The Witch Who Cried Wolf (Cry Wolf, #1) (7 page)

The home I shared with Nolan was a typical bachelor’s pad. The homey pictures and decorations from my deceased parents made it more than a house, but it wasn’t at all like what I’d experienced at Nolan and Mia’s parents, or even Mia’s home. It just felt...less than. Maybe because of the memories I still had of my parents when they’d been alive.

They had been good friends with the Brooks. I wished they were still alive, but having the Brooks in my life had helped a lot. They’d encouraged me like my parents would’ve, but I knew they’d also had their own children to raise. They hadn’t been able to support me or foot the bill for my college tuition. That had prompted me to go into the military. There I’d been able to get an education, have a career, see the world, and make something of myself, like my dad would have wanted.

If only he were around to see it.

I dropped my backpack onto the floor next to the door and headed for my room. The desire for questioning Nolan waned.

“Hey, where you going? Weren’t we going to talk?” Nolan came up beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on, man? This isn’t like you. Talk to me.”

“I will. Right now, I need a shower and to unwind a little.” I grabbed a change of clothes from my room, then hit the shower. It was exactly what I needed. Hot water streamed down my body, clearing my mind. I didn’t want Mia to be in a bad relationship. What could I do about that? Nothing. Unless Greg kept acting like a total jerk. I wouldn’t sit back while she went through that. I’d stand up for her, even if the other people in her life hadn’t.

My heart knew that if I didn’t I’d regret it, because I wanted to be with her. I wouldn’t stand there and let someone else mistreat her. Balling my hands into fists, I leaned against the bathroom counter.

While Nolan said she didn’t want to break up with Greg because of the holidays, just how long had they been together, and why was she with him in the first place? If Nolan wanted to talk, then he had a lot of explaining to do.

When I got downstairs, Nolan was flipping through channels on the flat screen TV. He glanced up at me. “You hungry? I could order a pizza. Mom and Dad were thinking about surprising you, but when I didn’t hear anything from Mia, I told them it was probably best to wait because your plane might’ve been delayed.”

“Pizza would be good. Tell your parents, thanks for everything.” If they’d gone through the effort to set all this up, then why had Mia seemed as confused about Nolan’s suspicious behavior as I had been? I wanted to get into this, but I didn’t want to scare Nolan off.

He had been worried about me, but I couldn’t forget how suspicious he’d been of Mia when she’d done nothing wrong. She was going through things I wasn’t exactly sure how to understand, but that didn’t mean she meant ill toward me.

“Will do,” Nolan said and grabbed his phone. He punched in a few buttons, and before I knew it, he’d already ordered the pizza with an app. Crazy but cool. “So what’s going on? Why were you injured?”

“We got mugged at the airport in the parking garage.” I didn’t want to spend all evening talking to him about what happened. I wanted more details about what was going on here. However, I’d let him talk since, if it’d been the other way around, I would have been concerned to see Nolan hurt.

Nolan winced. “Seriously? I thought airports were supposed to be safe, with plenty of TSA around. Did you call the cops?” He tossed a can of beer to me and I caught it. “You kicked their ass, right? Man, why wouldn’t Mia tell me something like that?” He crushed the empty can in his fist. “Damn, no wonder she didn’t answer her phone earlier.”

I raised an eyebrow. This guy was the buddy I remembered. Thank goodness. “Seemed like you were pretty quick to get off the phone with her when you saw me.”

Nolan’s face fell and he grabbed his phone again. “Shit, you’re right. I’m a horrible brother. Maybe I should go see if she’s okay. Shit.”

“She’s fine. More or less. A few bumps and bruises, but I protected her. Speaking of which, what about that prick of a boyfriend she has?” I waved a hand at his protests. “Don’t. What happened to the best friend I knew who gave a shit?”

He looked hurt, but I didn’t care. I crossed my arms over my chest, not backing down.

“She only told us about the relationship with him recently. I don’t think they’ve been together very long. She’s...I don’t know...more quiet recently.” He shrugged. “Maybe she’s just lonely. It is the holiday season. People tend to be pretty lonely during the holidays. That’s when most people—”

“Don’t even start talking about those kinds of statistics. I don’t want to hear them.” I sat in my dad’s armchair and popped the top on my beer. “But still...that’s pretty different from the girl I used to know.”

“She’s changed, man. After you went away to the military, she became more withdrawn. I think she likes you.” Shrugging, he started flipping channels again.

I couldn’t believe it. How could I react to that?

Inside, turmoil and need was running rampant through me, but I couldn’t reveal my feelings. That wasn’t me.

Besides, she was in a relationship. There was nothing I could do about that. I wouldn’t try to sweep her off her feet when she’d already chosen someone else. My vacation was crazy enough already. I couldn’t even tell my best friend why I was bloody. Yet the idea of becoming involved with his sister wouldn’t leave my thoughts.

We sat in silence watching college football. It was crazy how good even the little things like watching television felt. The simple comforts of being in my living room without worries of people shooting at me. I’d learned to get used to it. Somewhat. But I’d known enough people who died overseas and in a combat zone, and it was still nerve wracking, even on the bests of days.

“So, how’s things with Sandra?” I didn’t need to talk, but I wanted to catch up. Know what the people I cared about were doing these days.

“Sandra?” Nolan scratched his head. “Who? Oh, her. We broke up a few months ago. I’m with a new girl now. Jennifer.” The doorbell rang, and Nolan jumped up from the couch.

Seemed like his sister wasn’t the only one on the dating scene. Nolan had never been the type to settle down and commit, but I couldn’t help my surprise. Didn’t he want something solid? To have a family, now that he was out of college, instead of playing the bachelor.

Maybe he displayed his need for freedom in a different way than I did. Fair enough.

After you went away to the military, she became more withdrawn.

Those words buzzed around my head. Guess I hadn’t thought about others’ feelings when I’d made my choice. The idea of doing something for my father’s honor and getting an education had seemed the best way for me to go after my folks died. Having the Army distract me, so I wouldn’t have to face the hurt. Maybe I’d been selfish, but at least I’d had a good reason.

I set aside the empty beer can aside, then popped open a new one. Ever since the incident in the bathroom with Mia, I couldn’t control my feelings. They kept spinning through my head like a carousel.

The scent of spicy pepperonis broke me from my thoughts.

Nolan set the pizza on the coffee table, and I grinned. At least one thing hadn’t changed while I was gone: our shared tastes in pizza. I remembered again why we were best friends.

––––––––

L
oud knocking sounded at my door. I leapt from the couch, nearly knocking over a lamp on the side table. Sunlight filtered in through the blinds. Had I fallen asleep?

Chanting under my breath, I stared at the front door. Fear pumped adrenaline through my veins. Who could it be? Ethan never dropped by my place, but maybe...maybe he’d decided to visit? We hadn’t gotten the chance to talk last night. He was the only one that made sense...unless it was the werewolf.

I shoved those thoughts aside. No, not a werewolf. It was daylight outside. Plus, if it were, I’d feel something. While I wasn’t the most powerful, I had some ability to pick up magical energy, especially now that I knew what that felt like.

Going to the window near the door, I tried to catch a peek at whoever was on my doorstep, but they were just out of sight.

“Mia? I know you’re in there,” Jessa said, banging on the door again. “I need to talk to you.”

Relief sagged my shoulders, and I nearly collapsed from the suddenness of it. Thank goodness. I couldn’t recall any other time when I’d been this happy to hear from Jessa. I opened the door and threw my arms around her. “Hi, Jessa! I wasn’t expecting you.”

Jessa pushed me back at arm’s length to look me in the eyes. “We really should talk. There’s...a problem. But first, I sensed you need to talk. Let me in on what’s going on, okay?” Concern tightened her eyes, and Jessa ran her gaze over me. “Honey! What happened? Oh, no, this is worse than I thought.”

Stepping back to let my friend inside, I really didn’t want to talk about what was going on, but if I was going to open up with anyone, then Jessa was my only option. She was the only other witch I knew and trusted. Besides, my witchy skills were down the drain. If anyone could help, it would be her.

Jessa was the much better witch. She didn’t hide from what she was. She was out there. Had her own shop and lived what I thought was a much simpler life. Jessa didn’t agree, but if I had that kind of life, I’d be much happier. Hiding from everyone I knew and loved was hard. Trying to be the perfect daughter, sister, friend, when there was so much more going on underneath my skin, drove me crazy.

I shook my head. “I need to talk to you. There was a...an incident when I went to pick up Ethan from the airport. I don’t want to drag you—”

“Honey, no. You’re not dragging me into anything. Just tell me what’s going on. I want to help you. I hate seeing you cover in bruises like this.” Jessa pulled me over to the couch, then she waved a hand to the door. Within seconds, it had shut and locked itself.

I had no idea how Jessa did that kind of stuff, but I wished I possessed those abilities too. Then I’d have a chance. I wouldn’t be in the dust, trying to throw miniscule fireballs at werewolves, who could eat my face without effort.

“It’s werewolves.”

The color drained from Jessa’s face and she pulled away from me. “Are you sure, Mia? Absolutely sure?”

I nodded, suddenly uncomfortable. If she was reacting this way about my news, then what else did she have to say? “What’s going on? Please, just spit it out.”

“Remember the guy who came in asking for the potion?” She fiddled with her skirts and averted her gaze, sounding way too hesitant.

“Yes, I remember. Stop beating around the bush. That was the day before yesterday. I don’t have that bad a memory.” I clutched one of the pillows from the couch in my arms and balled my fists in the smooth cotton.

“He came by before closing yesterday, asking to talk to you. What exactly did you put in the salve?” She met my gaze, and her look froze me in place.

“Uh, I put the usual ingredients in. Peppermint, salt, some wolf’s bane—”

“Oh, no, don’t tell me you put that in it!” She hopped to her feet, running her hands through her hair. “He didn’t look pleased. I’m betting his friend was a werewolf, and if that’s the case, you might’ve poisoned him further—let alone what’s happened with his injury.”

“He probably came to the shop to avoid going to the hospital, because they wouldn’t want their kind found out.” The pain in my back and head pounded in time with the blood rushing through my veins. While I didn’t know if they would go after Jessa, since I was the person who had made the potion, I’d wager we were both screwed. “What else did he say to you?”

“After I told him that you weren’t around, he bolted.” She sat back on the couch, staring into my eyes. “I should’ve called as soon as he came by, but I was trying to process what was going on. The shop was surprisingly busy.” Shaking her head, she gripped my wrists. “That’s no excuse. I should’ve reached out to you. What have I done? What have I gotten you wrapped up in?”

Guilt etched itself deep into Jessa’s face. I hated seeing her like this. She was a good friend. Maybe she’d done the wrong thing here, but I couldn’t take it out on her. We had to work out what was going on together.

“We can’t think like that right now. What we should do is figure out how to get out of this situation.” I bit my lower lip, knowing she wouldn’t want to hear this. “He knows where your shop is and how to get to you. Do you think you should shut down for a few days?”

Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “Are you kidding? Mia, I’m not made of money. If I don’t keep the shop open, I won’t be able to pay the bills. Yes, I’ve thought about taking you up on the money potion, but those kinds of things feel like cheating. Just because we can make potions for our own gain, doesn’t mean we should. There are ramifications. It could hurt your karma.”

Blinking at her, I felt an instant wave of guilt crash into me. Not only had I made a love potion earlier, I’d given some to Ethan via the healing salve. My only thought had been helping him. If only I’d remembered the love potion spilling into it sooner. Besides, I’d been so sure Jessa would get behind me that I’d ignored the niggling voice in my head, warning me not to proceed. Now I faced the consequences of my actions.

“What did you do?” Jessa’s eyes widened. “Did you make the money potion? If you did, I lied. I’ll be the first to try it.”

“No, I....” The words failed me and a blush burned my cheeks. “Worse.”

“What’s worse than that? You didn’t perform black magick on someone, did you? No, that’s not you. I’d notice stains on your aura.” Jessa jumped to her feet with a swish of her skirts. “You made a love potion? You’re planning to give it to someone, aren’t you?”

I looked up at her, unable to hide my guilt. “It was an accident. I spilt some into the second batch of healing salve I made.”

“And?”

“And Ethan got hurt protecting me from the werewolf. I applied the healing salve with the love potion to his wounds. Only when I started putting it on myself to take care of a few scrapes, did I remember.” Sagging my shoulders, I stared at the beige carpet. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”