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Jackson
Iwoke upalone.
Winter was gone. I’d sent a few text messages through the morning, and left a voicemail at lunchtime, but there was still no response. Had I taken things too fast last night?
I couldn’t stop second guessing every move I had made.
As another hour passed and my messages went unanswered, I started to worry. I hadn’t been able to share the files with her yet, but if Ashleigh’s mother had been in the same coven as Winter’s, then Winter was probably a target too.
I finally called the Crow’s Nest, and she did answer that phone. “Crow’s Nest, can I help you?”
“Winter? It’s Jackson.”
She paused. “Oh. Hi.”
I didn’t understand what had happened and I wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry I missed your calls. It’s been…busy.”
“I wanted to talk about…last night.” This awkward stilted conversation was making my palms sweat. I felt like my mate was slipping through my fingers and I didn’t understand why. It wasn’t like I could just blurt out that she was the other half of my soul. Definitely not now. She was already flighty.
Shit, she’d probably never speak to me again if I dropped that kind of bomb. She might think I was trying to entrap her into a relationship or something.
“I can’t today.” She sounded distracted and plastic crunched in the background. “I’m actually going to be working with your mom in a little bit. Ruby roped her into helping me with decorations and planning for the joint coven and wolf pack Christmas party.”
I blinked. My mom? I got up from the couch and started pacing the living room. This was getting more fucked up by the second. “Maybe after?”
“I have my final performance of A Christmas Carol tonight, and then we have set strike afterward, so it’ll be really late.” She paused, her voice softening. If I didn’t have a heightened sense of hearing, I probably wouldn’t have heard her. “Last night was amazing, Jackson. But…I think that’s all it can be.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to. I just need you to accept that I can’t be with you like that again.” She cleared her throat. “So, will you let me know if you find out anything more about Ashleigh?”
I gripped the back of my neck and stared up at the ceiling. “I still think you could be in danger.”
“I can protect myself, unlike poor Ashleigh who might not even know she’s a witch.” A bell chimed in the background. “I’ve got a customer, I better go.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.” I clenched my jaw, choking on the knowledge my mate wanted nothing to do with me.
“Okay. Bye, Jackson.”
The call ended and I struggled to keep from chucking my iPhone across the room. She didn’t want to see me again. What the fuck was I going to do? Salem wasn’t a big city. Plus, she was in the coven. I’d see her when they held rituals during the full moon out at the farm. How was I going to be able to face the rest of my life having my mate so close to me, and knowing she rejected me?
Watching her fall in love with someone else. No fucking way.
My phone rang, jolting me from my mental spiral. “Mom” lit up the screen. I sucked in a breath, struggling to contain the tempest of rage and desperation.
I put the phone to my ear. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Hi Jackson. I’m on my way to the Crow’s Nest to help Winter with the holiday party planning, but Jaron told me your exciting news and I want to hear all about your mate.”
Fuuuuuuck. I rolled my eyes. “My brother has a big mouth.”
“Oh honey, it’s not his fault.” I could almost feel her gentle pat on my knee. “I was telling him that I hadn’t seen you in a while and at this rate you could be married with babies on the way. You know he has no poker face. I guessed the truth. He just confirmed it.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry. I’m nowhere near married.” I went into my office, trying not to remember Winter naked on it. Too damned late.
“Well, tell me all about her.” The joy in my mom’s voice made me feel even worse.
