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Michael crossed his arms over his chest.
Kyle handed him a hammer. “And the last thing we want to happen is for you to use up all your magic building a house, then the high warlock turns up and kills us all. What good will a finished house be if none of us are here to protect Monique?”
And that was the core of the reason why I didn’t ask Michael to use his limited powers for the house. Every day he seemed more frustrated by his lack of magic, and the more worried I got that when the day came to stand up against the high warlock, he wouldn’t be ready.
“Okay. Fine,” Michael said, taking the hammer from Kyle and getting back to work in the traditional, non-magical way.
We finished for the day and headed back to the cottage for dinner. Monique had cooked, again, which was great.
“Hello sweetheart,” I greeted her, kissing her lips when she offered them to me. “Smells great.”
Monique smiled, but there wasn’t as much warmth as usual behind the look. “Thanks. Do you guys wanna wash up and I’ll get everything on the table?”
I narrowed my eyes, studying her, but she turned away and fussed over near the sink. I nodded and went to have a quick shower and put on some clean clothes, figuring I would ask her what was wrong when I returned. Kyle and Michael did the same, and within half an hour we were all sitting around the dining table.
“How’s the house coming along?” Monique asked as she reached for the fresh bread and smiled up at me.
I tore apart my own roll and grabbed a knife to slather a good chunk of butter on to the warmth of the bread. “It’s coming along well. Gonna be one of the biggest houses in town once we’re finished.”
Kyle chuckled. “Yeah, Toby’s not too pleased about that. Came by this morning to check out the square footage.”
I laughed at that. “That’d be right. He’s got three sons,” I explained to Monique and Michael, “so he built his mate a decent-sized house and was proud of his status as having the biggest home in town.”
“Not as big as ours is gonna be, though,” Kyle agreed, eating his green beans.
Monique stared down at her plate and I reached over the round table to touch her hand. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”
She shook herself and went back to eating. “Nothing. It’s okay.”
I glanced at Michael and raised an eyebrow. Did he know what was wrong with our mate?
Michael sighed. “A couple of the pack guys came by today.”
“Michael!” Monique hissed, glaring at him. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine!” Michael said. “I’m going to stay home with you from now on. You shouldn’t be alone with so many hostiles around and it’s not like I’m much use on the construction site.”
My appetite instantly disappeared. Here I was chuckling over the fact the pack men were jealous of our house size, and would be downright spitting chips when they saw it finished. I had some pretty awesome designs planned for the kitchen and bathrooms.
But at the same table sat Michael and Monique, two fish out of water, who were miserable, if their downcast faces were to believed.
“What happened?” Kyle asked.
“Nothing.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “They just... don’t want me here. Told me I shouldn’t be here. That witches weren’t welcome and I should go home and leave you and Xander alone.”
My jaw dropped and anger unfurled in my gut. “They fucking what?”
She sighed. “It’s not a big deal. I already knew that. Everyone whispers as I walk by, glaring and scowling in my direction. I try not to leave the house anymore, because I don’t want to deal with them, but...”
My hands tightened into fists and she sighed heavily. “See... this is why I don’t say anything. I don’t want you getting angry at anyone. It’s not gonna help.”
“Then what can we do to help?” Kyle asked her.
She picked up her glass of water and took a sip. “Eat, drink. It’s okay. Time will soften them, I’m sure.”
Then she looked at me again, though there was still no warmth in her gaze, and I knew it wasn’t okay. But her gaze said she didn’t want to discuss the matter anymore. “Tell me more about the house, Xander. I wanna know everything.”
I didn’t want to talk about the house, I wanted to console her, tell her I loved her, and rush outside to yell at everyone until they came by and apologized for upsetting my mate.
