All Chapters of Barren? Honey, I'm Just Getting Started: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

- WILLOWThe bell above the door rang, and Sal looked up from a pile of rusted pocketknives. "Back so soon, kid?"I leaned both hands on the glass counter, still breathing a little heavily from my brisk walk across the district. "I need something to mask my scent completely. A real scent blocker. Some heavy-nosers dropped by the diner yesterday, and my ex hired a tracker to find me."Sal clicked his tongue, shoving a knife back into the display case. "Casual snoops are easy to fool with bacon grease and bleach. A hired hound? Not so much. Standard blockers won't cut it if he catches a direct breeze.""So what do I do?" I asked. "You got something under the counter or what?""Ain't got shit for high-grade scent nulls," Sal said, pulling a stubby pencil out from behind his ear. He grabbed a scrap of brown paper bag and scribbled an address down in thick charcoal lead. "Go down to 9th Street. Look for a cellar door next to the fish market. Ask for Maeve.""A witch?" I raised an eyebrow,

- WILLOWThe clay pot hit the iron burner with a heavy clunk.I stood over the stove in my small, drafty kitchen, watching the water come to a slow roll before dropping two heaped spoonfuls of Maeve’s dark, bitter powder straight into the kettle. The smell was awful, like burnt roots, wet gravel, and sour river mud.For six straight days, this had been my morning ritual.I leaned both palms against the cold laminate counter, taking a deep breath and letting the steam hit my face. My joints ached, and my stomach churned every time the dark slurry settled in my throat, but the fog in my head was finally clearing out. Five years of Callum’s mother and the pack healer forcing synthetic hormones and heavy fertility teas down my neck were finally washing out of my bloodstream.I looked down at my hands. The slight tremor in my fingers was gone. My skin looked healthier, and when I pulled on my worn denim jeans, they hugged my hips comfortably without squeezing too tightly. My body wasn't

- WILLOWMy skin went ice cold, but I didn't let my knees buckle. I kept my hand wedged deep inside my jacket pocket, my thumb flicking the cork stopper off Maeve’s glass vial of blinding dust."You've got the wrong woman, asshole," I snapped, raising my voice just enough to sound angry instead of terrified. "I don't know who the hell Willow is, but I've got a five-minute walk home and zero patience for street trash."The lead guy gave a quiet, mocking laugh. He was a well-built man, with a thick neck and the distinct, heavy-footed stance of an Ashbourne enforcer. Callum’s elite dogs."Cut the crap," the guy on my left growled, stepping closer until I could smell the stale tobacco on his breath. "Alpha Callum sent us to drag your fat ass back to the territory. You've had your little vacation in the mud. Now move before we make it painful.""Touch me and see what happens," I said, my jaw clenching.I pulled my hand slightly out of my pocket, angling the open mouth of the vial right towa

- WILLOWThe leather seat was way too soft, and the silent rumble of the car engine was starting to give me a headache. Outside, the pitch-black trees kept flying past like giant dark spikes.Noah was staring out his side of the window, his jaw working tight like he was chewing on glass. He leaned his head back against the headrest, turning his grey eyes toward me."So," he spoke in a low, heavy pitch. "What actually happened over there, Willow? Five years with Callum Kaur in the Ashbourne pack. What was your life like in that pack?"I tugged at a loose thread on the cuff of my faded jacket, shrugging one shoulder. "You mean before I ran? Standard high-pack bullshit. I was the useless, low-rank wife who couldn't pop out an heir. Spent half my time swallowing foul fertility teas from their pack doctors and the other half staying out of Callum's way."Noah’s eyes went dark, the irises dilating until they were almost solid black. The temperature inside the car dropped five degrees in a s

- WILLOWWe pushed through the heavy wooden doors at the end of the private corridor, stepping into the warmer, quiet halls of the west wing. The air in this part of the palace felt entirely different, smelling of fresh lavender, sweet jasmine, and warm wax candles.My socks hit the thick crimson carpet in total silence, but my heart was doing eighty miles an hour inside my chest.Noah stopped in front of a pair of massive double doors made of carved white oak, brass handles shaped like blooming roses. He reached out, his long fingers hovering just an inch over the cold metal."This is it," he murmured softly, turning his grey eyes down toward me. "Her quarters are right through here."Right as he was about to push the heavy wood open, a sharp, buzzing vibration rattled inside my canvas bag. It hit twice, short and hard against my hip.I froze. I reached into the side pocket and pulled out the cheap plastic burner phone. The dim blue screen lit up my palm in the darkened hallway.One