Aw, shit.
Magic leaned against the doorjamb trying to come up with a believable answer. But he didn’t want to lie to her.
“I have excellent hearing,” he said quietly, not quite able to look her in the eye.
“I’d say.” She crossed her arms, skeptical. “Something interesting happened today when I was talking to Beth.”
Magic quirked an eyebrow in question.
“It was just me and her. I was all but whispering and she cranked up the music like someone would hear me.”
“What were you talking about?”
Josie stiffened. “None of your business. My point is, she was worried. I guess because…” Her brow lifted. “People around here have excellent hearing?”
Magic grabbed the back of his neck, squeezing at the tension there. “Yeah. That sounds about right.”
“Mmm.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Know what else happened?”
Magic glanced at her, meeting her narrowed gaze for a half a second before looking away. “What’s that?”
“I went to the kitchen to get food after our run, and I met Clara.” She paused, but he didn’t give her anything. “Human Clara.”
Magic’s head snapped up, pinning her with his gaze.
“I’m sure you know who I’m talking about. Seems you two have bad blood between you. She said a lot of strange things before Eagan came back in the room.”
Magic fumed. The human had no right to reveal their secrets. Shit like that could end in the kind of trouble that would send them packing. Running for new mountains where no one knew what they were. It could destroy everything the clan had worked so hard for. Safety, security, and a home.
“What did she tell you?” he snarled, prowling forward.
Josie jerked her head back in surprise. “Calm down, big boy. She sounded crazy. She thought I was privy to whatever information she spouted, but it was just… nonsense.”
His chest heaved as he towered over her, needing more information. He could sense the shock and confusion at his sudden harsh reaction to her words, and he regretted it. The slight smell of fear on her was all wrong. Josie was fearless. He knew that about her.
“E-Eagan said I needed to talk to Beth about it, but she was busy putting Rhys to bed. I tried to find Ryan, but he wasn’t in his room. Shit, Magic. What’s going on here?”
He’d have to tell her. He didn’t have a choice.
He thought of Bethany, and how sad she’d been lately. He could only hope this didn’t make things worse for the female. But as much as he hesitated to admit it, Josie was one of them. She’d been around long enough to be trusted, and she deserved to know who she was brushing shoulders with.
Besides, crazy Clara had left him with no choice in the matter.
“Sit down,” he ordered, his thoughts rolling with the easiest way to do this.
Josie snorted. “Why? I’d rather stand.”
“Trust me, woman. You want to sit for this.”
Her eyes went wide and the scent of fear was replaced by a spark of fight. “Woman? Did you just call me woman?”
Magic frowned at the change in her. Frowned at the fact that he liked it, her defying him. He didn’t like anyone defying him. It was often a problem with so many alpha males around, but for some reason it was different with Josie.
“Yes. I did. You have a problem with it?”
Her hands went to her hips, planting just above where her body curved to make room for her ass. “Sure do,” she snapped.
“What should I call you then, princess?”
Her eyes narrowed. “How about just Josie?”
“Sorry. That doesn’t work for me. I need something else for when I’m really feeling it and your name just won’t cut it.”
“Feeling what exactly?”
“It.”
“It?”
“Yeah. It.”
Her jaw worked while she glared at him, and he found himself wanting to smile. He was an elevator of emotions tonight, the damn thing making a stop on every level from furious to amused to heartbroken.
“Fine. What should I call you when I’m feeling it?”
Magic shrugged. “Sir.”
“Sir,” she squeaked. “Sir?”
“Sir makes sense to me.”
“Oh? And why is that? You want to own me?”
Her words zinged right to his cock, slamming his mouth closed.
He… he did want that he realized. Maybe he’d wanted that for a long fucking time. Maybe since that first day he’d met her so many Christmases ago. He wanted Josie to be his, and only his. And it was a hard truth to accept, because for the past ten years, his goal was to collar any of his physical needs to the point that they didn’t matter. He owed it to Mandi to remain faithful. To give her the promise in death he should have given her in life.