The Demon's Half

Chapter 13

The aroma of coffee curled around me as I stepped into the shop, warm and rich, chasing away the lingering traces of weed that clung to my clothes. After days of drowning in a haze of patchouli and incense, my nose clung to this singular, exquisite smell—comfort wrapped in caffeine.

I should have stayed with Elena.

Both she and Logan had made it painfully clear they weren't thrilled about me going back to work. A full week of hovering over me, exchanging unreadable glances every time I so much as sighed, as if I was doomed or cursed.
Was I supposed to just stay put? Hide like a caged bird and pretend that was a life?

No.

I needed to breathe. To feel like I belonged to myself again. If I let fear dictate where I could and couldn't go, what kind of life would that be? Especially since I would lose it at some point...

Besides, he couldn't hurt me.

Not yet.

The bargain bound us both in ways neither of us could break—not without consequences. And Oz wasn't the kind of creature to risk more than he had to.

I just needed time.

To think.

Alone.

And then there was Carly. Despite her sharp edges and uncanny ability to read people too well, she had been my anchor when I had nothing to hold onto.

She let me keep a job when I could barely function, let me fumble through shifts when I had no right to be behind a counter, and never once made me feel like I had to earn her patience.

Skipping work felt like betrayal.

I owed her.

"Morgan! I thought you already left."

Jessica's voice jolted me from my thoughts as I wiped down the cappuccino machine—again. No matter how much I scrubbed, the stink of spoiled milk clung to it, sour and stubborn.

My shift had ended ten minutes ago, but I wasn't one to leave things half-done.

"You're coming to my party tonight, right?"

"Oh..." I hesitated, my mind scrambling. That was tonight?

"Come on, Morgan." Kate materialized at my side, her sudden presence making my skin jump. When had she gotten there? "It's Jessica's birthday. You have to come."

Jessica practically vibrated with excitement, her hands landing on my shoulders as she leaned in. "And remember, you have a plus one! You can bring someone," she added, her voice just a little too sweet, her grip just a little too firm.

In my peripheral vision, shadows moved where they shouldn't.

I stiffened, the realization sinking in just as a voice—silky, low, and unmistakably him—slid through the space between us.

"Anyone?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek.

We all turned in unison, as if some unseen force had commanded it.

And there he was.

Oz Dravenkov.

Lethally beautiful and terrifyingly powerful.

My body completely locked up like prey caught in a hunter's sights. Every nerve stood on edge, hyper-aware of him.

I had been hoping—quietly, desperately—that maybe, after this past few days, he had forgotten about me. That his absence meant he had let me go.