“Don’t need Evie what?” The woman herself broke in as she stumbled across the room.
I was up, gathering her in my arms before she tripped over herself.
“Are you drunk?” I asked. I saw all my plans to convince her we were mates draining away. Dane was right about the wooing, but I didn’t have time. Veretis’ other relics were still out there, causing havoc.
“I’m celebrated! -ing. Celebrating! That we’re not dead. But not too much, because we’re still figuring out this snake thing.”
I shared a look with Dane, and he shook his head.
“But!” Evie yelled and startled us all. “But… oh, you’re really comfy. Nice and warm.” She wiggled in my lap and I couldn’t help all the blood leaving my brain. “Very warm,” she added, still talking to herself.
“I’ll see myself out,” Dane smirked.
“No, you don’t!” I yelled at him. The only place I was taking a drunk Evie was to a safe, cozy bed that was not mine. I didn’t ravage inebriated women and Evie in any state was too tempting.
“I remember.” She patted my chest and got lost, her hands wandering in feather light brushes against any skin she could find. I dredged up every ounce of self control I had and trapped her hands in one of mine.
“What did you remember, Evie?” Dane asked, taking pity on me.
Evie hiccuped, and I tried not to find it adorable. Soft, warm and happy, I wanted to keep her this way always—only drunk on me. She attempted to focus on one of my eyes, then the other. “What happens when someone scares me? I can’t suddenly pop up as a snake. Fix it, magic man. You’re the most powerful thing in this town, right?”
She was right. If I was going to leave, I should try to help her solve her shifting problem. At least to where she could hold either form correctly. I didn’t believe she was ever fully human. My bear didn’t see her as anything other than a shifter.
Dane stepped back into the room. “Well, technically, the Grove is the most powerful entity in Harrowood.”
I watched my mate hide a smile. “That’s what Ruby said, too. She said of course you would help.”
Dane’s eyes rounded behind his glasses. “Of all the high handed?—”
“Ruby!” Evie screeched, loud enough to make my ears bleed.
The rest of the women piled into the room, summoned like a murder of Devil’s Bells.
“Are you being stuffy about the rules again?” Ruby said, surprisingly sober. She took Dane’s arm and smiled at him softly. That baring of teeth had Dane attempting to back up a step, but she gripped him by the arm.
“Ruby, please. That’s not what the Grove is for,” Dane whined. I don’t think I ever heard that tone from my best friend.
“You’re saving up your wizard stuff for something other than helping people?” Ruby’s manicured nails dug into his linen shirt. Dane stared at me like I could help him. I looked anywhere but at the unfolding law laying.
“Well, no?—”
The women weren’t wrong. If the Grove combined with my magic couldn’t get Evie stable, then only the Goddess could. It was a surprisingly good plan for the drunk gaggle.
“It’s settled then,” Ruby smiled back at Evie. “I told you it would be easy.”
“Easy peasy,” my mate echoed, the alcohol giving her a sleepy sway in my arms.
My bear covered his head with his paws. When would women ever learn those were the scariest words they could say?
Chapter5
Evie
Iwoke up with an elephant trying to smash my head in. My eyes cracked open. Nope, just the sun trying its best to invade my eyeballs. I went to pull the blankets up with my hands and found I had none. My brain stumbled around to the fact I was still in Harrowood and nothing had torn me apart, eaten me or used my human soul for any nefarious purpose. I looked down, and I sported a black, shiny tail poking out from under the covers, so I was still a snake. It wasn’t all a horrible fever dream brought on by that bar and drinking away my birthday.
I was also alone. I distinctly remember climbing into Ward’s lap and yet I wasn’t in his bed. Should I feel flattered or disappointed? I wasn’t proud to admit I had been secretly hoping I had done well enough on our little quest that Ward would at least kiss me. It was a crazy thought about someone I just met, but I couldn't deny that being with him felt natural. Right, even.
Glancing around the room, I braced for cots and cobwebs, maybe a lava pit—anything remotely like what I imagined a magical castle might hold. I wasn't prepared for the silken couches, a deep reading window, and enough colorful pillows to bury yourself under. My bed looked like elf-craft with a high, arching frame covered in gauzy fabric. Fit for a princess—a hungover, crabby princess.
