“How did you leave things with Oakley?” The silence and charcoal clouds of disappointment told me all I needed. “Shit. Saros—”
“Don’t,” he stopped me, holding up a hand.
“So now she has your powers? Did she see something?”
“I don’t know.” He inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I may have bolted away from her like she was rabid.”
Fuck.I bet she was a mess.
My instinct was to grab my phone and text her, or just show up and make sure she was okay. But I left my phone on the nightstand and pulled him into my arms.
Saros was actually talking to me, more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him before. I couldn’t abandon him. I loved Oakley so fiercely that it painted us in a pink haze, but I still didn’t fully understand what this new dynamic with Atlas meant for us—both with our jobs and with her.
Besides, Oakley had Hazel to vent to. Saros needed me.
“Should you go talk to her?” I asked, hoping to kill two birds.
“And risk her touching me?” His tone sounded like I’d said the most offensive thing possible. “Seeing my past and the fucked-up things I’ve done? The worst of me? I’d rather spend another awkward afternoon with Atlas.”
I squeezed his shoulder. “But what if—”
“No,” Saros said, cutting me off. “Besides, Aleander is already up my ass about mygift. He doesn’t need to somehow learn that I accidentally lent it out.”
He shifted on the pillow to grab the file and began scanning over its contents.
“Do you want me to go talk to her for you?” I offered quietly.
“I’m a grown-ass witch,” he huffed, sounding more like a teenage witch than thegrown-assone he claimed to be. “I can handle my own shit, Lynx. Don’t interfere.”
It was a warning—one I knew better than to fuck with.
“Fine,” I conceded, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll leave it alone.For now.But you’re going to have to face her eventually. If we’re going to make this thing between all of us work, you’ll have to accept that she’s bound to have your powers temporarily sometimes.” I playfully punched his shoulder, then sidled next to him. “You have two options: either tone down your sexual prowess and suck in bed or let go of the fact that she’s going to peek into your past at some point. If you decide to choose the first route, I’ll gladly shoulder the responsibility for us both.”
“You’re already basically doing that,” he growled. The sound of it and the thought of sharing Oakley between us again had my dick jolting against my zipper.
“Look, I wasn’t the one who got to taste her today.” I shrugged, then arched a brow. “At least I share afterward.”
“Ass.” He cut me a glare sharp enough to slice glass. “Even if I could, that memory doesn’t feel like it’smineto share anymore.” Letting out a frustrated sigh, his eyes softened, dark-gray disappointment wafting off of him. “It feels like it’shis.”
Starry Night Lane’s coven bustled in preparation for its Hallowed celebrations.The young witches, home from school, huddled at the bottom of number 11 with their apple cider stand. Ivy Hendrix came down to refill their cauldron a few times when she’d seen it running low.
Ivy looked out at the street, watching the other families back their cars down the driveways, popping their trunks and setting up decorations. Orion Archer had been out since 5 a.m. constructing an elaborate obstacle course that would disappear tomorrow, as if it never existed in the first place. Her kids watched him, whispering to each other and pointing at the different traps and hurdles set along the path.
After dropping off another cauldron’s worth of cider, she loaded her daughter, Parker, into her stroller, pushing it toward Café au Luna. Ivy hadn’t gotten her daily dose of coffee, skipping the morning workout in lieu of wrangling her small ghouls at home. Halting at the end of the line of about five other witches who’d had the same idea, she scanned over the menu.
Fog crept around the truck’s exterior, hugging a floating sign with specialty drinks and baked goods listed for today’s trunk-or-treat festivities. The brewista, Saros Colt, was more dour than usual, sticking to the back where he prepped the fall beverages. His husband, Lynx Caven, had taken over the storefront duties, chatting eagerly with each witch that came up. When Ivy and Parker made it to the front, he nodded over his shoulder to Saros, who whipped up her regular.
Walking away, drink in hand, she used the other to steer the stroller, bringing the cup to her lips. As she rounded the cul-de-sac, her attention briefly darted to the blocked-off Blessed Crescent paved loop. Number 1 sat there, still empty, caution tape wrapped around its exterior, blending in with the Halloween decorations peppering the neighborhood.
Her gaze didn’t linger, though. Instead, she pivoted and strolled up the sidewalk toward her house. Her neck craned over to number 6 and its now-empty front yard. But just as quickly, she turned her focus to Jade Fischer, eager to chat and let the moment pass.
No one wanted to feel unsafe.
And it was easier for the residents to pretend everything was fine on Starry Night Lane, especially when they’d rather enjoy All Hallows Eve.
Chapter14
Oakley
