a silver fox of a man with salt and pepper scruffy beard and wearing my favorite buffalo plaid. “Such a brat.”
A tall dude with short blond hair stepped forward and arched one eyebrow. “Tegan, must we torture everyone?”
“Dad, that is a terrible question for her,” a gorgeous blonde chick said with a sigh.
“Yeah, dad, it’s like you don’t know me at all.” Tegan winked.
He’s both their dad but they look the same – OHHHHH SHIT. These are the twins. Which meant that chick was Emersyn the Empress Card. Okay, okay, I see you. And papabear here was Hunter Bishop.
A woman who looked exactly like Tegan snorted. “Can you imagine if I had raised her?”
“NO mom, and we don’t want to.” Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose. “We have enough anxiety.”
“Tegan.” Tennessee threw his hands out to his sides and arched both eyebrows.
“Sorry, babe.” She winked over at him. “But yelling at her wouldn’t have worked. We had to strike fear in her soul.”
“Babe.”
Cooper shook his head. “Damn it, Tegan. No.”
“Me, Bettina, Henley, Lennox, Sav-dog here…” Tegan pointed to me and shrugged. “All cut from the same crazy cloth. We have problems with au-thor-it-ay.”
“Your soulmate is the authority—”
“Yeah, and that really cannot be a coincidence, nah mean?” Tegan chuckled then rolled her eyes. “Relax, bro. Sav-dog is fine – is that a henbane crown?”
I froze. “Um, yes. Are you gonna take it?”
“Why on earth would I take it? I mean, I want one but that’s yours.”
“Oh, well Keltie took my last one.”
“Ah, yea she’s like Ariel. She collects gadgets and gizmos a plenty.” She leaned forward and picked up my bowl. “Henley. Dude. She’s got a black moonstone bowl.”
“Really?” A girl with jet black hair cut sharply at her shoulders and bold red lips stepped around penguin-Gigi then strolled towards us. The moonlight brightened as she walked and her skin seemed iridescent. She sank down to her leather-clad knees and grabbed my bowl. “Shit I want one.”
Tegan picked up my cauldron and lifted it to her face. She took a big sniff then closed her eyes and exhaled. “Damn. I like that. Lenny?”
Lennox skipped over and kneeled beside her then took my cauldron and did what Tegan had. “Shit yeah. Cinnamon oil and devil’s roots?”
I nodded.
Lennox grinned. “I taught you good, girl.”
Good girl. My traitorous body heard Cooper’s voice saying that. I glanced up at him and found him watching the three vultures pick through my stuff.
He must’ve sensed me staring because his pale green gaze found mine. He arched one eyebrow and shook his head. “I told you to do nothing, Savannah. I made you repeat it.”
“That was a month ago—”
“Savannah—”
A guy with a short black mohawk and prettier sapphire blue eyes than my own squealed and leapt back. He pressed his hand to his chest. “Shit, she’s a human!”
“She’s a shifter, Royce,” said a girl with bouncing browns curls and a grin.
“Are the scavengers finished yet?” Tennessee growled.
All three of them froze and glanced over to him…then exchanged glances with each other. Tegan cursed and pushed to her feet and the other two went with her.
“Unlucky for you…” Tegan grimaced in my direction. “We were around the corner at your school just now so when we felt your magic we followed it.”
“What. Were. You. Doing,” Tennessee growled each word one at a time.
I squirmed under his gaze. “Just a little black magic—”
“Just a little?” He shouted. “Might I remind you it is ILLEGAL—"
“I know, I know. I’ve never tried this one before but then Saffie was taken and I just panicked okay?” I groaned. “I’m really sorry.”
Another woman stepped forward, she had sandy blonde hair and soft blue eyes. “Can you tell us about this spell?”
I nodded…then launched into the whole story. I literally told them everything – aside from my embarrassing myself with Cooper.
When I finished there was silence.
Cooper held his hand out in front of me. My pulse skipped as I placed my hand in his soft grip. He pulled me back onto my own feet…but then let go and I wanted to cry.
Tennessee cursed. “Savannah, it doesn’t work like that. The world isn’t black and white, you can’t just play with things you don’t understand. This is why black magic is illegal because people can get hurt or killed. You don’t know everything about the world we live in and you’re not supposed to because you get to be a civilian. You get to live your happy free life and we do all the messy