Sigils and spells, p.36
Sigils & Spells, page 36
“And how many witch marriages do you know of that have succeeded?”
Natalie sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe thirty or forty percent. It’s higher among the older generations though.”
Pippa nodded. “What about the rest of you?”
“About the same,” Jo said. “But I have some witch friends who are mated to shifters and those matings are solid, like titanium. I’ve never known one to fail.”
“So because I’m lucky enough to have a shifter mate, you think the odds are better. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Actually, no,” Jo said. “I think any shifter mating has the potential to be as miserable as a human or witch one. It requires commitment and a desire to put the other person first.
“In the case of shifter matings, it’s very much their instinct to make sure their mates are happy, so that kind of selflessness is pretty much guaranteed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still have to work at the relationship. And putting someone else first is never easy, no matter who you are.”
*.*.*.*.*
“You offered to walk away from the pack?” Corwin asked incredulously.
“I couldn’t not make the offer, Corwin.”
“That sucks,” Sal said.
“Yeah, well, hopefully she won’t take me up on it, but I meant it. I’d rather be a lone wolf with my mate at my side than alpha of this pack without her.”
“What are you going to do if she decides she doesn’t want a mate at all?” Warren asked.
“Keep trying to convince her, I guess,” Jared said, trying not to panic at the thought of it. “Honestly, I’m just trying to be understanding, even though it’s really hard. She’s not a shifter though. She expected to have a choice and that choice for her would have been to remain single.”
“I can’t even imagine it,” Rocco said. “I mean, think about it. You have no idea who you’re meant to be with and you don’t even have shifter senses, so you can’t tell when someone’s emotions are getting the better of them or when someone’s lying, yet you somehow have to pick the right person to mate with for life? It’s nuts!”
“No wonder the divorce rates among humans and witches are so high,” Sal said.
“Not to mention those stories of women who were married to serial killers or rapists for decades and never suspected a thing,” Rocco said.
“I guess you can’t blame her for not wanting to take the risk,” Corwin said. “It probably seems easier, not to mention safer, to just be alone.”
“What a terrible thought,” Jared said. “I think that’s the part that upsets me the most. Knowing that if she turns me away, she’ll always be alone.”
*.*.*.*.*
“He said the sweetest things to me,” Pippa said.
“Like what?” Jo asked.
“Like how I’d never be alone, that he’d always be there to support me, that we’d grow old together, and that I’d not only have this coven, but his pack too.”
“Wow,” Amaryllis said. “That’s so romantic.”
“Yeah.” Pippa stared down at her hands. She hadn’t even told them the most romantic thing of all.
She closed her eyes. “He said he’d choose banishment with me,” she whispered.
The other witches gasped, then fell silent.
Natalie drew in a deep breath and said what Pippa was sure they were all thinking, “Woman, if you walk away from that wolf, you are insane.”
“I know. I just—” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I have enough courage, if I’m strong enough. He deserves so much better than me.”
“Oh, knock that shit off,” Natalie snapped. “He doesn’t want anyone else. He wants his mate and he’s damned lucky that it’s you. You’re strong and capable and you’re going to make a wonderful life together. You just have to reach out and grab it.”
Pippa nodded. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat, then said it again, stronger. “Yeah. You’re right. I just have to—” she dragged in a shaky breath “—pull it together, right?”
“Exactly.”
At that moment, Hocus Purrcus, who had gotten bored with all the talking and had disappeared a while back, returned.
He set his front paws on her knees and dropped a piece of paper from his mouth.
It landed in her lap.
“What’s this, H.P.?” The paper had clearly been chewed on by the cat as it had a number of puncture marks. She carefully unfolded it and stared at the message written inside.
“What is it?” Amaryllis asked.
“It’s a note from Jared, but it’s not the note I found this morning. This one says, “Thanks for an amazing night. Call me. And it has his phone number on it.”
“Oh my goodness!” Amaryllis squealed. “You have to call him right now.”
Pippa pulled out her phone and quickly saved the number in her list of contacts, then set the phone back down. “It’s almost midnight. I think we could all use a good night’s sleep and I need to take a shower. I’ll call him in the morning. Or maybe I’ll just go to him. Does anyone know where the pack’s den is?”
*.*.*.*.*
“That was truly excellent timing on your part, Tivali,” Bygul said.
“That kitten is so cute, I just can’t stand it, and he’s so smart. He remembered exactly where he’d hidden the note, went right to it.”
“And that’s why I try to use earthbound cats as much as possible when matematching their humans,” Bygul said. “The cats are extremely smart and when they’ve taken part in helping a match along, they’re more invested in the outcome and they tend to be happier with the placement..”
“It’s really an excellent strategy,” Muezza said.
“When it works,” Soraya said. “Remember that kitten, Cleocatra?”
“Oh, boy,” Bygul said. “She was quite the instigator.”
“And determined not to share her panther with the bear,” Tivali said.
“Those were good times.” Muezza chuckled. “We might have to visit them sometime.”
“Oh, no,” Bygul said, “because the minute we step back into that town, someone’s going to want me to match a bear, and I am absolutely, one hundred percent, pawsitively done with bears.”
*.*.*.*.*
Jared didn’t sleep well that night. He tossed and turned, worrying about his mate and second-guessing his decision to give her space.
He should have stayed, tried to convince her further, but now it was too late.
By morning, her defenses would probably be high again and he’d be right back where he started.
When the sun finally rose in the sky, he was grateful to get out of bed. Unfortunately, his conscience wouldn’t allow him to go to his mate just yet.
He’d promised her time to think and he needed to honor that promise, even if it killed him.
He was sitting at the dining room table, surrounded by pack members, picking at his breakfast when a commotion in the hallway caught his attention.
“Jared.” David, one of his enforcers, stood in the doorway. “You have company.”
He stepped to the side and Pippa walked in, her entire coven at her back.
Jared stood and walked around the table to stand in front of her.
Had she brought her coven for courage?
For backup?
Was she that worried about rejecting him?
“Jared,” she spoke softly. “I’m sorry I reacted so badly last night. You were right. I had one idea of how my life would go and this new pathway threw me for a loop. A big one.”
She gave him a lopsided smile, one dimple winking at him.
“But I thought about what you said and the answer is yes. I do think I could love being part of a mated pair as much as I love being single, especially if the other part of that pair is you.”
Jared’s heart skipped a beat, then started to race. Was she saying—
“If you still want me, I would be honored to accept you as my mate.”
Jared lunged forward and lifted her into his arms, hugging her tight.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face in his neck.
“Pippa,” he grated, closing his eyes and breathing in the moment, soaking in the joy of holding his mate in his arms, her scent and body wrapped around him tight.
“Welcome to the family, Jared,” Natalie said, patting Pippa on her back, then squeezing Jared’s shoulder as she walked by.
The rest of Pippa’s coven followed, offering their congratulations, pats on the back and well wishes, on their way to the breakfast buffet the wolves had set up on the other side of the dining room.
“I’d say congratulations, Jared,” Corwin said, “but you just condemned me to spending more time in that woman’s presence, so I’ll just say good luck to us both.” With that, he headed toward the buffet as well.
Pippa pulled back and stared into Jared’s eyes. “Can we go somewhere quiet?”
“Absolutely.”
*.*.*.*.*
“Your pack’s home is gorgeous,” Pippa said an unknown amount of time later, gasping for breath as she stared up at Jared’s ceiling. “What I saw of it, anyway. And I like your bedroom. Hocus Purrcus likes it too.” She rolled her head to the side and watched as the kitten chased a toy mouse under Jared’s dresser.
Jared leaned up on one elbow to take a peek at the kitten, then dropped back onto the bed with a grin. “Chester’s around here somewhere. We’ll see how he feels about the place once he realizes there’s a mostly-feral cat on the loose.”
“Well, H.P. doesn’t seem too perturbed at the sheer number of wolves, so I’m hopeful one cranky cat won’t make much of a difference.”
“Fingers crossed.”
Silence fell for a few moments, then Jared asked, “So, what are you thinking? Do I need to start packing?”
“No, I’m happy to move in with you. Though there may be a few nights when I’ll need us to stay with the coven, especially on the nights of the solstice and the occasional moon ceremony.”
“Whatever you need, my love.” Jared lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I will always be grateful you were willing to take this risk with me and I promise never to take you for granted.”
Pippa rolled over so that she was draped across his naked body and grinned down at him. “Come now, don’t make promises you can’t keep. It’s inevitable that one of us will take the other for granted from time to time, but it’s enough that we’re both willing to try. We’re committed, we’re strong, and we’ll make this work.”
“Hell, yes, we will.”
Pippa smoothed his hair back from his face, then leaned down and kissed him.
A wave of heat poured through her, igniting sparks that flamed then burned out in a fraction of a second, one after the other, as they kissed and rolled across the bed, giving in to their passion once more.
The sun was sinking low in the sky when Pippa finally remembered to ask. “What woman was Corwin referring to earlier?”
“Huh?”
“You know, he said something about having to spend more time with her?”
“Oh. Natalie. Corwin’s not her biggest fan.”
Pippa giggled. “That makes total sense. Natalie specializes in aggravating people, especially men she’s attracted to.”
“Wait. You think she’s attracted to Corwin?”
“Hell, yes. She’s always staring at him whenever we’re together and didn’t you notice how much they enjoy needling each other?”
“Can’t say that I have. I actually thought Corwin found it annoying.”
“He probably does, but I’d be willing to bet that’s because he’s attracted to her.”
“Now that, I didn’t see coming.”
“I know. Crazy, right?”
*.*.*.*.*
Later that night, Hocus Purrcus was exploring his new territory when he turned a corner and discovered a giant monster-cat stretched out, sound asleep in his bed.
It was his favorite one too.
It was Hocus-Purrcus-sized—not monster-cat-sized—which meant only the cat’s butt and back legs fit in the bed while the rest of him was sprawled across the floor, which actually looked quite comfortable.
He’d have to try it sometime.
For now, Hocus Purrcus darted forward, then away, then skittered sideways, trying to decide how he was going to reclaim his bed from the monster-cat.
That’s when he saw the wolf.
Not one of the real wolves wandering around his territory, but a giant toy wolf.
It looked an awful lot like Pippa’s mate and was almost as big as Hocus Purrcus himself.
Now that he’d seen the wolf, Hocus Purrcus no longer cared about the monster-cat because he was completely focused on figuring out how to sleep with the wolf.
Hocus Purrcus raced around the bed three times, examining the cat’s butt and the wolf, which was partially caught beneath the cat’s belly.
Finally, he decided if he angled his body this way and scooted on his side that way, then crawled that last little bit, he could slide right over the top of that wolf.
Inch by inch, Hocus Purrcus did exactly that.
Every once in a while, the giant cat moved and he would have to freeze in place until the cat fell to stillness again.
Then, Hocus Purrcus would start moving forward and sideways, wiggling along until finally, yes!
He dropped right into place on top of that furry, adorable wolf.
The giant cat let out a sleepy rumble, but by then Hocus Purrcus was feeling snuggly warm and very comfortable.
He fell asleep thinking that sharing his bed with a monster-cat and a toy wolf wasn’t so bad after all.
*.*.*.*.*
Chester waited until the little guy finally stopped moving, then he carefully stood, walked around and settled back into the bed, this time with his back legs hanging off it.
He carefully wrapped as much of himself as he could around the kitten he’d heard the humans call Hocus Purrcus and allowed the sound of the little guy’s rumbling purrs to lull him back to sleep.
Thank you for reading!
*.*.*.*.*
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ABOUT PEPPER MCGRAW
Pepper McGraw is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance. Her life to date has sadly been paranormal-free, but she knows it’s simply a matter of time before her fated mate finally appears. Until that glorious day arrives, she keeps herself busy writing (and reading) paranormal romances.
Pepper is a huge fan of all animals, but is especially fond of cats, and spends her free time volunteering at local shelters and for Trap-Neuter-Release programs. She’s had the supreme honor of winning occasional head butts and meows from the local ferals in her neighborhood and has even convinced a few to come inside and adopt her as their own.
HORSESHOES AND FAIRY RINGS
Horseshoes and Fairy Rings © 2023 Z.Z. Warlander
Edited by Heather Rapien and Bella Ray
HORSESHOES AND FAIRY RINGS
Escaping an eternity of Fae servitude leaves its own curses.
They say to never step foot in a circle of mushrooms after midnight, for that is a fairy circle and invites the mischief of fairies—turning hapless souls into hounds, or compelling them to dance until their very bones are dust. They say that, but Julian Sanchez never heard it. After drunkenly falling asleep in a fairy circle, Julian Sanchez narrowly avoids getting snatched away.
Mostly. Though he managed to escape the fairies’ clutches by chance, Julian soon discovers that he is not entirely free from their influence. Julian may not be a fairy slave, but, haunted by his experience, he finds himself uncontrollably transformed, waking up disoriented and unclothed.
After learning this whole new meaning of “naked and afraid”, he enlists the help of his cowboy werewolf roommate, a witch, and a strange girl with striking dark eyes to help him navigate the fairy realm and break the spell.
Will Julian make it out in one piece? Or will he end up as a glitter-covered, four-legged creature forever? Find out in this hilariously enchanted tale.
QUOTE
By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make,
Whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastime
Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice
To hear the solemn curfew
– The Tempest
Act V, Scene I
PICKLE GIRL AND RODEO BLAZE
I didn’t go to work. Hungover and still a little convinced that I’d met fairies last night, I called in sick and plopped my ass in front of the TV, without bothering to turn it on. For a long while, head pounding, I stared at my rough reflection. Dark circles had formed under my eyes, visible even in the TV screen reflection, and my hair, a usual mop of carefully maintained curls was… well not that. A squirrel making a nest up there might have done a better job.
