Sunlight peeked through the curtains on the cabin windows and awakened the old wizard. He wished he could sleep in, but it never happened. His internal clock aligned with the daylight hours. So, when the sun rose, so did he.
Gently, he slipped out of bed so the slumbering witch wouldn’t stir. He knew she thought he was a selfish, terrible human being. But she had no idea how often he thought of her—and her needs. Jessica’s gentle snores continued as he walked across the room to grab a bite of something to eat from a wooden shelf next to the kitchen window.
He glanced around the small room. Hmmm… strange. Where was Vianelle?
The succubus had been in bed with them last night as they fell asleep. But now she was gone. There was no place to hide in the tiny cabin, so maybe she had awakened earlier and gone outside.
Munching on the snack, he eased the door open and slipped out to stand on the tiny porch. Sunlight streamed through the thick branches of the surrounding pine trees, and the twittering birdsong reassured him it was safe. They always vanished when something dark entered his forest. He had experienced that recently.
However, the small demon was nowhere to be found. He considered a seeking spell, but decided that spending energy on that now was pointless. She may have wandered away, but she would return. He had what she needed, right? The nearest human male had to be so far away that she wouldn’t have bothered to venture there.
Well, at least he hoped that was true.
What the hell was that nagging thought? He didn’t like the feeling that was buzzing at the back of his brain. How could he care about the succubus? Why would it bother him if she strayed and found a new man to latch onto? It made little sense, yet the subtle feeling persisted. Dammit…
Sighing, he turned away to ease back inside. Carefully closing the door behind him, he jumped when Jessica’s sleepy voice emerged from the pile of blankets on his bed.
“Looking for your girlfriend?”
He frowned and shook his head. “Oh, fuck off. She’s not my girlfriend. I just don’t think it’s wise to let her wander away and get into trouble. We don’t want to attract more attention from the damn mouth-breathers in that fucking village.”
Jessica chuckled. “Sure, old man. Tell yourself that. I think you’re in loooooove!”
He snorted. “Love? I haven’t been in love in a very long time. And I certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall in love with a demon. Or a nasty little witch, for that matter.”
“Oh, I see. I’m good enough to fuck, but not good enough for your love. Got it.” She slipped out of bed and started to get dressed.
“You know what I mean. Don’t be stupid.”
“Ah, so now I’m stupid and unlovable. Cool…”
He sighed and stared at the ceiling. Why did women like this always end up in his life? “I didn’t say that! You know what I mean. You’re too young to be tied up with someone like me, anyway. A woman like you deserves someone closer to your age.”
The younger witch rolled her eyes. “Right. My age. Because the men my age are so damn amazing. Okay… I gotta get going. How do things look outside?”
He knew she was a little jumpy since the Fae had attacked them here several weeks ago. His quiet forest no longer felt as tucked away and safe as it had before. He had driven them off with the surprising help from the trees. But they both knew things were more precarious now.
“It feels… safe. For now, at least. You should be able to take the trail.”
“Good. I don’t want to be here anymore. And I have a lot of work to do before the week begins. See ya!”
She shouldered her backpack and walked toward the door. Callum reached across to block her. She exhaled and closed her eyes.
“Why don’t you stay for today? There’s no rush. I can make you breakfast, and maybe we could…” He gave her a knowing look and a grin.
“Uh, huh. You are one horny old dog, I’ll give you that. Sorry, I need to get back and prepare for my classes this week. I have a real job, remember? Not all of us can hide away in a forest and forget our responsibilities.”
His face clouded. “Hiding? You think I’m hiding from my responsibilities? You have no idea, girl. Go back to your city then. I have important work to do here. Not some stupid, civilized career teaching idiotic humans how to become mindless drones in that clueless world of yours.”
She raised her eyebrows, shook her head, and turned away. “Yeah, okay. Fuck you, too. Bye.”
Sighing, he moved away and let her open the door. She always knew how to push his buttons. But he also always fucked up and said the wrong things. They were constantly being pulled into each other’s orbits, then spinning back out again. Over and over.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Be careful, okay? I know you hate me, but I do worry about you. Not that you would ever believe that.”
“Sure. Good talk, bro. I gotta go.”
The pretty witch slipped away and left before he could respond. He stepped back outside to watch her leave, half hoping she would turn around and come back. But, of course, she did not. The young woman was so damn stubborn.
Again, why did he attract the ones like this? He seemed to be cursed.
Callum went back inside and closed the door behind him. The idea of waiting around for Vianelle to return suddenly felt unacceptable. He knew the kind of trouble she could get into, if left alone for too long. The chaos she had caused during her summoning had taken weeks to dissipate. None of them could afford to have that happen again if she went hunting for her peculiar, favored meal.
He slipped into his old robe and grabbed a few supplies. Finding her wouldn’t be easy, but he had a few ideas of where she might have gone.
Subscribe to be notified when Part 2 comes out!
Paid subscribers also receive additional benefits, member chats, and behind-the-scenes access to me and my work in progress.