Page 23 of Wanderer

“A thank you?”

“For helping with the curse,” Riley explained. “Oscar said I was under two curses.”

I nodded. “Yes. I’m hoping things will be much easier for you now.” Using my magic, I scanned him. “I can only see one curse on you now. Do you feel okay?”

A tiny smile flitted about his lips. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Riley—”

“Yeah?” His eyes never left mine. Was he feeling the pull between us as strongly as I was?

This was my chance. “I’ve been doing some research… on fated mates.”

“Why?” he grimaced when it came out sharply.

I flinched, but forged ahead. “To show you I wouldn’t harm you. The research proves it. As your fated mate, I can’t harm you with my magic.” I poured all my hope into my expression. After days of working on this, I was exhausted, yet here I was at the finish line, in front of Riley, ready to prove it all to him. He was safe with me. He always would be.

He gasped when the meaning reached him. “Impossible,” he wheezed out.

Riley wanted to believe me. I stood taller, emboldened by his dawning realization. “It’s the truth. If you’ll let me, I can give you all my notes. Where I got the information. Everything. Will you?”

“Will I what?” He looked utterly shocked. Did I glimpse a flicker of my hope mirrored back at me?

“Let me show you that you’re safe from me. Just give me a chance, please,” I begged. If he wanted me to, I’d get on my knees just to prove it.

He looked from my imploring face to Oscar’s. “Let him,” he mouthed urgently. Yeah, I was glad I’d voted for the witch to stay.

“Okay.”

Eleven

Riley

Gone. It was all gone. The raw, mindless panic that consumed me when faced with a warlock had vanished as easily as Oscar had performed that spell. One tiny use of magic—out in the open where everyone could see, no less—had removed a fairly significant barrier to me getting the help I needed to end my wandering curse for good.

Now I was standing in front of my fated mate and finally able to take him in. We both stood tall at around six-one, though his frame was leaner than mine, more of a runner’s build. Without already knowing he was an academic, I could sense the bookish man underneath that magic. My nose twitched with the spice of his power and the underlying scent of paper. The combination was oddly soothing.

Before Oscar’s magic, I would have abandoned my cart and fled the well-stocked supermarket. I would have left my friend behind and run back to my cabin and hidden for the rest of the day. Then I’d have ordered delivery because the pantry was bare and I couldn’t ever go to the store again.

In one short magical working, Oscar gave me hope again. So, when he urged me to give Gareth a chance, I couldn’t help but accept.

I wanted to, though. The tiny part of me that had been curious about my mate flared to life. Almost as if it had taken over my brain, I found myself eager to listen to Gareth. I must have lost my mind. It was hormones, the connection we shared, something. That had to be the reason I was putting aside my concerns to listen to Gareth when he was probably spinning me a line. It was probably why I went and made things so much worse. “Why don’t you join us for dinner?” I wanted to curse my mother for bringing me up with manners. Not only was I listening to a warlock, but I was also inviting him home and feeding him.

The absolute joy on Gareth’s face, and the cautious hope on Oscar’s, meant there was no taking it back. “Oh! Um, yes. I’d like that. Give me half an hour and I’ll take this home…” He brandished his basket. “So I can gather my research.”

“Right, okay.” Suddenly, everything was more awkward than it had been. I needed a moment to work through it all. What had I just done?

While the aversion spell was gone, there was still a natural wariness rooted deep inside me. Years and years of history with an egomaniacal sorcerer would do that to a person, especially one who’d been used as ingredients for his spells. Just because one curse was gone, it didn’t mean I was about to put my trust in Gareth without making him earn it.

Gareth hurried off without a backward glance, clearly worried I’d change my mind. I had. Over and over, I was swinging back and forth over what I should do. Cancel? Take Oscar and hide somewhere? Actually feed him?

Then it hit me. Sharing a meal between fated mates was part of establishing a bond! No wonder Gareth was so excited about this.

“Wow! Fluorescent lighting isn’t usually flattering, but your mate is hot! Those cheekbones!” Oscar had a dreamy look on his face. I wanted to shake him. A feeling of possessiveness washed over me. I could feel my glare boring into him. “Whoops! He’s all yours, Riley.” He held his hands up in a placating manner and changed the subject. “What are we feeding him? You still want me to come for dinner, right?”

That shook me out of my head. “What? Of course I do. I need you as a buffer!”

Oscar bumped his shoulder against mine. “Buffer is on board. We need something quick and easy to feed us, though.”