As Joshua left the house, he breathed out a long sigh of relief mingled with regret. Of course, his mind was still full of Kira. Beautiful, smart, and determined Kira.
It was all his fault, of course.
He had been young. Not really ‘impulsive’, but he hadn’t thought through his actions. All he’d known was that he wanted to be with her. And when they had come together, it was more than he could resist. He’d lost his virginity to Kira Smithson, and as soon as it was over, he knew he’d made a mistake. He put her in danger, and so he had to reject her. Yes, it had been in the worst way possible, and he still winced when he thought of the look on her face afterward. But it had been necessary. Being with him would only end badly for her.
He wasn’t going to put her in more danger than he already did.
Joshua ran his hand through his blond hair, trying to pull his thoughts away from all the reasons why he couldn’t go to her. If he thought too much about that, then he would end up trying to argue himself into finding ways where they could be together, and that just wouldn’t do. His feelings in the matter were immaterial. No matter how much he longed to explain, to beg forgiveness and have her in his life again.
He would rather spend an eternity like this, aching at the sight of her, trying in vain to fill the space in his life that was shaped in her figure, than put her in danger again. She was safe and happy without him. Her sister was doing well; she was well-cared for between her job and Gwen. The pack treated her with more respect since the social programs he, Rafael, and Michael introduced.
She was better off without him. It had been a mistake to sleep with her in the first place, a mistake he damn well was not going to repeat.
When he thought about that night, he could only curse himself. What if she’d ended up pregnant? He hadn’t usedprotection. Hadn’t even thought about it. Thank the Goddess that he didn’t impregnate her. Otherwise, she would already be—
No.
Joshua growled at himself, shaking his head hard as he headed for his house. It was a lovely day, just as the cooler months were getting underway. Nightfall was at the southernmost point of the country, and the weather was balmy year-round, but they would be getting some more storms here soon. Right now, the weather was brilliant, but throughout town, measures were being taken to prepare for the eventual storms. They were behind on the work, what with the continued demon threat.
He concentrated on this, making lists of what he needed to check up on as he walked. It was enough to push Kira to the back of his mind. There were a few buildings in town that needed new roofing. He would bring it up in the next meeting and see what they had for the budget. With paying the special ops’ wages, their town coffers were strained, so he might go ahead and infuse some of his own money—
Kira.
She stood outside the bookstore, her arms wrapped around her middle. Her back was to him, but he could see her face reflected in the window. Her eyes were soft, her lips pressed slightly together. She looked so utterly alone that his wolf instantly turned its feet toward her. A car whipped by in front of him, just before he stopped in the street.
No, he told himself.
He turned on his heel and marched in the opposite direction, hoping she wouldn’t notice him. She was only lonely right now because Chelsey had just left the day before. That wasall. She had a friendship with Gwen, which was more than she had had for years.
Gwen is busy with Rafael and Lianne.
Ah, but Lianne loved Kira. There was no reason for Joshua to think she would welcome him running over to her, falling to his knees, and begging for her forgiveness.
No. No, he wasn’t going to break just because she looked sad. It was temporary. Everyone got sad sometimes.
His phone started to ring, and Joshua fished it out of his pocket, glad for the interruption. He grimaced when he saw who was calling, but answered anyway. “Elder Priest Thera. What can I do for you?” he asked respectfully.
“Get to the town hall. The Elder Council has gathered more information about witches, and we need to speak with you. Now, Mr. Woods,” she said, as though sensing his protests. “There can be no delay.”
Chapter 3 - Kira
Two days later, Kira was in town running some errands. She had the evening shift at the diner and was using the morning to do her grocery shopping. As she was comparing the pricing on two bags of rice, wondering how much she actually needed now that she lived alone, she overheard two of her packmates talking.
“I heard that they were attacked,” one of them said.
Kira lifted her head, the word ‘attacked’ instantly capturing her attention. The two were at the end of the aisle, blocking it with their carts as they stopped to chat. Kira lowered her head again, pretending to still be studying the rice while she listened.
“I don’t think they were attacked, but they certainly saw evidence of more demon activity,” the other one replied.
Shit. Kira swallowed hard as she tossed both bags into her cart. After so many months of nothing, the thought of more demons made her blood run cold. She hoped that they hadn’t noticed her yet. Even though all her research into the past indicated that the witches were the ones who initially stopped the demon attacks, the common view was that witches had brought them back.
But it might not even be real. Kira wheeled her cart toward the other end of the aisle, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. There were always going to be rumors that the demons were back. This might be one of those rumors. Until she could talk to Gwen and confirm it, she would take it with a grain of salt.
The special ops had trained to fight the demons. They had done a good job of protecting the town, and Gwen had repairedthe damage to the barrier around the town. Even if the demons were back, they couldn’t attack the town.
“Maybe we should ask her,” a familiar voice ran out from behind her.
Dread slipped into her stomach as she turned. Jenny Carps carried an empty basket tucked onto her elbow as she marched down the aisle toward Kira. Kira instinctively turned herself so the cart was between them.
