Page 107 of Spring L.A.W.
The guests applauded.
Brianna stared at the bird in shock. The owl leaned in and bumped its head once against her shoulder, almost tenderly.
Something in her expression softened. “Well,” she said quietly, “that’s new.”
“New?” Crystal said. “Darling, that bird has practically moved in, and you didn’t even know it.”
Joell lifted her goblet. “To Brianna, who finally noticed she’s been chosen.”
Everyone cheered.
Even Brianna laughed then, helplessly, looking down at the owl as if she still couldn’t quite believe it. “I ignored you because I thought you were bad luck.”
The owl gave her a look so withering it nearly counted as speech.
Sahara nodded. “Yes. Definitely your familiar.”
“What are you going to name it?” Joell asked.
Brianna stared into the fathomless depths of the owl’s eyes. “I don’t know. What shall we name you?”
“Hoo!” the owl said.
“Um, okay. I can see that being problematic. There’s this whole skit called “Who’s on first…”
The witches burst out laughing.
“Well, let’s think about it for a while. You’ve gone this long without a name. A couple more days shouldn’t matter.”
The drumming picked up again. Guests reclaimed ribbons. The Maypole dance lurched back to life with all the sacred chaos of spring and very little rhythm.
Brianna stood in the middle of it all with an owl on her arm, smiling like the universe had just let her in on a joke at her expense.
Joell watched her, then smirked. “Perfect. Noon revelation, light public humiliation, magical bonding, and nobody caught fire.”
Rayna lifted her drink. “Still time.”
And with that, Beltane rolled happily on toward evening.
Because the mountainwas woodsier and more private, Joell and Crowe had two days of outdoor bliss, learning all the finer points of pleasing each other. They’d tried dozens of different positions, experimented with various toys, and even some mildly kinky stuff like spanking. Now, here it was…Orgy night. They had avoided discussing it right up until the last moment.
Thirty people had enjoyed the Maypole ritual, and now, in the ballroom, they were sharing the last remnants of the feast. Crowe was reluctant to bring up the particulars of the orgy atall. He didn’t want to burst his loving bubble. Didn’t want the honeymoon to end.
At their table sat the model of the year award winner, Gabriel Moore, Crystal, Stan, and the League babe from Canada, Victoria. The guests had all been making eyes at each other and flirting throughout dinner, so it was pretty clear they all knew what was next.
This used to be Crowe’s favorite part of his favorite celebration. Now, he was afraid that if anyone touched his witch, his claws would come out and he’d spoil the party. He had to say something about what a difficult time he was having, and it was now or never.
Crowe leaned toward his darling Joell and whispered low, “So, I know what’s gone on at these parties before, but do you think… Is this year… I mean…is it going to be any different?”
“I don’t think we varied the Maypole ritual or the feast very much, Crowe. Do you mean the celebrations after that?”
“I mean raw, steamy, indiscriminate sex with the guests.”
He must have spoken a tiny bit too loudly, because the rest of the people around the table perked up and fell silent, as if waiting for an answer to something they were all wondering. Joell smiled at him but didn’t answer. Instead, she rose and tapped her glass to get everyone’s attention.
As soon as the room quieted, she started giving her speech.
“I want to thank everyone for coming to this wonderful celebration of the Sabbat, Beltane. Beltane represents the joy of full spring, of life and renewal. I’m so pleased to renew and reaffirm many friendships and create new ones today. And to celebrate life fully with one another.”
