A month later, at a large lake in the pack’s territory, Savage and Thea were married in a triple wedding. Drew and Anne were married, as were Cannon and Lynne. Thea had looked amazing in a beautiful white dress, carrying a bouquet with the Spike-Tipped Apple Blossoms nestled among yellow and pink roses. Savage had thought he was happy when he met her and mated her, but marrying her had set his bar for happiness at a much higher level.
He’d settled into the coven easily. He’d only ever been a protector for the prowl, so his skills centered around fighting. He’d wondered what he’d do, thinking he’d be helping Thea in her parents’ store. But instead of that, he’d been invited by Drew to teach self-defense to shifters at the private school in town. He and Cannon taught classes to the kids who attended the school so they would learn how to control their beasts and defend themselves and their people in either form. After school, he helped Arthur with odd jobs around the shop, from inventorying the various herbs used in spell casting, to cleaning out the attic space that was covered in an inch of dust and had, as far as he could tell, not been touched in a decade or longer.
He sneezed, sending up a puff of dust that set him off into a sneezing fit.
“Bless you!” Thea called from down below where she was grinding herbs for a spell with a mortar and pestle.
“Thanks,” he said, rubbing his nose and waving his hand in the air to dispel the dust.
He’d been working in the attic for a couple hours that afternoon and had unearthed a box of old books. He cataloged them into the tablet that Arthur gave him to log the items found, and then he carried the water-stained box down the ladder at the back of the store.
“Check it out,” he said as he set the box on the counter near Thea.
She put the pestle down and peered over his shoulder. “What’s in there?”
“Old books.”
He lifted the books out one by one and Thea made interested humming sounds as she looked at each one. She lifted one that was titled “Spell Casting for New Witches” and opened the hardcover. The leather creaked and dust shimmied from the binding.
“Wow, this is really old.” She set the book on the counter and pointed to the inscription, which read “To Justine, on your confirmation day. Many blessings, Grandma.”
“Do you know who Justine is?”
Thea shook her head. “My parents might know.”
“Might know what?” Luanda asked as she walked out of the back room.
Thea showed her the book.
“I think she was from the generation before ours. This book is about a hundred years old.”
“Is the confirmation day something to do with your powers?” Savage asked.
“No, it’s when a young witch is officially welcomed into the coven. It happens around age sixteen. The custom is for the newly welcomed member to be given a spell casting book by their oldest living family member.”
“Before the confirmation,” Thea said, “I had some kids’ spell books, but we’re not given anything serious to cast until we’re old enough to be able to understand the spells and their consequences.”
Savage nodded. He’d only been with the coven a short while, but he’d learned so much about spell casting. Thea was a great teacher, always willing to help him understand more about her people and their powers. He’d been wholly impressed by her family’s powers during the ceremony, and although he didn’t have an ounce of magical ability, he liked learning about his amazing, talented wife.
“What was the first spell you cast once you were confirmed?”
She smiled. “It was a fire spell, to light the bonfire and change the colors of the flames.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes, and I was able to make the flames several different colors before I grew weary from the power I used and had to close the spell.”
“I’d love to see that sometime.”
She turned to a set of candles on the counter and whispered a string of words in what he’d come to think of as the “witch language.” The candles flared to life, then their colors changed as she twirled her fingers over the tops of them. From yellow to a deep purple to a fiery red before she extinguished them.
“It’s much more impressive in a bonfire.”
He kissed her cheek. “I thought that was pretty damn cool, actually.”
After stealing a real kiss from his wife, he put the books on a shelf in the shop’s library so that Arthur and Luanda could go through them and decide if they wanted to sell them or keep them for the coven’s use. Then he headed back up to the attic.
It amazed him still how much things had changed for him. It seemed like yesterday that he was worried about the Mate Hunt and Sybil finding him despite his good hiding place. Because he’d taken a chance and exposed himself to save Thea from her fall, he’d ended up being a catalyst to the change for not only his prowl but also the pack and the coven. All three groups now got together once a month to discuss issues concerning their people. The witches would cast spells for anyone who needed them, the wolves and jaguars would trade animal hides and butchered meat, and the kids all mingled together. After the first tri-group get together a week earlier, four people had found their mates – a witch and wolf, and a wolf and a jaguar. It pleased Savage to no end that his people had been willing to join with the wolves and witches and strengthen their alliances. None of the groups were alone now, and that’s what mattered.
Thea popped her head up and smiled at him. “Wanna go get lunch?”
He looked at his watch. “Lunch? It’s after five.”
“I mean lunch.” She wiggled her brows.
His cat sat up in interest. He scooted to the edge of the attic opening and smiled at her, lowering his head to kiss her. “Did I tell you today that I love you and your amazing ideas?”
“Yep, but a girl never gets tired of hearing it.”
He kissed her again. “I love you, Thea Bayle. Gorgeous witch. Suggester of awesome ideas.”
She smiled sweetly, her eyes glowing with happiness. “I love you, too. Let’s go.”
They hurried from the store, stopping only long enough to say a hasty goodbye to her parents. He couldn’t get her home fast enough.
As they tumbled to the bed, his cat purring in his mind, he was grateful for everything that had happened to him to bring him to this place. He wished he’d known her years ago, but fate was all about timing. She came into his life at the perfect moment, and he was going to spend the rest of his life thanking his lucky stars that she’d fallen into his arms.