Chapter 15

Fifteen

Two days and no more answers than when I started.

Looking into blood magic was a little like trying to find ultra-specific porn on the internet. No one talked about it.

And I couldn't either. Because Aphrodite's interest might have been ignored or overlooked, but mine wouldn't be.

I might have no interest in practicing myself, but I have just enough skill and a little too much power for the coven to have let that go with a sidelong glance.

This time, I turned my phone's ringer on, and the constant stream of conversation with the guys kept me from falling too hard into my research.

Even still. I needed a breather, and they wanted me back for game night, round two.

The pavement sounds odd beneath my tires as I turn onto the highway, but that's probably just because I don't have music on. There was a magpie circling the car when I went to leave. Making me think I might be getting a call on the way.

And as usual, paying attention pays off.

My phone goes off as I pass the rock company's warehouses.

I press the button on my dash to answer.

"Hi Elle."

"Hey yourself." She lets out a long sigh. "Your mom is so weird."

"What did she do this time?"

"She's put a gag order on me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"She's gone into ‘gotta hide it' mode about your were-friends. And she's made me swear on pain of death that I won't say anything to anyone about them. As if I would."

I make a noise of agreement, distracted as I pass the flashing lights of a patrol car, but it's the local police, not the sheriff looking to plague someone else.

I hadn't realized I'd crossed into the town's borders yet.

"I want to meet them." Elaria's statement was firm enough it brought my full attention back to her… well, her and the road ahead of me.

"I'm sure you do."

She lets the line go silent long enough I know she's probably glaring at me through it. "You give me a day… or I'll show up randomly."

"Alright. I'll figure out what's going to work best and you can come scope them out."

"Promise?"

"I swear to Hecate."

"Good." She sounds pleased for the first time in the call. "Where are you driving to?"

"The guys' house. They do game night on Wednesday… a ritual I think I'm going to enjoy a lot." Missing it last week had been an odd disappointment.

"That's nice." There's a wistfulness to her tone, but before I can ask her what's up, she shakes it off and in a much too cheery voice says, "Well! You have fun. I will talk to you tomorrow. Don't wear your vagina out too quickly!"

And she hangs up on me with a strangled laugh.

And when I pull up in front of the guys' house, I'm still shaking my head.

Elaria's sense of humor trends toward vulgar often enough, it's brought down a few other gag orders from my mother.

The door opens before I can get out of my car, and the shadow there shifts from foot to foot.

I imagine the rain is the only reason he hasn't come down the stairs to get me himself.

As soon as I'm close enough, Johnny reaches for me, pulling me to him and twirling me into the house. "Hello, wicked girl."

"Hey yourself." I kiss him and he holds onto me a little longer than necessary, kicking the door closed. "Anybody bite you at work this week?"

"Not yet."

"I got bit yesterday." Thomas watches us from the doorway to the living room, leaning against the frame.

"Sometimes, his job is more dangerous than mine." Johnny takes my bag and spins me around, nudging me into Thomas' arms and I'm off the ground again.

"Welcome back." Thomas keeps me tight against him, holding me up so my feet dangle.

"You guys aren't tired of me yet?"

"How could we ever get tired of you?"

"You're not wearing boots." Johnny says and I look down to where he now sits, looking at my feet.

"I knew I'd be taking them off once I got here… The fewer laces, the better, right?"

He doesn't look like he agrees with me on that, but he slips off my shoes and as soon as they're gone, Thomas turns, not setting me down again until we're in the kitchen.

Johnny follows and washes his hands as the other two come to say hello.

"What games are we going to play tonight?" I ask as Chase brushes his lips across mine.

He smiles, nipping at my lip before pulling back with a wide grin. "I brought in the spinner."

I look at Joshua. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

His lips find that soft spot just beneath my ear. "You'll see after dinner."

"Oh? And what are we eating?"

"Sushi." Johnny says with a flourish. There are nearly a dozen little plastic containers on the table, tops popped and soy sauce poured. "I got plenty of no-meat options."

But the one big tray is lined with sashimi. So no one is going to go hungry.

I let myself be guided to the table, squeezing in to the bench and knocking knees.

"Ms. Ling asked if you were going to be eating with us." Johnny said as he passed out chopsticks. "Apparently, you are the only one in town who ever orders Nasu Nigiri."

"They are my favorite."

"Noted." Johnny reaches in and grabs one. Popping the whole thing in his mouth and winking at me.

Joshua swats the back of his hand with the chopsticks. "We don't eat like animals."

"Not anymore." Chase agrees with a chuckle.

The dark of the windows behind me will keep this brightly lit kitchen on display throughout the night. I look over my shoulder.

"Aren't you worried Mrs. Miller will see the party and come bustling over with a wet blanket?"

"She is at church for Wednesday night service." Chase says, but he still glances toward the house as if he's not quite sure.

"No doubt praying for the redemption of our souls." Joshua looks at the ceiling as if he's got prayers of his own. "Do you know she tried to pull me aside yesterday and give me a cross? She wanted me to touch you with it to prove you were possessed by the devil."

"Possessed by him? Not fornicating with him?"

"She wanted me to ‘burn your sinful body with the cross and then I'd see.'"

"I mean, I think we can all agree with Mrs. Miller on one thing. Your body is sinful." Thomas takes my hand, pulling it to his lips and kisses my palm. "How many sins do you think we can cover tonight?"

"Oh, we'll get through the basics, at the very least."

Laughing, we settle into easier subjects for the rest of the meal. And they run a series of questions by me, straight through until we all help to clear the table.

Will I go to the game again on Friday? Yes.

Could I turn someone into a rodent? No. Maybe. It's complicated.

The questions continued down the same road… vaguely tame. But they got quiet after we'd put the last of the three small leftover containers in the fridge.

"Why do I feel like the next question might be a doozy?"

"It's not." Joshua, ever the spokesperson of the group says, "It's just one we really care about the answer to.

"Okay, shoot."

"We'd like for you to be our girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" I repeat the word, not enjoying the way it rolls on my tongue.

When they look nervous, I say, "I don't object to the idea, just the terminology."

"Then what would you like us to call you?" Chase asks, looking like he'd be happy to use any word I want. "What term can we use to designate you are our romance partner?"

"I have an idea." Johnny picks me up.

And Thomas actually groans. "Down, boy."

"It's a great idea and I get to pitch it." He twirls me around. "How about we call you ‘Our witch.' That way, when the time comes, you'll be able to yell ‘I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!' at one of us when we do something silly."

Thomas says his name under his breath.

"We are not trying to push you into anything too fast," he says it to me, but his glare doesn't leave Johnny.

"I'm not suggesting there's any problem with a quick courtship. My parents got married after a month." I kiss Johnny on the nose and turn back to the rest of them. "There are four of you… let's at least wait four months before we jump in feet first."

The way Johnny nods… he might pressure the other three for a January thirty-first proposal.

I can only laugh at the absurdity of it.

"But we're dating, now, right?" Chase asks.

He's standing back, hands in his pockets, watching me carefully.

"Yes. We're dating." Not that I'd had any intention of looking for anyone else to spend time with. I move away from the others and step into Chase's arms. "I think we can officially say you're all mine."

Johnny hurries into the other room and Joshua watches him go. "I hope you know… you're probably going to see at least one of us a day from now on."

"I'm more than okay with that."

A clatter echoes from the back, and Johnny emerges, holding a rough, wooden object. When he sits it on the counter, I get a good look at it.

It's the spinner.

The wheel is all sliced up like a pie and between each line, there's a different game name.

Clue, Sorry, Scrabble… and what I can only guess is Hearts, based on the five hearts drawn down the slice, fill a piece of the pie along with a dozen others.

"Tada" Johnny says, spinning the wheel and letting it clack through.

I look up at Chase. "Let me guess. It's originally for bar games."

"Charity events mostly." He steers me to it. "Do the honors and pick the first game?"

I give it tentative spin, but it clacks all the way around and lands on Boggle.

"Yes!" Johnny punches a fist in the air. "I'm great at this."

With a chuckle, I pat him on the chest. "You guys set up, I've got a piece of rice or something stuck." I wave vaguely at my mouth and slip into the foyer, grabbing my purse before I check on my teeth in the mirror.

It's a sesame seed. Pale white, it doesn't stand out glaringly against my teeth, but it is certainly annoying.

I slip into the hall bathroom and dig out my tooth brush. They could use a good scrub after all that soy sauce, anyway.

I leave my bag in the hallway. I won't need it in the kitchen.

But on my way back, a chill brushes over my skin, and I stop in the foyer, trying to locate the source.

It's not a draft.

Aside from the fact I highly doubt Joshua would allow that in their home, this feeling was like seaweed slicking over my skin.

Not evil in and of itself, but vaguely malicious, perhaps only in the recesses of my imagination. Its existence is not a figment.

I feel it tugging at me, a tiny coil pulling me closer…

If I hadn't been looking for it, I would never have seen it.

A flat, carved piece of wood, half buried in the potted plant nestled against the window.

I yank it from the soil and my fingertips tingle with the magic spelled into it.

It's a token.

And it has very clearly been placed here where it will stay out of sight. But it hasn't gone unnoticed.

The phases of the moon are carved into the surface, an enchantment making the pale wood shimmer when turned at just the right angle.

I snap it in half and a cold slither finds its way down my spine.

Someone is keeping tabs on my wolves… and I'm not about to leave them unprotected.