“Pluto Blackwood! You better not be coming in here to start trouble!” Sheila Davidson shouted from behind the counter.
I rolled my eyes at the owner of the Firefly Diner. “Shove it Sheila. I’m here to grab breakfast for some friends. Do you want to take my order or would you like me to leave?” With my hands on my hips I let out a frustrated sigh, looking around the diner. My eyes landed on the most handsome man I had ever seen. He sat frozen staring at me with shimmering hazel eyes. I could tell from the magical aura surrounding him that he had to have at least three or four magical tattoos or talismans on him.
“Bribing the sheriff to let you off the hook little lady?” The all too familiar voice of the town curmudgeon, Maeve Gilmore, sounded from the bar. “Fat chance that’ll happen with that hot shot investigator from the council.”
“And why would I need to bribe anyone when I haven’t done a damn thing wrong, Mrs. Gilmore?” I walked over to the bar, leaving the handsome stranger behind me.
“The hell you haven’t! Mark my words Pluto Blackwood, your days in this town are numbered.”
I rolled my eyes for the second time today in under five minutes, a new personal record, “You’re not going to be able to get rid of me or my family. We’re like spiders. Every time you think you’ve gotten rid of us, another appears next to you.” I dropped my voice to a whisper, “Careful now, Mrs. Gilmore, I would hate to have to out you and your sordid love affair with Mayor Johnson in front of everyone. Just because you’re fucking the mayor doesn’t give you the right to run anyone you want out of town.”
Several of the shifters around the diner began coughing to cover their snorts while Mrs. Gilmore stared at me with righteous indignation, but before she could respond Sheila walked up, notepad in hand. “Pluto what did I tell you?”
I put my hands up, “She started it. I was happy to stare at the handsome stranger at table eight,” I pointed over my shoulder without looking, “And grab some food for my friends, but Mrs. Gilmore started in on me.”
“Go ahead and give me your order then.”
Patrick’s POV
I knew I fucked up as soon as she walked into the diner, but when her scent wafted to me, I knew I was well and truly fucked. Why the hell was she even in the diner? All the intelligence I gathered said she never came to the diner, only because she wasn’t allowed in most days. I couldn’t move. I sat frozen for what felt like hours just staring into her striking lavender eyes. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I knew from photos in her file and from conducting surveillance on her, the last couple of days, that she was a beauty, but seeing her up close was a whole other goddess blessed thing.
Finally the town grump and gossip broke our moment, freeing me from Pluto’s gaze. I threw some cash on the table and shifted easily into a mouse. I listened to her for a moment longer, hoping for evidence that she wasn’t the caster we were trying to catch. “Careful now, Mrs. Gilmore, I would hate to have to out you and your sordid love affair with Mayor Johnson in front of everyone. Just because you’re fucking the mayor doesn’t give you the right to run anyone you want out of town.”
My inner beast and I began laughing to ourselves. He switched to my human form, “Our mate is clever. We need to mate her, now. Why are we hiding under this table? Let me pull back. I want to hold her.”
“We can’t. She’s still a person of interest. We need to get back to the sheriff’s office, so we can call the council for a new investigator.” He began to argue but I cut him off, “No. We will be seen as biased if we clear her and then tell everyone she’s our mate. We need to do this properly so that her innocence isn’t questioned.”
He shoves me roughly, attempting to rush forward and force us to shift. I grabbed him and shoved him back before slamming down a shield between us to keep him from taking control. I quickly ran from the diner and back to the sheriff’s office, only daring to shift back once I was inside Sheriff Monroe’s office.
“What the fuck, Chepi?” Monroe startled. I began pacing with the fight consuming me internally being displayed fully on my body. “What’s going on? Why is your beast fighting you? Did you get cursed?”
I could only shake my head and continue pacing. Ten minutes. It took me ten minutes to get a proper hold on my inner beast. I let out a shaky breath and finally turned to Monroe, “I saw Pluto at the diner.”
His brow furrowed, not understanding what I meant, “Okay? You haven’t told anyone who you are. She wouldn’t think twice about seeing someone new in town. We constantly get shifters that pass through.”
I shook my head, “I scented her. She’s my mate.”
“Fuck me. There’s no way you can stay on as an investigator and also declare her innocent.”
I run my hand down my face, “I know. I need to make some phone calls.”
“You do know she’s innocent right?”
My eyes narrowed involuntarily, “Of course I do. I’ve been doing surveillance on her the last couple of days so that we don’t waste valuable resources on innocent people.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “Some would argue you’re the most valuable resource we have.”
I snorted, “In some contexts sure, like clearing the innocent casters and wolves.”
The front door slammed shut, causing the frames on the wall to shake, “Isaiah, get your ass out here if you want food or I’m going to eat it all just to spite you! Do you want me to throw up in your office? I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.”
I cut a glance at Monroe who just rolled his eyes and smiled, “You better not! You’re a fucking menace, Pluto Blackwood.”
She cackled loudly, “But you love me anyway.”
My inner beast growled, “Chill out. Isaiah is gay. They’ve known each other for a long time. He’s not after our mate.”
He rumbled low, but settled behind the shield I still held in place. “Are you going to be okay going out there?” Isaiah asked quietly.
I nodded, “I was hoping to make the calls I needed to before I met her, but fate, as usual, has other ideas.”
“Oh. It’s you,” Pluto breathed out as Monroe stepped aside revealing me behind him. She cleared her throat, “This is yours.”
My brow furrowed, “What-” I opened the styrofoam container. “You’re a seer?”
She stiffened for a moment before shaking her head, “I just listen to my intuition, and it told me to pack up your breakfast and bring it with me.”
“Introduce yourself, idiot,” Monroe leaned forward to whisper to Pluto.
“Right,” she stuck her hand out, “Pluto Blackwood, town menace and apothecary store owner.”
Pluto’s POV
He took in a deep breath, seemingly bracing himself. “Patrick Chepi, special investigator with the council.” I watched in wonder as his hand got closer to mine as the sparks between us blossomed. His eyes closed and a smile formed on his perfect lips as his hand wrapped around mine. “Nice to meet you, little mate,” his voice came out grittier than when he introduced himself to me, signalling his inner beast was close to the surface.
“You scented me in the diner and that’s why you disappeared?” He barely nodded, eyes still closed. “Why?” My voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes snapped open, “Because of the case. Because I can’t claim you until I call the council to have them send another investigator, otherwise your innocence will be called into question. My beast was fighting me, hard, to get to you. You can ask Monroe. When I got back here, he almost took control just to take us back to the diner.”
I scoffed, “As if I’d ever be so sloppy with curses.”
Patrick’s eyes narrowed as he cut a glance at Isaiah, “You’ve been talking about the case.”
Isaiah rolled his eyes, “Of course not. Not even my best friend gets those kinds of privileges. It does beg the question though, Toot Toot, how did you find out the spell work was so sloppy?”
My cheeks flushed red as I shrugged and let out a nervous laugh, “I just assumed because you guys were investigating, they couldn’t have been too great at covering their tracks.”
“You’ve always been a shitty liar, Toot. How did you find that out?” Isaiah pushed.
Patrick’s hands captured my face, his thumbs gently rubbing my cheeks as he stared into my eyes. “Little mate, how did you find out about the case?”
I sighed, “Mom and Grandma.”
“They’re bound to the store,” Isaiah said.
I nodded as much as I could with Patrick’s hands grasping my face. “There may have been a spell, not performed by me, that allowed them to temporarily no longer be bound to the apartment.”
Isaiah crossed his arms, “Those two are going to get Juni into a lot of trouble one day.”
I glanced over at him, “What did you expect us to do Isaiah? With rumors going around, the addition of the council’s investigator, and Mrs. Gilmore, trying to throw my family and I out of town, it made sense to investigate on our own.”
Patrick’s mouth pressed into a hard line as he let out a sigh, “And what did you see, little mate, that we maybe didn’t?”
“Can I see the files again? There was something weird that we noticed, but I need to see the files again.”
He gave me a kiss on my forehead before turning to Isaiah and nodding once, “Show her the files. I’m going to make some calls so the council can get another investigator here as soon as possible.”
As he started to walk away, I grabbed his hand, “Does that mean you’ll have to leave town?”
He smiled and shook his head, “The council would never deny me access to my mate, especially not so soon after I’ve just met her. It would be deadly for everyone at headquarters if my beast lost control.” Bringing my hand to his lips for a kiss, he released me, “Go look at the files. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Pluto and Patrick sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Isaiah started singing.
I shoved him as hard as I could, causing him to stumble slightly with a laugh, “Fuck off Isaiah. Let me see those files.”
He wrapped an arm around my neck and ruffled my hair. I easily freed myself from him and jumped onto his back, choking him slightly with my left arm and pointing ahead with my right hand, “Onward noble steed!”
“I swear to God, Toot Toot, if you weren’t the mate of a very powerful shifter, I’d throw your ass on the ground so fast,” he rasped out as he began walking toward his office.
“What? You’re not afraid I would curse you?”
I barely managed to dodge his head as he tipped it back to let out a loud laugh, “Toot you know curses aren’t your thing. If your grandma were still able to cast, I might be a little more worried, but your magic doesn’t work that way and we both know it.”
The air escaped my lungs as my back hit the couch in his office. I stuck my tongue out at him, “I could if I really wanted to you jackass.”
“You’ve never liked curse magic so yeah you could, but you won’t.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing he wasn’t wrong, “Whatever. Let me see those files.”
Flipping through the pages, my eyes finally landed on the thing that had been bugging us about the case. “This is it,” I all but shouted. Throwing the file down on the table I pointed to the entry and the photos attached to it, “Here. The caster is using bad materials.”
“So? Just because something’s past the expiration date doesn’t mean it’s gone bad,” Isaiah said with a shrug.
I rolled my eyes, “With casting you should only use the freshest materials, unless something calls for dried materials.”
He gave me a look, “Okay and? What’s the big deal?”
“Seriosuly? We’ve been friends for what like two decades? Have you learned nothing?”
“You have to have fresh materials or the spell has a higher chance of rebounding,” a melodic voice from the doorway said. My head snapped up to see who this new person was. She was tall, lean, and all around gorgeous with platinum blonde hair and grey eyes, I was entranced. “Sheriff Monroe?”
Isaiah nodded and stood to offer his hand, “And you are?”
“Special Investigator Tara Glass, pleased to meet you.”
My brow furrowed, “That was fast. Patrick hasn’t even come back from making phone calls.”
Patrick slipped around the new investigator and sat down with me on the couch, “She was already in the area.”
I hummed at the taste of a grey lie that filled my mouth, “Don’t you think it’s strange there’s a shapeshifter and whoever and whatever this woman is are both here when the council and police are looking for a wolf and a caster?” My familiar, cat-sith, Flora, asked in my mind.
“Not now Flora. Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the portal? Why are you in my head?” I responded through our link.
“I felt the mate bond come to life, so Diz said he would cover both-”
I shot to my feet, “He can’t cover both. What do you mean?”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Patrick asked, grabbing my hand.
“He can cover both. Juni split him,” Flora responded.
I freed my hand from Patrick’s to rub my face with both hands before moving to my temples, “I swear to the goddess you, Diz, Mom, and Grandma are going to get Juni killed one day.”
“What did your mom and grandma get Juni into?” Isaiah asked, knowing they are the only ones that could cause me to act this way.
I just shook my head. “I need to head back to the sto-”
I stopped midsentence as Flora jogged into Isaiah’s office, phasing through the closed door. “What is a cat-sith doing here?” Tara asked. “How is there a cat-sith here?”
Isaiah looked at her confused, “This is Pluto’s familiar, Flora.”
“Her,” Tara looked at with confusion and awe, “familiar?”
“What’s the big deal? She’s had Flora as a familiar for as long as I’ve known her.”
Patrick looked up at me like I hung the moon, “Only the most powerful casters have creatures as powerful as a cat-sith as a familiar. The familiar can only be as strong as the caster.”
Flora trotted over to Tara, sniffing her, “Shapeshifter.”
“And shapeshifters can’t do magic, so my mate is innocent,” I linked her with a glare. “Diz, are you and Juni okay? I can try to wrap things up here quicker if you need Flora back,” I linked the black shuck that will inevitably become Juni’s familiar.
“Who was that you just connected to?” Tara asked.
“What do you mean? How do you know she connected with anyone?” Isaiah asked.
“Right, you’re human,” Patrick said, glancing over at him. “Her eyes turn bright white when she connects with Flora, but just then they turned completely black.”
“I’m fine, Pluto. Juni performed the spell perfectly, and you can reverse it when you are back.” There was silence for a beat, before he came back into my mind, “Juni says to stop worrying. You’re giving her a headache.”
“Pluto, who are you connecting with?” Patrick asked this time, grasping my hand.
I shook my head, “Sorry, just checking on the store. Flora doesn’t usually leave without proper wards in place. She felt the mate bond come to life, so she took it upon herself, well actually Juni took it upon herself, to ensure the store was protected.” I reached back out to Diz, “Tell Juni all of you are giving me a headache, so it’s only fair if she gets a headache too. Also tell her I’ll be home soon with my mate, who is with the council, so she needs to put up anything that might be perceived as illegal to him or the new investigator that’s here.”
“It has to be a creature from the underworld,” Tara stated. She and Patrick had obviously been trying to figure out who I was talking to while relaying all of that to Diz.
“I was speaking with the black shuck, Diz, that guards my store alongside Flora.”
They both looked at me confused, but it was Patrick that responded first, “You have a cat-sith and a black shuck in your store?”
“I need to see this store, immediately,” Tara said, rushing through the door.
Isaiah looked from Patrick to me, “None of this is illegal for her to have right?”
Patrick gave him a smile, “No. Tara’s just a complete nerd when it comes to other realms.”
Isaiah let out a breath, “Okay great because I would really hate to have to kill you both.”
I gasped before letting out a loud laugh and bounding over to Isaiah to hug him, “You’d really do that for me, Isaiah? You mean I wouldn’t even have to break out the good stuff to wipe their memories?” I looked back at Patrick who was clearly in conversation with his inner beast, “Did you hear that Patrick? He really does love me.”
I gave him sloppy kisses on his cheeks, “Little mate, get off of him before I have to kill him for letting you do all of that to him.”
“Aww come on Tricky,” he grabbed my waist and pulled me off of him with a soft growl, “Hrumpf, you’re no fun.”
“Fucking menace is going to get me killed one of these days,” Isaiah muttered under his breath. “I take back my offer to kill them. You’re not worth it.”
Patrick’s arms were still locked around my waist, however, that didn’t stop me from trying to break free to smack Isaiah. “Traitorous bastard.”
“Can we go now or do you two still need a minute to try to kill the other?” Patrick asked.
I gave Isaiah one last glare before tilting my head back to look at Patrick, “We can go now.”
As Isaiah stood, Patrick hesitantly let go of me. I put my hands up in mock surrender. Isaiah glared at me and gestured for me to follow Patrick so he could close up his office. As soon as his back was turned, I jumped on his back, slightly choking him again, “I swear to fucking God, Pluto I’m going to throw you on the floor.” He made a strangled sound as my arms tightened a little more around his neck, “Patrick a little help or a promise you won’t kill me for throwing your mate on the floor?”
Patrick let out a long, loud sigh before attempting to gently extricate me from Isaiah’s back. “Are you two always like this?”
“Not always,” Deputy Ortega started from her desk where she was finishing her breakfast. Her mouth half full, “Most of the time it’s pranks. Pluto reminding all of us she’s a caster and Sheriff roping Juni into helping his nonmagical ass keep up.”
Patrick finally managed to pull me off of my bestie, “If I let you go, are you going to jump on him again?”
“She will!” “No!” Isaiah and I both shouted over each other.
“You two are exhausting,” he said with a smile before throwing me over his shoulder.
“Thinking about rejecting me?” I asked a little too loudly.
He spanked my ass, causing me to yelp, “Nope. Are you thinking about rejecting me?”
I pinched his ass, causing him to laugh, “I’m sorry to say I’m very much like a barnacle. You’re stuck with me.”
“I thought you were like a spider,” he said.
“You heard that?” He hummed in response. “What can I say? I’m like an onion. Layered. Great with a roast.”
“Stinky,” Isaiah supplied, “Tear inducing.”
Patrick chuckled, “You two really don’t stop do you?”
“Afraid not, Tricky.”
I heard Isaiah mumble something, which caused Patrick to laugh again. “Last one to the store buys lunch.”
I gasped and quickly muttered the incantation needed to teleport. I landed face first in front of the checkout counter. “What the fuck?” Tara shouted.
“I’m assuming you won, Toot Toot?” Juni asked from her perch on the counter.
I rolled to my back and raised a fist into the air, “I, at the very least, didn’t lose, and that was the more important thing.”
“Do you keep the ingredients for the teleportation spell on you?” Tara asked, offering a hand.
I shook my head, “Why would I?”
She gave me a confused look as she pulled me to my feet. “Because it requires ingredients to cast, among other things.”
“In this city, Blackwood casters have the ability to cast a couple of different specific spells without any of the necessities. We also use less ingredients. We’ve been blessed by the goddess,” Grandma’s voice carried out from the back room as she walked into the front of the store.
“What other spells can you cast without the ingredients?” Tara asked.
“I can go incorporeal and control plants.”
“Does the council-”
“Yes, the council knows. They leave us alone, and we don’t overthrow them,” Grandma stated, cutting Tara off and leveling her with a glare.
Patrick’s POV
“How did she teleport without using any ingredients?” I asked Monroe as I shoved my hands into my pockets.
He shrugged, “She’s been able to do that as long as I’ve known her.”
“Odd.” I stopped walking and turned to him, “How much do you know about the history of Rosegrove?”
“It was founded by the Midnight Coven under the direction of the goddess Anera as a supernatural haven until humans across the world began accepting supernaturals, which caused the majority of supernaturals to leave Rosegrove back to their former territories. The Midnight Coven split, with the leader remaining in Rosegrove and the second in command heading the council.”
“Right the Bishops head the council. Who was the leader? Are they still here? Why did they stay and not the Bishops?” I fired off questions rapidly.
He just shrugged again, “Pluto might know, but that’s not something that’s usually taught in history classes even here.”
I hummed, “This is a very strange town.”
He slapped me on the shoulder, “That it is, Chepi, that it is.” As the store neared, Monroe cut a glance over at me, “You know you’re buying lunch right?”
I raised an eyebrow at him, “Is that so?”
He traced a tattoo on his forearm, “Pluto, now.”
Pluto suddenly materialized next to him, “Sorry, Tricky,” she said with a cheeky smile.
I didn’t let her disappear before I transformed into a peregrine falcon. “Tara, open the door,” I said to her through our telepathic link.
“You got it, boss.”
I flew as quickly as I could, landing on the counter and shifting back. I looked around for my mate and her friend, barely keeping the smirk off my face as they formed just inside the store, “So are you both paying for lunch or just Monroe because technically Pluto made it here first?”
Pluto huffed out a breath, “Isaiah because he should’ve called me in sooner.”
“He also gave me a heads up.”
She turned on Monroe, “Seriously? Are you new?”
I laughed at Monroe’s annoyed face, “I just told him he was buying lunch.”
She threw her arms up in the air, “He’s a fucking special investigator with the council. He didn’t get there by accident, you idiot.”
Tara laughed, “He’s not just a special investigator.”
“Tara,” I started as a warning.
She chuckled, “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Boss?” Juni asked behind me.
“He’s the youngest team lead in history,” Tara responded as I let out a sigh.
Pluto’s POV
“Team lead?” I asked. “Is that why Tara was in the area?”
They shared a look, “Yep. I was providing backup if he needed it.”
The bitter taste of the lie exploded on my tongue, “A lie I’m willing to let slide, but eventually, I’ll push the issue.”
Patrick hopped off the counter and kissed my forehead before wrapping me in his arms, “Thank you, little mate. I’ll tell you everything I can later.”
He pulled back and cradled my face in his hands as the sweet taste of loving truth settled in my mouth. “Okay. And stop calling me little. I’m actually quite tall for a caster.”
He gave me a sweet grin, “Darling, being five foot eight makes you tall for a caster, but small for a shifter. Is your intuition the one that told you Tara was lying?”
I shook my head, “I’m a truth seeker.”
“The cat-sith makes even more sense now,” Tara said behind me, causing Patrick to look over my head at her. He nodded.
Tara turned to Juni, “What is your ability?”
I froze, “I haven’t manifested my ability yet. I’m only sixteen.”
The taste of Juni’s black lie almost made me gag. “Thank the goddess she can actually lie,” Flora’s voice sounded in my head.
“What about the spells the goddess allows Blackwoods to cast without ingredients?” Tara asked.
Juni shook her head, “That won’t come until I’m at least fifty, and only if I work my ass off to get there.”
I thanked the goddess that she was telling the truth. I wouldn’t have been able to keep from throwing up on my mate. “Pluto, can you pop back into my office and grab the files? I think we made a mistake not clearing you sooner so you could give insight.”
I shook my head, “It’s fine. Given how much Mrs. Gilmore has been shouting about me being the caster involved, you couldn’t have given me access to anything even if you had cleared me, she wouldn’t have believed you.” I looked back at Patrick, “We can’t let it get out that I’m your mate, that you’re Tara’s boss, or that there’s only one other person above you.”
Tara laughed, “Another team lead is on their way here to squash anything that comes up. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Plus only people at the sheriff’s department know who I am.”
I looked between Patrick and Tara, “You guys aren’t from a small town are you?”
They both gave me a confused look, “Small town gossip isn’t going to ruin it this time, Toot. Everyone at the department has been spelled to keep council identities under wraps,” Isaiah said.
“Plus we both have tattoos that can erase the memories of people that we don’t want to hold onto our identities.”
“Ah yes,” Mom said coming down the staircase that leads to the apartment above the store, “How could I forget that tattoo is a specialty of Opal’s.”
“Nathan’s too, if I remember correctly,” Grandma said.
I threw my hands up and huffed, “Fucking Bitchops.”
I flopped into a chair and pressed my fingers to my temples. “I’ve only ever seen her do that when it comes to you guys,” Isaiah loudly whispered to Juni.
“The youngest Bitchop cheated on her a century ago,” Juni whispered back.
Further into the story
“Pluto, you need to get to the store. Now!” Diz’s voice sounded in my head.
I glared at the dragon shifter smirking across from me. “Pluto, Juni can’t hold them off for much longer,” Flora called to me.
“What’s got you so distracted, dear sister in law?” Andr’s brother asked.
“I have to go,” I linked my mates. “I think I’ve figured out why Magni is here.”
“Do you need back up?” Andr linked back.
I looked at him with a smile, giving him a peck on the cheek, “Silly dragon, invading a caster’s sanctum is like raiding a dragon’s horde,” I looked over at Magni, my smile widening to a grin, “Deadly.”
I disappeared before I could see Magni’s reaction. “Where is the fucking portal?!” A male voice shouted from the stairway. He screamed, “Get this fucking mutt off of me you little bitch!”
I released the breath I didn’t know I had been holding in as I heard Juni giggle. “Diz, is that anyway to treat a customer?”
“Stupid bitch! Where’s the fucking portal?” A second voice sounded from the middle of the store.
“Let me-” Juni screamed out as a slap rang out through the store.
I turned to the underworld portal, searching the basement for any sign of the intruders. Satisfied, I headed upstairs, “Hello. I’m the owner of this apothecary, what can I help you guys with?”
“Grab her!” The man Diz was attacking shouted.
“You really don’t have to shout,” I glanced up at the man, “The store isn’t that big.”
Two more men came from behind and grabbed my arms. “Where’s the portal?”
I laughed, “Which one?”
The man on the stairs charged to me, “You know which portal you fucking bitch. Where is it?”
“Actually I don’t. We have several portals here,” he punched me across the face, causing me to laugh. “You guys really fucked up coming here.”
He grabbed my throat, “Is that so? Listen to me, you whore, tell me where the portal is or I’ll start with your sister. Do you think she likes fucking multiple men like you do?”
My hands closed to fists. Plants from all over the store sprung to life, wrapping around each man but focusing on the man holding Juni. Still holding my throat, the man in front of me started to laugh as his fire burned through the plants. I began chanting, ingredients flying off the shelves around us. The man holding Juni fell to the floor coughing, the smell of blood and fire filled the air. The hand around my throat squeezed tighter, but I didn’t stop chanting.
As the hands holding me in place fell away, I focused everything on the man in front of me whose hand was squeezing tighter and tighter around my throat. “You’re going to fucking die.”
I closed my eyes and continued chanting until it was just my mouth moving. A bright white light flashed in front of my eyes and suddenly I was in a bright open field. A figure stood on top of the hill in front of me. I raced over to her, “Goddess.” I fell to my knees before her with my head bowed.
“Rise my daughter,” she pulled me to my feet and into her arms.
“Why am I here, Goddess?” I asked, backing away from her.
She smiled down at me and caressed my cheek, “You’re not dead or dying, my sweet Pluto, if that’s what you’re asking.” She motioned me to a bench that materialized as she waved her hand. “How is Juni developing?”
“Very well, although,” I paused. “Her special ability is becoming more pronounced by the day. Patrick gave me the broad strokes of what Councilman Fields is doing to the seers they take. I’m terrified they’ll find out what she is and I won’t be able to protect her.”
“Don’t worry. If she is taken from Rosegrove, her abilities will disappear. It’s Rosegrove that has accelerated her ability. She’s going to start developing her spells soon too. There’s a spell you can put into a charm or tattoo for her that acts kind of like the spells Opal and Nathan can cast, but this is more specific.” She pressed her hand to my forehead, transferring the spell.
“It wipes the memory of her spell casting abilities from anyone that sees her practice that could mean her harm?” I was stunned, “How is this possible? I mean I get it you’re the goddess, but this, this is crazy.”
She laughed, “I have another for you, Juni, your mates, and her mates.” I closed my eyes as another spell washed over me, “This one keeps anyone from harming those that know the truth.”
“Thank you Goddess,” I said, bowing my head.
She put a finger under my chin to lift my head, “From now on, call me Anera. You and Juni both.”
“Anera, can I ask you a question?”
“Not now. Now you need to get back because you’re worrying your mates and sweet Juni,” she pressed her smiling lips to my forehead.
“Pluto Kore Blackwood, I swear to the goddess if you’re dead, I’ll resurrect you and kill you myself,” Juni shouted, smacking me in the face.
“Juni chill out. She’s going to be fine,” Vincent said.
“Fuck off, Bitchop. This is all your boss’s fault, so why don’t you both just get the fuck out of our store?”
“Juni, calm down,” Patrick sounded beside me. “Her heart rate is speeding up, meaning she’s coming out of stasis.”
My eyes opened just as Juni’s hand started to come down on my face, “Don’t slap my mate again,” Andr growled out, catching her arm.
“Fuck you, you dragon bastard. If it weren’t for you and your fucked up family, my sister wouldn’t be laying here like this,” my heart broke a little as her voice cracked.
“Juni,” my raspy voice was the only sign of the attack. “It’s not Andr’s fault.”
She swung around and pounced on me, her hands balled into fists as she rained down blows. “Andr, if you touch her again, I’ll throw you out myself,” Patrick said, barring my dragon from pulling my sister off of me again.
I easily caught her fists and held her tightly to me. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“I thought I lost you too,” her voice breaking into sobs as her body shook. “I can’t lose you too, Toot Toot.”
I pulled back slightly just to look at her, “Open your eyes, Jupiter. Open them. Look at me.” She shook her head, “Jupiter Nix Blackwood you will open your fucking eyes right now. I am okay. The goddess, Anera, gave us a gift while I was in stasis. I’m okay. Look at me.”
“Two gifts really, right my sweet daughter?” Anera said, bending down to stroke Juni’s hair. “Juni, open your eyes. Your sister isn’t leaving you any time soon. There will be hard times ahead, but you and Pluto will be together for many centuries to come, my sweet girl.”
Juni finally opened her eyes, looking first at Anera and bowing her head, “Goddess.”
Anera smiled at her but looked over at me, “You didn’t tell her?”
I rolled my eyes, “When exactly would I have had the time, Anera? She was panicking and then you showed up.”
“Pluto! Show some respect,” Juni’s voice dropped to a whisper, “She’s the goddess.”
Anera laughed, “You’re very sweet, Juni, but I asked Pluto to call me Anera and for her to tell you to call me that as well.”
Juni looked at me in surprise and turned back to Anera, “But wh-why?”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind Juni’s ear, “Because, you sweet girl-”
“Sweet girl my ass,” Andr whispered under his breath.
Anera and I laughed, “She’s got fire, but she’s still sweet,” Anera said to my surly mate before turning back to Juni. “The Blackwood’s are mine. Each of you comes directly from me. You are more than goddess blessed. You are all descendants of me.”
“Wait, so Pluto and Juni are what? Demigods?” Vincent asked.
“Not quite,” Mom said. “Unlike the Bishop’s, who are goddess blessed, Anera gives a small piece of herself to each Blackwood.”
I sat up still cradling Juni in my arms, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Unable to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice.
Anera smiled at me, “It wasn’t hers to tell.” The tingling of bells at the door sounded through the shop as wind curled around us, causing Anera to look up and chuckle lightly, “My love is calling. Good job today my sweet girls.”
With a kiss to each of our foreheads, Anera disappeared. “What did you do to these people, little mate?” Andr asked, looking around at the dragons I killed.
I shrugged, “I killed their dragons.”
Everyone looked at me in stunned silence, “What do you mean?” Vincent asked.
“I used a pest control spell.”
“A pest-” Vincent glared at me, “What the fuck do you mean a pest control spell? That’s not possible.”
“It is. You need to get more creative with your spell crafting.”
“More creative? How is it possible?”
I smiled, “They hurt my plants.”
“That’s not how casting works.”
My brows furrowed as I looked up at my surly mate, “And what the fuck would you know about casting, Andr?” He growled at me low, “Don’t fucking growl at me. Just because you’re besties with a caster doesn’t mean you know everything.”
“She’s right, Andr,” a new voice sounded from the door of the shop.
“Ah the golden boy Bitchop graces our presence,” Juni quipped from where she was still curled in my lap.
“Doing a bang up job raising your little sister I see, Pluto.” Two furious growls bounced through the store.
I handed Juni off to Patrick and rose to my feet, “Listen here, you shit head.” I poked him in the chest with my finger as I pulled the plants from around the store to us.
“Come now dear, sister in law, you expended a lot of magic earlier killing the pests. You must be approaching burn out. You should be more careful,” he taunted.
I smirked, “Want to test it?”
“Pluto,” Vincent started, “Maybe you shou-”
“I’m fine, Vincent,” I linked him. “I would have to expend a lot more energy to even start approaching burn out.”
“You should listen to my brother, sis.”
I laughed and continued to call the plants. As they wrapped themselves around Nathan, he began to struggle, “Careful, dear brother in law, you don’t want to be the fifth victim of my pest spell do you?”
He immediately stopped struggling. I felt his power push against mine, but my plants remained unmoved. As he pushed harder, I allowed my magic to fall back a little to give him the illusion that my magic was waning. He took advantage immediately with a smirk, launching a nearby chair at me. My eyes went wide in feign shock before turning incorporeal.
“How the fu-“ Nathan started but was quickly cut off as my plants wrapped around him fully.
“Juni, now!” I shouted, glancing over at my little sister, who was still in Patrick’s lap, as her brow was beginning to bead with sweat from the effort of holding the overly large bucket of paint she conjured. As soon as it was over Nathan, she removed the bucket, causing the paint to splash all over him and the floor.
My plants began retreating, transferring the paint from their leaves and vines onto Nathan as they did. Juni jumped up and ran over to me. High fiving me, “Did you see that Toot Toot?!”
“Hell yeah I did, little Juni!” I gave her a tight hug, “That’s the longest you managed to hold onto a conjuration! I’m so proud of you.”
Her body went stiff, a sign she was about to have a vision. I held her as I called my magic to stop time, another spell I could do without casting the spell and without ingredients, knowledge I kept from even my mates. Holding onto Juni allowed me to keep her out of the time stop which in turn allowed the vision to come with everyone surrounding us none the wiser.
“The one with five mates will suffer deceit. She mustn’t let it break her. If she does, all will be lost,” Juni said in a monotone voice before her body went limp in my arms.
I let out a sigh of relief, knowing I couldn’t hold time for much longer because, as Nathan had pointed out, I had expended a lot of magic today. Closing my mouth, my brow furrowed as the metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue. “What-“ I started just before everything turned to black.
Andr’s POV
Magic rippled off of my skin, “What the fuck was that?” I asked, looking from Vincent to Nathan, but they both seemed as confused as I was.
“Pluto?” Patrick’s frantic voice drew our attention to where our mate laid on the floor once again deathly still. Her heartbeat was faint, unlike before when she was in stasis. “Juni?” Patrick shook the small girl who, unlike Pluto, groaned softly, but didn’t open her eyes.
“Nathan, we have to help stabilize her,” Vincent’s voice cracked as he looked down at our mate. We both went to her, I sat near her head, pulling her into my lap while Vincent placed a hand on her forehead while the other grasped her hand.
“It’s burn out brother,” Nathan replied grimly. “Only her kin can help her. If you two were marked and bonded, things might be different, but even then her body still has a higher chance of rejecting your magic because it doesn’t match her innate power.”
“There has to be something,” I said. “What about Juni?”
Patrick growled, “In case you didn’t notice Andr, she’s in rough shape too. Pluto would never ask that of her little sister.”
I growled back at him, “What do you suggest then, Patrick? Since you know so much, what’s your solution?”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t take the bait, “(plutos mom), is there anything we can do? Is Nathan correct in saying neither of them can stabilize her?”
She shook her head, “He’s correct, the transfer of power would rebound. There is help on the way.”
Author: Kailan Counahan 