She was railing now and slapped down the witch’s circle, a wreath of smoke sifting into the night air. She started to cross the circle, but before she took two steps, someone else spoke from our right.

“The beast doesn’t need to kill, no matter how long he’s caged.” Jules stood just outside the smoking circle, her hands haloed green with magic, her feet planted apart, and her eyes glowing with witch’s power and a sister’s revenge. Ruben stood right behind her. “Not when he’s found his mate. And as you can see, he’s found her.”

Sandra’s horrified gaze snapped to me and Mateo, then Jules let loose the full power of the Enforcer.

“Wow,” I whispered.

I’d seen her suck the powers of those who’d broken our laws before. It was usually a rather uneventful, quiet moment. A flare of her magic, a snap, and it was gone. But the blaze of Jules’s power bursting into Sandra, who was bloated with blood magic, was thunderous. Her scream was cut off into nothing after two seconds, her body punched with the full force of a Siphon’s power. A deafening silence followed, smoke billowing around Sandra.

When it cleared, in the beautiful, powerful witch’s place was a withered, bent hag, her gray hair limp and greasy. She trembled, staring at her wrinkly hands, whimpering at the loss of magic. For I knew that Jules had taken away every ounce from her. Her beauty that had been taken from the sacrifice of innocents had vanished, leaving behind a husk of a woman.

Ruben stepped forward next to Jules. Sandra’s shrunken face and beady eyes snapped up. “Don’t come near me, devil.” Her voice had also lost its sweet melody, replaced with a craggy, croaking sound.

“Look who’s calling who the devil,” said Ruben in his even, controlled timbre. “Better run, witch. Or should I say, human? If we ever see you again, you’ll not survive.”

She screeched and limped away toward the woods behind her garden.

“I doubt she lives long anyway,” said Jules. “Not without her magic.”

I exhaled a breath of relief. Then Jules looked at me and ran across the stone slab. Mateo snapped his jaws with a feral growl at her, still holding me against his gargantuan chest. Ruben rushed over to Clara who was still unconscious.

“Easy,” said Jules, holding up her hands in surrender. “Easy, Mateo. It’s just me.”

He wasn’t having it, growling deeper. I eased up out of his hold, petting him on his jaw, his shoulder. Yes, I was petting my boyfriend. He clutched onto my waist with one clawed hand, not letting me get far.

“Give us a minute,” I said over my shoulder.

“Eveleen,” she said in Mom’s voice. “I need to see that you’re okay.”

“I’m unhurt. But he’ll need medical attention. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

After a few seconds, she gave me a tight nod. “I’ll call Beryl.” She stood. “Ruben, is Clara okay?”

“She’s fine. A bump on the head.” He hauled her up into his arms. “I’ll put her in Evie’s SUV.”

“I won’t be far,” she said, following Ruben.

Staring back up at my werewolf whose gaze hadn’t left mine except to snap and snarl at Jules. Even Alpha looked at me with the same longing Mateo did.

“Alpha,” I cooed, stroking him near his ear. His eyes slid half-closed on a groan I recognized. “I need you to let Mateo come back.” He chuffed at me, nuzzling against my hand. “We need to heal your leg, Alpha.” He blinked. Heavy, staring. “We can’t have sex till we heal that leg.” A protesting growl rolled out. He leaned down and licked my neck again. “Let Mateo come back, baby.” I clasped his bulging muscular neck. “Please.”

He started to shrink the second I said please, morphing back into a familiar frame. I held his head close as his body shifted, the coarse hair vanishing, the beast fading to the lean-muscled body of my man. When he was finally himself, panting into my ear, he pulled back, gazing down at me sprawled across his lap.

He cupped my face and pressed his forehead to mine, releasing a shiver and a shaky breath. “Evie.”

I laughed, tears spilling as I sat up and wrapped my arms around him, burying my head in his neck. “Mateo.” I kissed his scruffy cheek, my heart pounding like mad. “I love you. So much. I love you.”

Pulling back so he could see me, he smirked, those warm brown eyes absorbing every line of my face. His mouth tipped up on one side. “I know.”

What? Not what I expected, then I—

“Oh, my God, Mateo. Did you just quote Star Wars to me?”

He grinned, no fangs showing at all. But the devilish wolf flared in his eyes anyway. “I sure did.”

I tossed my head back, laughing at how insanely I loved this man. He chuckled, then I noticed a drop of blood at the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, baby, I hurt you.” I sat up onto my knees and wiped it away.

He caught my wrist. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For saving me. I had no idea—” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I didn’t know she was a—”

“Stop.” I pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “None of us did. I’m just glad I realized how to break her spell.”

He frowned, glancing over as Ruben walked back into the clearing. “How did you do it?”

“Easy,” I answered, thinking about my mom. “I remembered I was stronger than her.”

Ruben was there, leaning down. “Come on, man. We’ve got to get you to the car.”

I winced at the sight of Mateo’s obviously broken leg. I mean, it wasn’t like a bone sticking out of his leg or anything, but there was a definite fracture below one kneecap. Werewolves healed fast, but Beryl could help set it with magic so it healed perfectly.

“Do you need help?” Jules walked into the square but then quickly whipped back around. “Whoa, boy.”

I snickered. Mateo was completely naked.

“I’ll wait in the car!” she called over her shoulder with a wave.

“Good,” mumbled Ruben, scowling down at the ground as he helped Mateo to walk using one leg.

I scurried under his other arm and held onto his waist, beaming up at him.

He winced a little but smiled down at me as we hobbled along. “Sorry to ruin our plans tonight.”

“Not a problem. We’ve got a million more nights.”

“A million?”

“Yep. Wait a minute. How old are you?”

“One hundred and twenty-three.”

I sighed with relief, calculating. “We’ve got a good one hundred thousand or more, to be more precise.”

He raked my face with those penetrating brown eyes, shaking his head softly. “That won’t be nearly enough.”

“Mateo.” My voice choked a little. I squeezed him around the waist, a lump forming in my throat.

He brushed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you.”

Beaming from ear to ear, I lifted up and kissed his perfect mouth. “I know.”

Epilogue

One year and one month later…

~MATEO~

I grinned like a madman, watching Evie bounce on her toes and slip on her exhibitor tag.

“It’s real,” she said.

“Yep. It’s real.” I grabbed her hand and marched forward to where I’d left Missy while Evie was checking in. “Now let’s go see your booth.”

“My booth,” she said on a breath. “We’re going to see my booth. My booth.”

“That’s where we’re going.”

“Holy shit, Mateo,” she hissed, clawing one hand into my arm. She pointed at a guy with a long line, signing comics. She practically squealed, “That’s Todd McFarlane.”

“Don’t know who that is, baby.”

She scoffed with a giant roll of her pretty eyes. “Well, do you know The Amazing Spiderman? Spawn? Venom?” She stopped walking. “Oh, my God. What am I doing? I don’t belong here.”

I turned and gripped her by the shoulders, leaning my face down to hers, nose to nose. “Yes, you do.”

“Yes, I do,” she repeated, wide blinking eyes.

“That’s my girl.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, linked our hands, then tugged her toward the table where Missy was finishing up with the stand-up banner.

“Mateo!” Evie squealed.

Missy jumped and spun around, clutching her chest. “Geez.” She let out a big breath. “You almost scared me to death.” Missy looked from Evie to the banner. “Did I do something wrong? Oh, no. Don’t tell me something’s wrong!”

Evie stumbled forward and wrapped Missy in a hug. “It’s perfect. So perfect.”

I was really enjoying the role of supportive boyfriend.

Then Evie spun and leaped on me, wrapping her legs around my waist. I stumbled back, but caught my balance while she peppered kisses all over my face.

“You’re the bestest boyfriend in the whole wide world.”

“I’d like to argue, but I’m enjoying your enthusiastic gratitude.” I admitted, grinning.

She grinned back for about thirty seconds, staring at me with the best goofy look I’d ever seen. Then she dropped her legs, glancing over my shoulder at people milling around the Wizard World Comic Con. The banner was a giant blow-up of her main character with the title Witches in the City and her name in the edgy script she used in her comics.

“Thank you, Missy.” I gave her a nod. “I appreciate all your help.”

“Here’s your tag.” She fished it out of a box and handed it over. “You guys have a great day.” Missy waved and headed toward the exit of the Convention Center.

I watched Evie’s face as I put on my tag, her lips reading it silently, her sweet face lighting up.

“You’re my assistant?” Her voice broke with emotion, eyebrows turning down like a puppy-dog.

“I am.” Then I spun her to get behind the table. “Let’s get you in the right spot. People are really starting to come in now.”