Chapter Ninety-Four
“So, what’s his deal?” Natalie asked, bobbing her head toward Toma as she sat in the stool on Catherine’s other side.
Catherine looked at Toma who had laid his head down on the bar and closed his eyes. “Mable met her mate.”
Natalie made a pained face. “That sucks.”
“Don’t talk about me,” Toma grumbled.
“Fine,” Natalie said. She ordered a vodka tonic and spun in her chair to face the crowd. “What was Graham’s excuse for dousing you in his scent?”
Catherine let out a burst of laughter. “Theo gives you a reason?”
“Of course. Tonight was, ‘Darling, your brother is going to have me turning everyone’s pockets inside out to keep his mate safe and if I can’t be on you, I’ll have to settle for my cum being on you.”
Toma growled. “That’s disgusting. I’m right here.”
“Please, once you find your mate, you’ll understand,” Natalie assured him..
“Mate. That’s a laugh,” Toma hissed.
“Yeesh, you’re harshing our mellow, Dude,” Natalie groaned. Catherine took a sip of her tequila to hide her laughter.
“At least Theo is willing to take his eyes off of you,” Catherine reasoned.
She looked up in the mirror and shook her head at the fact that Graham’s eyes remained glued to her. Not for a moment did his gaze flicker to something else. She wasn’t sure he was even blinking.
“Yeah, he’s doing the two blink rule: blink, don’t look, blink, don’t look, blink, check out my fine ass mate, blink, don’t look. Oh, hey, there’s Chloe!”
Catherine turned slightly in her chair to spy Chloe walking toward them. Chloe waved quickly in Graham’s direction but his focus was singular.
“Hey, Chloe,” Catherine greeted.
“Catherine, do you feel it?” Chloe asked in a rush.
“Oh, um, yeah,” Catherine said.
Chloe nodded quickly. “I think you and Graham should leave.”
“It’s not that bad. Graham has it covered. He’s Beta now. We have to attend events and we can’t cancel every time we get a feeling.”
“It’s not a feeling, Catherine,” Chloe pleaded. “It’s an omen. I felt it following me around all day. Something bad is going to happen. We need to go grab
Graham and…”
“Just leave her the fuck alone,” Toma growled.
Chloe’s shoulders shot up to her ears and her eyes flashed with hatred. She turned to glare at Toma who was sitting up straight now, glaring at the mirror behind the bar.
“Toma, it’s okay…” Catherine began.
“This doesn’t concern you,” Chloe interrupted.
“Like hell it doesn’t, witch,” Toma scowled. Catherine’s eyes bulged from her head. She had never heard Toma speak to a woman like that. “She doesn’t need your help. What are you even doing here?”
“Catherine is my friend and I am trying to help her,” Chloe said, turning to face Toma fully. He spun in his stool toward her.
“Catherine is your friend? Really? Why don’t you go find a black cat to sacrifice? Aren’t there poor defenseless men to woo into giving up their fortunes?” he asked.
Chloe’s hands curled into fists. Catherine decided she needed to end the dispute before it escalated further. “Actually, Chloe is my friend, Toma.”
Toma gave her an incredulous look. “You are friends with a witch?” Toma asked. “I know you. You are not that naive.”
By now Chloe was fuming. Catherine was surprised steam wasn’t escaping her ears or that her eyes weren’t shining violet. Catherine looked up to Graham’s reflection for help but he gave no sign that he was listening to the conversation.
“We met in Blackmoore,” Catherine continued to explain. “She and Graham used to… Uh…”
“We…” Chloe started and stopped. She glanced back at Catherine and had the decency to blush.
“You what?” Toma asked, a new edge to his voice.
Chloe mouthed sorry to Catherine before she turned back to Toma and crossed her arms in a defensive stance. “We dated. We were together for two years. Is that enough information or would you like me to go into detail?”
“What?” Toma growled. His eyes flashed a bright yellow and a shiver ran across his skin. He stood up and towered over Chloe but she didn’t even flinch. “You and him?” he asked, jerking his head in the general direction of Graham.
“What? Like you suddenly care?”
Toma growled again and his canines slipped over his teeth. He lurched forward and caught Chloe by the upper arm. He started to drag her away. Catherine watched as he hauled Chloe across the floor toward the staff hallway and disappeared through the door.
“Well, that was… something,” Natalie said with a laugh. “You know, these things are never dull.”
Catherine shook her head and sipped more of her tequila. She turned back to face the bar. She debated whether she should go after them. She glanced up in the mirror to meet Graham’s gaze. He shook his head to give his opinion on the matter and she shrugged.
The air around her started to feel heavier. The unease she’d felt since stepping onto the curb churned her stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to feel out the energy around her. There was a sudden spike, a lurching, as a bunch of the energy was sucked from the room. It only lasted a second, one fleeting moment, but it was unmistakable. She opened her eyes. Graham was no longer looking at her but sweeping his eyes over the room. She noticed the men on the balcony disperse. He must have felt it through her and commanded the men to check the perimeter.
The energy in the room began to pulse. There was a surge-like quality to it. She could feel her own energy being pulled from her in such small doses that if she weren’t so finely attuned to it, she might not have noticed. She glanced over at Natalie who had started talking to Jenny about what it was like to be a server and how often she was allowed to dance on the bar.
“Don’t you feel that?” Catherine asked her.
Both Jenny and Natalie gave her an appraising look. Natalie shrugged. “Practically everyone in this room hates each other. There’s bound to be negative
energy.”
The pulse seemed to be getting bigger, the drain more impactful. She looked up in the mirror to find Graham walking toward her. His eyes worked the room as he sidled between the bodies in between them. Catherine clasped a hand to her head and shut her eyes hard as a surge rocked through her nervous
system.
“Catherine, you need to relax! Today is all about you. I never thought I’d meet someone more doom and gloom than my brother. Everything is…”
The drain came again and her back arched and she inhaled sharply as she fought to hold onto what little energy she still had. Catherine opened her eyes when Natalie didn’t finish. She turned her head to find Natalie frozen, her tumbler halfway to her mouth. She looked at Jenny who was similarly frozen while she wiped the inside of a glass. Catherine’s breathing became ragged. Dread pooled in her stomach. Then when she inhaled, she smelled pine.
Fear, like shards of ice, started at the base of her spine and clawed upward. Her breathing grew shorter, her heart beat so wildly she worried it might become bruised from slamming against her ribcage. Her nails dug into the bar as she felt someone step up behind her. She closed her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek as he ran his nose up her shoulder and over Graham’s mark. He let out a blissful sigh of longing.
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Chapter Ninety-Four
“Graham MacTavish. I always knew the Moon Goddess would have chosen a strong mate for you, Briar, but even I must admit I am impressed,” the voice whispered against her skin.
Surrendering to Destiny
