Standing, he offered his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Aurora took it, and that amazing jolt ran through her again. For a moment, it raised the question of fated mates again, but she quashed it as quickly as she could.
No sooner had they shaken hands than a knock sounded at the door. Aurora nearly jumped out of her skin, but Dane crossed past her and opened it. It was the bailiff, looking more than a little harried.
“Yes, Jerry?”
“The action in there finally died down.”
“Excellent.” Dane shot her a quick look, like he knew she was responsible for what happened in the courtroom. “So we’re good to proceed?”
“Actually, Mr. Abernathy hasn’t arrived.”
“Oh,” Aurora chimed in. “But he’s the lead witness for the prosecution.”
“Very well,” Dane said to the bailiff, “let the rest of the triune know. I’d like to see them so we can call a continuance until Mr. Abernathy is at hand.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jerry headed off down the hall, and Dane turned back to look at Aurora. Standing there tall and strong, framed in the doorway, that tickle wriggled in her stomach. And, in the courtroom next door, there was a single, crackling pop.
Nine
“I need a drink.”
The words so rarely fell from Aurora’s lips that the whole of Hollow House rang with them. Maybe because the house made it a point to let them echo just a little bit louder. Her roommates peeked as if to see if they had heard correctly. Even Nathan peered out of his basement, like a groundhog coming up to see if it was spring.
Not that a reason was ever truly necessary, but Kelly declared that the very fact Aurora had said it was cause for celebration. Within twenty minutes, they were all out in the solarium at the side of the house, howling with laughter. Even Ryan was there, everyone finally giving up the pretense that he and Nathan weren’t an item.
“Wait, what?” Tiffany rolled forward, coming dangerously close to spilling her beer all over her favorite black leggings.
“The wolf that was here?” Ronun shook his head lightly and raised his whiskey glass. “I’d be careful. The guy seemed like a creep to me.”
The word “creep” stuck under Aurora’s ribs, but she forced herself to smirk and nod.
“Right? Talk about coming on strong.” She took a deep gulp of wine, letting it filter over all the conflicting emotions in her stomach.
“He actually used the words ‘fated mates’? Like, he actually said that?” Tiffany let out a peal of laughter as Aurora nodded.
Despite the fact such incredulity was exactly what she wanted, the laughter stung a bit. Still, she could hear how bonkers it all was coming from her friend’s mouth. “I know, right? Completely crazy.”
“Damn straight.” Nathan lolled back in his seat.
Ryan sat folded up neatly on the paving stones, resting his arm on Nathan’s foot. Between the two of them, not to mention the way Kelly and Ronun were always linked up, a wee part of Aurora thought it might not be so bad.
“You really think so?” Ryan looked up into Nathan’s face, and the shirtless vampire registered a look of faint surprise.
“What, meeting some werewolf for the first time and having him telling you straight off that you’re ‘meant to be’? Yeah, I’d say that ranks pretty high on the insanity meter. Tacky, at the very least.” He took a long, slow sip of beer.
“I disagree.” Ryan folded his hands in his lap and his wings twitched. He had a vaguely distant look on his face and a small smile.
The mysterious joy of it cut right into Aurora’s heart, as if tickling at a secret she was keeping from herself. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I’d love to think that kind of thing is real.”
Nathan shifted almost imperceptibly, but Kelly piped in. She had that same smokey, wistful gaze.
“I mean, hello?” She rubbed a hand along Ronun’s thigh. “You had a front row seat to the whole thing. Remember?”
Ronun reached out and stroked Kelly’s hair. Again, the open shows of affection served to roil up everything Aurora was working to suppress.
“Anyway,” Kelly said as she propelled herself to her feet, “I need a fresh one. Anybody else while I’m up?”
“I’ll come with you,” Aurora said.
Given that Kelly had actually been through the whole fated-match thing, Aurora realized she had a moment for a private audience. They tripped back into the house and headed for the booze stash in the kitchen.
“So tell me,” Aurora said, splashing more wine into her glass, “how did you know?”
“What, about me and Ronun?” Kelly topped off his tumbler and pulled out a few more bottles of beer. “It’s not really easy to explain. Just that, whenever he was anywhere close, I’d get all weird. Like, tingly and shaky and that kind of thing. Not like I flopped around on the floor or anything, just a little vibration. Plus, he’s irresistibly hot, but I think I’m not the only one who sees that.”
Aurora laughed a little uneasily. All of it sounded more familiar than she liked to admit.
“But it’s just… I mean, he’s a wolf. And I’m a witch. I have a hard time figuring out how that’s gonna work.”
“So? Ronun was a gargoyle statue in Cora’s office before I ever found out what he really was. I think the kind of magic you live under doesn’t really factor into it.”
“Maybe, but witches don’t really do the whole fated mate thing.”
Kelly stepped in front of her and took Aurora by the shoulders. It was an oddly serious gesture for someone who tended to be so free-wheeling.
“Do yourself a favor. Don’t be so shortsighted when it comes to love. The fact that he’s a wolf isn’t as big a factor as you think.”
“But even with him saying all that the first time we met?”
“When you know, you know. Just don’t let your need to be in control of everything make this harder for you than it needs to be.” She probably didn’t mean it in an unkind way, but Kelly’s sudden appraisal of Aurora’s need for control pinched her.
“That’s easy for you to say,” she mumbled.
Defiance was so unfamiliar in her voice that Kelly shook her head as if she hadn’t heard correctly.
“What?”
“It’s easier for you.” Aurora heaved a sigh and then looked her friend full in the face. “Look, you’re a year away from inheriting a fortune. I mean, come on, you’ve already got this house. I don’t have anything like that.”
The wine had loosened her tongue and made her just a little bit maudlin.
“What I do have is a career, even if I’m only at the beginning of it. That’s the only way I’ll be able to make anything of my life, Kelly. And if I just go and let myself get all mixed up over some guy, I could lose what little I’ve got.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Kelly put an arm around Aurora’s shoulders and pulled her into an awkward little side hug. “You’re not gonna lose anything. In fact, you might run the risk of actually gaining something pretty great. Sure, I’ve got some money coming my way, so I can afford to fuck around a bit, but you’ve got something I’d kill for.”