Page 26 of Bewitching the Wolf

I stiffen.

“In particular, the difficulties he’s been having since he’s shifted,” Traggar adds.

I feel heat creeping up my neck.

“You may have noticed he’s been behaving somewhat—differently,” Traggar says. I catch him and Otis exchange the tiniest of glances, and my chagrin deepens.

“Erm, he has been rather… unpredictable, maybe,” I mutter, my cheeks now burning as bright as my hair.

Traggar nods. “As his therapist, I would agree.”

I nearly drop my teacup. “Jax is in therapy!?”

“Yes, it’s an essential part of integrating his wolf with his human psyche.” Traggar sighs, sips his tea. “Except it’s not going as well as we’d hoped.”

You can say that again, I think.

Traggar shifts forward in his seat, his ice-blue gaze fixed on my face. “We have a proposal for you, Miss Honeywell. One that will have far-reaching benefits for both wolves and wixens, and in fact, the whole of the Labyrinth. If you’ll be so good as to lend me your ears for a few minutes, I’ll explain everything.”

“Okay,” I respond, said ears twitching with curiosity. “I’m listening.”

Several minutes later, my head is reeling.

Thankfully, Aunt Felicia has now passed around pastries. I dive on them, weak from hunger, and eat nowhere near as elegantly as a wixen should.

Gosh, I almost tore at that pastry like a wolf!

Glancing over at Traggar, I see he is eating in a much more polite fashion.

Truth is, I always eat fast when I’m anxious. And after what they’ve told me, I’m seriously anxious about Jax.

And I’m angry that it matters to me so much.

When Traggar and Otis explained that Jax will be placing bugs in the inner sanctums of the human authorities, my blood ran cold.

“Why Jax?” I burst out.

“Because he grew up in Sparkle. He roamed around the city as a kid searching for his missing mom,” Traggar explains. “Jax knows more about how to infiltrate Sparkle City than anyone else here.”

I fall silent, recalling what I know about Jax’s childhood. He’s only ever told me snippets. But since I’ve become friends with his sister, Clem has told me more.

About how their mom just disappeared one day when Clem was seven and Jax thirteen.

How Jax went looking for her, everywhere, and tried to tunnel out of the dome, convinced she might have escaped onto Earth, even though no human could survive out there. Clem told me this was Jax’s way of dealing with his grief, trying to find her by attempting to break through the dome walls. The authorities put him in remand school to stop him, but he still managed to escape, until finally, he was put to work as a peripheral.

“What if they capture him? Like they did Sammy, and Clem?” I ask, hoping my apprehension isn’t too evident in my voice.

“He’ll be wearing the portal cape, he’ll be invisible,” Otis explains.

Traggar adds, “Except if he’s vaping. Vapor coming from the cape could expose him to view. Also, his wolf is allergic to nicotine, which means they are not working as a partnership. Jax has to quit vaping—fast.”

“I agree. it’s a disgusting habit.” I roll my eyes theatrically, trying not to remember the turn-on of peppermint vape on his breath last night when he… When we… Oh, goddess.

I cram the rest of the pastry into my mouth, wiping away the crumbs.

“And that’s where you come in.” Traggar doesn’t seem to notice my chipmunk cheeks, full of pastry. “We want you to help him quit.”

“W-what?!” I explode, crumbs flying out of my mouth.