“We need to call the others in,” I say as I lock the front door, unable to turn or meet his eyes. I know he must be confused right now, but I'm putting up a boundary by changing the subject. “Gwen isn't going to talk, so we need to force it out of her.”
I hear shuffling in the living room, and that's when I have the courage to turn. Hunter is gathering his clothes, not stunned by my blatant indifference to what just happened. Clutching my dress to my bare frame, I proceed toward the hallway, not wanting to linger close by.
“How are you going to force it out of her if she's not gonna talk?” Hunter asks when he has all his clothes on his lap.
Our eyes meet, and awkward tension is so palpable that it can be cut with a knife until I tear my gaze away. Staring at the floor, slightly flustered, I take a deep breath to compose myself.
“There's a ritual that can be performed. It's in the journal Arianna has.”
Hunter nods, his head hanging as he stands up and keeps his clothes clutched around his midriff. “I'll get in touch with Tyler, then. Make the necessary arrangements.”
“Thanks,” I say flatly before spinning on my heel, about to disappear down the hall when Hunter calls my name softly, hesitantly.
“D-Delilah…”
Without turning, I gulp, sensing what's coming.
“We need to talk.”
“No, Hunter,” I shake my head slowly, rigidly. “We don't. There's nothing to talk about.”
“Tonight—”
“Changes nothing,” I cut in. “It changes nothing. Our marriage is still only for the sake of appearances, and I'd like to keep it that way. It was only sex, anyway.”
Awkward silence stretches over us, and I march down the hallway, not waiting for a response, while my heart is hammering in my chest. It took every ounce of courage to put that barrier between us, especially after what just happened, but it's for the best.
It's the only way I can protect myself from being broken again. And that's why I have to throw myself into the real work that's waiting to be done.
Catching the dark lord should be my only priority.
Chapter 14 - Hunter
“I'm worried about Arianna,” Tyler says after we've tended to the necessary preparations for the ritual Delilah wants to execute with Arianna's help.
The two witch-wolf hybrids stand over a fire in the meadow holding hands, while the witch we caught in Oakland sits on a crate chained to poles that have been secured into the ground.
“Why are you worried about her?” I ask my friend, who shoves his hands into his pockets.
“She's pregnant,” Tyler admits with a nervous grin.
“Oh.” I glance at the girls. “Is it safe, then?”
Tyler shrugs. “Delilah seems to know what she's doing. I trust her. She says it won't harm the baby.”
“Well, I'd be concerned, too.”
Just then, the witch, Gwen, lifts her head in Delilah's direction. “You know you're not supposed to use magic when you're not concentrating. It can harm you,” she warns, and Delilah gasps.
Her eyes flicker to mine, burning like the fire in front of her with remnants of our passion from last night. I freeze momentarily, until she tears her eyes away.
“I don't know what you're talking about, Gwen,” Delilah defends flatly, but even I can hear the slight quiver in her voice that betrays her dismissal.
I myself haven't stopped thinking about what happened last night, and I can only imagine that it's the same for Delilah. I have no idea why she'd secured walls between us when we'dbeen so intimate, but it feels like I'm not making any progress with her.
Even after making love to her.
Blood rushes to my core, a natural response to picturing Delilah's naked body under me, but I clench a fist, my jaw tightening as I push away those thoughts. Now's not the time to be thinking about our failing relationship, even if it might be what's causing her to lose her focus.
