Mike walked into Jitterhouse and was surprised to find Jackie Oceans at the counter. They’d become friends in art school, they shared several drawing classes, though she focused on photography while he went for graphic design. She usually worked a later shift.
Roxy wasn’t there yet, so he leaned against the counter.
Jackie looked up from her sketch pad with a smile. “Hey, Mike. Haven’t seen you around lately.”
He rolled a shoulder in a shrug. “Been a bit of a recluse, but you could say I’m finding myself.”
“Good to hear. Hey, I can’t confirm it, but the rumor is Amanda’s back and has been asking around about you.”
Do vampires come out in the day? He decided to ask Gwen later.
“If you see her, please don’t tell her where to find me. Maybe it’s harsh, even selfish, but I have no interest in rehashing the past. I’m over her, and no good can come from a discussion.”
“Your secret is safe with me. As for harsh? I don’t think so. You need a woman who isn’t going to run away because she blames you for problems she caused herself.”
“Agreed, now, let’s talk about anything else while you make mine and Roxy’s drink. My sister should be here anytime.”
He really hoped she would show up, and not bail, but there was always the possibility she might change her mind. Discussing the situation in front of Trevor wasn’t ideal, but if it came down to it, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
“She’s finally back from her honeymoon?”
“Mmhmm. She enjoyed herself.” He smiled slightly. “They moved at the speed of light, but it works.”
Jackie grinned. “Seems to me you’re feeling something you haven’t in a while.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Your smile is brighter than I think I’ve ever seen. Plus, you are more open than usual. Symptoms that come with finding the person who makes you more yourself.”
“You could say that. I’m not sure where we’re going, but we’re open to exploring each other.”
“Good for you.”
“What about you? Find anyone who does that for you?”
Her head shook slightly. “Eddie doesn’t count. He’s working up the courage to propose to his girlfriend.”
“Well, that might be a blessing. Took Isa admitting what she always felt for Toryn for me to finally let her go. Maybe Eddie needs to take that next step with Kim before you can move on.”
“Yeah.” She drew a slow breath and frowned as she made the drinks. “It sucks. One part of me wants to kick him out so I can find a man who’ll love me that way, the other keeps holding on to the possibility. Same damn situation.”
“You ever want to talk, I’ll always listen.”
Jackie lifted her hand in a wave as Roxy stepped inside. His sister had a unique essence he’d learned since she’d been back. He turned to find her chewing her lip, hands stuffed in her pockets.
“Hey, Sis. You okay?”
She shook her head. “Caught that message, huh?”
Jackie pretended like she wasn’t listening, but Mike knew she couldn’t resist.
Mike paid and grabbed their drinks. “Thank you, Jackie.”
“Anytime, Mike.”
He carried their coffee to the farthest booth from the counter. No one else was there at the moment. It was after the early morning rush but before the late one.
“Why back here?” Roxy whispered as she slid into the booth.
Mike climbed in beside her. “Want to make sure we aren’t overheard. Someone might think we’re a couple nuts who need white coats.”
Roxy smiled sadly. “Good point.”
“So, a baby?”
“With me being a werewolf, the full moon will kill it.”
Mike put his arm around his sister and she leaned into him with a sniffle.
“Hey, Rox,” he murmured, “I talked to Tremaine last night. I think we should go visit him. Apparently, there’s a chance you can have this little one, and not lose him or her. We need to visit him. With or without Trevor.”
“Why did you call a mage for a werewolf problem?” she asked softly.
“He has all those books. You could probably do some research for your writing there.”
Roxy leaned back to look up at him. “So you know about how all this works?”
“Not exactly.” He sighed. “Look, Gwen’s helping me figure out my stuff. When we got back to my place, I told her what you hid in the poem, and she made the call to Tremaine. Apparently, you’re not the first one with this predicament. Now, the question is, do you want Trevor to come with us? Or do you want to leave him here?”
“On one hand, if I bring him, he won’t freak out. He has history though. He’s uh… shit… don’t freak, but he’s more than a hundred years older than me.”
Mike nodded. “Yeah. Not really surprised. Your point?”
Roxy blinked. “He was married before he was changed. His wife had a ton of miscarriages. When she finally carried a baby to term, it was stillborn. She died in labor.”
“That’s rough. I don’t know, Rox. He’s your husband. What do you think?”
“Maybe I should see Tremaine first. Then have Tremaine explain it to him.”
“I have an idea. Maybe.” He took a slow breath and attempted to accept the craziness he was about to suggest. “How about you call Joey and Trevor and have them train me in my tiger shape. You and Tremaine, maybe even Gwen, can talk. We can meet up afterward.”
Roxy smiled slowly. “You two went there last night, didn’t you?”
He gave her a warning look. “You’re not going to get all growly on me, are you?”
“After she sent Amanda packing, I kind of like her—a lot.”
Mike nodded. “I can’t resist her. She brings out the best in me.”
“I was starting to wonder if you’d ever let go of you-know-who.”
“Ugh, can we not dwell on that? I knew I couldn’t have her.”
“But you can have Gwen.”
“It’s not even about that. She’s not anything like Isa. I don’t want Isa. She scratched an itch.”
“Eww… don’t need to hear that from my big brother.”
“Trevor obviously scratched yours well enough to knock you up.”
Roxy combed her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath as her gaze drifted out the window. “Really think I can do the impossible?”
“Well, Tremaine doesn’t seem think it’s impossible, so have hope. Whatever happens, I’m here for you. Like always.”
Roxy squeezed his hand. “A girl couldn’t ask for a better brother.”
“Don’t be scared.”
She snorted. “You try having a bun in your oven, knowing it’s not supposed to happen in your present state, when your husband already lost a wife to similar circumstances.”
“You got this. Nothing’s happening to you.” He pulled her back for a hug. “You want this, right?”
She nodded. “I never wanted a rascal until Trevor, and not even then, until they told me I couldn’t.”
“But you have one.”
“I feel bad for the rest of them.” She sighed, closing her eyes.
“Your baby is going to be loved by all of us. Don’t worry about that.”
“I’ll call Trevor and get the guys ready. You call Gwen.”
“You got it.”
* * * *
“They won’t hurt him, will they?” Gwen asked Roxy as she pulled onto I-90.
“Nah, Trevor wouldn’t let them hurt my brother.” She turned and grinned at her. “And you say he shifts to a tiger?”
Gwen nodded. “Absolutely stunning tiger, and so soft.”
Roxy twisted in her seat. “Oh my god, he shifted for you?”
“Mmhmm.”
“He must trust you. I mean, he said Amanda left after he shifted.”
“Tremaine didn’t give him an option. It was unleash his magic or unleash his magic.” Gwen snorted. “Stubborn bastard, but he’s always right.”
“You’ve known him a long time, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, and yeah, I’m twice your brother’s age. No complaints. I know how old Trevor is.”
Laughing, Roxy shrugged. “I wouldn’t complain about that.”
“You aren’t still mad he kept his secret, are you?”
“Nah. I get it. It couldn’t have been easy. I know how bad Amanda fucked with his head.”
“He was worried about what you would think.”
“Yeah, I was worried what he would think about me, too.”
“At least it’s all out of the way.”
Roxy ducked her head. “Sorry about yesterday morning.”
Gwen laughed. “No worries. You were protecting your big brother.”
“I was bitchy.”
“You’re hormonal.” Gwen gave her a sideways smile. “Really, Roxy, don’t worry about it.”
“Well, thank you. I do appreciate everything you’re doing for Mike, and me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
* * * *
Me and my big fucking mouth. This was a really bad idea.
Joey cleared his throat and taunted, “So, why’d your girlfriend run off with Trevor’s wife?”
Trevor was tense. He knew something was up, but he wasn’t asking. Mike was beginning to wonder if he suspected.
“Well?” Joey asked again.
Sorcha shoved him. “Leave him alone, Babes.”
Mike looked back with a smirk. “You missed the commotion yesterday. Roxy is probably drilling Gwen for her intentions.”
Sorcha perked up. “You’re into the mage?”
“That’s an understatement. Look, it’s new. So let’s not go jinxing it. We’re not wolves, we don’t mate.”
“Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t mean you can’t fall hard and fast,” Sorcha pointed out.
“Doesn’t mean I have to promise undying love when I’m not ready.”
“So you are tumbling hard!”
“Give Mike a break,” Trevor said. “He has reason to be leery.”
“And Roxy didn’t kill Gwen?” Sorcha snorted.
He sighed. “Look, I’m not rehashing the past. You’re all taking me out to train me as a beast.”
“Which you’re still nervous about,” Trevor mumbled.
Mike sat back in his seat with a huff. “I told you what happened five years ago. Gwen has a point though. I need to learn how to control myself in that shape.”
“That’s what we’re here for.” Joey slapped Mike on the back.
“You can handle a tiger? Never mind, stupid question. You all have super-wolfie strength, don’t you?”
Joey nodded. “Aye, but not to worry. You’ll be fine. We’ll go easy on you. Roxy would have my balls if I hurt ya.”
Sorcha laughed. “Oi, can’t have that.”
Trevor shot a glance to Joey. “I’d watch out for Gwen. We hurt him, she’ll come after us, and she’s meaner than she looks.”
“Ooh, another feisty girl to add to the club.” Sorcha laughed.
Trevor announced, “We’re here. Now we need to wait on Shane.”
* * * *
The old tome sat in front of Cole. He’d been ready to start slow and test how well his theory would work, but Mike wouldn’t cooperate. The fool had finally gotten over his nitwit of a sister.
If only he’d known what Mike was years ago. However, until an old acquaintance started looking into Mike and his sister, he had no clue. He should have paid attention to Amanda’s ramblings the night she disappeared. Cole assumed it was the high talking, exaggerating everything. Mike had never seemed significant in the past, apparently by design.
Turns out, Mike had a secret, one he had help suppressing until recently. That meant his magic was ripe for the picking, and he wouldn’t even have to destroy the man to get it. At least, not completely.
Besides, the Council looked down on killing innocents, no matter how worthless, or how much could be gained.
He sat back in his chair and considered his options. Amanda was resisting him, and he was reluctant to take his power over her too far. She was already weak, and he was good at breaking errant toys, remolding them into puppets.
However, if he destroyed Amanda’s will she would be useless in collecting Mike and keeping him in check. He hoped he wasn’t too late.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise when Mike walked out after he brought up Amanda. Five years was a long time to pine for someone. He came begging once, and it took him a year to do that. Would Amanda’s constant presence be enough to sway Mike? He was beginning to doubt.
Cole walked to the armoire and opened the door. Josephine was perfectly preserved in a stasis spell. Technically dead, but frozen in time until he had a way to bring her back. If she hadn’t insisted on going after the artifact she would still be there with him.
“Darling, you know why I need the enchanted dagger. It’s the one way to safely pull magic from someone and keep it for myself.”
Cole sank into the chair before her. “But, love, the Silver Council still believe us dead. Going into the magister’s home will draw their attention.”
Her eyes glowed as she stared back. “It’s the only way to not become like one of their pathetic dark mages. Think about this. If I have that dagger, I can take their power one by one before we storm headquarters and rip the Council apart from the inside.”
She couldn’t squelch his worry. Josephine had already procured alibies for the two of them. She also found a way to get to South Carolina, and back, without being detected.
Yet, Cole knew something would go wrong.
He caressed her pristine cheek with a sigh. “My love, one day, you’ll come back to me in full health.”
Her death still impacted him. He’d been accused of being obsessed with Josephine. Admittedly, he knew it, but she was his everything.
They had made it all the way to Magister Draecyn’s vault, hidden deep in his basement. Actually, an underground fortress was a more appropriate description.
Josephine couldn’t contain her excitement as she walked past the final ward and rushed to the case holding the dagger. She threw the lid open and wrapped her hand around the engraved hilt. Josie fell, life leaving her body in an instant.
Cole caught her, weaving a stasis spell to preserve her body until he could find a way to bring her back. He’d been researching the spell for decades, and was close, but for Josephine he needed to perfect it.
The dagger was wrapped in her scarf, and protected in a spell to shield it from anyone’s touch. He couldn’t find any answers as to what it was supposed to do or why it had killed Josephine, but he knew she needed it so he kept it close to her.
His phone chimed, and he picked it up to find the message, Mike’s not in Seattle. Can’t find him.
Another day wouldn’t hurt, but he was losing patience. He typed back, Keep looking. He’s bound to turn up.