Page 1 of Resurrecting the Witch
Chapter 1
Ipicked the skin at the edge of my fingernail with a vigor one might normally reserve for cleaning grout off a newly tiled floor. Or scratching the sticker residue off a new appliance. Or something equally as annoying but necessary for one’s mental health.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath at the sudden pain in my right index finger as the skin tore under the pressure.
The freshly manicured beds of my pointer nail turned bright red against my pale skin; the now exposed second layer of flesh swelled slightly with a drop of blood trying to escape. I sucked the hurt into my mouth and quickly switched stimming with my butchered nails to tugging the loose black threads fraying away from my new sweater. I typically only bought new clothes when my best friend Lennox forced me, but my other best friend Guillermo told me to buy a new outfit for this date. So, I had reluctantly bought the oversized knitted ebony pullover I was slowly unraveling before I even arrived at the restaurant.
Get it together, Cliona, I told myself as I walked in the brisk October air toLa Cucina di Adelaidefor this date. Thankfully I didn’t see any more blood after pulling the newest manifestation of the worry out of my mouth. Now I was only feeling the steady pulse, as if my heartbeat decided to make camp in the tip of my finger to remind me of what I did. It didn’t look too bad, a bit mildly inflamed if anything, but it stung more than any injury that small had the right to. At least the small, consistent throbbing focused my busy mind enough to relieve a tiny portion of the anxiety coursing through my veins.
I was walking toward my inevitable doom. A date. And not just any date… a first date. A mystery date. His name was Patrick, and we matched on this goddess-forsaken app Guillermo forced on me totry andget back out there, whatever that meant. And since Guillermo wasn’t just my friend, he was also my therapist and my… business partner? That didn’t feel appropriate for the level of our relationship, but it was accurate. Regardless, he had more say in my life than I did at some points. Normally I appreciated his interference, especially when it came to managing this island and helping our residents settle in, but when it came to this date, I was second-guessing every life decision that led me to this point.
Patrick and I were meeting at a newer Italian restaurant that just opened in the Town Square that I hadn’t been able to try yet. There were more options in Haven Pass than there’d been when I was growing up, but considering the population of my small town reached two thousand only last year, it was incredibly refreshing to try someplace new. It also meant a great deal that I knew the Hemlock family who opened it and had known Drew, their eldest son, since we were children in school together. The Hemlock pack had been like a second family to me all throughout my youth, so the guilt of not attending the grand opening had been eating at me.
But there would have been too many people. I barely made it through council meetings without having to medicate myself, let alone a new restaurant opening. And Drew opened the restaurant as an ode to his mother, Mamma Adelaide, who had been like a second mom to me and who I missed dearly. I even supplied the herbs from my own shop, so it was unacceptable I hadn’t been yet, not that anyone expected me to, since socializing wasn’t something I made a habit of anymore.
I rubbed my arms together over my thick sweater as I entered the restaurant. It wasn’t freezing yet, but it wasn’t exactly warm either, so the cozy lobby ofLa Cucina di Adelaidewas lovely.
“Cliona!” a female voice screeched, quickly followed by footsteps hounding toward me. I had only a few seconds to prepare before Gioia Hemlock grabbed me into a fierce hug.
I chuckled and gripped her back. “Hello, little Gioia. Or maybe not so little, good goddess, you sure had the growth spurt over the summer, huh?” She was nearly as tall as me, and I was in heels. She definitely would be taller than me if I took them off.
“I’m about to be eighteen, Cliona. And I’m still way shorter than anyone else in the pack.”
I nodded and pulled her back at arm’s length to take a look at her. She had long blonde hair that was twisted into a beautiful braid draped over her front shoulder, and her brown eyes still had the flecks of gold that all the Hemlocks had. It reminded me of Mamma Adelaide, and I swallowed. Gioia was a spitting image of Mamma, and it brought me joy knowing she lived on in Gioia despite being on the other side of the veil.
“We missed you at the opening.” She squeezed my arms, assessing me in the same way I had her. It’d been too long since I’d seen the little wolf.
“Is he pissed at me?”
“It’s Drew.” Gioia shrugged, knowing I spoke of her eldest brother. “He’s always pissed at someone.”
“Hah! You are not wrong.”
I walked farther into the restaurant eyeing the gorgeous little touches that made it feel like you were walking into a family kitchen instead of a restaurant. The feeling was exactly the same as it’d been each time I’d entered the Hemlock home growing up. I showed up ten minutes early so that I wouldn’t be in a rush and could take in all the work Drew had done. Of course his brothers had helped, and Gioia had probably supervised since the Hemlock boys were notorious for getting themselves in trouble, even if they were all grown men at this point. “She would have loved this,” I spoke into the space, feeling Mamma’s presence here so clear and fresh.
The lobby opened into the main dining room which was big enough to seat several tables and booths but probably wouldn’t be overwhelming if they sold out every table. It had a quiet atmosphere with soft flickering yellow candle flames and enough heavy-looking fabrics draping the walls to dull any loud voices or enthusiastic dinner conversation from carrying across the entire dining area. There was also enough space between the tables to give everyone who dined a fair amount of privacy. In any other instance, the intimacy of the space with the deep maroon and dark oak furnishings would have been lovely, peaceful even. I’d have been comfortable meeting a new potential partner, I’d have had a (probably too large) glass of wine while I waited, and I might have even ordered an appetizer to get the party started and gauge the person’s appetite. If he wasn’t down with the apps, he couldn’t throw down at the table with me.
I caught myself smiling and then immediately froze in the shock of it all.
How long has it been since I went on a date? What was I even doing here? How could I even exp—
STOP, I shouted to myself.
“Are you meeting someone?”
“No,” I answered Gioia before quickly amending. “Actually, I don’t know why I said that. Habit, I guess. I am meeting someone.”
“Is it Dom?” I tried to hide my grin at the excitement in her voice at simply speaking Dominic’s name.
“No, you won’t be ogling Dominic all night, Gioia. Sorry to disappoint.”
She’d had a crush on the Water Council chair since she’d been a small girl. It was cute, but now she was getting older and still obsessed with him. Granted, he was attractive in the way most paranormal beings were. He had to lure folks in somehow so they didn’t recognize his intense and dangerous dragon nature immediately.
“I’m—well, he’s—I mean, he’s just someone I’m meeting.”
I knew I was giving it away and soon the whole town would know about this first date shitshow.
“Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Are you on a date?!” The squeal that escaped her mouth made me flinch.
