Page 115 of What The Hex (The Family Spells)
“Trouble found us,” he replied with an exhale. Caine pulled over a tray covered in foil and checked to see what was in it. He found deviled eggs and piled his plate with a dozen of them. The man could eat, I’d give him that. All the better to fuel those muscles with, my dear. I put my hand over his and gave it a squeeze. “I won’t ask for anything but an heirloom. Just something from the family, freely given.”
Raeanne sighed and looked over at me, her face scrunched up in concern.
“We don’t embrace our wolf sides for good reason,” she began, and I braced myself for another lecture. Caine’s mother had given us more than one over the years. She still really didn’t like the twins to stay in wolf form all the time either. But then she surprised the spell outta me. “But if you need us, just call. And visit more often. Also, you’re far too skinny.” She went about fixing plates for both of us and passed them over. “Come home and eat.”
She set them in front of us and then disappeared. When she came back, she had a book in her hands, a spell book by the looks of it.
Caine’s eyes widened when she passed it over to him.
“This was your father’s. I don’t know that it’ll be of much use to you, but it certainly isn’t of any use to me.” Raeanne handed it over and waited as Caine opened to the first page. Witches never claimed spell books under their own names, only by their covens.
And this one … this one was from Coven Wyrmwood.
By the time the revelry had quieted down, the majority of the pack was asleep inside the house, sprawled on rugs and sofas, curled up in corners, piled together on guest beds. They were wolves, and they slept in puppy piles, even if they tried to deny it.
Come morning, they’d all claim to have been drunk before stumbling home, but only some of them actually were. Most of them were just following what felt most natural.
Despite Raeanne and Abel’s protests, I insisted we go back to the lodge. Not for my sake, but for Caine’s. He was visibly stressed-out by the fact that his father was from the same coven as Hex.
“You’re back,” Connard said, lifting his head from a pillow when we opened the door to our room. He gave a dramatic yawn, flashing pink kitty tongue. “I was hoping your new werewolf in-laws might’ve eaten you. A shame.”
“I’m calling the vet after New Year’s. Say goodbye to those fuzzy little balls of yours,” Hex growled back at him, but I noticed he did stop by his familiar and give him a little scratch behind the ears.
Bastet was weaving in and out of my legs, purring and head-butting me. I gave her rump a little pat.
“I’d follow you into Hael,” she told me, sitting and wrapping her tail around her paws. “But I will not attend a rowdy werewolf gathering. The scent of wolf piss gives me a headache.”
“Diva,” Argent teased, tossing a catnip toy on the floor beside her. Bastet did her best to remain dignified, to behave like a proper witch’s familiar, but in the end, a cat is a cat. I pretended not to notice when she picked up the toy and moved over to the tree which … was lying on the ground.
Sigh.
Cats will be cats, won’t they? Caine moved over to right it in the stand, frowning all the while before flopping down on the couch with the spell book his mother had given him.
The rest of us gave him some space, getting the kids safely tucked into the king bed in the adjoining room. We left the door cracked, and a hot fire burning in the fireplace. While it was unlikely the krampus would find us here so quickly, it wasn’t impossible.
Now that they had our scent, we’d have to kill every single of them … or close the Fire Veil before they crossed over.
“You didn’t know this until now?” Hex asked, standing on the opposite side of the coffee table from where Caine was seated.
“My mama never talked about my daddy because he was an asshat loser who disappeared when I was a baby. So now, this is all fuckin’ new to me.” Caine sat on the couch, thumbing through the book and its myriad spells. They were unusual, and primarily Hael based. In a spell where I might use feverfew leaves, snail shells, and fresh grass clippings, they’d use native Hael fish scales, biting tulip teeth, and salt water.
It was fascinating, but not superbly useful.
That is, it wasn’t useful unless the Fire Veil came down and travel between the realms was free and easy …
I rubbed at my face with both hands and tried to pretend that I didn’t see a strange look on Monster’s face before he disappeared into his own room at the end of the hall. He seemed … forlorn. Sad. Something about him was just fucking sad to me.
