Page 76 of Black Willow Witch
Shane looked back down at the Rabid. ‘Let’s take him to the office so we can work on reversing his mental state.’
As a team, the Watchers deftly carried the Rabid through the house and over to their all-terrain vehicle.
From the porch, Ripper and Emberlyn watched them drive off. He then turned to her and palmed her neck, his hold gentle even as rage beat at him – hit, shoved, kicked, slapped him; pressed his every hot button. ‘Come to my place with me.’
‘I’m supposed to be stopping off to see Paisley in a little while.’
‘I’ll go with you. I need to check in with her anyway. You can stay with me until then.’
Her brow lifted at what even he had to admit was a slightly tyrannical tone.
‘Emberlyn, any number of things could have happened to you today. You could have failed to notice the Rabid until it was too late. Or you could have fallen while fleeing, enabling it to catch up to you. Or Lucie could have pounced on it, at which point you wouldn’t have run because you would have wanted to save her. Those scenarios – and many more – are playing out in my head. I don’t want to leave you alone, and I’d rather you were away from here for just a little while.’
Her brow knitted. ‘I’m not unsafe here.’
‘The house can protect you, I know that, but . . . just come with me.’ His instincts were driving him to take her to his den, a place she was just as safe. He wanted to feed her. Make her tea. Fuss over her. Keep a close watch on her.
Maybe she sensed that, maybe she understood, because the lines in her face fell away and she dipped her chin. ‘Okay. But I have to change and put my gardening stuff away. Then we can go.’
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Emberlyn side-eyed the wolf in the driver’s seat. The atmosphere in the truck was tense. Anger was rising off Ripper like steam, and he was all but overflowing with protective energy.
Oh, she was pissed too. She just hadn’t thoughthe’dbe equally so. His hackles weren’t just up, they were on fire.
Neither of them had said much. But he would occasionally rest his hand on her thigh as he drove, silently checking in touch-wise in that way werewolves did.
Maybe it was silly of her not to have expected him to react quite so fiercely to what had happened earlier. But he hadn’t done so on the last occasion she’d had a run-in with a Rabid. They hadn’t been enjoying sexytimes back then, true, but it wasn’t as if she and Ripper weretogether. He never stayed at her place overnight or invited her to sleep at his – a telling point. Werewolves only slept beside someone they were serious about.
Ripper was a protector, though, wasn’t he? That someone who wore his scent would be targeted was bound to put him in such a furious state.
She flexed her fingers in her lap, feeling . . . twitchy. Which was unusual for her. But though she was calm, her hold on her temper was frayed around the edges. Her rage kept trying to claw its way out of the hole she’d buried it in.
No, she wasn’t going to give the masterminds of the recent bullshit the satisfaction of getting her all riled up.
Finally arriving at his lake house, he parked his truck and shepherded her up his path, sticking close with every step as if he might need to jump between her and a bullet. Inside thebuilding, he guided her through to the kitchen and urged her to sit at the island. Wordlessly, he retrieved one of her homemade herbal tea balls from a cupboard and began preparing her a hot drink.
Ordinarily, Emberlyn would have offered to take over. Today, though, she said nothing, sensing that he needed this. He needed to feel he was doingsomethingfor her, angered by the fact that he was unable to avenge the attack on her.
Finally, he set a steaming mug in front of her. It was a week ago that he’d asked her to bring some of her tea balls here for whenever she visited. Each time she’d made a cup, he’d watched closely, intent on learning how she liked it. This incredibly gruff wolf could be sweet at times.
Lifting her cup, she asked, ‘Are you any calmer yet?’
His gaze met hers, hard and flinty. ‘Well, let’s see . . . you were attacked by a Rabid. Again. Someone evidently wants you dead. And I don’t know if that someone is going to cut their losses or persist in trying to make it happen. So the answer to the question ishell no. How can you be so fucking calm?’
‘Would you rather I was ranting and raving? Not in my nature.’ Emberlyn sipped at her tea. ‘Emotions cloud judgement. Case in point – you’re not seeing what I see.’
The corners of his mouth dipped down. ‘Which is what?’
‘This person wouldn’t have felt confident that a Rabid would kill me. Injure me, yes – maybe even badly. But not kill me. I’m nothing close to an easy target, which they’ll be well aware of. They’ll also know that, since my ex-mate turned Rabid, it would infuriate me for a werewolf in such a state to be used like an attack dog.
‘Theywantme to be angry, Rip, because they want me off my game. It galls me that they thought I wouldn’t see that. It’s quite frankly insulting.’ She leaned toward him. ‘Whoever did this isnot worth any of the emotions you’re feeling right now. They’re a coward, just like Logan said.’
Digesting that, Ripper said nothing for a long moment. ‘Who do you think it was?’
Oh, the possibilities were endless. ‘A great many people in the coven don’t like me. We’re not just talking Reena, Tyra and my family. We’re talking anyone who felt “wronged” whenever I sought vengeance – that list islong. And there’ll be witches who aren’t happy that I’m sitting pretty in the manor, shitting all over Reena’s housing development plans. Then there’s the rebel faction to consider.’
‘Nothing about the spell itself clued you in to who might have cast it?’
