"Do you like me?" I asked. "Do you really like me?"
Imogen nodded. Water gathered at the edges of her eyes. "Yeah," she whispered, in a voice pained enough to crack my heart.
"Then let's...go out, after this," I said. "We'll go on a date. We can figure this out together, and we can take one step at a time. Okay?"
Imogen nodded again. I took her hands in mine. 
Heartwood: Forbidden is the tale of the young, headstrong Ophelia stepping into a world of magic and witches. At first it seems like her greatest challenge will be finding her Familiar or drawing her Implement from a great tree, but then she runs into Imogen, daughter and heir to the Magnolia family, and learns very quickly that romance and magic probably shouldn't be allowed to mix. If Ophelia plays the game well, she might be able to get the girl and still end up on top. But Ophelia has never been good at following the rules... 
Heartwood: Forbidden is created by EOK Gifford-Smith, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Heartwood: Forbidden

For all his talk of being okay in my absence, I could tell Olezhka was happy to see us return. I went straight for his enclosure, barely registering the exchange between Imogen and the zookeepers as she bought us new tickets.


He purred, and even separated by the glass I could feel the low rumble in my own chest. "That is good. Have you brought more witches?"


"No," I hesitated. "The Maples weren't very helpful."


"They have hurt us." Olezhka's eyes narrowed and his tail lashed angrily from side to side. "I can feel your anger."


"Yeah," I said, pressing my forehead against the glass and squeezing my eyes shut. "They... Their Matriarch. She scared me. She took something special to me and made it feel dangerous."


"I will kill her for this," Olezhka growled.


I smiled. "Not worth your time. Let's focus on getting you out of here."


Chapter 20: The Plot to Steal a Tiger