“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” I assured her. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll tell you something weird.”
She hitched a brow. “Sure.”
I rolled my eyes. “Roan thinks we’re moving too fast. He wants me to slow down.”
“You too?”
My eyes flared. “You and Axel have the same problem?”
“Yes! What is it with men? We’re supposed to be the ones telling them to slow down, but it’s the other way around.”
“I know! It makes no sense. What century is this?”
Pepper laughed. “Right?” She took a deep breath. “Here goes. Axel mates for life.”
I pinched my earlobe and tugged it. Had I heard correctly? “I’m sorry?”
“He has mating instincts.”
It took me a second, but eventually I realized what Pepper was saying. “Like a werewolf,” I said slowly.
“Right.”
Hmm. Interesting. “So what does that entail? Aside from the fact that he’ll fight anyone who challenges his claim to you, I mean?”
“It means that once we’re um, together…” She glanced around shyly. This girl was so adorable. I mean, seriously.
Pepper cleared her throat. “It means that our bond will be powerful. He will be at my side ready to fight for me, and anyone who harms me will put him in such a frenzy that he might do them damage.”
Pepper raked her fingers through her hair. “The thing is, my kind accept me because I’m a witch, but since Axel is only half, there are still some who see our union as controversial. In my town it isn’t so bad, but if we ever moved away, things might be different.
“His mom is a witch and his dad is a werewolf. They probably faced prejudice but never mentioned it when I met them.” She stared at the table. “I had other concerns at that time.”
“With dating a werewolf? Impossible.”
She laughed. “Why is it you’re not freaked out by us? When I first discovered what I was, I nearly had a heart attack. I didn’t want to have anything to do with the whole mess. I was scared to death. But you”—her gaze washed over me, touching me with curiosity—“you don’t seem to mind us.”
I folded my arms. “That’s because I’ve heard of your kind before. Never met any but my adopted father worked for a covert government agency. There were all types of rumors as to different types of species—witches, werewolves, there was even a subset that studied vampires.”
Pepper opened her mouth. I raised my palm. “Before you ask, I don’t know any more than that. I don’t know what the government knew or even if it was very much, about your people.” I nodded toward the door. “Or Axel’s. All I know is that there were some officials who realized folks like you existed.”
“That’s one thing my people fear,” Pepper admitted, “is being hunted or hurt by humans or government officials. If the wrong person got one of us in their clutches, they could use our power for all sorts of bad deeds. It’s why we live in seclusion.”
I clicked my tongue. “So are you going to be mated to Axel?”
Pepper’s teeth snagged her lower lip. “Yes. I will. It was a pretty serious decision, but I don’t want to live without him. My soul and heart belong to him.”
I quirked a brow. “So when will this mating take place?”
“That’s the question. All I know is what will happen when our relationship hits the next level. But when that happens”—she shrugged—“that’s up to Axel.”
Pepper popped another truffle in her mouth. “Seriously. You should marry this guy. In fact, I can’t believe you haven’t married him already.”
I laughed. “We haven’t known each other too long. Besides, I think Roan’s about to be going on his own journey of self-discovery.”
“Oh. You mean the whole demonologist thing.”
I pinched one of the truffles between my fingers and studied it. “Yep. That whole thing. I’m not sure how to help him.”
