Little Red Riding Witch

010: Lunch

[Axel]

Conner, my wolf, is pacing anxiously in my head. "When is she going to get here?"

"Heel boy," I say quietly to myself, my heart racing. We are both excited to see Rosalynd again.

It's crazy, a girl I just met last night is already working her way under my skin. The last time Conner paced like this was the night we marked Alexa.

Not that it mattered in the end. She still rejected us, and our son.

I can smell her before I see her. I have grown accustomed to her scent, a blend of roses and jasmine, but as I turn to make sure it is her, I notice something has changed about it, or maybe just come into the foreground. Sage. She now has the unmistakable aroma of sage blended with the other two.

"Witch." I breathe.

"Mate" Conner howls.

"No! It can't be. How can a witch be our second-chance mate? The pack would never accept a witch as Luna."

"MATE!!" Conner insists. "We must have our mate! I will fight them all to keep her!"

As I watch her approach, the wind playing with the fine strands of her raven hair, her gray-blue eyes shining as pulls down the sleeves of her sweater, my borrowed T-shirt with the picture of a wolf, and the lingering traces of my own honey and rosewood scent blending with her own, I am overcome with desire. All I want is her. This girl I barely know. Rosalynd, the lost stranger I found in the woods. A person who this morning still smelled like a normal, average, human girl.

How could so much change in just a few hours? And what will this mean for us? For the last 170 years, werewolves and witches have battled for territory here in the great northwest. Can a witch and a werewolf be a mated pair? Does she even know? I guess there is only one way to find out.

I'll just have to get to know her better.

"Now we're talking," Conner agrees. "I want to know our mate too."

"I don't think she knows about wolves. We cannot scare her away with all this mate talk." I explain to Connor. "Also, what if we scare her away? Can you handle another rejection?"

Connor falls silent. I can feel his pacing stop. He's afraid too.

"Hey," I wave, standing, hoping she doesn't notice that I've been having an internal argument. "I'm glad I caught you in time. Brie is a highly temperamental cheese."

Her eyes sparkle as she takes in the spread. I brought grapes, cheese, meat, bread, and of course a nice sparkling wine to celebrate her birthday. Next to all of that is a brightly wrapped present tied tightly with a large gold bow.

"You did all this for me?" She sounds unsure. "Why?"

"Because it is your birthday," I look at her face, her eyes brimming with tears. "And because I wanted to."

She sucks in a quick breath. Taking a step forward, she looks up, eyes smiling, holding her hands to her chest as if afraid to reach out, afraid of rejection. "Thank you. This is...this is..." she rocks back and forth on her feet.

"Can I hug you?" I ask, wanting to soothe her discomfort.

"Yes," she comes forward and I wrap her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. My chest starts to rumble, and I can practically hear Connor purr, which is weird because wolves cannot purr.

"I'm a magical beast. I can do whatever the hell I want." Connor growls. "And right now I want to comfort our mate. If she needs me to purr, I will find a way."

"Hasn't anyone ever treated you on your birthday?"

"Only Slone," her reply is muffled by my chest. "But she hardly counts. We've known each other since we were in the 1st grade together." She takes a deep breath. "But she never felt like you do. You smell nice, like warm honey and redwoods. I've never smelled anything quite this nice. It's amazing! Are you wearing cologne? I could just wrap myself into your jacket and live here...."

"See! She feels it too! She is drawn to us too! It does not matter that she is a witch, she is still our mate, our true mate!"

"But..."

"No buts," Conner insists. "We should just mark her and take her home. We can make the pack accept her..."

"We are NOT marking her without her consent. I want her to know what and who we are before we even offer that. Also here?! That would be obscene. Marking is a very private act and..."

"You're very quiet," Rosalynd pulls away.

"Sorry," I look off to the side, not wanting to meet her gaze. Conner is chuckling inside my head. "I've been a bit distracted lately. But here," I hold out a hand to help her sit. "Take a seat, eat, rest."

"Ohh! Is that meat!" Her glee is palatable as she reaches down and takes a bite of the salami I had prepared. "You are a god!" she moans as she takes another bite. "An absolute saint."

"Ummmm...wow..I..."

"It's just that Slone, she's a vegetarian and all I've had today is cake, wine, and the threat of a goat milk and kale smoothie." She moans again as she combines the salami with a bit of brie on a wheat cracker. "Food of the gods right here!"

"See, this girl is a keeper! Look at how well she eats. She will grow us excellent pups."

"Conner!"

"Excellent, powerful, witch-wolf pups."

I watch her bend over to pull her birthday present into her lap and I have to sit on my hands to keep myself under control.

Her eyes are wide as she looks up at me and asks "Can I open it?"

I nod and watch as she claps excitedly. Carefully, she pulls the end of the bow, unraveling the delicate knot. The paper falls away revealing my gift.

"It's beautiful," she sighs as she wraps the red hooded cape around her shoulders. It is made of a fine wool of the brightest red, lined with a gray-blue satin, and embroidered with the phases of the moon in a thread that perfectly matches the color of her gray-blue eyes. "And warm. Thank you."

"The wool will repel moisture and light rain, and the silk satin will keep you warm," I explain as I help her. "It will keep you comfortable, and visible, on our hike tomorrow morning...that is, if you still want to go."

She nods, smiling.

I hesitate, but then pull out another small box from my pocket. "I was going to wait to give you this but...I just can't." I hand the box over and watch as she opens it slowly. Inside is a silver brooch in the shape of a wolf howling at the moon. "A little token, to remember how we met and how you thought you heard wolves in the woods."

"Thought I heard," she replies, curious. "So you are saying there are no wolves in the woods."

"No," my smile grows wide, predatory. "I didn't say that. You never know, maybe I'm a wolf." I hint at the truth, afraid to say it directly.

"Why, Mr. Addams," she blinks up at me demurely, "what big eyes you have..."

I lean closer to her, stalking her. "The better to see you with, my dear."

She leans onto her back, falling over onto her elbows. "And Mr. Adams, what big ears you have..."

"The better to hear you with, my dear." I am now leaning over her, watching her chest move up and down with her rapid breathing.

Our faces are close, our lips almost touching. "Oh, and Mr. Addams..." she pauses, sucking in her breath, saying in almost a whisper "What big teeth you have..."

"The better to eat you with," I growl as my lips hover above hers, "my dear...."

I begin to bend closer, our lips about to touch, before I come to my senses and push myself away from her. "Well, it's a good thing you are not for lunch!" I grab a huge hunk of bread, tearing it with my teeth. "Let's eat!"

Her face falls as she looks back at me, confused. Had she wanted me to kiss her?

If only she knew how badly I wanted to do so much more than kiss her. It's embarrassing. I almost took it too far. I was so close to losing all of my control, taking her right here in the park in front of strangers, placing my teeth into her neck, and...but that would be wrong. She wouldn't know enough to consent. I would be a terrible friend to take advantage of that.

I want to know that when she wants me, she wants all of me. I want her to know who and what I am, and the consequences of being with me.

She looked a bit dejected as I dropped her off at her house after lunch. I bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She looked up at me, unsure.

Brushing a stray strand of hair away from her cheek I asked "Meet me here tomorrow, 8 am sharp."

"Yes," she confirmed. "I cannot wait."

And then she pulled me by the collar and kissed me.