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“How’s your bear?” she asked, in tune with him.
He grimaced. “Being an asshole. Wanting to tear whatever wolf we come across to pieces. It’s a good idea we are no longer there.”
“I’m sorry—”
“No, don’t be. We didn’t know.”
She bit her lip and slumped, visibly put off. She fought against it and sighed.
“Well, then…I guess it’s just not my lucky day.”
The words had him frowning. “But you are not giving up?”
“No. I will find a way.”
It rang in his system, a finality and refusal to back down that he didn’t like. His hand went to her shoulders, willing her to look in his direction as urgency swirled inside him.
“Daria…promise me you won’t cross their territory. Not the vampires and not the shifters. It’s a disaster waiting to be unleashed.”
“Charlie—”
“Promise me you won’t cross their territory.”
Her eyes sparked, angry with the challenge. Relief pulsed when it didn’t last, and she reluctantly, slowly nodded her head.
“I promise that I won’t cross their territory. Both the vampires’ and the shifters’.”
As most Fae promises, this one rendered energy in the air, a humming tingle that sealed its fate. She pouted. He tapped the corner of her mouth until it dissipated and she looked more melancholy than sad.
“It’s for your safety, Daria, okay? There has to be another way.”
“I’m sure there is.”
“Now, assuming that you don’t want to go back to your home where you are likely to get questioned, how about getting dinner and hanging out with me in my home?”
“Perfect. I can brainstorm.”
“And eat and rest. For however long you like.”
“That, too.”
The tension of the ordeal seeped out of him at her agreeable aura. She stayed the whole night, sank into their routine, and talked to him about everything she had done up to leaving her home. She snored somewhere around midnight and left him staring at the sky as he tossed and turned the words in his head, willing every riddle to make sense—anything to give him leverage against this journey she was so adamant about taking.
Not now. Not yet. She made a promise, and the mountain is circled with trouble.
That made him fall asleep, assured that she would be safe for now. Charlie woke up to sunlight, Daria picking fruits with one of his cousins, Rosalia Bennett, and his phone buzzing beside him. He read the message twice, once through bleariness and the second with a clear mind.
Then Charlie was springing up to his feet and rushing to get dressed.
“Thank you for coming on short notice, Mr. Bennett. We are pleased to finally meet you in person, and we would like to give you the good news firsthand.”
The man talking to him, Sam Henson, was a decent person who worked for a company that rose through the ranks of the business world while taking its slow, sweet time. In a way, it mirrored his clan leader’s business, once an unknown competitor before rising to become one of the most popular breweries in the state—at least, in the supernatural world. It assured Charlie that this company took hard work seriously, but beyond that, one other thing made him want to come here: this company being the only one to call him without Hayley’s or her family’s nudging.
The perks weren’t bad for starters, and he would nab a position that wouldn’t allow others to treat him like a servant at their beck and call. The salary was as decent as Sam, who spoke with so much passion of his boss and their other employees and thought Charlie would be a perfect addition.
“So, do you have any questions before we offer you the contract?”
“I have none, sir. I have studied your company beforehand and think it’s great.”
