it was magic.

  The fizzy not-electricity swam through her veins, making her want to shiver and pull away. But Nora held still. Julian’s magic didn’t feel so intrusive, but she didn’t want to think too hard about why that was.

  After about five minutes, Audra pulled back. “Hmm.”

  That wasn’t a good hum. “What’s the verdict?” Nora didn’t dare a glance at Julian. She had no idea what her face would show, and she didn’t want to reveal anything the coven leader didn’t already know.

  “Inconclusive.” Audra stood and went to the book case along one of the walls, plucking up what turned out to be a leatherbound journal. She set it on the table and pulled out a pen, making some notes. “Would you say you’ve been fatigued in the last month?”

  Fatigue didn’t even begin to cover it. “Yes.”

  “Julian?” Audra prompted, not looking up from her journal.

  “What?” He jolted in his seat.

  “Would you say you’ve been fatigued in the last month?”

  Nora went on alert. She stared at Julian and wondered what he would say. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “Yes,” he admitted. “A bit.”

  “And has there been any fluctuation in your magic? Specifically since Nora was cursed?”

  “Yes,” he said again. “I’ve had two healings fail and a spell backfire on me. Very unusual.”

  Audra scribbled more and then closed the journal and looked up. “The nascent mate bond between you saved your life,” she told Nora. “And you’re lucky the bond isn’t complete yet, otherwise the curse may have been able to do more damage to Julian. As it was, you were taking some of his energy and sustaining yourself. It’s the only reason you’re still alive. That curse should have killed you in a week, two at the most.”

  “We’re not—”

  Audra interrupted. “I know you’re not about to make some foolish denial. I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been alive. This isn’t the first curse I’ve seen.”

  Nora choked the denial back. There it was, the thing she’d been trying to ignore since she’d first set eyes on Julian. He was her mate.

  And apparently he’d saved her life just by existing.

  Nora kept quiet. She couldn’t deny what Audra said, but Audra didn’t know the whole picture. She didn’t know the reason why Nora couldn’t be Julian’s mate, not fully.

  “There’s still a link between you and whoever is sustaining this curse,” Audra said. “It’s how the magic returned after Julian healed you. Until you sever the bond between yourself and that witch, you can expect more attacks.”

  “Do you know how to find the other witch? Or how to sever the bond?” Julian asked.

  Audra gave him a soft smile. “Unfortunately not. But I have resources and I intend to find out. Stay close to one another for the time being and give me a few days. I suspect the person controlling the curse will need a little time to recover from yesterday’s antics. I will call you as soon as I know anything.”

  They left the apartment and headed back towards the train, wordlessly agreeing to go back to Nora’s apartment. Nora’s mind whirled with everything Audra said, but she sat quietly next to Julian as the train rolled on.

  Was this nightmare ever going to end?

  CHAPTER 11

  Her apartment was just as they’d left it. Julian placed his bag on the couch and Nora busied herself in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. The place still smelled a bit like burned sausage and she tried not to smile. She’d have to teach him how to cook if he was going to stick around.

  The ghost of a smile left her face.

  He couldn’t. He had a life back in the city. And she… well, she wasn’t fit to be anyone’s mate.

  Julian was standing in the living room, looking out the windows, when she came out of the kitchen.

  “Coffee will be ready in a few minutes,” she said.

  “Thanks.”

  They stood in silence. Her apartment overlooked the town square. At first she’d wanted something on the edge of town, near the forest, some place half wild and ready for a wolf. Then she’d seen this apartment and fallen in love at first sight. The town was small and quiet enough that it didn’t bother her wolf, but noisy enough that she never felt like she was alone in the world.

  The human part of her needed that.

  “You’ve barely said a word since we left Audra’s,” Julian said after a while.

  “I’m not sure what to say.” She stared out the window. She feared if she looked at him, she might scream. Not at him. But at the situation.

  “Audra is the wisest witch I know. She’ll solve this thing. And I’ll keep you safe from any magical threat until then.”

 

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