“It’s not,” she snapped.
“Hey,” he said softly. “If it is, it’s not like you’re to blame. No one, and I mean no one, would say it’s your fault that some undead baddie has tracked you down.”
She stared off into the night. “Yeah, right.”
“Jenna. Jenna.”
She finally looked at him. “What?”
“Anyone says a word to that effect, and they will answer to me.”
The brackets around her eyes softened, but her mouth was still a hard line. “Why would you do that? It’s not your job to—never mind, I know why. The spell is messing with your head, making you pay attention to ideas you’d dismiss otherwise.”
“So it’s wrong that I’d want to be your friend in this situation? What’s so crazy about one first responder wanting to help out another first responder?”
She stopped looking at him again.
That wasn’t going to shut him up. “I like you. And that’s not the spell talking either. Sure, I think you’re all kinds of annoying at times, but so is my sister, and I’m crazy about her.”
Jenna snorted. “You just want me to kiss you again.”
“I’d be lying if I said you were wrong.”
That got her attention. “Titus, don’t.”
He let out a long sigh. “Do you ever have any fun, or is your whole life just you being hard on yourself?”
“I have fun.”
“Really? When?”
“Tonight’s run was fun.”
“When did you last have fun on your own?”
She frowned at him. “I have fun,” she said again.
He wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t done talking either. There had to be a way to break through the walls she kept up. “Wouldn’t it be easier for us to deal with this spell if we were a team and not two opponents? We’re facing the same battle. Why not join forces?”
“We’re in this together whether we like it or not.”
“Exactly. So let’s be a team.”
She gave him a hard look. “Meaning?”
“Stop treating me like the enemy, for one thing.”
She took a breath before answering. “I’ll try.”
“Gee, thanks.” He looked off toward the woods. “What is it about me that you dislike so much?”
She tipped her bottle back, finishing it. “You really want to know?”
He glanced at her. “Yeah, I do.”
“You’re sure? Because if you want me to be truthful, you can’t get mad at the answer.”
He could. But he wouldn’t. Not for the sake of them moving forward in a meaningful way. “I won’t. Promise.”
She pointed the empty bottle at him. “You’re an oath breaker. And I don’t want anything to do with someone like that.”
Jenna knew the slight buzz from the Warhammer was partially to blame for her sudden impulse to tell Titus what she really thought of him. But hey, he’d asked.
He stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You broke your engagement.” She shrugged and put the empty bottle down. Something inside her gave way to the anger she still felt toward Eric. Maybe all the magic influencing her was causing it, but there was no stopping what she wanted to say. “I know you had a fiancée and I know she left you and I know there are two sides to every story, so whatever the reason that arrangement dissolved, you still had a part in it. Which means you share the blame.”
An angry wolfen glow lit his eyes. “You don’t know anything about my engagement.”
“I know what I need to know.” He was getting mad. And mad seemed like a good way to shut down the effects of the love spell.
“No, you don’t.”
She rested her arms along the edge of the tub and leaned back. “So tell me.”
He swallowed, some of the angry light in his eyes fading until, a moment later, it was gone completely. But something new had taken its place. Sadness? Regret? Disappointment?
That wasn’t the response Jenna had expected. A pang of sympathy went through her. What had happened to Titus to make him feel that way? And why on earth had she asked? If she felt sympathetic toward him now, how was she going to feel after listening to his story?
She’d made him mad enough. There was no point in pushing this further. She held her finger up. “You know what? I changed my mind. You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, you asked. And you assumed. So I’m going to tell you, because you clearly have some false ideas about me.” His jaw was tense, making his words come out sharp. They matched the angry light that had crept back into his eyes.
She pulled her arms back into the water and tucked her hands under her legs. “Okay.”
“Zoe was…perfect in every way. She’s a schoolteacher. Great with kids. And they love her right back. She’s wolf, like me. And just a beautiful person, inside and out. She’s everything I wanted in a partner.” He hesitated, obviously a little lost in memories.
A moment later, he started again. “But it wasn’t meant to be. Her parents are older, and then her father fell and broke his hip. She’s an only child and felt obligated to move home and take care of them. So she went back to Oregon and her parents. I certainly can’t fault her for doing the right thing by them. In fact, her willingness to give up everything for them is an example of the person she is. The person I fell in love with.”
“Why didn’t you move with her?”
He shook his head. “I was already chief. I’d built this house for us. My brother and sister lived here, my parents not far away. My life is here.”
“But if you really loved her…”
He looked miserable. So much so, she felt bad about bringing up the subject. A vein in his forehead pulsed. “I guess I didn’t love her enough to give up everything I worked for. To leave my family behind for hers.” His words grew angrier as he spoke. “I’m as responsible for our
