Page 12 of Amateur Goddess (Morrigan University #3)

“Wow, little sexy,” Winter breathed as I stepped out of the dorm Wednesday night for our date. He’d asked me out to dinner, and I was so excited to have another real actual date.

And some normal.

I’d been worried about if it was safe, but he promised he had it covered and wanted to talk to me about that as well later. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I trusted Winter. He was really on my team and stepping up to help even if it wasn’t for our relationship.

But he’d also done a lot to help me personally.

“You too,” I muttered, trying not to blush. Winter Green was a very, very handsome man. He was huge, like six-six, and filled in. He had the lightest ice-blue eyes—his dad’s, which was why his mom named him Winter before she passed away after labor.

He’d lost a bet and had to dye his longer hair the blueish-gray of the Jack Frost character from the most recent cartoon movie, but it really worked for him. Like really worked for him.

I was pretty sure his natural color was a dark blond, and that would undoubtedly be hot too, but the dyed hair just flat did it for me. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and reached up to touch his hair. “Any chance you’re going to lose another bet?”

His eyes flashed shock. “You’re that much of a fan, huh?” He chuckled when I flushed. “Tell you what, I’ll dye it again if you consider getting some highlights. I’ve been itching to see you with some amethyst highlights that match your eyes.”

I simply blinked at him a moment, thinking of how my family would lose their minds at the idea of something so scandalous… And loved it. I beamed at him and nodded. That could be so much fun. “Wait, my hair is much longer though. That would stay for a long time and maybe not look good.”

“Not with magical dye,” he promised. “And you could just get a handful to see if you like it, not a full head.”

“Yeah, okay, that sounds fun.”

He winked at me. “And we need fun.”

“We do need fun.” I chuckled when he offered me his arm. “Thank you, Sir Winter.”

“Of course, my lady,” he teased as he led us off. “And of course we need escorts.” He gestured to the guys I’d seen him with several times before. He leaned in closer. “Let’s move off to the side where I can set the circle and I’ll introduce you.”

I nodded, nervous to meet all of his friends, but glad he wanted to introduce me. I smiled and shook hands as he told me too many names, no chance I would remember them all.

“Don’t worry, we’re not eating with them,” Winter assured me as he set the transportation circle. “They’re going to do their own thing but watch out for trouble.”

I frowned at him. “They don’t have to do that. We can just all eat together.” The circle flared with power, and my breath caught in my lungs for a moment.

He glanced at me once we arrived. “It’s our first official date, Bev. All my crazy friends aren’t crashing it. It’s just not safe for us to go out alone.”

“It’s fine,” his friend, Danny, cut in. “We need to talk about some school stuff too and don’t want to leave you out. You guys do your thing and hopefully we can hang out after.”

I nodded, not sure what that meant, but was willing to go with the flow. I assumed it was about dessert after the restaurant?

“I didn’t want to make it awkward with something fancy, and these guys can’t afford that,” Winter said as he opened the door for me.

“I’m sure it’s great,” I assured him.

And it was. It was a taco bar restaurant—totally laid-back with a beer garden and smelled amazing. You went to the counter and ordered what meat you wanted in what type of tortillas along with drinks and then you went to their loaded topping bar to put on whatever you wanted. It was like the craziest salad bar ever and just wild.

I checked that he knew what he wanted and went up to the counter. “Hi, can I please get one of each meat option in wheat tortillas, and do you do virgin margaritas?”

The guy’s lips twitched, but he nodded as he put it all in before looking at Winter… Who ordered two of each meat option but in a corn tortilla.

And a virgin margarita as well.

He shrugged when I blinked at him. “I’ve never done one with taco night here. Why not?”

“Thanks, Winter,” I whispered.

“I got you, little sexy,” he assured me with a wink. He paid and thanked the guy as we moved along.

It wasn’t long until our order was up and we took our trays over to the toppings bar. I asked what a few things were and asked him to warn me about anything spicy. I went pretty simple but added the queso sauce he said was the best.

He found us a good spot with other open tables around us for his friends. He watched with a curious grin as I tried my virgin margarita and first taco. “Awesome, right?”

“So good,” I moaned. “I might need more than four.”

“I tend to go back for seconds.”

“I love the vibe of this place too,” I admitted as I looked around. “It’s like they know they’re legit and not worried about it, but also just don’t want to stress and instead give a chill mood.”

“Yeah, that describes it well,” he agreed. “It’s one of our normal Wednesday places.” He nodded when I didn’t hide that I was confused. “Four groups of us were friends from different high schools before Morrigan. We’re all orphans or no-contact with our families for valid reasons.”

He gave me a look like I knew what those reasons could be and abuse wasn’t only in the top-tier families for witches.

I nodded. Of course. I was sheltered, not an idiot.

“This is the family now,” he explained as they all started sitting down. “We made a deal that we do our best to have dinner on Wednesdays so we’re always checked in on each other. Sometimes I have to cover work or whatever—and they do too—but we make most of them.”

“I’m sorry that I imposed,” I worried.

“No, not what I meant at all,” he promised. “I wanted Wednesday so you could meet them—meet the guys I consider my brothers. I know you met their moms or Kevin is cool. You’ll hopefully never meet Derek’s family, but you guys aren’t even—whatever. I just wanted you to meet them.”

That wasn’t all though. “And?”

He nodded like saying that was fair and he wasn’t hiding it. He took a big bite of his taco and wiped his mouth. “It’s just an idea, and I don’t want to put pressure on you. I just wanted to throw in my two cents and level with you that my friends have already been involved.”

“Okay, hit me,” I accepted, shocked when he did. Not only had they all shown up to help with the Haddock situation and Travis still running his mouth, they risked trouble by doing it. A few had also used their contacts to get any information going around about me to help.

Plus, one of them was how Clare had gotten me the messages including Grandmother’s journal.

“I think the play with Taylor is good, and from what I know he’s good people,” Winter hedged, taking a break before he got to the other half of his tacos.

“But?”

He studied me a moment. “I want to know where your head is on that. What do you think is going on there or missing?”

“I cheat because I hear their familiars,” I chuckled, wiping my mouth and taking a sip of my nummy drink. “Taylor sees reality like we do, and you can’t play fair against corruption and monsters. He wants to fight dirty and his dad doesn’t. His dad wants to win the battle honorably, and that’s great in theory, but honorably gets people dead.”

His eyes flashed shock and he slowly nodded. “That’s darker than I thought you’d be, little sexy.”

I snorted. “I’d kill my dad this second if I thought I’d win and not get caught, Winter. Don’t ever think I’m good. It might break me to do it, but I would in a heartbeat after all he’s done to me. We cannot survive against him by playing by the rules and fair.” I met his gaze. “I gave out that information knowing one of the family heads would die for spreading it.”

“And you don’t feel guilty because they did it with just as bad intentions,” he surmised.

“Yeah, and they’re all just as dirty. Let them all eat each other. Yay.” I shrugged. I glanced over at his friends. “So where is your head?”

“That Taylor and his crew need to get on the right magical level and fast. The council guards are good but sheltered. Taylor’s people are too grounded in the human world and technology, but aces. They both need more of the other side, and most council guards are too green and Taylor’s people too hard.”

“You’re volunteering your friends to be the middle?” I hedged. “That sounds like you’re signing them up for a lot, Winter.”

“Possibly, but you have the key to more than a few master’s projects that could get them published. Plus, we all have large familiars and struggle. You think we’re going to graduate and have a good place to live immediately so we can hide our familiars? No, we know what our futures are like without help—without the right help.”

I swallowed loudly, seeing the fear in his eyes.

Yeah, I knew the answer. He was exactly who the top-tier families preyed on. They scooped up the warlocks with the most potential and no family to turn to who could help them in our unforgiving world. They’d promise Winter and his friends everything they’d need for their familiars and their futures… For a price.

Something small. No big.

But then they were theirs. That family owned them and they couldn’t just walk away. Not when they had proof of that something small they’d done because it was never legal.

So one crime turned into two.

Two became three and so on until they were part of the problem and any spark they’d ever had—any potential stomped out.

It was how my family had half of their security guards. It was why they were such assholes and completely devoid of any humanity.

My family had broken them and their moral compasses. And Father laughed about how stupid they’d been with all of his friends. They all did.

But again—what was the other option? Winter’s familiar was a fucking polar bear. He couldn’t just move into a normal apartment. His options were beyond limited.

Like ridiculously limited.

“So you want to invite them over to my house with their familiars and let them hang out?” I checked.

“For now.” He shrugged. “Whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m not pushing, and it’s all up to you. I’m saying they’re a good option with a lot of potential for you to tap into.” He reached over and moved his hand over mine. “But I really didn’t want to start our date with that. I wanted to ask how you’re doing. How are you handling all of this?”

I shrugged this time. “We always talk about me. How are your classes going? You’re not TA-ing this semester?”

He smiled at me as he ran his fingers over my hand. “No, and I don’t think I will TA. I make enough managing Student Union Delivery at Morrigan, and I’d rather pick up other shifts helping with what you’re doing. Plus, the guy who did it before me that I knew said not to TA while having the gig.”

I nodded. “People are petty, especially rich, entitled people. It would put you between a rock and a hard place doing both.”

“Exactly. Plus, this school is no joke. I’m lucky my job allows me to do work while doing my homework now.”

“Tell me about your freshman year,” I pushed, wanting to learn more about him. We always talked about me and all of my everything. I hated that.

I didn’t want everything to be about me.

We finished our tacos and he got some more while I held off. Four was enough for me even if I wanted like twenty more. I’d also had a big lunch because I’d been nervous and didn’t know where we were going.

“Are you cool with us getting our familiars and coming over?” Winter asked as we cleaned up our trays. “I thought maybe we could get them set up and maybe sneak out for dessert.”

“Um, yeah,” I muttered, feeling them all join us.

“Hey, we’re not trying to push you, Bevin,” one of them said firmly. “It’s cool. Really. I’m just glad we got a chance to meet you. How about ice cream?”

I felt better when the others nodded or someone suggested a bakery he knew because he wanted cake. “I’m actually okay with it but…” I glanced at Winter and gestured for us to go outside.

He got the idea and led us all out. “What’s up? If something makes you uncomfortable—tell us, little sexy. I honestly didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Because you’re a huge guy who knows how to defend himself and use attack magic, idiot,” one of his buddies muttered. “She’s a tiny female freshman and probably can’t keep us all straight.”

“Shit, that’s a good point,” someone else hissed but then looked at me. “But you can make the familiars protect you, right? Not saying you’ll need to, but that should make you feel safe.”

“I’m an idiot,” Winter sighed. “I didn’t think of that because I’ve known them forever. It’s night and—sorry, little sexy.”

I moved my hand to his arm. “It’s fine, I just don’t want people drinking. I don’t know them, and they are all older guys. So—it’s fine because of the familiars. I mean, Tracey and Jasmine are probably home.” I gave him a look to please not be mad at me.

He gave me a soft kiss. “I always, always want you to feel safe. Even if you didn’t have real shit in your past, a woman should always feel safe. Let me text them and ask if they want some tacos and fill them in, okay?”

“Sorry.”

He cupped my face. “Stop. I’m an idiot. You absolutely should hesitate for something like this. I’m glad you’re smart and won’t run up the stairs in a horror movie either.”

I was relieved when they all chuckled.

It turned out Tracey and Jasmine both wanted tacos and told us their toppings. So I ordered and the guys put them together before we went right to my house since Winter was allowed on the magic now. We still alerted my new security, and they logged the names of all of the visitors.

Cool.

“Oh, this is perfect because I have a present for Teddy,” I admitted after handing off the food.

“How is this going?” Tracey asked me, gesturing to the group.

I shrugged. “They’ve all been nice. I wouldn’t want him to date someone like me if I was his friend either.”

“‘Someone like me?’” Danny asked, glancing between us.

“Yeah, with a psychotic family who murders people,” I answered. “I mean does anyone here doubt my father murdered that head of the top-tier family found yesterday?”

“Well, now I don’t,” someone else muttered. “Okay then.”

That seemed the general consensus. I wasn’t going to lie about it or try and deny everything was messed up.

Something Winter seemed to appreciate.

He brought us back to Morrigan, and they let out their familiars before he actually circled them all back which impressed Tracey and Jasmine. I hurried to grab one of the golf carts from the garage and had Teddy’s present on it. I laughed when he hugged me and then sniffed at the frozen mini pumpkins in the tub I’d put in the chest freezer.

“You wanna go harvest by the lake and dig into this?” I asked him.

“Of course I do, gorgeous,” he answered, snuggling up to me again.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re gorgeous too,” I chuckled. “You are not jumping on the golf cart though.”

“I’m abused,” he whined making me laugh and Winter just shake his head at whatever he got off his familiar as well.

We had to make multiple trips to bring everyone out, and just when we did, Taylor showed up with the other golf cart and some of his people.

“We definitely need to light up the path if we’re going to have guests, and I don’t want someone to fall in the lake and drown at night,” I said to Tracey. “Do we need more carts or—”

“I got it, Bev,” she promised, nodding behind me. “You’ve got that to deal with.”

Namely, all of Winter’s friends gobsmacked by the amount of magic coming off my land. Yeah, just that.

“And we can come harvest magic here? ” Danny asked, his voice breathless.

“I mean, not just anytime, and I prefer you not come at like three in the morning and scare Tracey and Jasmine who live here,” I muttered, rubbing my arm. I glanced at his familiar and winced. “And don’t eat all our deer.” I blew out a heavy breath. We really have a lot to do if we’re going to be having all of these guests.”

“No, no, they’re not guests like that,” Winter said firmly. “They—you’re too kind, little sexy. We work for our keep. I mostly wanted this to happen because of something Nate was talking about.”

“My master’s thesis idea?” a tall, lean man asked, frowning when Winter nodded. “Yeah, that was rejected, man.”

“Right, because your advisor hates poor people, but I think you can breathe new life into it with the right help,” Winter pushed, moving his hand over my head and pointing down at me.

“Now I’m curious too,” Tracey muttered.

Nate rubbed his neck roughly. “I wanted to do my master’s thesis on how to grow the magic and bond between familiar and warlock or witch by being more involved in their food.”

“Right, we’re planning on showing that with the treats and we all know that now,” Tracey drawled.

“No, yeah, of course—that’s not—I meant their daily food,” he stuttered. He sighed when we all stared at him. “Like instead of feeding dog familiars just dog food to do a natural diet. More than that, like—I take my familiar on hunting trips. We hunt together.”

I studied the bobcat for several moments and then blinked up at Winter. “You want him to help with the chickens. Chickens that his familiars sees him raise and then become his food.”

Winter winked and tapped my nose. “I knew you’d get it. Yeah, I want him to think bigger and publish, and you could get some help out of it.”

“That would be awesome, but the problem is having the control group,” I muttered, studying his bobcat.

“Yeah, I couldn’t publish just off my familiar and me,” Nate agreed.

“No, but—that’s not what I meant,” I clarified. “You couldn’t do all the rest. You couldn’t do the treats. Not the sessions Winter wants. You couldn’t harvest at a place like this. Probably the new housing at Morrigan would be out. You’d have to keep every other improvement out.”

“Good point,” Tracey muttered as she moved up next to me. “But it wouldn’t have to be long. Even if we bought hatched chicks, it could be two months and letting them see more be brought in. Some live chickens now and that more were coming, that their witch or warlock was that involved.”

I nodded. “Not every familiar that would want a live chicken dinner is a large familiar. You get some foxes, raccoons, coyotes—there’s a list.”

“Right, but what could he offer them to give up the rest for two months?” one of Winter’s friends asked.

I snorted. “Protection. Pick some freshmen who need the friends and even help. They could be named in the study even if not the author of it. That’s good for their resumes as well. But my classmates are getting nailed in the Wicked Challenge.”

“Yeah, you’re part of the reason after setting the bar so high,” someone else joked. “Everyone is upping their game, and the freshmen are the easiest targets.”

I rolled my eyes. “I think they should lose points for going after the weakest links, but I’m not in charge.”

“No, but that’s a good point to bring up,” Winter muttered. “A lot of the master’s students are focused on the freshmen. The whole thing is set up to challenge us, not hit easy targets and bully. I definitely think that needs to be brought up to Kerwynn.” He gave me a curious look. “So are you open to helping Nate? Him helping you?”

I looked at Tracey though.

“It’s tricky because to get the engagement from the familiar—you’re bringing a bobcat around live food. That’s the problem. It would be more having them at the setup and explaining to them what you’re doing and then why you smell like chickens,” Tracey muttered.

“They could have their familiars harvest in the area on the new land if we get it while they’re tending to the chickens,” I suggested. “They have to keep control and learn boundaries anyways. Knowing you can trust your familiar is part of a deep bond. You would never question Woodchuck. Both ways.”

“True, true,” she muttered, bobbing her head. “And the information would be good. Something we could trust and control instead of propaganda.” We were definitely on the same page on this. She turned to Nate and extended her hand. “Alright, Familiar Treasures will sponsor your research and have you head this project. I’ll talk with Kerwynn in the morning.”

He blinked at Tracey for a full minute before one of his friends nudged him to snap out of it. He hurried to shake her hand. “Yes, yeah, okay—thank you.”

“No problem. You better be ready to work. We need the help,” she warned him.

I was glad it worked out. They were excitedly talking ideas as I sat and did a session with Danny, the man floored by it all.

He wasn’t the only one.

And I meant me. They were powerful . They all had good bonds with their familiars and a shit ton of potential. Some more than Winter even and—wow. Them banding together and keeping each other a priority really transferred over.

“You should head the study on the familiar housing changes,” I said to one of them when we were done. “Your bond was the most damaged. If you skip the rest of the stuff to help and focus on that for a few months—get a few more like you—the study would be amazing.”

“Why him?” Tracey asked me as she waved the others off.

I thought of how to describe it before looking at the guy. He nodded for me to go ahead like he wouldn’t be upset. “He’s got really bad damage to his bridge. It’s not that it hasn’t formed or he needs to work on it. I can see the damaged planks and areas that are breaking down.”

He nodded, looking away and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Me too. I knew there were issues, but seeing it like that—I can’t believe I let this happen. I thought we were—I thought I was doing better than this.” He looked at his familiar and was destroyed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you better. I’m sorry.”

The worst part about it was I could see how much he really did try. It was so amazing in a disgusting way how often life and the people around us worked against us.