Chapter 29

Julia

I was relieved when Mel brought Evie with her to drop off Oliver. She also brought Mr. Whiskers and Evie’s familiar, Jezebel, which was great since it kept Oliver distracted while I talked to Evie and Mel about what was going on with Gryph. Only witches knew how gossipy familiars are. Admittedly, my own familiar is not nearly as bad since he has so few friends, but Oliver would definitely tell Mr. Whiskers—one of the biggest gossips.

“Now that we have the kids settled into a conference room to play, tell me what’s going on,” Mel prompted.

“I really hope Oliver is okay with Sam and Jezebel,” I said, eyeing the door. Sam had trotted out of Allie’s office as soon as he’d heard Mr. Whiskers. Oliver still hadn’t gotten over his disdain for Sam, Allie’s adorable familiar. Sam wanted desperately to be Oliver’s friend.

“I’m sure Mr. Whiskers will mediate for them,” Mel insisted. “He’s good at that.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Jezi,” Evie began. “Her feelings aren’t easily hurt.”

“Jezebel has feelings?” Mel asked with a gasp.

Most witches would be offended by any insult to their familiar, but Evie just laughed it off. “It’s hard for me to believe at times, and I love the evil cat.”

Mel and Evie were sisters but looked nothing alike. Evie had short blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. She was about my height with a delicate build. Mel was nearly half a foot shorter than Evie with brown hair and a curvy frame. Her eye color changed depending on her mood, a trait she’d inherited from her demon father. Today, her eyes were a pale shade of blue.

“Mel says you need some advice,” Evie prompted me.

“I don’t even know where to start,” I admitted. “This whole situation with Gryph confuses me.”

“What about the situation confuses you?” Evie asked, and I had a feeling she was dropping into psychiatrist mode.

Mel rolled her eyes. “I should have just filled you in on the way over here. Do you mind if I give the background information?”

“Be my guest,” I replied, gesturing for her to continue.

“Julia and Gryph met when Gryph was guarding me, and there were enough sparks flying to feed a dozen succubi. They seriously wanted each other. I figured they’d just get it over with and Trevor would lose his shit over Gryph touching his sister. We did end up walking in on them in a really hot position, and Trevor lost his shit, as expected. Then things got really weird. Gryph got all noble and said his intentions were honorable. I guess they were as honorable as a guy who had Julia pressed against a wall while he kissed her could have.”

When Mel paused for a breath, Evie said, “This is a really good story. Wait! Wasn’t Gryph an enforcer with the local pack?”

“That’s him,” I replied.

“So, what happened next?” Evie asked, leaning forward in her chair.

“Julia shot him down,” Mel told her. “She told Gryph he couldn’t just step in and decide they were going to be a couple.”

“In his defense, alpha werewolves do things differently,” Evie pointed out.

“I know,” I said with a sigh. “It wasn’t just him claiming we were a couple that had me running for the hills and saying I didn’t want more than sex with Gryph.”

“Did you really tell him that?” Evie asked with wide eyes.

I nodded. “Let’s just fast forward through all this other stuff. We’ve decided to date.”

“Date?” Evie asked as if I was speaking some strange language. “What do you mean by date?”

“I mean dating, as in going out and getting to know each other,” I explained, not sure why this was so difficult for Evie to understand. “You’ve dated, so you know what I mean.”

“Evie doesn’t date,” Mel answered for her. “She still knows what it is since she hasn’t spent her whole life in a cave.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re so shocked that I’m dating Gryph,” I told Evie.

“Sorry,” Evie began with a shake of her head. “I’m not sure how one dates an alpha werewolf. What werewolves do is different from witches, and Gryph was an enforcer. Enforcers don’t generally date.”

“Gryph mentioned that,” I admitted. “I’m not sure he knows much about dating. I want to understand more about werewolves and how they normally do things. It seems I’ve been unfair to Gryph because I don’t understand what he needs.”

Evie considered what I’d said before responding. “This is definitely something you should talk to Hadley about. I would have brought her today, but she’s meeting with a pack in central California to help them find better ways to deal with mental illness among pack members. I thought she’d be back today since they’re one of the packs we expected to be resistant to making any changes. As it turns out, they want Hadley to stay longer. I’m sure Hadley would be willing to talk to you when she gets back.”

“That would be great,” I told her. “Is there anything you can recommend I do to make things go smoother with Gryph? I’m still not sure where things are going with us, but I want to be fair to him.”

“Don’t challenge his dominance,” Evie advised.

Mel snorted.

“Why are you snorting at me?” Evie asked her.

“Gryph loves it when Julia challenges his dominance,” Mel explained.

“I’m not sure he loves it,” I hedged.

“He does,” Mel insisted. “You need to keep that up. That werewolf gets hotter every time you challenge him. He was attracted to you from day one, and you were totally getting in his face that day.”

“That’s interesting,” Evie mused. “Hadley may have a better idea of why he’s acting this way. I have heard of two dominant mates liking the challenge, but I’ve noticed that werewolves don’t respond well to challenges from anyone outside their pack.”

“Gryph doesn’t have a pack,” Mel pointed out. “Maybe his wolf wants Julia to be his pack.”

“That still wouldn’t make sense,” Evie argued. “Werewolf magic plays a big role in mate selection. As witches, we get this idea that werewolves don’t have any magic because they can’t cast spells or control the elements. We have a tendency to act judgmental and view werewolves as little more than animals.”

“I suppose that’s all I saw at first,” I admitted. “It’s ridiculous, considering Gryph can turn into a wolf. There has to be some sort of magic involved.”

“Witches don’t like shapeshifters for some reason,” Mel muttered. “I’ve noticed that all the shapeshifter witch families rank low on the council order.”

“I never really thought of that,” Evie mused. “We do seem to have something against shapeshifters, whether they’re werewolves, demons, or witches.”

I suddenly began to wonder if there was a simpler explanation for why my power reacted to Gryph. “Do you suppose there’s some distant relationship between witches and werewolves?”

“We’re all primates,” Mel suggested.

“There are genetic links,” Evie added. “I know a demon doctor who’s involved with some research, but it’s not clear if the links are simply the result of intermingling between witches and werewolves. The research was originally funded by an anti-shapeshifter group who wanted those witches reclassified.”

“Getting involved with Gryph could create a lot of problems for him when he has to work in council buildings,” I said mostly to myself. “A lot of witches won’t accept any relationship between us.”

“You’re already involved with Gryph,” Mel pointed out.

“You’ll also have the support of some very powerful families if this comes before the council,” Evie added.

“Fuck the council!” Mel nearly shouted.

“That’s your answer for everything,” Evie accused.

“It’s a good answer in this case,” I added. “There are only a few witches whose opinions I care about, and I know they won’t treat Gryph poorly.”

Both Evie and Mel looked amused with my concern for Gryph’s feelings, but they said nothing on the subject.

“Trevor wants to know if you’ve told your parents yet,” Mel began. “He’s worried he’ll say something before you’ve talked to them.”

“You’re the one who told me my mom already knows about the threats,” I reminded her. “My parents knew before Trevor.”

“He wanted to know if you’ve told them about what’s going on with Gryph,” Mel explained. “After he talked to them last night, he told me he wasn’t sure if they thought Gryph was just your bodyguard, or if they knew what was going on.”

“I hadn’t considered telling my parents because I was just planning to seduce Gryph,” I admitted.

“I can see why you might not want to share that,” Evie agreed with a giggle.

“Yeah, my parents aren’t happy with me as it is,” I told her. “I can only imagine how they’d feel if I called to update them on my efforts to seduce a werewolf. Now that we’re going to start dating, I should tell them soon. No matter how many times I say that, it still sounds strange. I’m dating Gryph.”

“It does sound crazy,” Evie agreed. “A witch dating a dominant werewolf—a former enforcer—is not something I’d ever expected to happen.”

“I’m not surprised,” Mel added with a pleased smile. “You were always meant to be together.”

“Don’t tell me Trevor is turning you into a hopeless romantic,” I said with a gasp.

Naturally, I was teasing her since Melina Blackwood was far from the romantic type, but rather than laughing at my suggestion, her expression morphed into one of utter horror.

“That son of a bitch!” Mel hissed. “Next thing you know, he’ll have me watching romantic comedies.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her outrage. It definitely helped lighten my mood.