Page 66 of Bewitching the Wolf

“Yes, I think so. Auntie’s been quite weird lately, and very pro-wolf suddenly. She was even flirting with Traggar.”

“Yeah, I noticed an energy between them when I met them in his den,” I say, remembering the look on Traggar’s face as Felicia left with the Silver Book of Runes in her claws.

“Tell me the legend,” I ask.

I listen intently while she recounts the myth. And despite my earlier banter, it resonates with me at a deep level.

“And so,” Tippy finishes, “that is supposedly where our wixen powers originated. A mate bond between the wolf mage Agdar and the vixen shifter Leonora. The story has been hushed up, because mating with a wolf…” she giggles, “is not the done thing among vixen shifters.”

“And to your knowledge, wolves and vixen shifters haven’t mated since?”

“Not to my knowledge. Wixens’ magical powers have faded through the centuries, and our numbers have dwindled, so now there is only one wixen in every generation, and I can tell you, I was not sired by a wolf, but by a good-for-nothing fox who Mom threw out after my youngest sister was born.”

“What does that tell you?” I quirk an eyebrow.

“Well, if it’s true, I guess the way to regain our powers would be… for a wixen to, erm, mate with a werewolf.”

She chuckles and presses her lips to mine.

We roll together back onto the bed, the sound of our sighs and kisses filling the room.

Something blooms in my heart as we kiss. It’s happiness, I realize. Pure, unadulterated happiness. The kind of bubbling joy I haven’t felt since my childhood, since before Mom disappeared.

This sense of being cherished and cherishing in return. Of finally belonging.

Yeah, this is magic alright.

The time has come to be the Jax Summers I was meant to be. Not some numbed-out prick, hiding his pain and loneliness behind a cynical façade and a nicotine habit.

But why now? Why has our love blossomed just before my mission?

It doesn’t take a moment for me to know the answer.

To know that the timing is, in fact, perfect.

Because finally, I have a future to look forward to. And a mate to come back to.

There’s no way I’m going to risk throwing that away.

TIPPY

For the next two days, we hide in our love den.

No-one comes to disturb us, and I wonder if the whole of Wolftown guesses what’s going down. If they haven’t, my hollering as I orgasm will surely warn anyone who approaches.

Much of the time we spend naked, slicked with the sweat and scent of our lovemaking.

My body is no longer just mine. It belongs to Jax now too.

My soul as well.

There’s no doubt in my mind that we were meant to be together, and I wonder why we fought it for so long.

When hunger drives us out of bed, I cook us a meal. And Jax prepares the next. He actually cooks delicious food, I’ve discovered.

“Why have you never cooked for me before?” I ask, tucking in to an amazing pasta full of the flavors of tomatoes, sweet peppers and herbs, all foraged from the supplies that were here when we arrived.

“Probably because I’ve never had a home to invite you to.”