Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Yes, she was.”
I grunted and opened the bag. Ondine hopped down from my shoulder to see what I had, but once she realized there was no meat of any kind, she lost interest.
“So she can just change colors whenever she wants?”
What was I supposed to say? That my falcon was a brat and was trying to force me to reveal that not only was she a magical creature, but so, in a way, was I? And it wasn’t as though I hadn’t planned to tell him everything—I had to if I wanted to pursue anything with him at all—but being pushed was never something I enjoyed.
That being said, as fearless as I was in almost all areas of my life, my heart was something I was far more protective of. But now was not the time to be timid. I needed to be brave. Fortune favored the bold, after all.
“Yes,” I told him. “Because she’s magic.”
He stared at me. “You were going to lie.”
“I was.”
“What made you change your mind?”
I took a deep breath. “Without honesty, what can any relationship ever hope to be?”
“And so you were truthful because you’re hoping for…what, with me?”
“Friends, to begin with,” I replied, even though I knew the conversation I had to have with him about his place in the pack might even preclude that. It was sad really, because I already liked him.
“Always a good start.”
“It is.”
Quick exhale. “Okay, so she’s magic, and so are you.”
“Of a sort. Not like her.”
“I see.” He smiled. “So, more importantly, does she not eat veggies?”
“Never,” I told him. It was pretty great that he wasn’t immediately pressing to learn everything about my magical abilities. That was terribly confident of him, like he had all the time in the world to learn my secrets, and I found that wildly appealing.
“Does she hunt?”
“Yes.”
“Do you let her hunt on your land?”
“She goes where she wants when she wants, believe me.”
Clearly, Ondine didn’t like my tone, because she bit me to show her displeasure, then flew up high to sit on one of the exposed beams in the ceiling.
“That was mature,” I told her.
She fluttered her wings for my benefit, then settled. I noted that she was back to the colors a wild gyrfalcon would normally be.
“So animals can hunt on your land?” Cole asked me, returning my attention to him.
“Of course. Animals don’t kill for no reason, they do it to eat and to protect themselves.”
“But because we’re hunting just to hunt, even when we’re shifted, your land knows the difference.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s because that was your intention when you drew it.”
“Correct.”
“Okay.” He nodded, grinning, clearly pleased that I told him the truth. “So you can draw a boundary but your magic is rudimentary at best?”
“You sound like you don’t believe me.”
“No, I believe you, but it seems to me a boundary that powerful would need to be made by someone very powerful themselves.”
“It’s actually a very basic warding spell,” I told him. “A lot of people draw circles all the time to keep things out and keep them safe.”
“Like on TV shows where they make salt circles.”
“Exactly.”
“But because you’re magic, it has a bit more bite.”
I chuckled. “Because I’m a creature of punishment, it has more bite.”
“What kind of punishment?”
He leered and accompanied it with an eyebrow waggle, and I heard his suggestive tone clear as day. I scowled at him.
“What?” He was defensive.
“This is not supposed to be a pervy conversation.”
“You’re the one who brought up punishment.”
“Wow.”
“Whatever. Judge me later, just know that if you want to punish me, for anything, you go right ahead. I’m ready.”
I tried really hard not to smile at him. This was not at all how I’d seen this conversation ever going. I’d expected fear or disbelief, not him taking it all in stride. “Come over here and sit down at the table.”
He moved quickly to the kitchen, joining me at my large butcher block table, taking a seat on one of the high stools across from me.
I passed him his food and utensils and asked him what he wanted to drink.
“Do you have orange juice?”
I shot him a look.
“Sorry, some people don’t,” he said, looking down at the open container.
“What people?”
He was laughing as I brought him a glass, set it down beside him and waited.
“What?”
“Try the omelet.”
He had a pained expression on his face.
“I promise you that fake ham will not kill you.”
He whimpered.
“Put it in your mouth.”
When he lifted his head, the smile I got was filthy.
I pointed at his omelet.
The way he lifted his fork, like he was holding something radioactive, was hysterical. When he finally tasted it, he shrugged.
“Well?”
“It’s not as bad as I thought it was gonna be.”
“If you didn’t know it wasn’t real ham, you wouldn’t even notice.”
“Oh, I would know that something was off with it, but it’s edible.”