The Wolf's Witch (book 1)

8. Prolong the Suck

Kaitlin:

My eyes fluttered open and closed as I tried to push myself up. Waves of nothingness floated through my head, in and out, dizzying me back down on my bed. I took in a slow breath to clear my head and sat up first to steady myself. The feeling of nothingness that I'd woken up with disappeared and relief began to wash over me.

Then I remembered.

I always remembered.

At least my bloodlust, resentment, sadness, terror and guilt was all gone. Devlin had inhaled it all from me. I fought to find reason as I spotted something brown from the corner of my eyes. Devlin's khakis. I resisted the urge to reach out to him.

"How long was I out for?" I asked him, not trusting myself to look at him yet. My eyes narrowed as his response came a beat too late.

"A couple of hours." he exhaled. I turned away from him and let the wooden floor beneath me cool me from my toes. My alarm read 3:44am. I blinked. The dagger I'd been wearing a few hours ago now rested on nightstand next to my alarm and I was now wearing shorts and a thin top. I turned and looked accusingly at Devlin. I didn't remember changing out of my wet clothes.

Devlin's hair hung loose around his face which tilted just then revealing an overly pleased looped side grin aimed at me. My stomach cramped and I let my eyes fall. My eyes cut curiously at his hands which rested on his thighs and seemed unhurt. His shadows which had threatened to engulf me whole were mostly unmoving on his pale skin. The edges of it's dark swirls waved slightly as if greeting me as my eyes traced him. Did he heal or did steel not hurt him the way it did other fae? Does it matter? I sighed as my eyes stopped at his chin. Had I not known him for who he was, I'd think he was a high out of his mind teenager with a few too many tattoos.

Then it dawned on me.

Bra, I jumped urgently, hugged my chest and tip-toed to my cabinet drawers. I slipped a clean one on without taking off my shirt. I could feel Devlin's eyes bore into me. It took him, however, roughly twenty-five minutes to stumble into kitchen after me.

I knew exactly what lured him out of the daze he'd been in.

"You're stress baking again." he said judgingly but I heard amusement coating his last word. The smell of chocolate brownies that were nearly ready had dragged him off my bed. Devlin's amusement didn't last long, "You could've at least killed him in private." he switched the subject.

"He wouldn't have suspected it in public." I quickly pointed out. "This way there's minimal damage and they all know who did it."

I rolled my eyes when he clicked his teeth at me.

"He has a brother." Devlin said, in a strange unfamiliar tone. Was that worry and something else?

"I know and if he wants to take it up with me, he knows where to find me." I crossed my arms and stressed the fact that he had yet to thank me for preventing a war. They nearly killed the Alpha's son. "You're welcome." I grumbled.

My stove beeped and broke our sudden staring contest. Earlier, I had decided to bake something sweet to cheer me up. Sugar always helped. The incense I had found lying inside my oven when I'd opened it, didn't help at all. Luigi, a fae that often favoured my shop, had told me the other day to burn some incense in the shop to get rid of the werewolf smell. When I had opened the stove to slide in the brownies, there it was. I couldn't help but think that this had been his doing. 

For Luigi to have sneak up here without me noticing... I shook my head and let the sweet aroma bombard my nose twice folds as I opened the stove's door. I'd racked my brain long enough and needed to let it go before paranoia really set in. Devlin had set me into zen mode and I wanted to choose to stay there for as long as I could manage.