Chapter 1

I staredout of the window, thinking how odd it was that I didn’t have to get up to go to work. I was on a sabbatical still, but getting bored enough to realize that I probably should go back to work. I wasn’t happy when I wasn’t busy, and even though I had more time now to learn the magic I needed to learn and to spend with my grandmother and aunt, I couldn’t—and didn’t—expect them to spend every moment of every day holding my hand. But I had figured out that I was an extrovert at heart, and I missed seeing my friends and coworkers every day.

I turned over and gently prodded Killian. “Hey, wake up. It’s morning. It’s seven.”

He grunted, snored once, then turned over.

I prodded him again, a little harder. “It’s time to get up and go to work,” I said. Then I leaned close and began nuzzling his ear and neck. “Do you know what you’re missing by sleeping? Get up now and we might have time for?—”

That was all it took. Killian blinked, turning over to yawn and stare at me with hungry eyes.

“I’m awake,” he said, lifting the covers so I could see that, yes, he was definitely awake. All parts of him.

“You should get up and shower?—”

He snorted, pulling me into his arms. “Oh no, woman. You tease me like that, you have to at least kiss me.”

I melted into his arms, my boredom forgotten. He was warm against my side and his lust was hard to ignore. So hard. So…very…hard.

“You’re making this difficult,” I whispered, pressing my breasts against his chest. Morning sex was good. I loved morning sex—it was a flurry of warmth and coziness and that hope that only comes early in the day when everything else felt like a blur, still. “I’d love to make love, but… Last night you asked me to remind you that it’s your low-income spay and neuter day at the clinic.”

Killian was a veterinarian, and he and the other vets in town had divided up the months into two categories. Each month, half of the vets would hold a free spay and neuter day for low-income clients. The other half would offer low-cost appointments for vaccinations and overall wellness checks. The next month, they swapped out for the other category.

There were six other vets in town, and Killian had quickly risen to the top in popularity. That meant he was able to spearhead his favorite projects. This—the free care for low-income customers and their pets—meant the world to him. But the clinics were long, from early morning until night, and the sooner he got to the office, the better.

“Woman, you’d kick me out of bed just to send me to work?” He stretched and kissed me again. Before I could protest, he sighed. “You’re right. I’ll shower. Make us some breakfast?”

I nodded. “I’ll drag my ass out of bed to make breakfast, yes.” As I slid into my robe and slippers, Killian padded naked into the bathroom. He was a fine sight, front and back.

Xi and Klaus stirred, jumped off the bed, and led me into the kitchen. Generally, Killian and I took turns making breakfast. When I had a migraine, he would cook for me, when I could eat. When I was at work, we took turns cooking. But since I’d gone on sabbatical, I had taken over most of the cooking, since I had the time.

As I whipped up eggs for omelets and popped bread in the toaster, my phone rang. I glanced at the clock. I reached for the phone and saw that it was Meagan. Surprised—I hadn’t heard from Ari’s wife since Ari and I had fallen out, plus it was awfully early for a phone call—I turned the heat down and answered.

“Hey,” I said, hesitant. I didn’t know why she called, and I wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Hey,” Meagan said. “Listen, I know you must be surprised to hear from me, but can we meet for coffee today?”

At least she didn’t sound angry.

I took a deep breath, deciding that meeting her couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like I’d been bothering Ari. We’d talked a couple times, but we still were circling the outskirts of our old friendship, and neither one of us were sure what to do next. I desperately missed my former best friend, but I wasn’t about to push her with an ultimatum. Plus, if we couldn’t be friends again, I wasn’t ready to hear it. So I’d kept away, honoring her request, hoping for something to heal the rift.

“Sure,” I said. “I can do that. Where and when?”

“Ten, at Jerry’s?”

Jerry’s was a new coffee shop that had recently opened on the other side of town, away from both Ari and Meagan’s house and away from my house. I had a sneaking suspicion that Ari didn’t know that Meagan was talking to me. But it seemed prudent to clarify matters.

“Does Ari know we’re meeting?”

Meagan paused for a moment, then said, “No, actually, she doesn’t. But if she asked, I’d tell her. Trust me, this is aboveboard?—”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less of you,” I said. “Okay, ten a.m., at Jerry’s.” As I went back to cooking, I wondered what Meagan wanted to talk about.

* * *

At ten a.m. promptly,I was sitting in Jerry’s, sipping on a triple-shot iced latte, eating a doughnut. I had given up sugar, for the most part because it aggravated my energy reflux syndrome, but now and then I let myself have a treat, and today I definitely needed it. I wasn’t sure what Meagan was going to say, and I decided I wasn’t about to beat myself up over eating a couple pastries to calm my nerves.

Every time the door opened, I glanced up. I wasn’t sure why I was so worried—it wasn’t like Meagan could make the situation worse—but for some reason, I felt a little guilty. The argument hadn’t been my fault, nor had it really been Ari’s fault. It was situational, and there had been no way for us to avoid it. But it all came down to my occupation and how Ari thought I was too dangerous to be around their adopted children.

A few moments later, Meagan came in. The first thing I noticed was she had cut her hair. It was in a short, cute bob now, and it suited her. The second was that she looked vaguely like the cat that ate the canary. Or the bear…given Meagan was a bear shifter.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked as she slid into the chair opposite me.

She glanced at the counter. “Let me get some caffeine. I’m going to need it.”

I watched as she approached the barista and gave him her order, then returned to the table. “He’ll bring it over. Thanks for meeting me today.” She frowned. “I’m not sure that, if I were you, I would have agreed. So I appreciate it.”

Surprised to hear her say that, I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Even as I said it, I realized that Ari’s decision still stung. I still hurt from her panic that I might put her children in danger. But I couldn’t refute that hanging around with me actually might be dangerous, and even that sliver of possibility made me feel guilty, though I’d never willingly put them in harm’s way.

“So…how are you? How’s Killian doing?”

Hearing Meagan struggle to make small talk was worse than ripping off the bandage. Meagan was no-nonsense, and she had always left the gossip to Ari and me.

“You know, why don’t you just say what you came to say? It’s not that I don’t appreciate the attempt, but obviously, you’re here for a reason. If Ari doesn’t know you’re here, then she’d probably be angry to find out you are. What’s going on, Meagan?” I was still enough of an emotional wreck from the fight that I couldn’t be any more tactful than that.

Meagan paused as the barista brought over her mocha and a sandwich. As soon as the server left the table, she turned to me, sighing again. “Okay, you want to know why I’m here, I’ll tell you. I can’t stand this fight between you and Ari a moment longer. She’s miserable, and she mopes all day. The kids know something’s wrong, and I’m about to go off on her. It was a stupid fight, so I want you both to make up.”

She sat back, mocha in hand, staring at me.

I blinked. “What? I thought you were coming down here to tell me that you wanted me to stay far away from your family.”

Meagan snorted. “Okay, here’s the thing. First, just living in this town puts everyone in danger, but it wouldn’t be different anywhere else. There are always going to be dangers around, especially for those of us in the Otherkin community. Second, Ari’s witchblood like you. That alone can attract the things she’s afraid of. She just freaked out when that demon possessed her—as anybody would. But it could have happened anywhere. You’re not directly responsible. There’s nothing special about you, January, that makes you more of a threat.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or flattered.

“And third,” she continued, “Ari needs her bestie. I love her, but she’s my wife. You’re her lifelong best friend, and nothing can replace that. I don’t want to sit and gossip. I don’t know how to talk about magic. I don’t care if High Priestess Floofernuts demands that Ari return to the coven—no offense to your grandmother, by the way. I just want to love her, eat dinner with her and the kids at night, and see that they’re all happy. And Ari’s terribly unhappy right now.”

I nodded, realizing that Meagan hadn’t been instrumental in Ari’s decision. “Did you tell her that?”

Meagan blinked. “No…she knows all that.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know as much as you think she does. You do realize that she thought this is what you wanted? That you’d be so terrified for the kids that you’d welcome her kicking me out of her life. She didn’t exactly say that, but I’ve known Ari for decades, now, and trust me, that’s what she was thinking.”

“You have to be kidding,” Meagan said.

“Most definitely not. And there’s something else you may not realize. Ari’s petrified by the sudden responsibility of caring for two children that she never expected to show up on her doorstep. She wants to do right by them.” I leaned forward, suddenly grateful that I’d given Meagan the chance to talk to me. “Ari’s afraid she’ll hurt them, somehow. And when that demon possessed her and she was headed back to the salon where the kids were…”

“Then maybe she needs to work on her magic, so it couldn’t jump her. Because whether or not you’re around, demons can—and do—show up. Especially if they think they can get a free ride.” Meagan paused to take a bite of her sandwich.

“You’re a wise woman, Meagan.”

“So, no more Mean Meg?” she asked with a grin.

When we were all in high school, Ari and I had called the blond cheerleader bear shifter Mean Meg…and truth was, she had been one of the mean girls. But she’d grown into a rather remarkable woman.

Before I could answer, she said, “I’m sorry I was such an asshole. I knew better. I just… I don’t have a good excuse but I already realized I might be gay, and I was scared. You saw what happened when I came out as a grown woman—I got kicked out of my Clan and I was disowned by my parents. I was so confused about what to do or say. My parents were pushing me to get engaged, and everybody said that Jim and I were meant to be together.”

I thought that over for a moment, suddenly feeling sorry for her. “So, why did you marry him? Because the Clan told you to?” The North Cascades Bear Clan was matriarchal, but sometimes you couldn’t tell. And even though Jim Franks was a puma shifter, he had position and money and everything the bear clans held as important.

Meagan nodded. “I did as I was told. Thank gods we never had children. I’d be stuck forever because the Clan would have kept me from seeing them if I left. As it was, they just… I can’t go back there for any reason. Even if a member of my family dies.”

That had to hurt.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “That’s so unfair.”

“Ari and the kids are the only family I have now. And…” she paused, then added, “I think of you and Killian as family, too. You and Ari might as well be sisters. And so that makes you my sister. I miss dinners with you and Killian. I’d like that back.”

She means it, I thought. She means every word.

I leaned across the table and took her hands. “I miss you, too. So maybe you can help me figure out how to get Ari and me back together. Because as much as I’d like that, I can’t just come out and tell her to stop being an idiot. That wouldn’t go over well at all.”

And just like that, we settled in with our drinks, and began to scheme.