by Lyra Winters
“Chamomile tea is a cure-all for getting sleepy.” Turning around, I busied myself with making tea.
Xavier watched me as I lit the stove with my magic and filled up the kettle with a jug of water. Once the kettle whistled, I pulled two mugs from the cabinet and tea bags I had prepared ahead of time.
I steeped the bags in the hot water for a few minutes before sitting down on top of the small table Xavier sat at, handing him his tea.
He sniffed the tea and recoiled at the smell. I threw my head back and cackled like the witch-bitch I was becoming around him.
His glare burned me. “It smells like you put the forest in it and mushed it up.”
“Well, yeah.” I brought the mug to my lips and sipped. “It’s tea.”
He wrinkled his nose and took a drink before gagging. “Fuck, Harlow. Are you trying to poison me or some shit?”
My lungs were burning from laughing so hard. I had to sit the cup down before it spilled everywhere from my shaking.
“If you didn’t want me as a mate you could’ve just rejected me instead.” He froze, eyes meeting mine with a mix of fear and regret. “Forget I said that.”
I sobered up, swatting my hair away from my face. “I could reject you?”
He sighed as he rubbed his temples. “Yes. It’s the worst fucking thing you could put a wolf through though.”
“I wouldn’t.”
He tilted his head. “You wouldn’t what?”
“Reject you.” I wrapped my hands around the mug and absorbed its warmth through my palms. “I’ve become quite fond of you, actually. Which is saying something, considering I hate everyone.”
“Really?” His eyes were wide, and a ghost of a smile was on his lips.
“Really.” I brought the tea to my nose and inhaled. Unlike him, I loved the smell. “Now, drink your tea before it gets cold. It sucks when it’s cold.”
He gave me a horrified look, and I laughed. It was hilarious to watch him choke down the tea, but he managed, and a few minutes later, we crawled back into bed.
Fear of abandonment was clear in his eyes when he’d told me about the possibility of rejecting a fated mate. It broke my heart to see him like that—afraid I would reject him.
Somehow, this stupid werewolf has wormed his way into my heart. I wasn’t sure if it was love, but it was something close. And as I stared at him, sleep sachet under his pillow, tiredness swallowed him whole. His dark lashes fluttered before oblivion engulfed him, and it wasn’t long before I was asleep too.
∆∆∆
“You’re shitting me.” Xavier’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
“Not at all.” I laughed. He looked petrified sitting on one of the massive roots sticking out from the tree beside the cottage. “You hold my hands, and I will teleport us to the village.”
“But why do we have to go?” He scratched the back of his neck, his biceps straining.
There was an insane amount of sexual tension between us, and my mind drifted back to his claim of making me beg for him to bite me. Every time his skin brushed against mine, my self-control exploded and desire spilled out. I wanted to touch him, kiss him, taste him. But I didn’t know if I could.
He was still a werewolf, and while I was accepting him as my mate, I had to get past what he was first. Which, slowly, I was. But I needed time, and until I did, I couldn’t give in to the desire.
“Harlow?”
My mouth snapped shut. I’d been staring at him like a bloodhound. My cheeks heated as his lips quirked up. “Because you ate all my food.”
He pressed down on his knees as he stood up. “I’m a werewolf. It can’t be helped.”
Striding over to him, I took his hands in mine and winked. “Close your eyes unless you want to get whiplash.”
He huffed, doing as I said. “And you think I’m the scary one.”
Xavier’s hands were rough, callused, against my soft skin. I couldn’t wait to feel what they would be like running over my— focus, Harlow.
I shook my head and closed my eyes as well. Taking a deep breath, I called upon my magic and teleported both of us, atom by atom, to the edge of the forest. Teleporting caused a soft purple glow to radiate from my chest and warmth to fill my body. It was one of my favorite powers.
I opened my eyes and smiled. Xavier’s eyes were squeezed shut, and he clung to my hands with a vice-grip. “We’re here.”
His eyes popped open. “No fucking shit.” His mouth dropped as he looked around the village.
After he got over the fascination of my ability to teleport, we bought everything we needed to restock the cottage and more. I stopped in the convenience store to look for Deb and found her humming to herself at the register.
“Welcome back, Harlow! I have so much to tell you. So much to ask you” —she paused, wide, curious eyes flicking back in forth between Xavier and me—” about witch stuff. But, we clearly have more pressing matters to talk about! So, this is who you bought those sweats for, hmm?” She looked him up and down.
I stepped in front of him to block her view of his perfect, chiseled chest. “So you did notice, huh?”
“Harlow, I’ve known you for long enough to know that you’re a solitary creature.” She gave me a pointed stare. “And why don’t you buy a shirt so you can stop protecting him from my prying eyes?”
I wheezed, beating a fist on my chest as I caught my breath. “I was not!”
Xavier’s arm slid around my waist as he tugged me into his warm, naked chest. “Actually, you were. Not that I mind. I find your jealousy endearing.”
“A shirt would be nice,” I grumbled.
I wanted to rip my brain out of my body and burn sage around my neurons. What on earth was I thinking? I’d never been jealous or… territorial before. He was his own person. People can look—only the thought of people looking causes me intense rage and the desire to mark my territory somehow.
I gasped. No! I won’t bite him. Did I really just have that urge?
Xavier had a prominent smirk on his face as he watched me argue with myself in my head. “I’m yours, little witch. Just as you are mine. Don’t worry about that.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I said a little too fast before huffing.
“Sure.”
I wanted to smack his amused expression off his face, but Deb interrupted us by handing over the shirt to Xavier, who slipped it on with ease.
“Boyfriend?” she asked.
“Mate,” he answered for me.
Deb’s brows bumped together in a frown, and I forgot she’d grown up as a human with little knowledge of the paranormal world. “Sorry, what?”
“Soulmate. It’s a supernatural thing. Something I had thought only werewolves and vampires had,” I said, heat rising up my neck to my ears.
Xavier’s arm went around me again, and I leaned into him. “She’s in denial. But only slightly.”
She squealed, bouncing up and down. “No way! Soulmates, like the forever, hopelessly, love at first sight, would-die-for-each-other kind of love?”
“That’s the one.” Xavier’s hold on me tightened.
“Oh my gosh, Harlow. You are so lucky!” She sucked in a dramatic gasp before pinning Xavier down in her sights. “So, that means, you’re a werewolf or a vampire right?”
“I’m a—”
“No! Don’t tell me. Let me guess… Vampi—”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” he growled.
Her hands flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry. Werewolf then.”
“Xavier!” I smacked his chest.
He shook his head, body tense. “Werewolves don’t associate with blood-sucking leeches.”
“Why?” I asked, glancing up at him.
“We just don’t.” He shrugged. “It’s been instilled into us. I haven’t actually met a vampire before.”
My lips parted and then I pressed them together. “Hmm. So, if you’ve met one, how do you know you wouldn’t like them?”
“Have you met
one?” Deb asked, acting fifty shades of starstruck.
“Yes, actually. He wasn’t awful. Just annoying.” Xavier’s body tensed and a low growl emitted from him. “I was fourteen. He came to the coven for some reason or another,” I explained with an eye roll.
“Why doesn’t that logic apply to werewolves with you?”
“Because werewolves have done the unspeakable.”
“But I am a werewolf.”
I swallowed hard. “Not you, then.”
Deb giggled. “Okay, you two are cute.”
I cleared my throat. “So, tell me about the coven. Have they found you?”
She snapped her fingers together and leaned over the counter. “Oh my gosh, no, but I’ve been having these dreams about my parents. They feel so real. They tell me things about why they gave me up and what the coven is like. They told me there was someone after them and having me around was dangerous. But they got rid of the threat a few months ago, so that was why they started tracking me down.”
I nodded. “Witches can communicate through dreams. Think of it like a mystic telephone.”
“So, that’s true then. I thought so.” She pouted. “Hey, is that why you won’t get a phone so we can text?”
“Focus, Deb.”
She puffed her bottom lip out more.
“Yes. That’s why.”
“Fine, but I expect a dream call soon. Anyway, the coven is called Lunar Coven. I told my parents about you.” The air shifted, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood. “They want to meet you. Lunar Coven has heard of you apparently.”
“What did they say? The point of them contacting you. Will they be coming here?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. They will be here on the next full moon and stay for a month.” She smiled. “So, I’m really meeting my parents then?”
I nodded. “Do you know how many witches are in the coven?”
“Including my mom, she said five.”
“Five. Okay, I can handle five.” Hollows Coven had twenty witches including my mom, grandma, and I. Five was a small coven and shouldn’t pose too much of a threat to me or the life I’d created here.
“Harlow, they aren’t bad.” Her expression grew concerned.
“I didn’t think my old coven was bad either until it was too late.” A lone tear trailed down my cheek without notice. “Just keep your guard up, okay?”
She nodded, promising she would before we left, and I gave her a spell she could use to call me if she were in trouble.
Xavier and I walked in silence to the edge of the forest, and he didn’t say anything as I teleported us back to the cottage or when we got there. He gave me space, but I could sense his worry.
Despite not knowing each other long, he understood me far better than anyone I’d met before. But wasn’t that the whole point?
TEN
Xavier
The tear that trickled down Harlow’s cheek yesterday fucking crushed me. I didn’t want to push her, but not knowing what happened to her in her past was eating me up inside.
She’d stayed to herself when we got back home from talking to the overly-chatty witch clerk and slept beside me that night, scooting over to where she touched me. I knew she craved comfort, and the matebond provided that, so I pulled her into me and held her the whole night. She slept like a damn baby, and so did I.
I was entirely, fucking grateful to have my soulmate. She was the epitome of perfection, and I wanted to drown in her soul. I’d also like to drown between her legs, but from the pace we were going, I’d dehydrate first. Not that I was complaining like a bitch, because respecting that woman was my top fucking priority.
“Xav, can you grab me the potatoes?” The way my name tumbled from her lips was fucking magic in its purest form.
“Xav?” Blood rushed to my dick and it stood up on command. “That’s fucking hot.”
She turned cherry red as she diced the carrots. “Xavier is a mouthful.”
“I’ll show you a mouthful.” The image of her perfect, plump lips wrapped around my dick as I pumped into her popped into my mind, and I suppressed a moan.
She dropped the knife and it clattered to the ground. “Oh my gosh.” She gripped the counter as a low whine came from the back of her throat. “Please, your arousal is making it hard to focus.”
She was so turned on I could smell it in the air, and it pulsed through the matebond. Shit, I’d forgotten about her being an empath. I’m sure my need for her was slamming her hard, but not as hard as I’d wanted to.
“Please,” she whimpered, and I stilled. She was crossing her legs, squeezing them together.
I was hard as steel, fucking titanium. Damn it all, I needed her like I needed oxygen. Without another thought, I stalked over to her and gripped her wrist, pulling her away from the counter and into me. Her breasts brushed against my chest, and she moaned.
The air between us was so sexually charged I couldn’t believe it. I’d had sex before, but I’d never fucking felt anything remotely as sensual. Harlow was otherworldly.
“Xav, I haven’t even had my first kiss.” She was breathless, and she peered up at me with her big, unique-as-fuck eyes.
“We can’t have that, can we?” I tilted her chin up, bent down, and brushed my lips against her.
“Don’t tease me.” She tip-toed, pressing her soft lips against mine.
Sparks fucking flew. The matebond pulsed with pure need as her fingers trailed up my torso, leaving a trail of heat behind them. Our lips moved against each other in a fiery passion. My hand drifted to her hip, settling there before pulling her flush against me and slipping my tongue into her mouth. She tasted like fucking honey and sunshine.
Mine.
My mate.
Mine.
I was addicted to her. Those kisses were my salvation and my fucking persecution. I lived for them and would die with the memory of them on my lips. She was the half that made me whole. When I was with her, the world didn’t matter.
Her back straightened as my dick poked into her stomach, craving friction.
A smile grew on my face as she pulled back and rested her forehead against mine. I had to hand it to her, she bounced back quick.
Her cheeks were a delicious shade of pink, and her lips were swollen. “Best first kiss ever.”
My heart swelled with her praise. “You’re my mate. Everything is amplified with us. Every kiss, every touch, every—”
Her blush deepened as she clamped her hand over my mouth. “I get it, trust me.”
My tongue darted out and swept her salty palm. She yelped, pulling her hand back and wiping it on her short black dress that made her tiny legs look like they went on for miles.
“Oh gosh, our dinner!” She twisted around toward her cauldron that was about to bubble over and ran to it, turning the fire down.
I gave a strained chuckle. I craved her so bad it fucking hurt. I was definitely getting blue balls after that. I reached down and tucked my dick into the waistband of the sweats with a groan.
She glanced back, biting her lip. “Sorry.”
I shook my head and walked over, picking up the knife on the floor and setting it on the counter. “You dropped this.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled as she threw the ingredients into the cauldron with trembling hands.
“Why do you use one of those to cook anyway? I thought they were meant for potions?”
“Stereotypical.” She pushed her hair out of her face with a huff. “I use it for both. Potions only call for herbs, so it’s not like I’m throwing goat hearts in there or anything.”
“I see.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at her. She was still shaking, and more than anything I wanted to be buried deep inside her while she shook with pleasure.
“Xav, please.” She clenched her dress with her hands as I caught the whiff of arousal again. “I’m not ready yet, but you’re making me want to throw caution to the wind with your desires being projected onto me.”
I took a deep b
reath before cupping her face and pushing my lips against hers softly. “Okay. I’m sorry. I just want you.”
“I know.” She let out a shaky breath. “I want you too, but there is still so much I don’t know. Like… I know I wasn’t your first kiss.”
I scowled. The fuck did that matter? “You were my best kiss.”
She nodded, turning around and busying herself with the stew. “I hope so. I wouldn’t know how anything could beat that kind of kiss.”
I reached out and ran a hand down the back of her hair, fingers parting the silky strands as I made my way through. “Harlow, I’m not just spewing nonsense. I’m experienced, so-fucking-what? You’re a fucking goddess, exactly what I’d imagine Aphrodite to be like. Everyone pales in comparison to you.”
She bit back a grin. “You’re just saying that because I’m your mate.”
“Exactly. You’re my fucking soulmate. Get used to it—and leave the insecurity at the door, little witch. You don’t need it with me.”
The smile that lingered on her lips the rest of the night melted me. Harlow was a precious gem to be protected at all fucking costs.
ELEVEN
Harlow
My fingers brushed against my lips as I remembered the rough feel of Xav’s lips on mine. I needed him like I needed oxygen to breathe, and it was terrifying. It hadn’t even been a full month since I’d met him.
I wasn’t sure if I bought the love at first sight spiel he gave me about soulmates, but with the way I was falling for him, it didn’t seem far-fetched.
I’d warmed up to him being a werewolf. Xavier wasn’t evil, he was just capable of evil things. And against all common sense, I trusted him.
What I couldn’t cope with was that he’d been deep in love with someone before me. How could he have two soulmates? It didn’t make sense. Either I was the other half of his soul or she was, not both of us.
And one thing was haunting me like a spirit with unfinished business; if his first mate hadn’t died, would he still want me?
My chest tightened. The thought robbed me of my senses and replaced it with something that made my muscles contract and dread settle in my stomach.
I stopped, planting my bare feet on a mossy rock beside the river, and breathed in. The forest healed me in ways nothing else could, almost equivalent to the comfort Xav provided me. I couldn’t let fear control my relationship with him. There was no need in damaging my heart with what happened in the past or what-ifs.
