“You’re welcome,” he replied uncomfortably before adding, “I was cooking for myself, anyway, so it wasn’t any extra effort.”
“I still appreciate it,” I began. “This is a little too much for me. Two eggs would have filled me. How many are on this plate?”
“I just made you a small plate, about half what I had,” he explained. “There are six eggs and eight slices of bacon on there.”
“I don’t need even half the calories a werewolf needs,” I pointed out. “This is really sweet. Why didn’t I know you could cook before?”
“We were too busy dancing around how much we wanted each other,” he replied. “That and arguing.”
“I’m pretty sure those things aren’t mutually exclusive,” I added.
“You’re right about that,” he agreed. “I should finish getting ready. I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re ready to go.”
I nodded and watched as he walked to the door. “Gryph,” I called out.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Thank you again for breakfast and for having me here,” I said awkwardly. “There’s this part of me that wishes I could be your mate. I know you’ll find someone.”
I expected him to either argue with me or agree with me. Instead, he simply walked out of the room without another word. I decided it was for the best. Talking to Gryph about the relationship he wanted with me only seemed to make matters worse. Perhaps, he also realized that. As I picked at my breakfast, I wondered why I was so sad when it seemed I was getting what I’d wanted.
Chapter 14
Gryph
Julia was going to be the death of me.
She wasn’t trying to kill me, but her presence was still going to have that effect on me. I’d been drowning in her scent all morning, which was why I’d gotten up so early. My night had been filled with dreams of touching her, tasting her, and claiming her as my mate. Now that she was in my home, there was no place her scent didn’t haunt me. While it was fainter in rooms she hadn’t entered yet, like my bedroom, it didn’t take much to have me achingly hard.
After taking care of matters in the shower, I’d headed downstairs to make some calls regarding the security measures I wanted added to the Bliss offices. That should have kept my mind off the tempting witch sleeping upstairs, but it didn’t. It hadn’t taken long to realize I was an idiot for thinking I could work in the room I’d pleasured Julia in.
Aside from making calls about security, I also spent some time thinking about how to handle things with Julia. Months ago, I’d tried arguing that she was my mate. Somehow, I’d assumed, since it was true, she’d realize I was right at some point. I could blame part of my lack of finesse on the years I’d spent avoiding contact with anyone. In truth, I didn’t have any experience in this area. I’d foolishly expected Julia to react like a werewolf. Convincing a witch to accept me as her mate was going to be much harder, and there wasn’t anyone I could ask for advice on the subject. I didn’t know of any successful long-term relationship between a witch and a werewolf. I’d certainly never met another werewolf who’d claimed a witch as his mate.
In the end, I’d come to the conclusion that getting to know Julia better was the best way to approach the matter. I needed to convince her I was good mate material. My wolf scoffed at the idea. He was still in favor of simply marking her and letting her get used to the idea. I might be clueless about many things when it came to relationships, but I knew that would piss Julia off.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I made my way into the kitchen to clean up the breakfast dishes.
“This is Gryph,” I said into the phone, recognizing the number from one of the blocks owned by the Sonoma pack.
“Hi, Gryph,” a man greeted me. “This is Joey from Sonoma. My pack leader told me you need some help setting up a good video feed.”
“That’s right, Joey,” I confirmed. From what his pack leader had said, Joey ran a small security business that was only loosely associated with the pack. Apparently, Joey and the wolves who worked with him didn’t play well with others in the pack. From my experience, those were usually the wolves who were dominant enough to be a threat to the pack leader if they chose to challenge him. Those werewolves wanted to be loyal but were simply too volatile to trust.
“He also told me I needed to be there by nine-thirty today,” Joey added with a bite to his voice.
Having dealt with my share of dominant wolves, I knew there were two ways to handle this. Either I had to back down, acknowledging Joey was more dominant, or I had to show him I was more dominant. In this case, my wolf and I were certain we were dominant. “I assume he told you where to meet us.”
Joey didn't immediately respond. It was always a pissing contest the first time two dominant werewolves met. “Yeah, I’ll be there,” he finally replied.
“Why are you calling?” I asked.
“I wanted to let you know I’m bringing two others with me,” he began. “We can bring more if you need extra backup. I’ve got fifteen wolves working security with me.”
“Fifteen?” I asked, surprised by the number of wolves working outside the pack. I wondered if this signaled a problem for the Sonoma pack leader in the future. At least, that’s what I wondered until Joey spoke again. “We’ve been hiring people who’ve been cast out by their packs.”
“I’m surprised I’ve never heard about this,” I remarked.
“You already know how the packs feel about werewolves they see as defective, Gryph.” He used my name again to make sure I understood he knew who I was. “While my pack leader knows what I’m doing, he prefers to pretend he doesn’t know.”
Joey’s admission confirmed my belief that he was a threat to his pack leader. The fact that his leader was ignoring the rules he’d broken spoke volumes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the leader in Sonoma lost his position in the near future.
“For now, we don’t need any extra security,” I replied. “I may take you up on the offer in the future.”
“You’ve got my number. I’ll meet you at nine-thirty.” On those final words, he ended the call.
Something told me Joey was going to be a challenge to work with at times, but I could handle it as long as he helped me set things up to keep Julia safe.
Chapter 15
Julia
When we arrived at the main floor of the building where Bliss was located, Gryph scented the air, looking weary. “The werewolves are here,” he stated.
Three men approached, each dressed in faded jeans and white wife-beaters. They looked more like hired thugs than security professionals. They were all tall, but none were even close to Gryph’s height. I’d guess each to be only an inch or two over six feet. They also carried less bulky muscle than Gryph, except for their unnaturally broad shoulders. I’d only seen frames like that on competitive swimmers. The one in the middle had black hair and stunning amber eyes. With golden skin and full lips, he was definitely attractive. The other two looked somewhat similar with short brown hair and gray eyes. It was easy to tell them apart. One had harsh features, including a jagged scar on his forehead. The other didn’t appear to be much out of his teens, though it was hard to tell with werewolves.
“We’ll talk upstairs,” Gryph told them without making introductions.
The black-haired man nodded. “We’ll come up after you.”
“Why do you need to go up separately?” Gryph asked suspiciously.
“Your witch doesn’t look like she trusts us,” the black-haired werewolf replied. “It’s probably best if we don’t crowd around her in the elevator.”
“She’s cautious,” Gryph growled.
The werewolf who’d spoken laughed. “I didn’t say she was dumb for not trusting us.”
Oliver whined in his carrier. I was glad I’d kept him in there. I decided it would be best if I locked Oliver in my office until the werewolves left.
“Let’s just go upstairs,” I said with a frustrated sigh as I walked to the elevator, certain Gryph would follow me.
<
br /> Once we were in the elevator, Oliver started to complain. “I want out! I’m tired of being in here. If I were a werewolf, you wouldn’t put me in this crate.”
“I’ll let you out in my office,” I assured him.
“Your office?” he asked. “Is that where we’re meeting the werewolves?”
“Gryph is meeting with them in a conference room,” I told Oliver.
“You can’t just cart him off to your office like that, Sass,” Gryph argued as we emerged from the elevator into the Bliss lobby.
Before responding, I took down the protection spell. “Oliver hates werewolves. Why should I force him to be around ones who seem a little off to me?”
“I’m a little off,” he pointed out. “Besides, Oliver wants to confront them.”
“I do!” Oliver chimed in. “I’m not going to start a fight. I just want to stand my ground and show them I’m not some teacup poodle.”
I snorted at his comment because the only teacup poodle he’d ever met was a familiar who was more than a little scary.
“Fine,” I relented, letting him out of his carrier. “You can stay out here and meet them with me.”
When the elevator doors opened again, the three werewolves stepped out. As they approached us, I thought Oliver would start complaining about the smell or move in closer to my side. Instead, he moved in front of me and growled.
I expected them to either ignore Oliver or growl back. Instead, the one with the black hair crouched in front of Oliver and grinned at him. “Your witch is lucky to have such a brave protector.”
Oliver preened at the compliment, and the werewolf held out a hand, palm down, waiting for Oliver to react. After Oliver licked his hand, the werewolf nodded and stood.
“I’m Joey,” he began before pointing to the werewolf with the scar. “This is Cash.” He then gestured to the other wolf. “This is John.”
“I’m Julia,” I introduced myself. “Thank you for coming out on such short notice.”
Joey laughed. “Thank my pack leader. He told me it was an order, not a request.”
I wasn’t sure how to react to that. “I’m going to head back to my office to get some work done. Let me know if you need anything from me.”
“Do you mind if we use the conference room in the back?” Gryph asked.
“That’s fine,” I assured him. “I’ll leave a note on Persephone’s desk so she knows not to put any clients in there.”
“Come on, Oliver,” I called out, but he’d already taken his place by Gryph’s side. “You’d really rather hang out with the werewolves?”
“He just needs some guy time,” Joey told me as if he and Oliver were old buddies.
I decided that if Oliver wanted to hang out with the macho boys club, I’d let him.
Chapter 16
Gryph
I hadn’t expected to like Joey or any of the werewolves he’d brought with him, but I did. They were honest and as sane as any dominant wolf could claim to be. After we’d discussed what I wanted as far as surveillance, they’d all headed out to their van to grab the supplies they needed for the job.
Getting the management of the building to allow them to install security cameras in the lobby areas and elevator had been a real issue. Only one of the six elevators opened into the Bliss lobby. I’d found that strange until Julia had explained that the one elevator not only had extra protection spells, it could also be used as a portal for certain types of preternatural creatures.
The only issue I’d had with Joey came when I insisted on watching them install the cameras. He didn’t like me looking over his shoulder. I didn’t know him well enough to trust him, so we’d compromised. I watched, and he called me an asshole. We were currently sitting in the conference room with Oliver, going over how to look up the video feeds. Cash and John were out double-checking the wiring and connection for the cameras.
“You can access it from any computer, but I recommend only using the laptop I leave here,” Joey began.
“Why’s that?” I asked. While I’d adapted to technology in many ways, I was still a very old wolf. That meant I’d only adapted to things I deemed necessary. Computers weren’t new technology, but I’d never found much use for them. It had been tempting to get one when another werewolf had mentioned the wide selection of porn one could find with a computer, but by that point, I already had a phone I could watch porn on.
“This computer is more secure than most you’ll find,” Joey explained. “I’m also going to show you how to access the feed from your phone just in case you need to check it while you’re away from the computer. Do you have any questions so far?”
“Why is the computer pink with rainbows and unicorns on it?” I asked. That had been driving me up a wall since Joey had removed it from the princess themed laptop bag.
Joey grinned as he gestured to the laptop. “All our important laptops look like something a twelve-year-old would use. The sleek, modern looking computers have nothing of real importance on them since we figure those are the ones thieves will most likely go after.”
I gave him a nod of approval. Joey and his team were proving to be a real asset. “I wasn’t sure about bringing you in,” I admitted.
“I don’t blame you,” Joey replied. “You’re looking at that witch like she’s your mate, so I can see why you wouldn’t want other werewolves sniffing around her.”
“She is my mate,” I told him.
Joey stopped typing and leaned back in his chair as he studied me. “You aren’t fucking with me, are you?”
“It came as a shock to me, too,” I admitted.
“And now, some asshole is threatening her,” Joey muttered. “That must really piss you off.”
“That’s an understatement,” I told him.
“Why haven’t you marked her?” he asked. “I know my wolf would be going crazy if I found my mate and didn’t mark her.”
I shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
“Because she’s a witch?” he asked.
I nodded. “Witches do things differently,” I reminded him. “I can’t just go in there and claim her.”
“You are definitely more enlightened than I am,” Joey said.
I decided not to mention how unenlightened I’d been when I’d first met Julia. Hell, even now I wouldn’t call myself enlightened so much as practical. “Why don’t you finish showing me how this works?”
Joey chuckled. “I get it. You don’t want to talk about your mate. I guess I wouldn’t in your position either. Before we get back to the computer lesson, I want to assure you all my people will be told Julia is yours. If you need us back in here to help out, you won’t have to worry about one of them trying to talk her out of her panties.”
“Wouldn’t that be considered unprofessional, anyway?” I asked.
Joey shrugged. “It would, but you know how young wolves act around an attractive woman. They don’t always use common sense. I get the feeling your witch would turn us all down, but you’d still be pissed if one of us tried.”
“You’re right about that,” I agreed. “So, you have a lot of young werewolves?”
“We’re all young,” he replied as he returned his attention to the computer screen. “I’m the oldest at twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five?” I asked with genuine shock.
Joey nodded. “Yep. It’s kind of scary imagining what we’ll all be like in fifty years, isn’t it?”
“I’m beginning to wonder why your pack leader isn’t worried you’ll kill him and take over,” I mused.
“What makes you think he’s not worried about that?” Joey asked.
“You’re still alive,” was my response.
“He’s really got nothing to worry about,” Joey insisted. “We like our leader, and we’re happy with the way things are.”
I definitely didn’t miss this type of pack stress and drama.
Chapter 17
Julia
I’d just finished getting the presentation packet
ready for my third client of the day, leaving me with fifteen minutes to kill. I’d considered checking on Oliver but decided he’d come to me if he got tired of hanging out with werewolves. Instead, I used the time to think about my current situation. After my night at Gryph’s, I’d come to the conclusion that I needed to learn more about werewolves. I knew about pack rules, and the basics of how to avoid angering a werewolf. I also knew they needed to consume a lot of food and that they got moody near the full moon. The full moon was the only time when changing to wolf form wasn’t optional. On the surface, that might seem like a lot, but it was merely the basics. Beyond what I’d learned in school, I didn’t know much about werewolves.
Grabbing my phone, I decided to call my brother’s wife, Melina. She’d worked with many werewolves during her time as head writer for Night High, a popular teen show. If I remembered correctly, one of her sisters was also really good friends with a werewolf and worked with werewolves who were dealing with mental health issues.
“Melina’s house of horrors,” she answered.
“Hey, Mel,” I greeted her.
“Hi, Julia,” she replied. “How are you? Did they catch the asshole who’s been threatening you?”
“How’d you hear about that?” I asked. Allie had agreed to keep it from Trevor until I had a chance to talk to him.
“Your mom told me,” she replied.
“How did my mom hear about it?” I asked.
“Jessa told her,” she explained. “I’m not sure how your sister heard about it. For now, Trevor doesn’t know, but I’ll have to tell him when he gets home, so you’d better mention it soon.”
“Witches are the biggest gossips,” I muttered.
“Vampires are much worse,” Mel told me. Since she’d also worked with many vampire actors, she’d probably had a lot of experience with them gossiping. “I’ve been told angels are really bad, but they’ve always seemed pretty tight-lipped to me. Maybe they just gossip among themselves. So, did they catch the asshole?”
“The police seem convinced it’s nothing, so I’m not sure they’re even looking,” I replied. “Gryph thinks there’s a real threat. In fact, he’s getting extra security cameras installed at Bliss as we speak.”
Seductively Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 3) Page 7
