Ethan pushed away from the wall.
“Forget it, I’m just going to fix it. I have to fix it. I’m going to go mad if I don’t fix it. And no, Mr. Perfect. It was like the second meeting. I don’t know what the hell came over me. I needed her. It was like a daydream, I wasn’t the one in charge. I looked into her eyes and I was done."
Ethan pushed away from the wall and started to pace. "The issue is, she didn’t know. She’s a witch, not a shifter. She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t understand what happened. She doesn’t even grasp that she’s it for me.”
Ethan kept a steady pace and headed for the door. “I’m just going to go talk to her. Maybe I can date her first. Right after I go kill my brothers. They’re the only ones who would have known about her. I love my mother, but she’s got to stop the meddling.”
He got the sense that his mother was pushing fate along. He was almost ready to confront her. Maybe. He was close to it, probably.
Ah, hell. The one time in his life he'd taken the time to analyze and think it through, and this time his mom got involved.
Alpha. What did that even mean when he still had his mom around?
Now it was time to man-up and fix it.
"Shut up," he told the wolf. "If it weren't for you, this might be a whole lot less complex." The wolf snorted and curled up. Ethan wasn't getting anywhere else with him. Not that it mattered.
All that mattered was fixing things with Olivia. He didn't think he'd take a deep breath again, not until she was back in his arms.
Chapter 9
Olivia rolled dough into balls as tears ran down her face. The balls of chocolate were supposed to be something new and exciting for a birthday party. She pushed one chunk into the muffin pan. Sure, she was supposed to be creating a giggling cupcake of sorts. She’d mixed all the right herbs and pounds of chocolate together, said all the right things and still every time she popped one into her mouth all she did was cry harder.
It was her luck she’d fall for a tall, dark and handsome man who she finally thought was her choice just to find out it’s what fate wanted. She hated magic. She hated the world and all its stupid rules. She wanted her own choices.
A tiny voice within her whispered. "Is it really so bad?"
She sniffled. The idea of waking up next to him every morning eased the suffering in her soul. But was it her that wanted it or the magic? She tried to think back passed the last day to when they'd first met. How he'd captivated her from the start. That had all been lust though. Right?
The camera at the back-door flickered on, alerting Olivia someone was there. She smiled through the tears as she saw a familiar figure. Promptly, she replaced the smile with a frown.
He’d hurt her. But damn it if she didn’t want to run to him. Again though, was that her? Or was that his thought? Was that the mating?
“Oh, crap.” The icing in her hands dripped to the counter.
What the? First snow, now this?
Olivia stopped to assess herself. Her body boiling hot, the icing in her hand melting out. Glancing at the screen again she crossed her legs at the instant attraction to him. No, she was pissed.
Turning away she focused on getting the dripping pastry bag to the sink. Holding her hand under the tip as it practically created a river of sugary water, curiosity gnawed at her.
No. I won't give in.
“There. That’s better.” She rolled her head side to side. Calm yourself. Using the heel of her hand, she tried to wipe the tears away.
Olivia shook out her arms and hands. Alright, I can do this. I can be around him.
No. He should suffer.
Then she peeked at the screen again. His head hung low, his stance stressed and agitated. He hurt. She knew he genuinely suffered too.
Deflating her lungs on one long breath, her thoughts shifted past anger. If it hurt this much to be away from him, she might have to give in. But only if she got something out of this.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, she glanced at the monitor again and felt an ache deep down in her soul as his massive frame paced back and forth. Flexing her fingers against a tingle of magic, she couldn’t look away from him. She wanted to hold him and make the pain go away. The desire to kiss away the sadness almost to strong to ignore. .
He’d betrayed her. She had to remember. Then again, she’d been more than happy to oblige.
Her mother’s voice sounded in her head. “Proper witches don't date shifters.” She answered back the air, “Being proper didn’t help me keep a fiancée either.”
Absently, she kneaded more chocolate. After several beats of her heart, she turned away and finally saw what she’d made. A wolf. A small sugar wolf.
“What the heck am I supposed to do with that?” she muttered.
This was going to take her all night. Maybe a break.
Closing her eyes, she willed Ethan to come to her. Silly really. Peeking at the monitor, Olivia saw that Ethan had stopped.
Huh.
Olivia stood. What exactly should she do? Brushing away powdered sugar onto her apron she practically stomped to the back door.
Gripping the handle, she turned and pulled.
“Are you coming in or not?”
He gave a little nod and put his hands in his pockets. “I was waiting for a formal invitation. I didn’t know if you could hear me yet.”
Well if that wasn’t an odd comment.
“I have a security camera at the back door for deliveries, and the obvious safety thing.”
Ethan’s head tilted, his mouth pulled to the side.
She shrugged. “You’d think as a fireman you’d be happy about my safety measures.”
“That wasn’t what I meant.
