Taking the item, Aislinn looked up to spy a sad look on Derick's face as he lamented, “I'm still sorry for hurting you. If you don't believe anything else I've said, I hope you'll believe that.”
“I … don't know what to believe right now,” she started, then warned, “but I do know that if the guy I'm with comes out here and finds you, he might get … pushy.”
As she spoke, a bit of intuition suddenly informed her that Troy was already nearby, he simply hadn't interfered. Aislinn wondered if that meant he'd wanted to respect her request to handle her father alone, but didn't have the time to ponder an answer when Derick asked in confusion, “Why? Is he one of the lupines?”
“Not exactly. He's a werewolf, and he's protective of me,” she spoke pointedly.
He looked surprised over the news, but seemed to get the message because he nodded without pause. “Right, okay, I'll just get going then. But before I forget,” he stopped at the door to his jeep, then smiled at her meaningfully—even lovingly. “Happy birthday, Aislinn. I'll see you tomorrow.”
With that, he climbed into his vehicle, and Aislinn was stunned. The father who'd abandoned her twenty years ago just remembered to wish her a happy birthday, then said I'll see you tomorrow. She had to bite her lips and simply nod as Derick offered a wave from behind the wheel, otherwise she would've broken down right then and there.
Once he'd driven away, she turned to go back inside, though it felt as if someone else had control of her body. Her mind was in a fog, and the further she got, the harder it became to stem the tears threatening to spill, at least, until she saw Troy heading toward her from his truck across the lot and realized her cheeks were already wet.
Still, despite her reluctance to let him see her cry, Aislinn immediately approached him for comfort in the form of a tight hug. Without hesitation, his arms encircled her in a secure hold, and it felt so good that her tears flowed even harder.
“Just let it all out, darlin', I know that wasn't easy,” Troy murmured against her ear, proving he'd been eavesdropping on them.
But she didn't mind at all, thankful he'd saved her the trouble of relating what had happened when doing so would likely upset her all over again. Besides, in that moment, all Aislinn wanted was to focus on the way it felt being held by Troy, knowing deep in her heart that there was no one else she would've rather been with.
As Troy held Aislinn, he couldn't help thinking her father wasn't to be trusted.
The vantage point from his truck near the center of the lot allowed him to listen to their conversation from a distance without interfering, and something about the warlock rubbed Troy's instincts wrong. Likely, it was the way he'd hurt his daughter so badly, and indeed, Aislinn's vehement reactions were understandable.
She handled the situation as well as anyone he could've imagined in her position. But that didn't mean Troy had an easy time restraining himself when he heard the anguish in her voice, struggling to stay put until the warlock had departed and she walked away in tears.
That's when he headed toward the sidewalk, intending to call her name and alert her to his presence. Yet she turned to him before he got the chance, and surprisingly embraced him without berating him for eavesdropping first.
Perhaps she wanted to get herself together before issuing a reprimand, but whatever the case, Troy couldn't stand seeing her so shaken up. Threading his fingers through the hair at her nape to gently cradle her head, he held her close and gave her all the time she needed to pull herself together.
After several moments of silence passed between them, Aislinn hiccuped—a sound he would've thought was endearingly cute if her tears weren't ripping his heart in half—and she finally whispered, “I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about coming out here. I was afraid you'd intimidate Derick into lying about something to protect himself.”
Troy could easily see that happening, and returned, “I'm sorry I eavesdropped. Well, not sorry, but you get the point.”
Despite her tears, there was a hint of a smile on her lips when she lifted her head to look up at him. “I guess we're even, then. So did you hear everything?”
Her words were punctuated by another hiccup, and Troy lifted his hands to drag his thumbs beneath her eyes, gently wiping away the tears as he confirmed, “Loud and clear. You invited him to talk at your shop tomorrow.”
Aislinn took his hands and slowly nodded, remarking as if to justify herself, “I wanna hear his side of it. I know it's stupid, and I shouldn't care so much because he never cared, but I have to know.”
Taking on a serious mien, Troy tilted her face up to catch her gaze, countering, “It doesn't sound stupid, Aislinn. If you care, it's because you have a big heart, and wanna know why it was broken. I think that's perfectly fucking reasonable.”
She must have found his declaration heartening because her smile wavered as more tears fell. Resting her head against his chest again, Troy tightened his grip around her, then pressed a long kiss against her temple and whispered, “I wanna be there when he comes by tomorrow, just in case you need me.”
She sniffled, nodding her head. “Strange Brew's closed on Sundays for inventory, so I'll just call you when I'm ready—oh, wait,” she stopped, returning her gaze to his. “What about my vision? Annika might not get back in touch with me before then.”
Recalling their agreement not to be alone together until her cousin could shed some light on Aislinn's foresight, Troy thought it over, then suggested, “I'll just have to bring my cousins along. Andi wanted to talk to you about the séance you mentioned anyway.”
“You told her?”
“Yeah, and she's looking forward to it.”
A slow smile lifted the corners of her lips, and Aislinn whispered, “Thank you, Troy. I know you said I don't have to thank you for anything, but I disagree. I'm glad you're here.”
Grinning, Troy admitted shamelessly, “Yeah, well, maybe you'd thank me less if you knew how focused I am on the way your body feels against me.”
Thinking she'd chastise him, Aislinn laughed instead, and the sound warmed his heart. “Not a chance, but we need to go back inside before someone sends out a search party.”
“You sure you feel like it?”
“I'll be okay,” she nodded. “I just need to stop by your truck for my phone first.”
Turning to go, Troy draped his arm over her shoulders while she hooked hers around his back and mentioned, “You know, it's kind of weird.”
“What's that?”
“I don't like crying in front of people,” she explained, turning her gaze up to his. “But I barely thought about it just now. I guess I really am comfortable with you.”
“Of course you are. I'm the love of your life, remember?”
“Actually, the reading said I'd be the love of your life.”
“Doesn't matter, I'm gonna make it come true both ways.”
Smirking, Aislinn grumbled over his arrogance again as if she thought he was teasing, but he simply grinned. She didn't need to know he'd meant every word of it.
Time would prove it for him.
Chapter 21
Sans some unpleasant surprises, Aislinn's twenty-fifth birthday was the most special she'd ever had.
After her estranged father's sporadic visit, she and Troy spent the rest of their evening having drinks and playing pool with Ashley and Cade. A few other lupines from their pack joined in as well, and they were curious about Troy. Aislinn wouldn't have called their attitudes toward him completely hospitable, but they weren't hostile either.
Hopefully, this meant their relations were off to a good start, and if some unexpected altercation arose in the future, it wouldn't be hard to handle.
It was a little past one in the morning when Troy took Aislinn back to Strange Brew, and because she was just a bit too intoxicated to walk in a straight line, he escorted her up to her apartment. Outside the door, they shared a passionate goodnight kiss that only made Aislinn think hello, her inebriation erasing all care over the
possible ramifications of being alone with Troy after her foresight.
Instead, all she wanted was to pull him through the door and send her twenty-fifth birthday off the same way she'd greeted it—with a literal bang.
But Troy had a higher tolerance to the alcohol he'd consumed, and resisted, promising to return the following day as soon as she called. The gruff tone of his voice made it apparent that it wasn't easy for him to go, but he'd been just as affected by her vision as she was, and his need to protect her was more pressing than staying over and possibly subjecting her to the fate of being unwillingly turned.
So she'd stumbled into her apartment alone while Troy departed, and vaguely recalled thinking doesn't matter, I can take care of my own needs now just before passing out on the couch without even changing clothes.
When she woke in the morning, Aislinn felt pretty good aside from a headache, getting her day started with two aspirin, a rejuvenation spell, and a long, hot shower. It was an activity she found herself wishing Troy was there to share, particularly in recalling how he'd respected her wishes when she was too hammered to think better of letting him stay.
And the more she considered it, the more she wanted to admit she might be falling for the werewolf.
Sadly, the future was still too uncertain to let herself. Not only was her vision an issue, but there was so much she needed to learn about both Troy, and werewolves in general. What was the marking like, and their bonding? Would she change into a werewolf instantly, or was it gradual? Aislinn wanted to imagine it wasn't a difficult transition to deal with, but also knew better than to think it'd be entirely easy.
Even so, the thought of bonding with Troy for all time actually wasn't bothersome. Maybe being her familiar was the reason, but as overwhelming as the prospect of eternal life was, the thought of spending one with him felt inexplicably right.
Still, she had to caution herself to be careful what she wished for until more solid answers about her vision were available. Come on, Annika, give me some good news.
Aislinn checked her phone after washing up only to learn that her cousin still hadn't called or left any revealing messages. Intuition said she just hadn't had the time to get anything done, so Aislinn tried to be patient, and gave Troy a call in the meantime to update him, and also ask if she could visit the manor before she invited her father over.
Troy easily agreed, leaving Aislinn with the final task of calling Derick—though she seriously considered leaving him hanging as he'd done to her so many years ago. Maybe the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.
The unsavory thought had Aislinn immediately dialing his number to set up a visit for that evening.
With her plans set, she got to work on wrapping her tasks up at Strange Brew. Unsurprisingly, time passed by slowly, especially when she continually miscounted inventory in her eagerness to finish. It took two and a half hours just to complete the stock work before she could start the cleaning chores by dragging the welcome mat outside to sweep—and it seemed strange that tasks performed on such a regular basis for years were suddenly so tedious.
She grumbled under her breath over the thought, doing a haphazard job with her broom before placing the mat back inside. Yet, as she walked to the front counter to wipe it down, she had the intuition that Annika was about to call, and abruptly stopped to tug her phone from her pocket.
Surely enough, the device began ringing the moment it was in her hand, and Aislinn answered, though only managed to get out half a hello before her cousin rushed an urgent warning from the other end.
“Aislinn! You've gotta get out of Strange Brew and go stay with Troy!”
The news was so sudden that Aislinn froze, trying to let the words sink in. I have to leave? “Why?”
She hadn't even realized she'd asked the question aloud until Annika answered, “Just do it and call me when you're there. I'll explain everything then.”
Though the warning seemed strange without knowing more, Aislinn trusted her cousin's foresight completely, and agreed without question. “Okay, I'll call you back shortly.”
“Good. Be careful, Aislinn.”
“I will,” she promised, hanging up and pushing the phone back into her pocket, wondering why Annika had directed her to stay with Troy of all people. Perhaps it meant he wasn't actually going to turn her without consent, and her vision was just a possible outcome of some unforeseen event—one Annika was obviously trying to protect her from.
Stepping into the storage room to grab her car keys, a sense of foreboding struck just as the bells on the front door chimed despite the sorry, we're closed sign in the window. Aislinn stopped in the doorway, reluctantly turning to see who'd come in, and was greeted by a pair of familiar faces.
Cindy and Lisa Palmer, the same witches who'd overseen her initiation trial for The Trine, had just walked in, and they looked rather smug. Aislinn muttered softly, stepping behind the register while wondering if they were the reason for Annika's warning. Sadly, her intuition wouldn't work well with them, but despite the protection wards on her shop, she somehow didn't trust their motivation for visiting to be completely innocent.
Certainly, her wards kept anyone with malevolent intentions from approaching the establishment, but witches belonging to a three hundred year old coven would have access to tools that could circumvent such security. It would've taken some time, but it wasn't impossible, meaning she'd have to play this safe.
“Strange seeing you two again,” she greeted plainly. “But you guys should know I'm actually closed.”
“Oh, we weren't planning on buying anything,” Cindy mentioned.
The sisters offered her knowing smiles as if they'd already clued into the fact that Aislinn was wary. So in response, she rolled her eyes and asked bluntly, “Okay, then what do you want? Did you come to get back at me for letting the werewolf go? Because it doesn't look like he hurt you.”
“It doesn't look like he hurt you either. Why is that?” Lisa started.
“Yeah, I wonder if it might be because you're actually his mate or something,” Cindy suggested.
It was hard to tell whether they were digging for information, or if they already knew the answer, not to mention why it even mattered. Wish my intuition would pick up some dirt. But at least the door swung both ways—if Cindy and Lisa had any psychic ability, they wouldn't be able to easily discern the truth about Aislinn either, and she had no intentions of offering any hints, shrugging casually in remarking, “I guess you'd have to find him and ask.”
“No need,” Lisa returned. “We don't really care why he spared you, or us, and we're not here because of him anyway.”
Cindy added, “We're here because of you.”
“Me?”
Their nods were nearly in sync, and Cindy went on, “When you turned down the invitation, Estelle found out why, and she was very disappointed in us.”
Aislinn eyed them suspiciously. “Why?”
Lisa muttered as if she disagreed, “Because they don't condone sacrifice. So okay, we tried to coerce you, but only because we thought that if you refused, you'd still join The Trine, and we'd be able to sacrifice the werewolf ourselves. Immortals like him offer a lot of power, and it wouldn't have hurt you to let us use him.”
So Cindy and Lisa were power-hungry, which wasn't very surprising, and their attitude was enough to make her wish Troy would've caught them the day they met. “You do realize what kind of energy unwilling sacrifices attract, don't you? Sure, it's powerful, but it also corrupts. Anyway, this is getting old, so kindly leave my shop. Now.”
Lisa shook her head. “Not until this is fixed. Like I said, Estelle hasn't been happy with us, and she's even considering banning us. So let us tell her you're reconsidering.”
Aislinn couldn't reconsider. She completely disagreed with sacrificial practices, and wouldn't be able to function in a coven with other witches who performed it without consent like Cindy and Lisa—saying she even believed their story to begin with.
So she explained firmly, “I'm sorry, but my answer is still no. You can tell Estelle that you cleared it up with me if you need to, but I'm not reconsidering.”
The sisters exchanged a look, and Cindy exhaled, announcing, “That's not good enough.”
“Then how about telling her I said you can both kiss my ass,” Aislinn snapped. “Is that good enough?”
“She's not making this easy on herself,” Lisa told her sister.
“I know, it's kind of funny.”
Aislinn didn't know what they were talking about, but their statements set off an alarm, one that clearly said it was time for these witches to go. She'd already asked them once, and knew repeating herself wouldn't yield any results, but thankfully, she also knew a spell of temporary paralysis that would get them out of her path long enough to make it to Braddock's Estate.
She wasted no time casting it either, starting by chanting the Latin verses aloud without warning, and after only two words, magic was brimming at her fingertips—Thank you, Romedra. Using her strengthened connection granted by the ritual, she quickly lifted her hands and clutched her fists to capture both witches in a magical hold before they could counter the spell she was casting.
The sisters gasped, unable to move, and Aislinn went on with her chant—at least, until the lights in her shop suddenly flickered in a telling sign that the energy around them was being disrupted, and it wasn't because of her magic.
But before she could even consider the source, the sensation of a fist clutching her throat overcame her, constricting it tightly enough to cut off her air supply. As a result, her chant came to a halt, and Aislinn gasped for breath, but the grip only strengthened.
This caused her to lose the magical hold she had on Cindy and Lisa, reaching up to her neck while simultaneously noticing that her opponents had looks of feigned remorse on their faces.
“We're sorry about this, but you haven't given us a choice,” Cindy remarked. “It's too risky to let you go knowing we sacrifice unwilling people, so we've gotta tie up loose ends.”
Strange Brew Page 21
