The Better Rothaven Witch

"Wait a second," Levi calls as I hurry Tris toward the main area of the cabin. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To spring Aris from prison, obviously!" I release Tris to rush ahead and open the front door.

"Hey, I'm still mad at you." Tris stops and crosses his arms over his chest. "What makes you think I'll be your heist partner?"

Levi stops next to him and mirrors his pose. "And who approved a heist in the first place?"

"First of all…" I hold up a finger and focus on Tris. "You made me promise to take you on every heist after the time I broke into the clinic without you, and I'm doing this, so you have to do it, too."

He purses his lips before his arms drop to his sides. "I see the logic in that."

"Second of all…" I add a finger and turn to Levi. "You asked for help, and to help you, I need Aris. Ergo, we're springing her out."

He doesn't cave as fast as Tris.

A third finger joins the others, and I hold them up. "And I promise to let you lock her back up without argument."

His lips twitch. "You were never a boy scout."

"Because they discriminate against girls." I wiggle with the need to get moving. "Now, come on, before I pass out where I stand. This energy isn't endless."

"Fine." Levi relents and strides forward. "But only Aris. The other two stay put."

"Agreed." As Tris moves past me, I link my arm through his. "Good to have you back, bestie."

"You will apologize to my abs later," he huffs.

"Of course." I hug his elbow. "All four of them."

"Evil brat." He leans his weight on me, making me stumble. "You will also act as my body pillow tonight. No complaints."

"Just call me Ms. Stuffington."

Outside, we follow Levi down a path that leads to a building behind the Alpha's cabin. A burly werewolf guards the door, and he dips his head deferentially toward Levi as he steps to the side.

"How have they been?" Levi asks as he unlocks the door.

"No fussing," the guard rumbles. "They've been quiet."

With a nod, Levi pushes the door inward and enters.

The prison turns out to be a regular cabin with bars on the windows. We find Aris, Kaela, and Mina cuddled up together on an oversized couch, sharing an enormous bowl of popcorn as they watch TV.

"Hey, guys, how's life on the inside?" I call out.

They startle and turn to stare at us with wide eyes.

"It's… fine." Aris's eyes dart from Levi to me to Tris. "Have we been cleared?"

"Not yet." I beckon her to join us.

She passes the popcorn bowl to Kaela and stands, brushing off her sweater, the same one she wore yesterday.

Hurrying over to us, she clasps her hands in front of herself. "What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering what happens to the failed moon-madness charms that your coven has tried to make," I say.

Her fingers wring together, and she looks away. "Is this about the poisoning?"

"It's tangentially related." I study her face. "Do you know?"

Aris glances over her shoulder before stepping closer, her voice lowering. "Elana said they were disposed of, but I saw a box of them in the locked cabinet once."

"Interesting." I tap my chin in thought. "You know, Elana is out in the woods right now, and we've got some time to kill…"

I peer up at Levi. "If only we had a witch who has mastered the art of opening any lock in town."

He runs a hand down his face. "I should have expected this."

When I glance at Aris, she giggles and raises a hand. "I know someone."

Levi sighs deeply. "This is dangerously close to a shenanigan, Rowe. You know that's on Haut's no-no list."

"Come on." Tris bats his lashes. "It's for the sake of the village!"

"Besides, Haut never needs to know." I cup my hand to the side of my mouth and whisper loudly, "It can be our secret."

Clearly unimpressed, Levi narrows his eyes at us. "I see now how you two end up in trouble so often."

I press my hands together and widen my eyes at him, doing my best to look like an innocent angel.

"Fine," he grumbles. "But you only have an hour, starting now."

"Excellent!" I grab Aris's hand and pull her out the door. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Once Levi locks the others up again, we hurry to his Jeep. I crawl into the back, tugging Aris in with me, and Tris takes the front seat.

"We'll need to stop at my house for my charms, first," Aris explains as she buckles in.

"No problem." The engine rumbles to life, and Levi pulls back out of the pack compound.

As we bump down the road toward town, I turn to Aris. "How's life in prison treating you? You're not being mistreated, are you?"

"No, it's been very pleasant, actually," Aris says.

I glance at Levi, who focuses on driving but is clearly listening in. "You're not just saying that because Big Bad Werewolf here might get offended?"

Aris laughs, shaking her head. "No, seriously, it's been fun. Having someone else cook for me is a treat. And Kaela, Mina, and I have been binge-watching some shows together."

"Oh, yeah?" I turn in my seat to face her. "What have you been watching?"

For the rest of the ride, Aris animatedly tells me about a show where a human falls in love with a vampire in a small town, which makes me think of Ros and his opinion of how humans portray vampires. I miss my fanged mate and hope he's not getting too hungry without me there.

Soon enough, we pull up to Aris's house, another quaint little cottage on the same road as Elana's home. It's a bit run down, with peeling paint and overgrown greenery, but undeniably charming with its gingerbread shingles.

Levi parks at the curb, and Aris leads us up a brick pathway and onto a narrow porch with a rocking chair. "Home sweet home."

Aris opens the unlocked door and steps inside.

In a back room, which must have once been a formal dining area, Aris pushes through one side of a pair of French doors, revealing her magical sanctuary.

Shelves upon shelves of raw materials for charm crafting line the walls, and a metal table in the center holds a small forge and various carving tools. It's like stepping into an enchanting little workspace, where anything is possible.

"Wow," Tris breathes, his eyes wide as he takes in the organized chaos.

"Let's see those unlocking charms!" I rub my palms together with anticipation.

Aris walks over to a cabinet filled with tiny drawers and opens one that overflows with key-shaped charms.

She dumps them into a cardboard box and hands them to me. "Here you go. All yours."

"Whoa." I stick a finger into the charms, stirring them around. "You've made so many!"

Aris blushes, looking pleased with herself. "Well, I've had a lot of practice."

"Are you sure you want to give us all these?" I ask, suddenly feeling guilty for taking her hard work.

"Of course." Aris beams at me. "I've already had the fun of testing them out. Now it's your turn to enjoy them!"

With a grin, I clutch the box to my chest, imagining the tricks I'll play on my friends once we're back in Hartford Cove.

The sun dips lower in the sky as we step back outside and walk down the block to Elana's house.

"Okay, let's see." I shake the charm box, trying to decide where to start.

Aris points to a key with a crescent moon etched on its surface. "That one works on Elana's front door."

Levi raises an eyebrow at her, and she quickly defends herself. "Elana had all of my family's grimoires. If she ever tried to kick me out of the coven because I'm only a charm witch, I wanted a way to get them back."

"So resourceful," I praise as I lift the key. "How does this work?"

"Hold it next to the lock, and the charm does the rest." Aris motions to the door knob. "They don't actually have to be shaped like keys, but I think they're cute."

"So cute." I do as directed, and it clicks open. "Adorable breaking and entering."

We hurry inside and to the greenhouse at the back. The thrill of the heist bubbles through me, making it hard to suppress a giggle.

"Shh!" Tris warns, but a grin stretches across his lips.

The glass walls shimmer in the sunlight, and the humid air carries the scent of earth and greenery.

I take my box to the locked cabinet nestled between two towering ferns and pull out the first of the keys, holding it in front of the lock.

When nothing happens, Tris grabs one. "Let me show you how it's done."

When the key he tries is another dud, I snort. "Wow, I'm so amazed by your skill."

"Shut up." He elbows me. "Let's see you do better."

We split the remaining charms, taking turns.

After several failed attempts, Tris finally finds the winning charm, and the cabinet swings open with a satisfying click.

"Jackpot!" Tris thrusts the key into the air. "I win!"

I peer over my shoulder at Aris. "Where are those moon-madness charms?"

"Bottom drawer." She points to the base of the cabinet.

I kneel to open the drawer, wiggling it when it sticks, and spot a box of ugly, wolf-shaped charms in the back left corner.

Lifting it out, I carry the box to the table and upend it on the wooden surface. "Can you tell us if any are missing?"

"I'll try." Aris goes through the amulets, her expression growing more concerned with each one she inspects.

When she finishes, she goes through them again, more slowly, before her wide eyes lift to Levi. "There's one that I know is missing."

"Which one?" Levi asks, his voice tense.

"It's the most recent one I made a couple of months ago." Aris pales. "Elana said she would destroy it, but I knew she wouldn't. I should have done it myself. It was too wrong."

"How was it wrong?" Levi asks.

"I was trying to strengthen the wolf, to make it strong enough to overcome the curse," Aris whispers. "But it did the opposite. It gave the wearer the ability to take on the curse of the werewolf when activated. It even worked for a non-paranormal."

An image of the malevolent darkness among the light floods my memory, like an absence in the magic. A sense of unnaturalness. So that's what was wrong. Both Haut and Levi had said the man from the hotel and the gas station wasn't a werewolf, and they were right. It was someone riding the bloodthirsty curse.

My heart skips a beat as I exchange worried looks with Tris and Levi. "It appears our suspect pool narrowed."

Our attacker is officially a human.