get it. It’s a lot to take in. Sunny didn’t think you knew much about wolves and bears and shifters in general before last night, so I’m sure you’re still feeling off-balance. I share this house with my mate, who’s a wolf alpha, and some of his pack-mates. There are wolf shifters here, but they’re all on their best behavior. And there’s a djinn, too, although I can’t speak for Iskander’s behavior. He’s hard to gauge.”
“A d-djinn?”
“Genie,” she said. “You now, rub the lamp and you get three wishes? It’s a long story and one that’s better suited to being inside with coffee or hot cocoa or a hell of a lot of whiskey. Here’s the thing, Ophelia. I don’t believe in coincidence, and I’m guessing you don’t either.”
She waited until I nodded my concurrence before going on, and I hardly noticed that she’d reached out to squeeze my knee in reassurance.
“Your car broke down, you walked into the city—close to my house—and ended up surrounded by shifters. Those events are related. I’m not sure why, but we are where we are, right? I’m betting you have something in your history that might shed some light on why at least one of those things happened, but I won’t push you to start talking. I’m going inside to make sure my mate isn’t losing his mind, since that’s what he does if I go anywhere alone these days, and we can talk when you’re ready.”
I swallowed hard and desperately wanted to shove to my feet and stride confidently into that literal den of wolves. But I didn’t think I could trust my legs to support me, even holding onto my loom bag. “I just…need a second.”
“Totally understandable,” she said. Deirdre straightened and tilted her head at the house. “Come on in the front door when you’re ready. I’ll have the drinks waiting.”
I nodded. She walked away without looking back, though she started shouting at a large man as he prowled along the porch and scowled at her. They argued loudly but incoherently as she stormed into the house and he followed on her heels, and it was almost enough to make me smile. Maybe all the animals weren’t dangerous, if the much smaller Deirdre could holler at such an enormous dude and not worry about him losing his shit.
But that didn’t help me gather my courage any. The young woman, Mercy, had retreated to the garden but still watched me from a bench like I was a rare and potentially dangerous wild bird that she wanted to photograph. Or trap. Or eat. Nothing else stirred on the block, despite the occasional sound of a car door slamming or a phone ringing elsewhere on up and down the street.
I swung my legs out of the car and tried to talk myself into walking into the house. A good stiff drink sounded amazing, despite it being barely past lunchtime, but it was a long walk across the yard to the porch and the stairs. I didn’t know what held me back.
It wasn’t precisely that my instincts wanted me to run. The magic didn’t warn me away from Deirdre or the house. Something just wanted me to… wait. To sit. To breathe and exist right there for a little while longer.
Maybe it was a trap that Rocko set so I was lulled into a false sense of security. It didn’t have the same feel as the sorcerer’s greasy, clingy magic, though.
As I sat there and listened to the world move around me, I looked up and spotted the largest cat I’d ever seen in my life stalking across the front yard. He was one of those fluffy, long-haired and big-boned breeds that looked more dog than cat, but his floofy tail quirked into a question mark as he fixed his green gaze on me. I started to smile as I watched his progress and complete disdain for everything around him.
Typical cat. He struck me as one facet of Deirdre’s personality—so probably her familiar. I’d always wanted a familiar but the coven claimed they were just a distraction from the purity of… I shook myself and pushed away the thought. It didn’t matter. Someone with fucked-up magic, like me, didn’t deserve a familiar. Even if I managed to find an animal that wanted to bond with me, it wouldn’t be fair—my magic would destroy them just as fast as it was destroying me.
My vision blurred for a moment and I covered my face. I couldn’t