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"Well, you’d better start.” My voice rang with confidence. This time she didn’t roll her eyes or call me a liar, she just busied herself buttoning up the shirt I lent her, tying it at the bottom. My alpha rumbled a little at the sight and she rolled her eyes.

Just then her stomach growled and that got a laugh from both of us.

Prue play hit me and said, "I told you I was hungry. My lunch was abandoned."

A red-headed woman rushed towards us with a to go box in hand. She was yelling out to Prue as she somehow managed to stay upright on her heels. She stopped just short of dumping the food all over my little witch and smiled brightly at my omega.

"I had them pack it up. Did you even get a bite in?" she questioned.

"My shirt got more of the pizza than I did," Prue answered with a frown. I loved that she didn’t hesitate to open it up and take a huge bite. It was likely cold but she looked happy as she chewed it.

"And who is this?" her friend eyed me.

I held out a hand and introduced myself, "Rook Sinclair, curse expert extraordinaire."

She giggled as she shook it. "I’m Blake. Cute, cursed, and Prue's best friend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been called in to help Prue here, so you'll be seeing more of me around town."

Blake muttered something that sounded like, "You bet I'd like to see more." but it was too low for me to register.

“Shut up,” Prue hissed at her best friend, looking completely mortified.

I pretended not to hear them. Unfortunately, her best friend bringing her lunch meant I wasn’t quite as useful as I had been a few minutes ago. I’d had visions of bringing her back inside and being the dashing knight in shining armor.

“So, Mr. Big Shot Curse Expert, are you going to the bazaar?” Blake asked as she sized me up. Normally I’d eat up the attention, but now I only had eyes for my little witch.

“The bazaar?” I questioned. “I haven’t heard anything about it, but I've only been in town a day.”

“Just because we’re cursed doesn’t mean we don’t like shopping,” Prue teased. “The town goes all out for these events. A few times a year we have several magistrate-approved merchants that come in. Some try to sneak in cursed objects as well, so you have to be careful what you buy. For the most part it’s just fun little trinkets, clothes, and things like that. It’s a good time, though. They make a whole festival out of it.”

“I take it you’ll be going?” I asked, not trying to be rude to Blake, but mostly talking to Prue.

“Of course, I am,” she said, those pretty, light purple eyes focused on me. They were captivating and I couldn’t help but wonder if her curse affected them or her magic. I’d never seen anyone with that color before. “I’ve been looking for a certain list of items. I always hope that they’ll have them on hand. Surely, the gods have to take pity on me at some point, right? Plus, Blake and I have our own stall to sell our wares.”

The fact she could muster any hope after the shit she’d been through showed the witch’s tenacity. She had humor, a pinch of sarcasm, and was smart as a whip. She was, honestly, everything I could have hoped for in an omega.

If only I could scent her properly.

“What items might those be?” She had my curiosity piqued again. Maybe this was where I’d find myself being useful to her. I wasn’t used to chasing down omegas, especially ones at least five years younger, but I was hooked.

“As much as I’d love to sit and listen to all this,” Blake said, holding her hands up, “ignorance is bliss when it comes to these experiments. I’m off to work. Too-da-loo, witches.”

She gave a little finger wave before heading off, leaving me and my omega alone.

“You really care that much about helping me?” Prue questioned. “What did they offer you?”

“I’m a curse expert, remember?” I said, exasperated. “I’m going to need you to stop thinking the worst of me. There was obviously compensation, they hired me on to help, but I’m still genuinely here with good intentions. You aren’t the only one I want to help here.”

“Who else?” It wasn’t harsh, just open and curious. I liked that she didn’t hold back with me.

“My brother,” I admitted. “He’s being sent here. I tried for years to keep him off their radar but he was tired of hiding.”

The familiar pang of regret hit me.

“Sorry, that must have been hard,” she said gently.

“It is, but I’m here to help both of you. To figure out how to give everyone back to a normal life,” I said, trying to put conviction in my tone so she’d believe me. It was killing me that she thought I was untrustworthy.