19. Kirsten

The herbs I'd planted were thriving. It was a happy surprise to see them already sprouting up, and the ones in the planter box had begun making new leaves and branches. They were growing like crazy. I stood there, trowel in hand, wondering if perhaps some type of magic had leached out when I'd been planting them. At this point, nothing would have surprised me.

Putting the trowel down, I picked up my tea from the porch railing and looked around at the forest as I sipped. The buzz of insects was a steady thrum in sync with the beat of my heart. I couldn't get over how wonderful it was here. So serene, so much more soothing than the chaos of Houston. Having a city like St. Louis nearby was nice, but there was something about being out here, in nature, that called to me more than the city ever had.

What would it be like to live here? Forever?

That thought came out of nowhere. Jace had talked about me staying on as a teacher here in Crestwood, but it had been nothing more than a throwaway comment. Hadn't it? Maybe not. Would it be so bad?

Maybe Harley would have some insight. She still hadn't heard about how things had gone with Jace. I'd been too preoccupied with being with him, too lost in the pleasant haze.

"Thank you for not calling me at the ass crack of dawn again," she said when she answered the phone.

"Yeah, sorry about that." I sighed. "Look, I'd love to banter back and forth like we always do, but I have some heavy shit going on. I need advice."

She made an intrigued humming sound. "Really? First, tell me if the tall, dark, and handsome alpha had his way with you. I need details. How long? How thick? Did he do that thing with his tongue? You know what I mean, when they—"

"Harley! Stop. I'm serious. This isn't the usual call. I need help."

All humor left her voice. "What's wrong? Do I need to come up there? I swear, if that guy did something to you, I'll kill him."

"No, no, it's not that. It's a lot more than that."

I paced around the cabin as I told her everything. The first date with Jace, then the second. His suggestion that I stay in Crestwood. I even told her about the plants growing so fast, and all the magic I could feel coursing through my veins now. How I was scared and didn't know what to do next.

I trusted Harley more than anyone else in my life now that Nana was gone. She was the best person to ask for advice. Also, she'd taken the whole me being a witch thing astonishingly well and didn't bat an eye about all the magic stuff.

"What I'm trying to figure out," I said after recounting everything, "is if I have to live the same secluded life Nana did or if I should try to keep living my life as it is. What do you think?"

"Hmm, that's a tough one," Harley said. "People will notice something about you, that's for sure. Your students, their parents, anyone. Even when we were kids, there was always something about Nana Lola that was otherworldly. You could tell she wasn't some simple grandma who baked cookies all day."

My stomach flipped. Would I be able to live in the normal world if that was the case? Would I have some weird subconscious flashing light over my head screaming witch, witch, witch all day?

"Is the magic getting easier?" Harley asked.

"I think so," I said, looking out the window at the herbs that had grown three times their size in only a couple of days. "I can feel it more, anyway."

"You need to stay there until you have full control of it. You don't want to sneeze in class and, like, accidentally turn some kid into a frog or something."

"Harley," I said hesitantly. "Does this mean we won't be able to be friends anymore?" It was one of the biggest fears I had. "If I have to go into hiding?"

"Shush, no way. You said you were going to stop aging, right? We can be best buds until I die. Hell, maybe you can use that new magic to keep me looking all tight and young into my eighties. All the boys will think I'm a hot granny."

We both laughed, but a dark thought tickled the back of my mind. This was my reality now. Everyone I knew and loved would age and die, and I'd be left behind. It hurt to think about how lonely it would be to walk through time while everyone else withered away, blowing into history like dust in the wind.

"You need to come visit," I blurted. "Soon."

I wanted to see my friend. Suddenly, I realized time was a thief, and every moment with the people you loved mattered.

"I was literally just thinking the same thing. Hey," she chided, "are you reading my mind with those witchy powers?"

Chuckling, I said, "No, I just want to see you. And I want you to see this place and how pretty it is."

"Okay. Count on it. I'll check my schedule and see how soon I can get down there."

Jace called not long after I got off the phone with Harley and asked me out to dinner. A real date at a restaurant, he said. I jumped at the chance. Even hearing his voice on the phone sent shivers up my spine and tingles racing across my fingertips. But as excited as I was, my thoughts drifted to the darker places throughout the day.

At dinner, Jace must have noticed something was up as I picked at my salad. Reaching across the table, he touched my hand. "Are you okay?"

I put the fork down and glanced around the restaurant. The little bistro was in downtown Crestwood and much fancier than I'd expected of a small-town restaurant. On the way into town, Jace told me that the owner—one of his pack members—had studied under some of the best chefs in the country before opening the place. People came all the way from Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield to eat there.

"I talked to my best friend today," I admitted. "It got me thinking."

"About?"

"There's so much about to happen. So much that's changing. I'm afraid I'm not ready for it. There's being a witch, but there's also being a shifter's mate. On top of that, I have this creepy guy asking me to help him make babies, people are following me… it just feels like a lot."

"It's overwhelming," Jace said. "I get that. I grew up with the knowledge that I would have an extended lifespan. I can't imagine all this happening so fast."

"Exactly! When I talked to my friend today, I realized that living in the normal world again may not work. I won't age, and that will bring up questions eventually. I don't really want to move every five or six years. That sounds exhausting. What will the government say when I'm still renewing my driver's license and paying taxes a hundred years from now?"

Jace grunted in agreement. "True. As far as I know, the powers that be don't know that witches are real. Probably good for you all. If they knew, I doubt they'd wait long before rounding you up to create some special witch force or something."

For a moment, I imagined myself dressed in camouflage and crawling through mud to cast a spell on a rose bush so it would strangle some dictator. I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle the giggle bubbling up at the back of my throat.

He ran a thumb over the back of my hand as the server cleared our salads. "It's healthy and normal to be scared and freaked out. This is a huge change for you. You aren't alone. No matter what you choose, I'm here for you. You can count on that."

The words were like a balm for my soul and precisely what I needed to hear. I'd spent my whole life doing things on my own, but now I was starting to see that some things were too big to do alone.

"Thanks," I said. "I needed to hear that."

The server returned with our entrees, and I gaped down at the food. "Oh, wow, this looks good," I said.

Jace pointed a fork at me. "Watch out now, you're gonna hurt my feelings."

"Hey, you're a good cook, but look at this."

He nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, David's got me beat, but I'm working on it."

We moved on to lighter topics, such as the books we'd read, movies we liked, trips we'd taken. It was a real date. Not that the last two dinners hadn't been, but this was more familiar territory to me. By the time we'd finished our dessert, all my stress and worries had melted away.

"Let's take a walk," Jace offered as we walked out of the restaurant. "Work off some of that food."

The midsummer night was still bright, with the setting sun casting orange rays over the town. Jace laced his fingers in mine, and we strolled down the sidewalk, enjoying the warm air and peace of the town.

An older woman stepped out of a shop and almost bumped into us. "Oh my goodness," she said. "I'm sorry, Jace. I didn't even see you there."

Jace smiled politely. "It's all right, Sandra. How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine, I was just…" she trailed off as her eyes latched onto our interlocked hands. A shadow of disapproval crossed her face. "Um, I was doing a bit of shopping," she managed, then nodded toward me. "Is this the famous witch we've heard so much about?" The tenor in her voice was strained. She was upset that I was with Jace and was doing her best to hide it.

I felt naked, exposed. I tried to tug my hand free, but Jace kept his eyes on the woman and tightened his grip on my hand.

"This is Kirsten Holly," Jace said with an affirmative nod.

"Uh-huh." The woman was older even for a shifter, so she must have been two centuries old. And was probably a pack elder if I had to guess. "Jace." She smiled and turned her face from me, almost as though I wasn't there, lowering her voice to make it so that only Jace could hear. She failed.

"Is this really proper? Most of us were hoping that perhaps you and Stephanie Bridges might—"

"Enough." All kindness vanished from his voice, his alpha aura pulsing out, making my knees weak. The woman jerked back, lowering her head in subservience to her alpha.

"I'm sorry, Jace," she whispered, her face the portrait of mortification.

"Kirsten is with me. She's part of my life," Jace snapped, power emanating from his voice. "I'll be addressing the pack about it soon."

That was news to me. What kind of address did he have to give? Then I understood exactly what was going on. I was a witch, he was a shifter. This was about who he was supposed to be with. Did Jace really have to justify his relationship to his pack? How ridiculous.

"I understand," the woman said. Despite Jace's obvious anger, she glanced at me again. "But she's a witch."

It was my turn to speak now. "I'm a person, ma'am," I said. "I don't need to hear you disrespecting me like that. I can't control what I was born as, and I won't apologize for that. Would you say the same thing if I was a human?"

The flustered woman stammered, "I'm sorry, I, uh, I didn't mean any disrespect. I'm… I'll go now. I'm sorry."

She scurried across the street, desperate to get out from under the angry gaze of her alpha.

A black pit opened in my stomach. "Is that how everyone feels?"

Jace wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. "It's fine. Some of the older generation will have a hard time with it, and perhaps a few of the others." He lifted my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. "But you're mine, and I'm yours. Like I said, a huge majority of the town approves of you being here. They're happy. Don't forget that. Don't let a few old assholes make you feel bad."

I nodded, smiling weakly. We walked down the street, trying to enjoy our night again. It was difficult, and I managed to keep my true feelings hidden, but the whole interaction had a bitter taste in my mouth.