“Woah, woah, who is that?” Teddy asked, causing Violet to flip him a finger. “No, not you. Get your pretty ass over here and take a look.”
Sighing, Violet set aside her sketchbook which she had grabbed off the coffee table. She had left it while in the shower, and she didn’t need the others getting their hands on it. While most of the pages were filled with generic tattoo designs and a few personal pieces she might be considering, there were also sketches ofhim. She wondered what he looked like, fifteen years later. Were his ears still too big for his face? Had he finished growing into his teeth? Did he have scruff on his face? Was his hair still worn long?
Reaching the front windows where Teddy stood, she looked out in the general direction of his gaze, but saw nothing. The delivery truck was still out there, thankfully no longer blocking the entrance to their parking lot, but nothing else stood out to her. “I’m not a mind reader. What am I supposed to be looking at?”
“Wait just a minute. He’ll come back out.”
“Who? The delivery guy?”
“Just wait.”
Violet crossed her arms as she continued to stand there, and a few moments later, the delivery guy stepped out. He was the same creepy one as normal, always looking at her far too long when she snapped at him to move his truck out of her way. Perhaps he was trying to get on her nice side by not blocking the entrance this time.
“I’m still lost.”
“It’s not Mrs. Strous taking the delivery,” Teddy excitedly explained. “Super hot guy. Major muscles.”
“For fuck’s sake.”
Violet huffed and left her idiot apprentice standing in the doorway as she returned to her desk and flipped open the schedule book. There were no missed messages on the machine, and no messages on social media, so it was a slow start to another quiet day. Drake’s first client would be coming in any second after parking, and then Teddy’s, and then, they would see where the day took them.
“Berk, let me know if anyone actually interesting comes in,” she sighed, heading back towards the kitchenette. “I need a cup of tea.”
And a nap without dreams.
Chapter 2
“Iwantyoutogo back with me.”
Violet sighed as she looked away from him. She couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it. “That place, it’s not our home anymore.”
“It’s in our blood, Little Witch. You know it’s still callin’ to you. It’s callin’ to me too. We gotta go back. We’re meant to—“
“Violet, wake the fuck up. The hottie is back, and he just went into the coffee shop next door, which means he’s going to walk by in five minutes on his way back to the flower shop.”
Violet jerked upright at the sound of Teddy’s voice coming from the doorway. Fuck, was he on about the flower shop guy again? He hadn’t shut up all morning, and now it was mid afternoon. This guy better look like a Greek God for how Teddy was going on about him.
“You look creepy with your face plastered to the glass,” she pointed out, stretching her arms up over her head.
“And you have drool on your lip and kept muttering a name. Henry, I think?”
“Fuck off,” she cursed, running her hands over her face.Henrik. She had been dreaming about Henrik.
Yet another dream that wasn’t a memory. It had felt so real, and while she couldn’t see his face clearly in her mind, she could feel his heartbeat, and knew they were in sync.
Fuck... It felt like he was so close to her, but so far away. She wanted to forget him, to move on without him, but...
But how could she forget the other piece of her soul? How could she go through life without him, knowing he was out there somewhere, but not be with him?
She would never forgive her mother for what she had done. Would never forgive her mother for any of it. For the binding spell she had placed on them, keeping them from consummating their bond until Violet was done with her witch training. For taking her away from Garoureve so quickly when everything had gone up in flames.
It was her mother’s fault she was alone now, without her magic and without her soulmate. Every time she tried to do anything harder than mixing herbs or inking supernatural skin, it all went haywire. Simple boundary spells became warning lines, and anything with fire seemed to explode. Everything and anything she touched became stronger, too strong, violent. She couldn’t even brew a potion! Couldn’t drink alcohol or caffeine! Couldn’t touch another human being’s skin without gloves!
And now, she was having dreams of Henrik that she couldn’t escape.
The urge to call her mother was strong, but she ignored it. Mabel was off in New York or New Hampshire or somewhere with a coven, off living her own life, enjoying her craft. That was all well and good, that she forgot the pack she had betrayed, but Violet never could.
She had too much wolf in her, thanks to her wolf soulmate. Not that she would ever have him again. Not that she would ever see him again.