[Willow Harbor 06.0] Warlock's Embrace Read online

  “I’m getting there.” She led the way to the break room. Thankfully the subject of Cad had been dropped.

  Two

  Cad

  I rolled over and stared at the indent in the pillow next to me. I wasn’t surprised to find the other side of my bed empty. Delpha had to leave for work, but for once I wanted to find a note. Something to let me know she wished she could have stayed. Or she wanted to move back in. That was the crazy thing. We’d even lived together a few times, but inevitably, as soon as things fell into a perfect rhythm, she’d freak out and leave. The last time she hadn’t even told me. It had stung, and for the first time I’d felt real anger. But somehow one look at her when she showed up late at night a few weeks later and my anger melted away. She gave me some line about wanting to keep things casual. As if anything between us could ever be casual. From our first kiss things between us had always been red hot intense.

  I left my sheets that still smelled of her and hit the shower. I turned the tap directly to cold. It was the only way I was going to snap out of my daze. Thoughts of the night before flitted through my mind—the feel of her skin, her lips. The way her body always fit perfectly with mine. But I’d be sleeping alone again tonight. I was sure of it. Anger surged through me, anger like I’d never felt, and without thinking it through I punched the tile wall. Fantastic. Now I was developing anger issues? When your personality starts to change you know you’re in trouble. I turned off the water and got out, leaving the mess of tile and plaster for later.

  At least I’d get to spend the rest of the day at the shop. Maybe if I was lucky, very lucky, Delpha would come in for lunch.

  “Hey, man,” Pax greeted me as soon as I walked into the kitchen. He’d beaten me in like usual. He definitely won the award for most dependable employee.

  Pax had been working for me since the first day I opened my pizza shop, the day after our high school graduation. Thankfully staying in business had been easy. All it took was a simple spell to change the water in my taps to the exact chemistry of the water they have in New York City, and voila! Perfect pizza dough. The rest had nothing to do with spells and everything to do with artistry. Thanks to that no one else tried to compete, because it takes more than New York water to make a perfect pizza. I had the market on pizza in Willow Harbor, and I didn’t see that changing in the foreseeable future. The business was the one consistent thing in my life. My love life was a whole other story.

  “Hey.” I tried to muster some enthusiasm, but it usually took until I was rolling out some dough to snap out of my funk.

  “She came over last night, didn’t she?” Pax called me out. Not that it was a hard thing to do. He knew as well as anyone what kind of mess my love life was. I’d been in love with Delpha even before I understood what love was. Now I knew exactly what it was, but I didn’t know how to make it work. Every time things seemed to be going our way, she ran off again, doing everything in her power to make me want her less. It never worked, but that didn’t dissuade her. After ten years of our on-and-off again relationship we were right where we started. We belonged together. The trick was getting her to accept it.

  “That obvious?” I played stupid and didn’t look up. I sprinkled some flour on the table.

  “Very. You have to stop doing this to yourself.”

  “I can’t.” I pressed my heels into the dough, wanting to ignore Pax but knowing it was impossible when you worked with someone every day. Pax, like most of my friends, had been yelling at me to give Delpha up for years, but their protests had faded into white noise. They didn’t understand the way she made me feel, nor did they understand the way my power tied into her. All the hell she put me through was worth it for the time we did spend together. Luckily our time spent together had been on the rise again lately. If I played my cards right we might be moving closer to the on again part of our relationship. But the key word was part.

  “Yes, you can. When she shows up next time say no. It’s not like you can’t get some elsewhere.”

  I bristled at his word choice. Sex with Delpha had nothing to do with getting some. I picked up the dough and flipped it with far more force than I needed to.

  He walked back his statement. “Ok, sorry. That was insensitive. I know how much you care about her, but she’s too messed up. Damaged goods. She’s never going to give you what you want.”

  “She’s not damaged.” There was nothing wrong with her. She’d been hurt, and eventually I would find a way to make it better.

  “Then what is she?” Very few people dared to talk to me the way Pax did. At 6’5 and 225 pounds of nearly all muscle, I intimidated people by my appearance alone. Add in I was the strongest Warlock Willow Harbor had seen in generations, and I was left a wide berth of space by most. Not Pax. We’d been friends since he moved to town in kindergarten, and that bought him a lot of leeway.

  “She’s hurt. I need to find a way to help her.”

  “You’ve been trying to help her for ten years. Ten years is a long time.”

  “She loves me.” I finally pulled my eyes from the dough.

  “I know. I get that. And I’m not going to pretend she’s into someone else. She’s not. You don’t want to see the guy who hit on her last week.” He wiped flour on his apron.

  I grinned despite my otherwise sour mood. “I bet. And you’re right. She isn’t into anyone else. That’s not what any of this is about.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “Her dad.” It was all her dad’s fault. If he hadn’t run off and left her and her mom, then she’d view committed relationships differently. But I couldn’t change the past. All I could do was try to change the future. I’d tried everything I could think of, but at the end of the day she was afraid. The problem was I had no clue how to help her.

  Pax groaned. “Nope. Not blaming this on daddy issues. She’s a grown woman, and he left years ago.”

  “The key word is left. And she somehow blames herself for it. I’m telling you, that’s what this is all about. I can’t figure anything else out.”

  “She needs closure.” Pax leaned back against the counter. “That’s it. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”

  “Think of what?” I stopped kneading the dough. He had my full attention.

  “You have to find him.” He straightened up, quite aware how rare it was to pull me from pizza dough.

  “Her dad?” I’d thought about it myself more than once, but each time I’d shot down the idea.

  “Yes. Find him and get her the closure she needs.”

  “First, I have no clue where the deadbeat is, or whether he’s even alive.” No one had heard from him in years. He hadn’t even come back after Delpha’s mom disappeared, and that had been ten years ago now.

  “He’s alive. Someone would have told Delpha if he was dead.” Pax inclined his head to the side. “Well, maybe not since she’s with you. No offense but you know he wouldn’t be happy the two of you are together.”

  “You mean because my people killed off most of his? You don’t need to remind me.”

  “You think that’s part of it? That she blames you…”

  I shook my head. “I wasn’t born when that happened. My parents weren’t even born. It’s not like there is any blood on my hands.” Yet whether I was part of it or not, certain sorcerers would never forgive the descendants of warlocks that stripped them of so much of their power. I was pretty sure Delpha didn’t fall into that group, but it was quite possible her father did.

  “Ok, forget that. You can easily find him using one of your spells.”

  “Easily?” That might have been pushing it. “Probably not easily, but could I find him? Yes.”

  “Then what’s your next argument? You said the locating him part was only number one.”

  “The second one you already mentioned. The whole wiping out his people thing. He’s not exactly going to welcome a warlock with open arms. Especially not one who’s in love with his daughter.”

  “Es
pecially not one who’s sleeping with his daughter. You know that’s going to be the kicker.” Pax smirked.

  “Ok, so you agree this is an awful idea?” I returned to the dough.

  “No. It’s not awful. You need to do this.”

  “Even if the old man tries to kill me?” I was sure he’d try.

  “You’re strong. He’s not going to succeed.” Pax was right. I’d be fine in the end, but it wouldn’t be a pretty meeting. Besides, how was I going to convince him to come back to Willow Harbor?

  “What do I tell Delpha? She’s never going to let me do this. She hates him.”

  “You don’t tell her anything. How many times has she left you hanging with no warning?”

  “I can’t do that to her.”

  “Then tell her it’s for business. You’re looking for new pizza ideas. I’ll cover the shop so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “I can’t lie to her.” I could barely muster a lie when it was to surprise her with something good.

  “Then don’t. Find some new pizza ideas on your way.”

  “That isn’t an awful idea.” Technically I could look for some new vendors.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You sure you can cover for me? This could take a few days.” I tossed out more flour.

  “You can trust me. Plus I’ve got Tye to help me.”

  I was hoping he wouldn’t say that. Tye was a nice enough kid, but he wasn’t touching the pizza. “He’s not allowed in the kitchen.”

  Pax laughed. “Fair enough. If I fall behind I’ll just run some limited hours. You haven’t taken a day off in years. Use this time to clear your head.”

  “Clear my head on my way to meet my girlfriend’s deadbeat psycho dad. Right.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Yeah find me some sorcerer blood.” I was being serious, and he knew it.

  “Uh...”

  “For the spell.” It was the only way the locator spell would work since I didn’t have anything of Delpha’s father’s. “We’re not taking any from Delpha. I’m not telling her about this unless it’s successful and I bring him in.”

  Pax nodded. “I’ll figure it out.”

  “Not yet. First we need to make enough pies for lunch.”

  “Pies first, then blood. Got it.” He grinned.

  “I know it’s hard for you to put blood second,” I ribbed.

  “Oh the old vampire jokes. Keep them coming.”

  “No, I think I’m good.”

  “This might not work.” His expression turned serious.

  I wasn’t ready for serious yet. “The new Norway pie?”

  “No. Your quest. I think it’s a start, but I might be totally wrong. She might hate you for this.”

  I shrugged “I have to try something.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “I don’t want to be like this. To need her like this.”

  “I know. We can’t choose who we love.”

  “Nor can we choose to ever stop loving them…”

  “Amen to that.” Pax crossed himself before getting back to his cooking.

  Three

  Delpha

  Every time I looked out at the ocean I saw her. I didn’t see her in the literal sense. She was part of the ocean now, her power relegated to the whims of the gods. Uniting with her again was impossible unless I followed her lead and heeded the call to take my place as a true Oceanid. But I wasn’t a true Oceanid. Deny it or not I had sorceress blood running through my veins. As much as the ocean called to me, I would never be able to seamlessly join the others.

  I’d watched her when it happened. I hadn’t really understood what was happening until she dove off the pier and her body never came up again. It isn’t enough to get in the water, you have to ask to be part of it—kind of like a job interview, but for a job that has no end. At least that’s how I’d always envisioned it.

  Living in an apartment overlooking the water was torture. The memory of watching my mother dive in played on repeat when I looked out into the waves. But there was also some comfort in the pain. It kept me from moving on, and that helped assuage my guilt.

  I tore my eyes from the window and glanced at my watch. I’d only used half my lunch break showering and changing. I still had time to grab lunch with Mattie.

  I hurried downstairs, my stomach was growling even though it had only been a few hours since I devoured my bagel. I was pretty much always hungry. I wasn’t quite sure which side of my family genes to blame that on.

  Mattie was already outside when I made it down. She was sitting on the front steps with her eyes closed enjoying the sun. If she’d been nearly anyone else I would have jumped over and scared her, but Mattie had handled enough scares. Being human in our town wasn’t fun. “Where to?”

  Her eyes snapped open. “Ready?”

  “Yup.”

  She jumped to her feet and hurried down the street. I followed as understanding dawned on me.

  She moved at a quick pace. “I’m craving pizza.”

  I groaned. “No way.” There was only one place anyone got pizza in Willow Harbor.

  “Come on. It’s buy one slice get one free day. How can we skip out on that?” She didn’t slow down in the slightest.

  I stayed a few steps behind. “We can eat there free any day.”

  “Correction, you can.”

  “You can too. Trust me.” I struggled to come up with even more excuses. I wasn’t ready to admit out loud that I was afraid to face Cad.

  “Cad still blames me for you moving out.”

  “No he doesn’t.” I caught up and linked my arm with hers. I slowed down, reducing her speed in the process.

  “He’s told you that?” She stopped short. “In those exact words?”

  “Those exact words?” I averted my eyes. “No. But close enough.”

  “What did he say exactly?” She stepped to the side, pulling me with her. A family brushed by us.

  “Nothing, but Cad is a man of few words.”

  “He is not!” Mattie shouted. “He never stops talking when he’s at work.”

  “But that’s work.” I bit back a smile. Mattie was so entertaining when she got worked up.

  “And he doesn’t talk to you at all when you’re somewhere else?”

  “He does, but he doesn’t blame you.”

  “Fine. Either way we’re getting pizza. I’m craving pepperoni.”

  “Hey, Lena!” I called out to a girl with inky black hair who was on the other side of the street. She didn’t hear me and walked into a shop. I prepared to j-walk to run over and meet up with her. Seeing her was a perfect distraction. We didn’t know each other all too well, but that was a perfect reason to go talk to her.

  “Nope.” Mattie tugged on my arm. “No finding excuses to avoid lunch.”

  “But Lena’s nice. And pretty quiet. She could use my sparkling personality.”

  “And she can enjoy your sparkling personality another time.” Mattie pulled me along down the street.

  We reached Cad’s shop, and I pulled back when Mattie opened the door. She sighed. “Come on.”

  I probably wouldn’t have if a couple of girls hadn’t come up behind me. I reluctantly walked inside hoping the lunch crowd kept Cad so busy he wouldn’t have a chance to come out of the kitchen.

  Mattie hurriedly got in line.

  I handed her a ten-dollar bill. “I’ll find us a table.”

  “You want your usual?” She accepted the money.

  “Yes please.” I smiled before walking off. I usually loved pizza, especially Cad’s, but not after the previous night. Things had gotten too intense. I was losing my grip on keeping things completely physical between us. I wasn’t ready to face him. I was going to lose my nerve. It wasn’t my fault his smile had a physical effect on me. Forget what his actual touch did to me.

  I picked a booth that wasn’t in the sight line of the kitchen. I purposely sat with my back facing the kitchen in
case he happened to step out. I was being crazy, but it wasn’t the first time in my life I had acted that way, and after having lived with me for a few months Mattie was used to it.

  “Really?” Mattie slid into the booth across from me after setting down two cups of water. “We’re sitting here?”

  “What wrong with it? Nice view out the window.” I pointed to the large window directly across from us. “We can people watch.” As if to prove my point a couple of witches walked by. One was Anna, and as usual she wore a smile on her face. She was perpetually happy, and at the moment I needed to steal some of that perkiness from her. I watched as they disappeared down the street.

  “You’re avoiding him.” Mattie pulled a napkin from the bright red dispenser and placed it on her lap.

  “Nope.” I grabbed a napkin of my own. “I like this table.”

  She laughed. “You are. I’m not entirely sure why you’re bothering to deny it.”

  “Can we drop this?” I opened my straw.

  “You seem more uptight than normal about this…”

  “I’m not.” I was, and I didn’t really know why. Maybe it was because I was starting to feel the pull of the ocean. It showed up in my dreams, the rocking of waves, the smell of the sea air.

  She leaned in. “He knows you’re here.”

  “Mattie!” I gasped. “Why did you have to do that?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I ordered directly with Tye, but he’ll tell Cad he saw me, and we always eat lunch together. Besides, who else orders a Sicilian with pineapple and kale?”

  “Plenty of people.” I took a long sip of the cold water. Mattie had remembered to put extra ice in for me.

  “No. Wrong answer. You are the only person who eats it. He should probably list it on the menu as ‘Delpha’s pie’.”

  She probably had a point. “He won’t come out. It’s crowded.”

  “It’s always like this at lunch. You just make me come pick up the pizza most of the time.”