Chapter 3

Julia

I was nervous, which was absolutely insane. I’m not the type to get nervous, especially about a guy. As much as I refused to admit it to anyone, Gryph was more than just some guy. He was the first guy I’d been interested in for a very long time. There’s no tragic back story that turned me off men. I’ve just usually preferred the company of women. I’ve had flings with men, but nothing more, and even that hadn’t happened in several years.

Gryph is a strange exception for me. It’s not just about him being a man, or even him being a werewolf. He’s tough on the outside, the type of alpha male I usually want to smack. Beneath all that, there’s something vulnerable about him. I know enough about werewolf politics to realize he would have been close to very few members of his pack. He’d been an enforcer—a high-ranking one. His position had meant maintaining his emotional distance from most pack members in case he needed to kill someone. Still, I knew he missed his pack, missed the bonds. We’d never discussed his friends or family, but I was certain he’d left loved ones behind. Even with my limited knowledge of werewolves, I recognized that instinct, rather than emotion, had driven him to claim me as his. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did.

My family administers the affinity tests and bonding ceremonies among witches, so I grew up seeing that there is more than love at play in a successful relationship. If you asked most witches, they would assure you love was never an important consideration. It might sound cold, but it’s true. Falling in love first often complicates matters. Witches and warlocks with compatible magic fall in love. The reverse isn’t true. Even a couple who was desperately in love could have incompatible magic, and it wouldn’t change. Naturally, there were gray areas and extremely rare exceptions. With my background, I definitely shouldn’t be a romantic. Still, I apparently had some carryover from my youth when I’d dreamt of finding true love—the kind my parents have.

To keep myself busy, I was reorganizing one of our three fantasy prop display rooms. This room had floggers, riding crops, paddles and restraints, but they were all on the tame side, designed for those who wanted to be a little kinky. The props were just for display so customers could get a better idea of what they wanted to try out. They also helped us decide what needed to be purchased for a couple’s fantasy when they weren’t completely certain. If a couple gravitated toward the bondage toys, we would mark that down. Even their negative reactions helped us when planning a fantasy. It was nice knowing what areas they had no interest in exploring. The room we took clients to depended on how they answered the initial questionnaire. If people were looking for something outside of what we normally offered, we went shopping with them for an added charge. Not all couples, or in some cases groups, needed to go to the prop room to plan their fantasy. Some were really just looking for rose petals and scented candles.

“Are you sure about this plan?” Allie asked as she walked into the room to hand me the box of costumes we’d just gotten in.

“It’s the only way to get Gryph out of my system,” I said decisively as I examined the wall where the costumes would be displayed. “Do you think we should get some mannequins to put these on?”

Allie shook her head. “I can see why some would like seeing them on a mannequin, but the oddly shaped demons might feel like they aren’t designed for them. We should just hang them up. You should try dating Gryph instead of seducing him,” Allie suggested, coming around beside me to remove a paddle I’d just added to another display. “This is too much.”

I frowned when she waved the heavy cherry wood paddle in the air. “What was I thinking?” Looking down at the new box of props we’d received, I realized I should have sorted it better before entering the room. The alligator nipple clamps at the top of the box were also too extreme for this room. I’d have to work on the costumes now and sort the rest again later.

“You were thinking that Gryph will be here any minute,” Allie replied with a smile, bumping her hip against mine. “You should let me sort this stuff, at least until after you get over your nerves about seeing Gryph again. Even Persephone could have sorted this better,” she remarked as she removed a leather collar with the studs on the inside.

Persephone was our recently-hired receptionist, and to say she was a bit innocent would be an understatement. While I wanted to argue that I could sort better than Persephone, my friend made a good point. I didn’t seem capable of focusing on any task knowing Gryph would be arriving soon. I was excited about finally getting a chance to deal with my crazy obsession with the werewolf, but I was also nervous, almost like prey hiding from a dangerous predator. That seemed like a good description of Gryph. He was a werewolf, and while my magic made me dangerous in my own right, Gryph was physically more powerful than me. He’d also been furious with me the last time I’d seen him.

“Earth to Julia,” Allie called out, interrupting my thoughts by waving a hand in front of my face.

“Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” I asked. Allie had been pretty close-lipped about her opinion of my plan to seduce Gryph, other than suggesting I date him.

Allie hesitated.

“Come on, Allie,” I coaxed. “We’re friends. You’ve listened to me complain about Gryph without sharing your opinion. I get that you’re in a tough position because you care a great deal for him. I know you’re trying to avoid taking sides, but I really need to hear what you think about me seducing Gryph.”

“You’re being unfair to Gryph,” she told me.

“So, you don’t think I should seduce him?” I asked.

“I didn’t say that,” she replied. “Seducing him might make you realize how unfair you’re being to him and to yourself.”

“But you understand it would just be sex,” I reminded her. “I’m not interested in anything more with Gryph, or with anyone else.”

“Then why are you so nervous about seeing him?” Allie asked. “In some ways, I can understand what you’re going through with Gryph. I was determined to keep things casual with Dylan in the beginning, too. He wanted more, but I truly believed it would be best if all we had was sex.”

“That’s different from my situation with Gryph,” I argued. “Dylan wasn’t calling you his mate.”

Allie laughed at my argument. “Dylan insisted I was his witch. That’s not exactly the same thing, but you know as well as I do that it has nothing to do with love. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? It bothers you that Gryph isn’t in love with you, yet he still insists you’re his.”

It amazed me how easily Allie had picked up on my fears involving Gryph. I didn’t want to admit to feeling that way, but I did. “That is a big part of it,” I confessed. This was the first time I’d admitted that concern out loud. “There’s this big part of me that wants what my parents have.”

“You’re such a romantic,” Allie accused.

“I’ve spent the last few days trying to convince myself I’m not, but you’re right,” I admitted. “I had two witches in here yesterday, and they were so in love, I tossed in some extras with their package.”

“Are you worried about getting involved with Gryph because he’s not the romantic type?” Allie asked.

I laughed and shook my head. “Can you imagine Gryph buying flowers?”

“No, but you don’t seem like the type to want flowers,” Allie remarked.

“I’m definitely not the type who needs flowers or other romantic gestures,” I assured her.

“Are you sure part of this isn’t because he’s a werewolf?” she asked hesitantly. One of her hands rested on my shoulder. Allie was a few inches shorter than me, and since she’d slipped off her shoes, she had to look up to meet my eyes. I clearly saw her concern.

I shook my head. “No. While the werewolf packs and the Council of Witches frown on relationships between werewolves and witches, my parents are much more enlightened and accepting.”

To say the council was against relationships between witches and werewolves would be an understatement. Many older witches argued it should be outlawed. Witches were elitists by nature and tended to look down on any half-breeds. Allie’s mother was a succubus and her father a warlock, so Allie had dealt with her share of discrimination. My brother’s fiancée was half-demon, and while the council didn’t like her, more than one influential family had her back. She was also incredibly powerful, and most weren’t willing to challenge her. There were definitely times when the Council of Witches accepted the relationship between a witch and a powerful demon, but they were not accepting of intermingling with any other species. The council had arguments for their prejudices against each species.

In the case of werewolves, they couldn’t procreate with witches in most cases. There were rare occasions when it was possible, but more often than not, the couple had no offspring. In my opinion, there were plenty of witches already. We lived hundreds of years, and most families had several children. Unfortunately, quite a few members of the council were old-fashioned and still believed we needed more witches, just in case we had to go to war. Others were just bigots who believed the difficulty in procreating with werewolves proved it was unnatural for a werewolf to be with a witch.

“If you don’t have any issues with Gryph being a werewolf, why are you so determined to avoid dating him?” she asked.

“Do werewolves really date?” It was something I’d wondered before.

“They don’t always find their perfect mate, so I assume some date,” she replied. “Stop trying to avoid my question.”

“I don’t want to be a hopeless romantic anymore,” I finally admitted. “I’m tired of falling in love with people I have no future with. It seems to be a family curse that we fall in love easily. My parents were lucky. They fell in love with the right person. Their magic is a perfect match, and they’ve been together for forty years. I fell in love with Katherine, knowing our magic wasn’t a good match, yet somehow believing it would all work out because love conquers all. She’s not the only person that’s happened with. In the end, love doesn’t conquer all.”

“You’re too young to be this jaded,” Allie said with a sad sigh.

I was about to argue when I heard Persephone’s loud gasp. It seemed Gryph had arrived.