1

I loved the day the bear pancakes were made. It brightened the mood of the coven house instantly and people just smiled. Even some of our sternest and most stressed-out people—myself included—smiled for breakfast and decorated their damn bears.

It was definitely one of the better decisions I'd made in an effort to reduce the stress of my people. We now had live cooking stations at most meals, a food truck we brought in, or some type of restaurant subsidizing service. I had wanted to do this after the tribunal we'd hosted months and months ago, but life just got in the way.

Though we had had a few of the food trucks help out since then. It just wasn't enough. I kept allowing more and more people into the coven and others to come under our protection.

Which meant more mouths to feed.

And I refused to kill my staff. The kitchen was only so large to feed so many, and there wasn't any room to expand it and seat all we needed to.

Not in a way that was safe.

So now we brought in outsiders with specialties. This team was from a shop that specialized in these sorts of fun pancakes from… I forgot. But the building managers brought them and their gear over, and they made good money to work the morning making tons of pancakes.

My coven had a blast with the pancake bar and decorating them once a month. Everyone won.

Even the angels.

Yes, the angels came for bear pancakes. I found that shocking as well but the part that made me fall out of my chair?

Michelle was the one who suggested it, pushed for it.

Yeah, really.

She accepted that she had a lot to learn about this world and should—and was now pushing for the other angels to do the same. Crazy.

But useful. Most of the angels were genuinely good people and helpful. At least they were grateful for all the gobs of food they were eating when they visited to learn more about this world and experience it.

But it was also a buffet of handsome and sexy men always around, and given I'd taken a break from sex… Things were challenging.

Hell, I was thinking the dirtiest of thoughts to the point I covered up the innocent faces of my bear pancakes that were watching me.

"Do you not like how you decorated them?" Helen asked as she sat down. She froze when I jumped and probably looked guilty from whatever was on my face and in my aura. She followed my gaze and then nodded. She put up a barrier over us and gave me a kind smile. "Soraya, it's been months. You said you stopped having sex with Hunt before Halloween, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"It's almost February." She hurried on when I opened my mouth. "Take all the time you need. If you want to put a hold on sex longer—then do it." She nodded to where the male angels were that I'd been staring at. "But clearly, you're ready to get back into things."

I let out a slow breath and cut into my pancakes, asking the question I'd been most scared of. "What if it's just more of the same? What if it all feels the same and nothing has changed?"

"What if you can't fix this with Hunt?" she said for me, waiting until I nodded. "I think you've already fixed it. You guys aren't acting like you were. I think you're closer than ever." She smiled when I glanced at her. "You are both so ridiculously in love and cute it's like a sugar rush. Or have sex with Brax. The angel is—"

"But if I do, it could hurt Hunt," I argued.

"You're going to hate my advice, but you need to talk this out."

She was right, I hated that advice. A lot.

Helen reached over and covered my hand. "Be honest and just tell them where you're at. Let them decide what they're ready for or able to handle. That's what I did with Tommy about his feelings for you and it all worked out in the end. We're in a great place and talking about moving in together." She beamed at me when I looked at her. "Talk to them."

"I'll try." I took in a deep breath and let it out. "I'll do it. Okay. Yeah, tonight." I jumped when Jerome basically knocked on Helen's barrier.

She chuckled and took it down, Jerome, Keegan, and Tommy joining us.

"Oh, right, Keegan and I are making you an elder, Helen," I said sweetly. I smirked as she spit her drink all over. Hey, if she was going to make me discuss my feelings… I could be evil as well.

"We all saw this coming," Jerome chuckled as Tommy tried to help Helen recover. "Hell, I was half expecting to be dragged in as well and…" He did a double take. "Mother. Fucker."

"I've been called worse but yes, you're joining next month. We don't want both of you together to say we're playing favorites."

"Yeah, a month apart will quiet people about that," he drawled. "Fuck, Soraya, I don't want to be an elder."

"Would you rather idiots take the seats?" I asked, gesturing between the two of them.

No. It was all over their faces. No and no.

Exactly.

I listened to the updates about how transferring responsibilities was going. Since they were stepping up to help me, their VPs were taking more on. We were also promoting more manager positions and support help for them so we weren't just dumping all of our stress down.

We might have been on a freeze expanding, but we weren't on a hiring freeze. Far from it.

And we were doing well on the idea of hiring humans on referral. The woman who owned the sandwich shop Hunt loved—her niece was doing great. We even employed a few psychics who had like no juice and just wanted out of the game now because of the problems. But they didn't have anyone to turn to or an exit plan because they were living paycheck to paycheck.

Two now worked for the coven helping with administrative tasks. One was the manager of all of the live cooking stations. Another handled… I had no idea actually.

That wasn't shocking to anyone.

"Here is the list of people who tried to escape their punishment or refused to work," Keegan told me with a sigh.

I sighed as well. The program wasn't going well at all. They were mostly men who refused to get with the changes and thought they would wear us out and be more stubborn.

Idiots.

But it made us look bad that we couldn't even handle punishing our own people. I would look bad if I let shifters beat their asses or hurt them for real, and they knew it was a line I wouldn't cross. So basically, they were forced to show up at their work detail and did nothing.

It was annoying CPD and making us look bad.

"Plan B?" I asked him, nodding when he did.

"Not to add to the bad news," Helen hedged and the rest of us snorted.

When was there ever not more bad news?

"Yeah, fair," she sighed. "But we received more help requests. Humans are really stepping up their game focusing their hate on mediums, psychics, casters—all of them."

I shrugged. "Same deal as for the others. They shit on us or blame us and we're not fucking helping them. They can't say it's all our fault and I'm the anti-Christ for hurting their businesses and then demand we save them when the shit hits the fan. There is a list of them who should die for not sending souls back and they knew that. Sod off."

"Yes, agreed, but the media is catching wind of this, and they're framing it—"

"You're their government refusing to help them because they said crap about you," Jerome cut in. "You're their elder, and they're spinning it that it's personal."

I snorted. "It is." I sighed when they all gave me looks that I wasn't helping. "Fine, get a press release out to remind the news and people that it is against the ways and laws of enchanters to summon spirits. They knew that and did it anyways. They can't violate our core beliefs, shite all over them—and us—and now demand we fix everything we didn't break."

"Good, yeah, that's the spin we need," she muttered, hurrying to jot that down.

I gave Tommy a look, thinking Helen would have normally figured that out on her own. He seemed just as worried.

"What can we take off your plate?" I asked her gently.

"Nothing." She sighed when we weren't going to let that go, giving me an exhausted look. "It's stress but not too much to do. I'm just fried." She gave me the best smile she could. "Good luck today."

It took me a moment to think of what she was talking about and then I wanted to groan. Right, I was going before the senate committee that handled our contract with SPU.

Fuck, no wonder Helen was such a mess.

"You want me to pull the plug?" I checked.

She nodded. "We're there. We can resign something else, but—it's not gotten better. All of our people are getting harassed at every fucking scene now, and—some tried to touch the female enchanters saying they wanted the sex owed to them per case."

I couldn't hide my shock. "Seriously, it was three of them. What the actual…" I shook my head, disgusted to my core. "And instead of helping, their fucking elders are goading them. The vampires are pissed their elders were killed by the ancients. The others are furious we've halted expanding or doing whatever they wanted. I just don't…"

I just didn't know what to do anymore. Everything was spinning out instead of getting better and people taking this situation with the demons and the veil more seriously.

Then it was time for me to head out into my version of hell.

Lovely.

I used my power to shower and change into a suit, appearing where Samuel was since he was my lead attorney and would know the details. Sure enough, he was waiting for me in a senate hearing chamber like I'd seen on TV.

Oh, and I'd been in when doing bad things to bad people before.

"Ms. Devil, you need to go through security and be checked in like everyone else," one of the senators immediately blasted me.

"Yeah, that's not happening, Chad, or whatever your name is," I drawled and faced Samuel. "We just have to legally show up for this thing to not make your life more difficult and…" I glanced around and frowned before focusing on the head of the committee. "I'm formally objecting to this spectacle. The terms we agreed to were not live TV ."

"We don't care what you object to, and you will keep your head and remember who you're speaking to," that first git said loudly.

"Child, you will care, and I will behave politely the moment you do . I'm sorry you're not bright enough to understand that was the point I was making but I won't assume you have a basic level of intelligence anymore." I went on when he opened his mouth. "I'm Elder Devil or Elder Warloc. Or Coven Head Devil or Warloc. You were trying to knock me down a peg, petty boy."

"Yes, you have to attend or you could be held in contempt of Congress," Samuel told me. "But you could walk out right now given they didn't agree to the terms set and—"

"No, she cannot, and we can stop her from—" someone else interjected.

I burst out laughing. "No, you cannot. You cannot stop me from anything. So enough with the posturing and petty. You couldn't even force me to come, but I keep my promises." I gestured to the video cameras. "Clearly, you do not. So don't take the high road." I looked back at the head of the committee. "Again, I object to this spectacle and advise you remedy this situation."

He nodded, looking as annoyed as I was. "I wish I could, but it's out of my hands and not my decision."

"Then you will force mine," I warned him.

"I'm sorry for that, Elder Devil, truly, but we lost the vote."

Okay then.

I nodded and sat down, noting Isaac was there standing guard along with a few others who looked like they were called in now that there were cameras.

The proceeding was called to order and all the normal bluster of names and such. I ignored all of it and focused on what I was really there for, sending notes to Tommy and others on what I was finding.

"Elder Devil, please pay attention and don't waste any more of our time!" someone bellowed.

I snapped out of what I was doing and focused on that person. "You mean like pulling me in for this circus? Child, I was doing work while you were doing your dog and pony show."

"You were staring off into space and not—"

"Most people try not to flaunt their ignorance," I drawled. I waved my hand and made the stacks of papers from my desk appear. "I was sending messages to my people requesting forms and updates of what I'd handled last night." I waved it all back to my desk and made a message appear in his hand that said he was an idiot in a dead language. "I don't need to text."

"Though I was never gladder than when the front desk started sending texts for you instead of always waking with notes in my bed because you never sleep, boss," Samuel commented with a smirk.

"Yes, but some of them are going to get gray hair trying to figure out who the messages are meant for because I'm always doing forty things," I joked right back.

Our amused exchange seemed to snap the patience of the angry man and he couldn't hold in his temper. "Enough of this foolery! We called you here to order you to stop working with another country."

I snickered, giving him my best condescending look. "Don't lie to someone who sees auras and hears thoughts, child. You say that's the reason you called me here, but everyone in this room knows that my answer would be no and for you to sod off.

"You wanted me to say it publicly, and that gives you the fuel for the war you're ready to wage against me. This is about money . It's now public how much I pay in taxes alone, and every person here has called trying to get campaign donations—yourself included—and you're grumpy I told you all to sod off."

"We made you what you are and so rich that—" he accused.

And I burst out laughing. Samuel laughed as well and so did the guards with us who knew better and were enchanters.

I actually laughed so hard tears were in my eyes and I had to wipe them. "I take a loss for this deal, child. Paranormal Investigations does not make money off the deal with SPU and this federal contract." I snickered when way too many people were shocked. "You gits really need to do your homework better before coming at someone."

"You're just saying that and trying to make us look bad to—" he pushed on.

"Oh, no, you're doing that to yourself, Senator," Samuel jumped in, no longer amused. "Elder Devil values her people more than you do and pays us all well. The overhead to run PI and the costs of it all—the company takes a loss for this federal contract and makes it up in other ways. Mostly in fugitive recoveries.

"Which this committee has tried to pressure her—outright threaten her—to do for one yearly insulting fee. And to control who we recover and with the full intention to make it clear we heel to the US government in any way they want, anytime they want. We are not your pet anything, and it's all been so insulting that as a coven we have voted to cut the contract."

"You can't," he sneered. "And this working with other governments is against it and will stop immediately."

"You need to stop lying, Senator," Sameul shot right back. "It's clearly in the contract terms that we were not exclusive. It outright states that exclusively working with the US government was not and would never be on the table. And today you broke the contract, so as it stands, it's void, and any court would agree with that."

Half the people there froze.

"I warned you," the head of the committee sighed. "I warned you not to listen to rumors and she wasn't a ditz. How you think to believe that rumor and ignore the others—she's the richest woman in the world. No one could have that title and be stupid. You just screwed over the American people with your power grab and showboating."

I smirked at the guy who had been yelling and looking confused. "Did I or did I not object to this spectacle?" I gestured around to the cameras. "Live on TV even caught me objecting. I am not the idiot here, darling." I nodded to Samuel.

He flipped to the tabbed page and read the section and clause that specifically stated that neither party may publicly bash the other while working together or try to undermine each other. On top of that, there was never to be any sort of public discord or conflict. Also, that if either side felt that a meeting or situation was a "spectacle" and objected, it was to be immediately stopped.

I smirked at the ringleader of this charade. "As I said, you will care about what you did here today, you—"

"You cannot swear on live television," Samuel reminded me.

"Git," I grumbled. "Foul git." I shrugged. It wasn't considered swearing in the US.