“It’s not. I overstepped. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you mine, and I shouldn’t have let you give her your claw,” he says shortly. Not making eye contact is his best resistance to me, and my worst weakness. He stares past me and storms back into the shop, but I grab his arm with the strength of my half-shifted form.
“Eddie, listen to me, darn it,” I say, standing directly in front of him. There was no avoiding me now. I need him to see me. “I don’t know exactly what is going on between us, but I think it’s time we called the bluff.”
“That’s not fair,” he says, running his hand over the back of his neck.
“Fair to who? ’Cause it’s sure as heck not fair to you. I’m sorry, Eddie.”
“Why the hell are you apologizing?” he says, and a stressed laugh escapes his laugh.
“I—I can’t put words to it right now.”
“What happened to calling the bluff?” he asks with raised brows.
“I don’t want to say it. It makes me feel—” I cut myself off. It’s stupid to ask him to be honest when I can’t even do the same. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and onto my short white skirt. Why does this have to be so hard?
“Feel what?” he asks, leaning his head closer to mine. I’m in his space as much as he is in mine. I’m giving him everything and nothing all at the same time, and it makes me feel like garbage.
“Like a liar.” The heavy words fall from my mouth. Each one lands like a strike of lightning on my heart.
“Willow, you are anything but a liar.” Of course, he’s making excuses for my actions. Of course, he would be understanding and perfect and everything that I’m not.
“If not a liar, then a traitor, Eddie. It makes me a traitor. How could I feel this with you when Milo was my mate?” I whisper-shout. More to myself than to him. He is silent. But I’m not focused on him anymore. Tears stream down my face as a frustrated scream bubbles in my throat.
“Just because things change doesn’t make you a bad person, Buttercup. It means you’re alive.”
“Eddie?”
“Yes?”
“What if—” Are you supposed to be interested in other people when your mate dies? Am I only destined to have one mate?What if the Moon Goddess is giving me a second chance? Am I destined to be alone if I feel this strongly for Eddie? Would she grant me a second chance? Is this truly a second chance, or did I just... not love Milo as much as I thought I did? “What if we give this a chance?”
“A chance?”
“A walk in the park?” I ask with raised shoulders. I want so much with Eddie, and yet it isn’t fair. It isn’t fair, and I can help but ask him for everything, anyway.
“What does that mean, Buttercup?” he asks, and now he’s got his hands holding my arms. I can’t tell if it’s to hold the distance between us or to close the gap. Either way, I need his hold to have the strength to hear his answer. His eyes peer into mine, and for once, I can breathe, even if he’s on the brink of breaking my heart. Even if this is the last time I see Eddie Enchanted, he has the right to know how I feel, and I can’t keep dragging him along. I can’t keep hurting him.
“I want to go on a date,” I voice.
“A date? What about?—”
“This isn’t about Milo; this is about you and me.” As much as Milo has taken up space in my life, so has Eddie, and as selfish as it may be, if Eddie is willing to look past it, then I can too.
“Willow, you need to shift. Your finger is still bleeding.” His demand throws me for a loop that makes my chest drop to my toes.
“You don’t want to go on a date?” Did I completely misread the situation and embarrass myself? Are my feelings one-sided? Oh my, my face is aflame, and the sweat dripping down my back is more akin to a waterfall than raindrops.
“Willow, when did you last shift?”
“Uh, sometime last week. Why?” Shifters have to shift often, at minimum, once a week. We share our bodies with the animals inside, and if we don’t give them enough breathing room, theycan take control, and we won’t know when orifthey will give it back. It is important to make sure that doesn’t happen, but living next to a human town makes it hard to shift. Paranormals only have a couple of rules, and one of them is to keep our beings a secret from humans; there are exceptions, such as when your mate is a human. Even then, they have to be interviewed by all members of the Council, which is made up of one of each kind of supernatural: a witch, a shifter, a vampire, and a fairy.
“It’s been too long, and you need to heal, anyway.”
“What?” I say exasperated.
“I wanna meet your bear.”
“Eddie, you’re not even going to address what I said?”
