Because of the magical connection between, Jude was aware of everything Mack felt. Anger prickled beneath Jude’s skin.
Mack was a distraction he really didn’t need. “I need to ask you some questions about the cows.”
“You should’ve thought about that last night.” Mack turned to go out the back.
Mack was right, he should’ve, but lust had taken over. Jude had never been a big believer in love, and he didn’t want to be tied to a man just because the Fates thought it would be fun to fuck with him. Twenty-six was too young to settle down—he had plans to travel and get out from under the Coven’s nose—and also too young to die or have his magic stripped. His stomach tightened, and he regretted eating the muffin for breakfast.
But Mack was his familiar, so maybe he could be convinced to help. Maybe this wasn’t all over, and at the end the Coven could fix this all up. Jude was pretty sure Mack wouldn’t be too keen on being bound to a witch based on last night’s reaction to the kiss.
He cleared his throat. “The Coven sent me to find out what’s going on and to stop whatever is doing it.”
Mack’s face was like stone. “I’m not what you’re looking for, so fuck off.”
Jude didn’t move. Mack was exactly what he was looking for. As familiar and witch they were supposed to be together. That was about as likely as Jude catching the creature with his bare hands, so he kept his mouth shut.
Mack’s expression darkened. “You still believe I’m tearing up cows in my spare time?”
“There was another mutilation last night.”
“I was at home, alone, after you led me on.”
Jude winced. Mack’s hurt was a stab in his gut. He couldn’t live with that pain. “The attraction was real.”
And flowed between them as they spoke. His body thought being near Mack was the best thing since this morning’s first caramel latte.
Mack shook his head. “How can I trust a word you say?”
Mack wanted to walk out the back and leave Jude there, though he was sure the scent of hair products would follow him. He didn’t want to believe that Jude had ever wanted him because it would be easier to bury his own attraction if it had all been a lie. He’d tried all night to forget about the kiss. The stupid coin toss wasn’t supposed to lead to this. Last night should’ve been simple lust. Now what was between them was anything but simple, or over.
He hadn’t moved. Neither had Jude.
It wasn’t the lust that had kicked him in the gut when Jude had walked in the door—how could he want a man who thought he killed cattle in his spare time?—that was keeping him glued to the spot. So it must be that Jude was here to stop the mutilations. Helping Jude would help his town and would ensure the witch left sooner rather than later. And that was a very good idea.
Jude glanced at the floor. “You can’t.”
Mack crossed his arms and nodded. “This might be another ploy.”
“It’s not. I need to find what’s killing the cows. When I got close to you and realized you were a bear shifter—”
“How did you realize?” He wanted to hear the words from Jude’s lips. Lips that felt altogether too nice against his own.
Jude swallowed. “I’m a witch. I can see the animal in your eyes. And I saw the bear around you like an aura. It’s not science.” Jude gave a one-shouldered shrug and sipped his takeout coffee. “It’s one magic recognizing another.”
Mack tried not to let his lip curl in disgust. He’d never met a witch, or if he had they hadn’t admitted it. “A bear shifter isn’t doing the killings.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know all the were-bears in a hundred-mile radius.” There weren’t many of them and they didn’t get together often.
“How well do you know them?”
“Births, deaths, weddings. Bears aren’t social shifters like dogs or cats.”
The corner of Jude’s mouth turned up in a crooked smile. “You don’t say?”
“I’m trying to help. I want the killings to stop, too. Our vet took off, and people are getting spooked. It’s only a matter of time until the critter claims a human victim.” Then there’d be cops all over the place, and it would be that much harder to cover up what kind of creature was doing the killing.
“Some people are saying it’s like what happened in North?”
“I don’t know what happened there. Some say it was a curse, or sickness, or just that the mine ran out and everyone packed up and left.” Ghost towns happened. As far as he was concerned, the old mine had been a good place to get away from adult supervision when he’d been a teen. He doubted much had changed since he’d been at school.
“Or it could’ve been a creature. Are there any other shifters around?”
“It’s not a shifter.” Why was Jude so fixated on shifters?
“Have you seen the bodies?”
“No. Have you?” Mack countered.
“No.” Jude fiddled with the lid on his coffee.
The coffee smelled far too sweet even from across the room, yet he got the feeling that Jude couldn’t get enough of the stuff. It took balls to come into his shop after what had happened. He had to give the witch a bit of credit for that.
The attraction that had been there last night still simmered, eager for more. Mack was forgiving, but he wasn’t stupid. Jude might be.
“Wouldn’t the first thing you do when investigating this kind of thing be to examine the evidence instead of jumping on the first shifter you find?” Mack studied the witch for a moment. Jude concentrated on drinking his coffee. “This is your first time investigating, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. That obvious?”
Mack gave a single nod. He blew out a breath through gritted teeth. “I’ll call around and find out whose cow got killed last night,
