“Yeah. I’m out,” Maggie said, unfreezing Nick from his spell. “Clearly, the two of you need to talk about a few things.”
“What the hell!” Gina charged toward him, anger seeping from her pores.
“Me? That’s a two-way street, babe. You could have told me you’re a witch,” he shouted back at her.
“Please! You sprout fur and turn into a damn bear. Don’t you think that’s something you should tell someone before you stick your dick in them? Is that why you were so persistent? Is it an animal thing?”
The look on her face broke his heart, but he kept his damn mouth shut. He had a million questions running through his mind, and he wanted answers.
“Did you pull me under some sort of spell or something? Is that why I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the moment I met you?”
Gina flinched like he’d slapped her in her face, all the while remaining silent.
“You did, didn’t you? You used a fucking spell on me.”
“Nick, it’s not what you think.”
“Really? I packed up my entire life and moved here become some witch sent out some spell. You made me think this was real. That we were real.”
“And you made me think you were a normal person. That you were just an average guy. Average guys don’t turn into giant bears, just so you know.”
Funny, he thought. She never once disputed what he said about packing up and moving to Misfit Bay because of a spell. That told him all he needed to know about their relationship.
“I’m done,” Nick said before shifting back into his bear form and lumbering off into the woods. He didn’t bother looking back to get one last glance at the woman he had thought to be his mate.
He wasn’t leaving Misfit Bay. Not when his life was finally coming together. He would concentrate on his job and stay the fuck away from Gina and the Wicked Brew Café, even if they did have the best coffee and pastries in town.
“Yeah, it’s probably the best because of magic. They probably have the whole damn town spelled to think so. They could be serving toad piss and stale bread, and no one would ever know the damn difference,”he said to his bear.
His bear whined, wanting to turn around and run back to Gina. It didn’t matter to him if she was a witch or not. He wanted her, no matter what. She was his mate.
“She’s not our mate. I know she had something to do with us picking up and moving here. Or the fact that once I saw her, I had to have her. I’ve never felt like that about anyone. I should have known it was too good to be true.”
As soon as he was within a few blocks of the hotel, Nick shifted back to his human form, needing to take control of his body and thoughts. He couldn’t deal with his bear’s emotions right now. The bear couldn’t see the obvious. The only reason they were even interested in Gina was because of witchcraft. It had nothing to do with her being their mate. How could he even trust that she really was his mate? It could all be part of the enchantment.
* * *
The week passedby slowly for Gina. The blowout she had with Nick still rang fresh in her mind. Though her anger had subsided, for the most part, she was still upset by the way their entire situation had unfolded.
“Are you okay, hun?” Clara asked.
“Yeah. Just kinda bummed,” she said.
The café was slow, and all of her closing tasks were done.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” Clara asked.
Gina sighed. “Not really. I just thought I’d be over Nick by now. I don’t get it. It wasn’t like we dated for years or anything like that. Hell, it was one damn night, but it was the best damn night of my entire life. I thought we had something. That there was something more between us. I guess I was wrong.”
It was weird because, for the first time in her life, Gina saw her future with Nick clearly. That had never happened with anyone she had ever dated. Not once. Even with her one long-term relationship, she never saw herself with the guy for the rest of her life. There were no images of them turning old and gray together, no seeing herself walking down the aisle or anything like that.
With Nick, those images appeared to her when they were laughing over dinner. It was the strangest damn thing and probably the reason she didn’t bother holding back with him. Why she had been so damn bold to begin with.
“Aww, hun. I’m sorry. I know how much it sucks when you think you found the one. Maybe he’ll come around. Shifters are weird sometimes. They come with their own host of issues that normal people don’t even consider,” Clara said.
“Really? Was it like that with Clint? How did you accept him for who and what he was? Didn’t it scare you?” Gina was terrified to think about Nick shifting into a bear. Seeing it once when Maggie hit him was a spell had been enough to thoroughly freak her ass out. It wasn’t something she needed to see a second time.
So even if he did come around as Clara had suggested, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to. Learning you have magical abilities is one thing. Learning the dude you’re fucking changes into an animal at will is a whole different thing.