Page 68 of Black Willow Witch
‘That’s one way to put it.’
Kage folded his arms. ‘Tell us about the meeting. All I’ve heard is that it went in the favor of both you and Ripper. Carver’s apparently furious about that.’
‘He looked it when he left.’ Emberlyn gave them a quick rundown of the meeting.
Kage scowled. ‘I can’t believe that little shit Ames struck out at you.’
‘I did contaminate his water.’
‘But you didn’t hurt him, you were just illustrating how easy it would be for you to contaminate anything.’
‘And I think I got my message across, but I suspect they’ll still blame me for the curse jar activity.’
‘Anotherthing you kept to yourself,’ Paisley snarked.
‘The land is no longer mine, so it wasn’t my business to share,’ Emberlyn pointed out. ‘Ripper wanted to keep it quiet.’
She only sniffed. ‘Well, I’m glad that the will wasn’t overturned.’
‘I doubted it would happen,’ said Kage, ‘but I was worried all the same. Mostly because I know you’d burn down Bellcrest before you cowed to any demands for you to give up the manor.’
‘Am I that predictable?’ asked Emberlyn.
He snickered. ‘No, I just know how much you love that house. And since the moment you began fighting back as a kid, you’ve never let the coven push you around. You wouldn’t ever go back to a time when they got to bully you.’
No, Emberlyn wouldn’t. If the majority of the coven wished to hate her, they were welcome to do so – it was no skin off her nose. She didn’t care about beingliked, she cared about being left to live her life in peace.
‘I hate that they make out likeyou’rethe problem,’ said Paisley. ‘The only true problem they have with you is that you’re so powerful they can’t take you on. You’re not a bad person, aside from your habit of not keeping your bestie well informed.’
‘We’re still on that, huh?’
‘We’llstayon it until you shape up regarding this matter.’
Hoping to change the subject, Emberlyn pointed at the panda studs in Paisley’s ears. ‘Cute earrings.’
‘Yeah, if you’re seven,’ Kage playfully sniped. ‘Or childish – that fits.’
Paisley bristled. ‘I may be in touch with my inner little girl, but I’m not childish.’
‘You collect stuffies,’ he reminded her.
‘Collect, notplay with. Lots of people collect toys and figurines, mongrel.’
He wagged a finger. ‘You can’t call me a mongrel now that I’m a werewolf.’
‘Why? Because it’s made you sensitive?’
‘No. Because it’s considered a very big insult to werewolves.’
‘Bro, it’s always an insult. And the bigger,the better.’
‘Anyway,’ Emberlyn cut in, ‘I have a little something you’ll want to hear, Paisley.’
Her gaze gleamed with interest. ‘Do go on.’
‘Ripper said that Crew has offered to put you through the Change.’
Paisley’s eyes went wide. ‘Wow. Okay. Right.’ She puffed out a breath, cupping the back of her head. ‘Damn, this is really gonna happen. Did Ripper say when it’ll take place?’
