Page 52 of Charmed, I'm Sure
“You sure did. First of all, how are we loving Pumpkinridge so far?”
We take a seat in the metal chairs sitting outside the cafe, with one of those small round tables between us. The town is quieter now as people head home for the night or make their way to the taverns.
“I actually love it here. It’s so different from Jasper, where I’m from, but it does have its similarities. We don’t have magic or anything, but we do have a gossip mill that wouldrival the crows.”
One of the crows swoops down, landing next to my hand on the table. He, at least I think it’s a he, glares at me before ruffling his feathers and taking off to the top of the nearest lamppost.
She smiles affectionately towards the crow, even if he’s doing his best to ignore us. “Yeah, I can’t imagine what our town would seem like to someone new. I grew up here, so for me it’s more along the lines of I can’t imagine what a world would be like without all of this.”
“For sure it’s a lot less entertaining. But I loved Jasper and all its own quirks. Have you ever been outside of here? I know I heard that people do leave, but not often.”
“Not really. I personally haven’t left. Most of the ones that leave are merchants to sell their stuff outside of here and also bring us back things from the human world.”
I can’t help but laugh. Even though I grew up in the “human world”, I never considered it that. Maybe because my town was full of shifters too, but it still throws me off to think of them separated.
“That makes sense. Jasper has humans too, and before you ask, yes they are aware of what we are.”
Her mouth drops open. “Tell me you’re lying. You livewithhumans and they don’t try to kill you?”
My head shakes slowly back and forth as a smile spreads across my face. “They definitely don’t try to kill us.”
Her mouth is still hanging open. I think I broke her. “That’s so wild. I’ll have to really think about that and attempt to wrap my head around it. Alright, so why don’t we start with why this is it so important to you to win over Bellamy? I know you are a wolf, so my assumption is that she is your fated mate? Is that right?”
I nod my head.
“That makes so much sense.” She claps her hand to her forehead. “Now I understand why none of my advances worked.” She buries her face in her hands.
I reach over and pull her hands down from her face as she peeks up at me through her lashes.
“Don’t beat yourself up. I didn’t exactly announce it to everyone when I came to town. Mostly because I didn’t know until I saw her, but also because I’m not the type to brag or gossip.”
“Fair, I kind of gathered that about you. Alright, so what have you tried so far?”
Now it’s my turn to be embarrassed. “I, uh, tried warm hugs and back pats, being present without being annoying, giving her space when she needs it, bringing her coffee and breakfast every morning. I recently brought her a raccoon because Matilda said that Bellamy has always wanted a pet.”
“Let’s go ahead and agree that we won’t be taking anymore Bellamy advice from Matilda, agreed?”
“Yeah…agreed.”
“Good, I’ve known Bellamy her entire life, and while we aren’t friends, it’s a small town and she’s a one of a kind girl. If you haven’t figured it out yet, she isn’t the flowers and sonnets, swoony person. Unless she is planning to use those flowers to poison you, in which case, you’ve already messed up.”
“Yeah, I learned the hard way that she doesn’t like sonnets. Poor guy is still hiding from her.”
Clarissa just blinks at me, as if I’m the biggest idiot. “Honestly, Matilda doesn’t even know Bellamy or what she would like. She’s just out here throwing around dating advice like unwanted glitter confetti.”
Chuckling, I say, “Fair enough. I’m wanting to win her over during Samhain. I’m hoping you can help me with that. She said something about sealing the veil and how she’s the only one that can do it. So, my plan was to be there with her, but I found out that I’ve got to take part in the Midnight Pack Run, and I’m not even sure when she’s doing her thing.”
“Ah yeah, she does that every year. It’s at the 13th hour, which is one in the morning. You will have to map out where she will start and where she’ll be, but there’s going to be a point towards the end, of her going around to each ley line, where she will be at her weakest. The amount of magicshe has to use is honestly more than any one witch should use on their own. If you show up, then—no one forgets the person who catches them when they fall.”
I pull out my phone and open the notes app, quickly typing out everything that she’s mentioned so far. This is all great advice. I’m busy typing out the to-do list when an idea pops into my head.
“Clarissa, is there a way to glamour me to have a glow to my fur? Maybe a trail of stardust?”
She looks offended that I’d even ask, and I almost retract the statement when she says, “Of course we can do that. That is simple magic. If you go on the pack run and run straight to her, we can have you glowing like you are the moon with a trail of stardust streaming behind you. If that doesn’t screamI ran through the night to catch my fated mate, then I don’t know what else will.”
“Perfect, what do you need from me for that?”
She shoos me with her hand. “Nothing, just come by The Hex Appeal Salon before the run and I’ll be sure to have it ready to go.”