Page 11 of Violet

In Spell Library. With people watching. With my mate watching.

I let go of Bert and spin around to look at her. Violet.

Her eyes are wide and her thin lips are parted in horror. Horror at the sight of me. Horror at being mated to a violent, terrifying troll.

Her disgust is like a vise, gripping my heart, tightening slowly. My mate is afraid of me. My mate can’t stand the sight of me. And there’s absolutely nothing I can do to win her over. Not when my mate’s already lived a long, full life. A life without me.

Chapter 5

Violet

My mate is a troll. My mate is a cop and a troll. My mate is a cop and a troll, and he isn’t Nole!

Not that there’s anything going on between Nole and me. For one thing, I look eighty. That, and Nole didn’t take one look at me and say ‘mate.’ He never once stopped and stared at me the way the troll is: like he wants me. Like he can see right through me. Like I’m not an old lady three times his age.

My chameleon magic! I do a quick mental scan, but it’s still firmly in place. I’ve had almost a year of practice trying to keep up my disguise around Nole, and it’s definitely paid off.

So why is the troll looking at me like that? Can he actually see the real me? Can mates do that?

I’m hit by a wave of fear, bordering on terror. What if he gives me away? What if they find out? What if it’s already too late?

I need to get out of here! But how? Where?

My fastest pace is Walker Shuffle, which won’t do me any good. I doubt I can make it halfway to the elevator, let alone to the back room. The best I can do is drape a book over my head and hope I disappear.

I do have one more choice, but if I take it, it’ll all be over. My life here in Silver Springs, my job at Spell Library, and my time with the people I care about most.

My heart hurts at the thought of leaving everything behind. Not being here for Violet as she nears the end of her life. Never seeing Nole again. Leaving my troll mate behind before I’ve had a chance to get to know him. Not that I plan to get to know him or risk him finding out the truth. Not when he could reject me and turn me over to them.

At least if I run, I’ll be alive!

I focus my magic. If worse comes to worst, I know exactly which bird shifter I’ll choose: the homing pigeon. Not as prestigious as they once were, what with the Internet and mobile phones, but both small and fast. Perfect for a quick escape, and I just happened to run into one earlier this week.

I wait for the troll to force my hand—I wait until the last possible moment, when I don’t have any other choice—but it never comes. Instead of confronting me, my mate spins around. Then, he breaks into a run, heading straight for the front door... and out of my life for good.

I should be relieved. Instead, instinct propels me to chase after him. Brilliant move, Violet.

I reach for my walker, but luckily, reason catches up with me. What is it that I plan to do? Run after the guy, granny style? Lean on my walker and shuffle after him in slow motion? By the time I reach the front door, he’ll be all the way out in Scarborough.

Plus, if he leaves, that means I can stay. Convince everyone in town that my being a young troll’s mate is just a mistake that neither of us plans to act on. As long as I act my age—old Violet’s age—and stop ogling his retreating ass. As long as I don’t show interest in his broad shoulders and muscular arms. As long as I let one of the hottest guys I’ve ever met—tied with Nole for first—leave me for good. Because I can’t risk them finding me, even if it means losing my mate.

I know this is how it has to be, but my still heart breaks as I watch him go. I don’t even know the guy—he could be a complete ass who hates cat-dogs like Stacks and mistreats old ladies—but losing him still hurts. It’s almost like he’s taking a piece of me... a piece I need to stay whole.

The troll throws the front door open—huge biceps flexing, muscles rippling—and the glass shatters. It explodes outward, flying across the sidewalk. The troll growls—forget that—he roars, and the floor shakes. The windows rattle. I hold my breath, waiting for something else to break... but the only sound is the glass crunching beneath his feet as he storms away.

“I’m so sorry about my partner, ma’am.” The other cop—the vampire covered from head to toe—joins me at my desk. “He’s not usually like that.”

The vampire’s taken off his sunglasses, and his eyes are filled with curiosity. Probably trying to figure out how I could be his partner’s mate. Do I pretend not to know what happened? Act confused? Tell him it was all a misunderstanding?

“Do you want me to get someone to fix the door?” Gwinnie—Amber—asks, joining us at the desk. “My mate, Wes, runs a cleaning company.”

As if I don’t already know. I nod. “Thank you, dear.” Five points.

“If Zoe’s free, she could clean it up in minutes,” Amber adds. “She’s fixed all the doors Julian blew up.”

“Were there many?” I ask.

“A few.” Amber’s cheeks flush.