Resisting Fate

Chapter 7

Carmelo recovered within a few days, and he spent the rest of his time trying to avoid the new witch. From what he'd heard from the pack, she was a little standoffish and straightforward.

They're all trying to avoid saying she's rude.

Still, the possibility of being offended by her didn't scare him nearly as much as her intuition. So he did his best to never be around her without making it super obvious. He had to work on some of his excuses though, because the things he blurted out without thinking never made much sense.

"I'm sorry, I won't be attending dinner. I have plans with my cat."

"Oh, I can't. I have to clean the cat's litter."

"I'm menstruating."

Maybe he should get a cat. Then maybe his excuses would be more believable.

All of his efforts ended abruptly on a Tuesday afternoon as Carmelo entered the packhouse after picking up more bath bombs. Probably way too many, if the way he struggled to open the door was any indication. He was the only person in the house to use them, the noses of his packmates far too sensitive for the strong fragrances.

He must've looked like something out of a cartoon, holding boxes that towered tall enough to cover his face, which is why he was surprised when he crashed into someone, who let out a slightly hilarious squawking sound as they fell.

"Shit! Sorry," Carmelo said. He managed to roll slightly so he didn't fall directly on them, but his boxes landed haphazardly on top of both of them.

"It's okay, I guess," she said. Her voice was unfamiliar and slightly disgruntled, but Carmelo couldn't blame her.

Boxes covered the floor surrounding them, and he pushed the few that landed on top of him off so he could stand up. "Are you okay?" he asked as he helped her up.

"Fine," she grunted a little as she stood. "What a welcome to the new pack."

As he heard those words, Carmelo's muscles locked and his stomach dropped. He looked at her, Daniera. The witch. She wore loose fitting pants with some beat up looking boots and a tight, white shirt that clung to her chest and contrasted nicely against her dark skin. Her hair was black and purple, thrown up into a haphazard bun. Daniera was attractive and terrifying.

Though he tried to avoid it, he looked into her eyes. Purple, like her hair.

It's an old tale that witches can see secrets by looking into someone's eyes. From the little bit of information Carmelo knows about magic, he's pretty sure it's not that easy. But he's not willing to risk it.

Fuck. I've got to get away from her.

"I've got a thing with a cat," Carmelo blurted out, grabbing all the boxes he could in his hands, and mourning the few that remained on the floor. Maybe he could sneak out and grab them later. He didn't bother waiting on her response before walking swiftly to the elevator.

Fuck the stairs.

On the ride up, Carmelo thought about their interaction, cringing at his escape. Why do I keep bringing up cats? His awkwardness was less pressing than the possibility of Daniera learning about him, however. There were secrets that belonged to him only. They were his to know and bear, not anyone else's responsibility.

He exited on his floor, walking quickly to his room with the boxes nearly as unbalanced as they were earlier. Carmelo had a plan. He would enter his room, put his bath bombs in the aesthetically pleasing baskets he bought, and take a long bath with a book in his hands.

Though his sense of smell wasn't nearly as good as other werewolves, Carmelo was sure he could still smell Vincent and Sebastian in his room. Which wasn't possible, because his room was empty. But he could smell the little bit of lavender and vanilla from them. He tried to shake the impossibility from his mind, but even as he smelled the bath bombs as he put them away, their intoxicating scents still drove him crazy.