Chapter 67

Chapter 67

T he howling began before she was even halfway down the block.

It started with a single Wolf, but it was quickly picked up by another, and then another. Fey tried not to smile, as the evening around her erupted with Wolf song.

The bouncer hadn't even spoken to her—just opened the door, wide-eyed—and gestured her inside. The Last Drop wasn't open for the night, not yet. The sun had just disappeared over the horizon, and the red and yellow fingers of sunset still stretched across the skyline.

"Hello Jasper," Fey said as she approached. Her voice was a strangled, dry thing even now. It would recover with time, Joy had assured her. And the marks on her neck, a perfect imprinted burn from Lilith's hand, would fade.

Jasper's face split into a wolfish grin at the sight of her.

"Welcome back," he told her, green eyes sparkling as he looked her up and down. And then, as though remembering something, he snapped his fingers. "I have something for you."

"Oh?" She laughed, and she realized she was genuinely happy to see him. Genuinely happy to share in his company. To be in this seedy, ridiculous club, surrounded by Wolves .

He mixed the drink with the speed that only comes from years of practice behind the bar and passed it over to her. The red, bubbly drink topped with a cherry instantly made her laugh.

"A Shirley Temple. What a surprise," she said, taking a sip. The drink was blissfully cold and soothed her throat as she drank, but there was something new in this one. She moaned. Sweet, and delicious, and very alcoholic.

"Not quite," Jasper told her, eyes sparkling. "It's my twist on a Shirley Temple, in your honor. I call it a Witch's Temple."

"Oh, Jasper," Fey gasped. "I could just kiss you; this is incredible."

His smile widened. "I wouldn't stop you," he said, leaning forward over the bar. But his eyes shifted from her to something over her shoulder, and that flirtatious grin fell to a smirk.

"Hello, Witchling," Alastair said from behind her, and Fey's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. His fingers teased the skin of her neck. "I've missed you."

"Hello Alastair," Fey said, smiling. She leaned back into him, savoring the rich smell of his skin. "I guess you managed to convince me after all."