Chapter Fifty
Dylan
It had been a little over two weeks since Allie was almost abducted after work, and the police didn’t seem to be any closer to finding the killer. The last murder had happened the same night Allie was attacked by that bastard demon at the club, and I thought that made the demon a good suspect. The police didn’t agree, and refused to share their reasons for believing the demon wasn’t the killer, which is why I’d called Julian Talbot to find out what they knew. According to him, the demon was still under suspicion, but his mother insisted he was at her home at the time of the most recent murder. They hadn’t been able to interview him because he’d disappeared after spending the night at his mother’s house.
We hadn’t really talked about Allie staying when the danger to her was over, but it was my hope she’d want to. Hell, I was seriously losing it over this woman.
Allie was still sleeping when I was ready to leave for work that morning. She’d worked late the night before, which also meant I was exhausted. I was hoping to catch a nap at the office between afternoon meetings. This schedule was getting to be too much for me, but I wasn’t about to leave Allie alone at SpellBinders.
Leaning down, I kissed Allie’s cheek. “I need to get into the office, but Melina will be here in about an hour to spend the day with you.”
“I don’t need a sitter,” she grumbled, which made me smile because she said the same thing every day.
Most likely, I was being paranoid about leaving Allie at my house while I was at work. With my security spell, it was unlikely anyone would get in unless Allie let them in. It was also unlikely the killer knew Allie was here, but that didn’t make me worry any less.
“I’ll feel better if you’re not alone,” I said, much like I did every morning.
“Fine,” she grumbled and rolled away from me to go back to sleep.
“Don’t forget we have the affinity test tonight,” I reminded her and then nearly laughed at her groan of frustration. Allie hadn’t warmed up to the idea of the affinity test in the two weeks since the council meeting, even with everyone telling her it was a good idea. I was actually surprised by how much her mom supported it, considering her lowly opinion of warlocks.
Before leaving the bedroom, I stopped in the bathroom to pull some hair from Allie’s brush, wondering what she’d think about what I was doing.
I was distracted with thoughts of tonight’s council meeting the entire drive to the office. This was something I’d never expected to be excited about, but that was probably because I’d never met a witch I could picture having a future with. I was also nervous about the affinity test, mostly because I was worried about Allie’s reaction if it went the way I suspected it would. Okay, I was also worried I might be wrong. What if we failed the affinity test? What if Trevor’s dad told us we weren’t compatible and advised against any relationship? That would mean I wasn’t supposed to be with Allie and should let her go, but I wasn’t entirely sure I could do that.
The lobby of my office was empty, with the exception of our assistant, Sage, who looked to be in a piss poor mood. Of course, that was no surprise since it was almost a full moon, and Sage was a werewolf. Our agreement with her pack said she was to be given the week of the full moon off, but they’d made an exception this time when our other assistant was called out of town for a family emergency.
If Sage’s mood didn’t improve, however, we might need to call in a temp for the rest of the week so she didn’t bite someone’s head off—literally.
“Your first appointment is already in your office,” Sage grumbled. “She seemed pretty mad that you’re late, and then she had the nerve to act like it was my fault you don’t know how to get your lazy ass out of bed in the morning.”
I looked at the clock on the wall. “I’m barely a minute late,” I foolishly argued with my cranky assistant.
“Yet, I still got bitched at,” Sage shot back.
I decided to avoid angering the werewolf any further and made my way into my office.
Sitting in my chair, regarding me with both annoyance and amusement, was my first appointment of the day.
“Dylan,” she said with a regal tilt of her head.
I greeted her with a sigh. “Were you really harassing my assistant this close to the full moon, Mom?”
“Are you really making that poor girl work this close to the full moon?” my mom asked in an accusatory tone.
“Not intentionally,” I grumbled. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m fine,” my mom assured me. “Could you get one of the treats you keep for Percy? He’s been excited about coming here just to have one.”
It was then that I noticed Percy lounging on my sofa, looking annoyed. Not that I blamed him. My mother must have taken him to get his hair done recently because he still had several pale blue bows in his fluffy black hair.
“Hey, bud,” I said with a grin, glad to see him, but he dropped his head back down. “Yeah, I can see why you’re mad about the new hairdo.”
Reaching up to the top shelf, I pulled down one of the treats I kept for Percy in my office.
“He’s supposed to be at the sitter, but he insisted on coming here for a treat first.”
“Well, I’m glad you brought him,” I said honestly.
“Can you please explain why you needed to speak to me this early in the day? I had to reschedule my hair appointment, which means I’ll be cutting things close for the council meeting,” my mother complained.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it there on time,” I said with a chuckle, knowing my mom would do anything in her power to watch my affinity test with Allie.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she confirmed with a warm smile. “Now, what exactly do you need?”
“I need your help getting a familiar for Allie,” I explained.
Her brow creased with obvious concern. “Doesn’t she already have one?”
I shook my head. “Obviously, her mother couldn’t get one for her. I’m not sure why one of her witch relatives never tried, but it’s probably because that responsibility usually falls to the mother’s side of the family.”
My mother looked shocked by my request, and it took her a moment to respond. “You really care for this witch, don’t you? It’s more than just your magic being complementary and more than you being attracted to her.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, mostly out of habit, but I figured there was no point in lying to my mother. “Yes,” I admitted. “Allie makes me crazy, but I can’t get enough of her, and I really want to make her happy.”
“I’ll need blood, hair, or saliva,” she said and smiled when I placed the bag with Allie’s hair on the desk. “Do you think she has an animal preference?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said. “Just don’t get anything exotic since she may refuse to move in with me and need to keep it at her apartment.”
“Why would she refuse to move in with you?” my mother asked, clearly confused.
“Allie’s not sure she wants to be with me,” I admitted.
My mother actually laughed at my distress, which annoyed me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”
“I am on your side,” she insisted. “Hearing you complain about a quality you found desirable in women a month ago is just amusing to me. Now that you’re looking for something permanent, the girl you want is making you work for it.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “She’s coming around, but I really wish she’d agree that we belong together.”
“I think this is good for you,” my traitorous mom said. “You’ve gotten far too used to getting what you want without much effort.”
“I worked hard to get where I am,” I argued.
My mom raised a skeptical brow. “Really?” she asked. “In school, you had an easy time with spells, and the witches threw themselves at you. Since then, you’ve avoided relationships but known you could have one any t
ime you wanted. Now, you’ve met a woman who doesn’t fall all over herself to please you, which is wonderful because you’ll appreciate her more.”
“At first, I wondered if I was drawn to her because she was playing hard to get,” I admitted.
“And what did you decide,” my mother asked.
“I decided that I want Allie because I feel complete when she’s with me,” I explained. “I could spend hours trying to understand it and come up with dozens of complex reasons, but Allie is simply the right witch for me.”
My mother grinned. “I’ll cancel my hair appointment so I can make arrangements for Alana’s familiar,” she said as she grabbed the bag of hair and rounded my desk to kiss me on the cheek. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve found your witch. You may think I was pushing you to find a witch for grandchildren, but the truth is, I want you to have what I have with your father. What you just described is what I feel for him. Don’t be late,” she warned before leaving my office.