Hudson clenched his fists and let out a menacing growl at Deak.
Dean chuckled at the little wolf. He enjoyed getting him riled up, but he knew this wouldn’t make a small girl happy with him.
“I’m only playing with you. Don’t take things so seriously,” Deak told him.
“What do you want, Deak?” Marco asked in a stern tone.
“Two things. One, it should be playing for you to pass on the campus property. Vita found hex bags that were placed all around the campus.”
“Wait, there was what around the campus?” Hudson asked.
Deak rolled his eyes. “To put it more plainly, there was a spell on you, and now it’s gone.”
Marco and Hudson looked at each other in hesitation, not knowing whether or not they should believe what Deak was telling them.
“You can choose not to believe me, I don’t care,” Deak said with a shrug. He turned and started to walk away from them.
“What’s the second thing?” Hudson asked.
Deak stopped and smiled. He turned back to them and said, “You won’t find your girls in their dorm right now.”
Hudson tensed when he heard this. He just wanted to find Amanda and pull her into his arms as she rested his head in the crook of her neck and sucked in her heavenly scent.
“However, I do know where they’ll be. Come, I’ll show you,” Deak offered and started to head out, presumably toward the girls.
Marco looked over at Hudson, shrugged his shoulders, and started to follow Deak. he missed Tabitha and just wanted to be close to her, wherever that may be.
Hudson let out a sigh as he shook his head and started to follow as well. Something didn’t feel right about this, but he didn’t want to miss the chance to see his girl.
******
The girls were having fun as they got ready for their big night. Vita was able to borrow an outfit from Tabitha and it worked with her combat boots perfectly. She started to look at herself more and more in the mirror as the other two giggled in the background while they got ready. Her hair was getting longer and the color was starting to fade; she had cut it short and colored it not long after she escaped from Tristan the first time. She needed a change and it was the quickest thing she could think of doing to transform her image. As she continued to stare at herself, it didn’t matter how short or long her hair was or what color she decided to change it to—that scared little witch from years ago still stared back at her.
Vita sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Amanda asked as she walked up behind Vita and stared at her through the mirror.
Vita gave her a small smile and shook her head, “It’s nothing. Just got lost in my thoughts for a moment.”
“It might help if you talk about it,” Amanda suggested.
Vita waved her hand around as she dismissed the idea. “No, we’re supposed to be going out and dancing the night away.”
Tabitha stepped in. “it was just an idea and we can always go another time. We’re here if you need to talk things out. That’s what friends do, we listen when you need us to.”
Vita could feel the tears burning her eyes. “It’s been a while since I have had girlfriends to talk to.”
Tabitha came in between Amanda and Vita, wrapping her arms around each of their shoulders, and said, “Sorry to say this, but you’re kind of stuck with us and we’re not letting you go.”
Vita laughed.
“Alright, girls’ night in. Now, this is a serious question… what do you like on your pizza?” Tabitha asked.
*****
Zachary was exhausted as he pulled up to Vita’s house. He hadn’t had a decent night of sleep in a long time, and now he was running on empty. He walked up the steps and pulled out the keys Vita had given him. He had already dispelled the spell he put up to protect Ruby and his mom while he was away. He hadn’t heard from Ruby in a while and hoped everything was okay.
He unlocked the door and let himself in. The house was quiet except for the soft music playing in the distance. He noticed the lights weren’t on, but some candles were lit and spread out around the house.
Zachary smiled and walked toward the kitchen. The dining room had been set up for two and there was a savory smell coming from the kitchen.
Ruby looked up and smiled when she sensed Zachary coming. A moment later he was walking through the entryway to the kitchen. Her smile dropped a little when she noticed how tired he was. She rushed over to him and hugged him, taking in his scent and making sure that he was okay.
Zachary chuckled, wrapped his arms around Ruby, and said, “I’m fine, just tired.”
Ruby pulled back to look at Zachary. Her wolf purred as they both took in their mate in their way. Ruby placed her hand on the back of Zachary’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him. “I missed you,” she told him.
“What smells so delicious?” he asked as his stomach started to grumble. He had forgotten to eat and was grateful that Ruby had cooked.
Ruby smiled. “Go wash up and sit, it’s a surprise,” she told him as she turned him and pushed him out of the kitchen.
Zachary tried to put up some resistance as he wanted to taste what Ruby had been cooking. It had been a long time since he had her food. “I just want a little taste, that’s all,” he said with a sad face, trying to guilt his way back into the kitchen.
Ruby rolled her eyes but stopped pushing. Zachary chuckled as he made his way over to the covered dish and took a peek. Zachary’s eyes lit up when he saw she had prepared his favorite. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He felt so lucky to have a second chance with Ruby, he didn’t want anything to jeopardize it. He was going to make sure he did things right and showed Ruby how much she meant to them.
As he stood there holding her, a song from their past came on. Zachary pulled back to look at Ruby. “May I have this dance?”
Ruby looked at him for a moment before answering and then nodded. Zachary pulled her into the space between the dining room and the kitchen and started to dance slowly.
Ruby’s heart filled with joy as she felt the tingling sensation from Zachary’s touch. She didn’t want this moment to end. But she also had a bad feeling that something was coming and it was going to wreck everything good in its path.
Fighting for my Mate
Mated to my Bully (Book 1)