Page 66 of Black Willow Witch
As shouting broke out among the coven, Clarence glanced from Emberlyn to Ripper and said, ‘I think that went well.’
‘This is a fucking injustice!’ Gill ranted.
Emberlyn’s lips hitched up. ‘Very,verywell.’ She held her hand out to him. ‘Thank you for everything.’
Clarence’s mouth curved as he shook her hand. ‘No thanks necessary.’ He then exchanged nods with Ripper.
Meanwhile, Gill and Dez yelled at Tyra to ‘do something’. Reena and Ward hurried over and insisted they calm down. The rest of the coven left, very subdued and avoiding Emberlyn’s gaze as if their lives depended on it. Carver stalked out, his cheeks flushed, agitation in every step.
‘Shall we go?’ proposed Emberlyn, standing.
Ripper and Clarence followed suit. Without looking at the coven, the three of them made a slow and dignified exit. Outside, they exchanged a few words before Clarence headed off.
Ripper turned to Emberlyn. ‘I’ll walk you to your car.’
She blinked. ‘Why?’
‘Because I want to.’
She gave a shrug and began walking toward her vehicle. ‘Thanks, by the way.’
He felt his brows meet in honest confusion. ‘For what?’
‘It’s hardwired into you to jump to the defense of those under your protection. But when I gestured for you to let me handle the situation with Ames, you didn’t ignore me. That mattered.’
Ripper bit into the inside of his lower lip. ‘Gotta be honest, I can’t promise I’ll always stand down when you ask. It’ll depend on just what kind of threat you’re facing and if that threat heeds your warning. If Ames had struck again in there, I wouldn’t have sat back while he attacked you.’
‘I know. I wouldn’t have expected you to. I just—’
‘Can’t ever look weak around those people,’ he finished as they reached her car. ‘I get it. I’ve seen how they are with you. They sling mud at you all the time.’ It was starting toreallypiss him off. ‘They’d pounce on any display of weakness you showed.’ He edged closer to her. ‘But, Emberlyn, having backup doesn’t detract from your strength, itaddsto it. Let them see that you have a fucking werewolf clan ready to go to bat for you if needed.’
She watched him for a long moment, her gaze searching his. ‘Two-way street. You and your clan have my magick at your disposal.’
‘Speaking of magick . . . what happened in there? You caught Ames’s magickal blow, and the coven went weird. Why?’ Ripper didn’t know enough about the mechanics of magick to understand.
‘It was the equivalent of me catching a ball of sharp, jagged glass and effortlessly crushing it with only my hand while in no way causing damage to myself.’
Ripper did a slow blink. She’d said it with a casual tone, like it was no big deal. Going by the reactions of those in the grand hall, that wasn’t the case at all. ‘Did you know in advance that it wouldn’t harm you to catch it?’
‘I figured it probably wouldn’t.’
‘Youfigured?’
She chuckled. ‘Kidding. Yes, I knew. But they didn’t. It spooked them because it isn’t easy to hold magick that’s not your own – it should be like trying to grab oxygen out of the air. That I destroyed the ball without causing harm to myself only unnerved them more.’
‘When you say it isn’t easy, you’re playing things down, aren’t you?’
She only gave him a slow smile. So secretive, this witch. But he sensed that another reason she was stingy with information was that she was so very unused to people being intrigued enough to ask her such questions.
Fishing her keys out of her purse, she tipped her head to the side. ‘Not to nag, but have you found a wolf who’ll Change Paisley?’
‘Crew has offered to do it. If she’s happy with that, he can do it as soon as she’d like.’
Emberlyn’s eyes lit up. ‘She’ll be excited. I know your agreement to accept her into your clan had nothing at all to do with me, but thank you. She’s wanted this for as long as I can remember.’
As Emberlyn opened her car door, he caught it and said, ‘I want you to know . . .’
A slender brow lifted. ‘What?’
