Chapter Twenty

In Which It’s One Human, One Witch, a Bunch of Werewolves, and a Baby

T he next day is Friday, a work day.

I wake up way too late and find Marcus and the horse trailer gone. Freddie K. is in his usual spot on the couch, so I ask him instead of looking for a note or checking my phone.

“Where’s Marcus?” Freddie K. makes a grumbling noise from under his blanket, but I get the image of Ramona with a baby. The crazy horse must have run off again.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been slowly figuring out Freddie K.’s attempts to communicate. He shows me images of squirrels when he wants outside and images of the broken fence when he wants to tattle on the donkeys, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what Ramona and the baby means. She’s not pregnant. She usually ends up as far as the Wild Hare, so she’s not visiting babies. It’s mystifying. I always thought it’d be cool to communicate with animals, but now I’m still as lost as ever.

I’m still in my bathrobe when I hear a truck pull up. I go downstairs, expecting to meet Marcus at the door, only to see Randy Lamar pulling up in his huge truck, horse trailer attached.

“I’ve got your horse,” is all he says as he goes around the back and opens it up. Ramona steps out regally, her tail swishing as she walks toward the back without even a glance in my direction.

“Where was she?” I ask, as she passes us by.

“She was at my sister-in-law's house, harassing her and Zane.”

“Zane? Is his girlfriend there?” I ask. I haven’t heard from Alyssa since I stopped attending witch school.

Randy shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Thanks for bringing her back,” I tell him, half heartedly.

“She’s a beautiful horse. Tell your man, if he ever considers selling her, call me up first.”

I nod as he gets back in his truck and drives away. Marcus reappears not too much later. “She came back!” he laughs as he comes to the back where I’m with Willow and the other donkeys.

“Not willingly. She was out at the Lamar’s place bugging their Luna and the youngest kid.”

Marcus shakes his head. “How far away is that?”

“It’s a ways from the Wild Hare–twenty minutes maybe?” I guess.

“Woah, that horse is fucking crazy.” He stops talking and puts a hand on my arm. “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah, just groggy. I probably slept too long.”

“Are you still going in tonight?” he asks, rubbing my back.

I nod. “I should be good to go by then and it should be a lot calmer tonight.”

“Should be,” he chuckles, shaking his head. Famous last words.

Thankfully, Zach and Zander are both off that night for Zach’s bachelor party. I’m not in the mood to see either one, and, honestly, I doubt they’re eager to see me either. I expect it to be a quiet night–people have got to be exhausted from the craziness of Halloween, but it turns out I’m wrong.

People must want to keep the party going. We have a big crowd, including lots of women, which are way more fun to dance for.

I go home wired and convince Marcus I’m well enough to keep him up well into the early morning hours. We get up, take care of the animals, then head over to Lugh’s and Jaqueline’s to play with the kids and have a late lunch. All in all, it’s a normal, peaceful Saturday. Just what I’ve been needing after all the past week’s insanity.

Back at the fire station, Marcus and I spend way too much time fooling around, so I’m happily late to the Wild Hare for my last shift of the week. I’ve been there maybe thirty minutes when there’s a knock at the dressing room door.

“Steeeeeeely! There’s a hot guy at the door for you! Says his name is Marcus.” Madison, the cocktail waitress, yells from the door of the packed dressing room.

“Oooooooo” the girls as a whole call out. Some days the dressing room is like a therapist’s office, sometimes it's a middle school sleepover. You never know what you’re going to get.

“Uh, oh, Marcus is showing up at work. Things are getting serious!” Marti teases.

Shania snorts. “That woman hasn’t been home all month. She’s been at Marcus’s getting the D.”

Everyone laughs. I roll my eyes and pull on a long sweatshirt. No one is on stage yet, and I’m not looking for extra attention on my way to the door.

The afternoon regulars, along with several hot fae ladies that live in the empty lot behind the Wild Hare, are still at the bar, drinking and bullshitting with all the normal mortals. You can always spot the fae girls on normal days because they look twenty, but dress like they’re twice their age in long skirts and button-down shirts. They can’t resist the noise and commotion of the bar during their short monthly transformation window when they can change from their natural tiny state to more human-size.

Among them, drinking and bullshitting, are my not-so-favorite Wild Hare patrons, the vape guys. Hunter, the taller of the two, is telling Norm about the exotic petting zoo for the hundredth time. “You won’t believe it,” he says as I pass by. “But I already managed to snag a pair of capybaras. They’ll be here by Thanksgiving.”

Norm catches my eye and shakes his head, the faint smile on his face making me think he was probably quite handsome back in his day. It’s early still and so there’s nothing going on at the bouncer stand where Eddie is sitting in his usual jeans and black t-shirt, leaning back in his stool as he chats with Marcus.

“There’s no cover fee, you know, you could have just–” I lose my train of thought as Marcus turns to look at me. In his arms is the freshest newborn I’ve seen since baby Jack was born. I put a hand on the bundle he’s holding. “Uh, Marcus, did you just deliver a child?”

“Someone just dropped her in the baby box.”

“No fucking way,” Eddie says, leaning over to get a better look at the baby.

“I thought you said it was no longer operational.”

Marcus sighs. “That’s what the realtor told me, but when I found the baby, I checked outside and it’s still open.”

“Holy crap. Did you call the cops? An ambulance?”

He shakes his head. “No–I…there was a note…I just found her. I thought it must be a joke. That’s why I came straight here.”

“A note?” I open the slip of paper he holds out to me and read the cursive there.

Please take her to Steely at the Wild Hare. She’ll know what to do with her.

“Ha, jokes on them. I can barely take care of myself. Was there anything else? Did they leave any clues? A name? Anything?”

He shakes his head.

“You look stressed for a man who worked with CPS. I’m assuming you’ve never seen a newborn this fresh?”

He chuckles and looks down at the bundle in his arms. “They were usually cleaned up by the time I got to them.”

I snort. “Is this your blanket?” I ask, fingering the crochet baby blanket she’s wrapped in. It’s yellow and kind of a hot mess in the stitching department, but it has the warmth of magic…very strong magic.

“No, this is literally how she appeared.”

I turn and point over at the bar. “Norm’s wife is a sheriff’s deputy. He can probably get someone out here quicker than a call to the non-emergency line would.”

He moves to come in, then stops as if an invisible barrier keeps him out. “I can’t bring a baby into a strip club,” he whispers.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing. “You already brought her to the door. We are a smoke-free club every day of the year. The smell bugs the werewolves. It’s still early, so there aren’t any weirdos around, and the pack that runs this place loves babies. You’ll probably have twenty wolves asking to hold her as soon as you sit at the bar. They’ve all got baby fever, I swear.”

Reluctantly, he trails behind me to the bar, baby in tow. “Hey Norm, is your wife on duty tonight?” I call out as we approach the bar. Norm looks up from his beer before his eyes flick over to Marcus and the baby.

“Yeah, you need me to get her out here?”

I nod. “Yeah, someone abandoned this baby at the old fire station.”

“Did someone say baby?” Zander Lamar asks from behind the bar. He leans over to get a good look at the baby Marcus’s holding, then looks at Marcus. “Can I hold her?”

Marcus looks at me, and I shrug. “See. I told you.”

“She’s super fresh. Are you okay with that?” I ask Zander. He merely holds his hands out to Marcus, who hands him the baby. Zander cradles her close to his chest and starts to rock as the baby blinks open its eyes and stares at him.

“Steely,” Norm says as he sets his phone down on the bar, “she’s down the street. She’ll be here in a minute.”

The baby begins to fuss as Zander walks around bouncing gently with every step. He moves her up to his shoulder, pats her back, and then stops moving. He sucks in a deep breath and his eyes flick to Marcus. He leans over the bar and calls Madison over.

“Can you go ask Zach to come out here?” She nods and heads to the back as his expression grows darker and darker. The hairs on the back of my neck prick up as I watch and wait, not sure what is setting off alarm bells.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Zach says as he comes around the bar. Zander leans closer to him so the baby is right under his nose.

“Smell this baby.”

Zach grins, “You asshole, I’m not–”

“Smell her,” Zander practically growls.

The fae ladies watch, probably far more aware of what is going on than I. Zach looks like he’s about to lay into Zander, but then does as he’s asked.

Their eyes meet, and Zach leans in to sniff the baby again. “What the fuck? Who’s baby is this? Where did this baby come from?”

Zander motions with his head toward Marcus. “He brought her in.”

His eyes flash black as Zach looks over at us, suspicion written all over his face. “She smells like our pup.”

“Do you know who the mother is?” Marcus asks.

Zach looks back at the baby and shakes his head. “Nobody leave. I’m going to go call Randy and Mom and see if they can sort this out.”

“Ignore that. You,” Zander says, pointing at Marcus with menace in his voice, “need to leave.”

“Hand me the child and we’ll be on our way,” Marcus responds calmly. He holds his hands out as Zander growls and begins to change into his partial shift. At night, it’s common to see the wolves around here in their partial shift, but I’ve rarely seen the actual process of them shifting, and it’s never been directed at me. It takes him less than a minute to gain height enough to tower over Marcus. His clothes rip as well-defined muscles replace his normal lanky form. The baby is like a doll in his arms. He pulls it close and growls menacingly at us both.

Instinctively, I stand up and put myself between the two men. I’ve never seen this Zander before. “Zander, please calm down. Marcus does not go around taking babies and even if he did, why would he come here and seek out help?”

“She is ours.” Zander repeats, his eyes growing solid black. He clutches the baby tight to his chest as he stalks toward us.

“If she’s yours, then who does she belong to, wolf?” Marcus shoots back, standing from his barstool.

Zander moves closer. The only thing keeping him from that stupid stare down guys do when they fight is the bar in between them.

“Zander, please, calm down. I’m sure there’s a rational explanation.”

He turns and looks at me and does something he’s never done before. He growls. It’s a deep and angry sound and everyone at the bar turns in our direction. There’s a soft pop of displaced air, and suddenly the baby’s in the arms of a fae just behind the bar.

Zander is too far gone and hardly seems to notice. I watch his eyes become solid black pools–a sign the wolf in him has completely taken over. Time seems to slow as he lunges across the bar towards us. I’m shocked for a moment. Terror races through me before anger and annoyance come boiling to the surface. I feel that familiar bubble burst inside me again, only this time I know what it means. I force myself to avert my gaze and manage to look down at the bar just in time.

All around me voices cry out, but all I can do to keep from killing Zander is focus on the shiny wood grain of the bar. People all around us are jumping up and moving away from me. It’s Marcus who grabs my arm and shakes me. “Sarah, it’s okay.” I can feel him turn me toward him, feel his arms wrap around me. “Sarah, we’re safe. You have to stop.”

A million random thoughts go through my mind in that moment.

Maybe Lugh’s right and it’s time to find a real job.

I really need to warn Marcus not to stand in front of the death laser that my eyes have become.

This brings a whole new meaning to death glare.

I am really fucking sick and tired of being attacked at work.

I close my eyes and let out a breath against his chest. When I open them again, Marcus is looking down at me with concern in his eyes. One of the fae ladies has the baby, Norm has his arms around Zander, holding him in place, and the bar is no longer there. All that remains is a thick layer of ash that has settled on the floor. People are milling around, kicking the ash with the toes of their shoes. They’ve put some distance between themselves and us, but it’s obvious everyone’s hanging around to see how this all shakes down.

My head feels fuzzy and my throat is dry, like I’m coming down with a cold.

The loud tap of boots on the hardwood echoes in the suddenly quiet room, as a stunning redhead in a deputy’s uniform steps into the club and looks around. She pulls off her sunglasses and looks in our direction. “Looks like I missed all the excitement. Anyone want to tell me what’s going on?”