Chapter 5

Shemika was on her usual route to Ylenia’s, a quarter past nine. But this time, she felt a persistent gaze. As a she-wolf, she was used to being watched, but this was different. The eyes never left her.

She ducked behind a building, disappearing into the shadows. She waited until her ~pursuer~ followed, his head darting around in search of her. ~You’ve got to be kidding me.~ “Felix,” she called out, stepping from the darkness. “Why are you following me?” He’d made his dislike for her clear, but this was a first.

Felix, with his ridiculous bowl cut, looked frustrated at his failed attempt to tail her. He wasn’t a hunter in the pack, just a field hand. Stalking wasn’t his forte. “I’m going to prove to Alpha Dancescu that you’re useless to our pack. Then he’ll transfer you to the fields.”

~Oh, shit.~ The alpha wouldn’t just transfer her to the fields. He’d want her in his bed. Everything was about sex with him. And Felix’s nonsense had only started when Mara fell ill. Despite Selene’s healing abilities, Mara wasn’t improving. She was getting old.

“I’m not joining you in the fields, Felix,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “If you were good at your job, you wouldn’t need help,” she retorted.

His jaw tightened. “Every pack member of breeding age should contribute according to their physical abilities.”

“I do contribute, Felix. I help Ylenia a lot,” she lied, checking her nail polish for chips.

“I don’t believe you. Everyone sees you go in and come out late at night. I think you just laze around all day,” he challenged, his gaze narrowing.

Feigning shock, Shemika gasped. “How dare you! I do so much for Ylenia. I fetch all her ingredients,” she lied again, flicking a curl over her shoulder.

His lips pressed into a thin line. “Then you shouldn’t mind if I accompany you today.”

Shemika blanched. She had no excuses. “Well, no. But Ylenia can’t focus…,” she rambled.

A slow, malicious grin spread across his face.

Ugh, she wasn’t going to shake him off. She turned and walked away, head held high. She’d just ignore him. Or try to. The thought of not being able to laze around today irked her. She’d do some work for Ylenia, he’d watch for a few days, and then she could go back to doing nothing.

She reached Ylenia’s house and quickly locked the door behind her. Peeping through the curtains, she saw Felix settling down outside. ~The jerk~.

“What’s going on?” Ylenia asked, not looking up from her book.

“Marius backed Felix and Felix got Dancescu’s permission to follow me around. He wants to prove I’m useless so I can be transferred to the fields. But I’m sure Dancescu will just make me his sex toy,” Shemika blurted out, closing the curtains.

Ylenia, usually engrossed in her spell books, looked up sharply. “What?” she demanded, slamming her book on the counter.

“Exactly what I said, Ylenia. Marius backed Felix and Felix got permission from—”

Ylenia raised a hand to stop her. “We can’t let that happen,” she said, standing up to pace. She had more at stake. Ylenia often sneaked out of the compound without the alpha’s knowledge. Shemika was her alibi.

“How long do you think he’ll follow you around? A week? I can stay home for the next week, not break any rules, and you can fetch my ingredients for me,” Ylenia suggested.

Shemika didn’t like the sound of that. She rarely left the compound. She didn’t dress for it. She preferred skimpy clothes that barely covered her breasts, a skirt with splits on either side, and bejeweled sandals to show off her painted toenails.

“I don’t even know what all that stuff is,” she protested. She’d never paid attention to Ylenia’s witchy stuff. “I can’t find all your stuff.”

“I’ll give you a list and descriptions,” Ylenia said, moving around the table. “This is actually helpful. I was planning to sneak out tonight to pick up some things.” She pulled out a list from her grimoire and handed it to Shemika. “If you stay out a bit longer after finding everything, you can say they were hard to find.”

Shemika stared at the list, shocked. “But I don’t want to. We could just hide out for a week.”

“I don’t think so,” Ylenia said, returning to her book. “They’ll want proof that you’re productive in our partnership.”

~Damn.~ She was right. Shemika had to show them she did things. Even if they were minimal. “Fine, I’ll get them,” she said, unfolding the list. “What the hell, Ylenia. This is a lot of stuff.”

Ylenia frowned. “There are two things I really need. They’re at the top. If you don’t have time for all of it, at least get the first two. ~Especially~ the first one.”

Shemika scowled at the paper. “Can I wait to get the ingredients?” She really wanted to put it off. She hadn’t had breakfast or coffee yet.

“No, you should go now,” Ylenia said quickly. “I can’t start my charm with someone staring at my house.”

Shemika knew she would say that and was worried about the trip.