Page 90 of Charmed, I'm Sure
My jaw hits the floor. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Mabel doesn’t even look up from her reading, just continuesto sip her tea. “Congratulations you two. You’ve made the front page in less than a day of claiming each other. Have to say that’s a first.”
Miles, beaming from ear to ear, leans closer. “You know that might be the best photo of me to date.”
I think about hexing him, but then I remember how much he likes it and finds it endearing instead of a problem. He preens under the hex instead of being scared, which is probably something I should think about. I groan, rubbing my temples as I think about what my life has become.
Mabel finally sets down the paper, folding it back into its original form before her eyes flick up to mine. I’d like to think she knows me well enough to know the thoughts running through my mind. But that glimmer in her eye and the slight uptick of her lips, has me reconsidering. “Now then,” she says, her tone cool as a glass of iced tea melting in the summer sun. “Let’s have a proper look at this so-called ‘Puppy Collar’.”
Her hand waves in front of her, signaling to Miles to show her. His eyes flick between mine and Mabel’s, as if he isn’t sure if he’s allowed to show his chest or if it will bother me. I can see the worry crinkling the corners of his eyes, his concern for my reaction not something that I’m used to. I nod my head once when his eyes land on mine again the tension falling from him with a simple gesture.
His chest puffs as he pulls the collar of his shirt down. He’s practically gleaming with pride as he shows off the lightly-glowing purple moon and stars above his heart. Like the overeager show dog that he is, his eyes flick from Mabel’s to his mate mark and back. “It’s pretty freaking cool, right?”
Mabel’s eyes widen slightly, just enough that I can see the glittering of the mark in her pupils. She seems to ponder for a few moments—you can see the years of lore flipping across her thoughts as she smirks then sighs.
“Cool…isn’t the word that I’d use, per se,” Mabel grumbles before she pushes back from her desk to walk around the thick wooden desk. Each wall of her office is lined with bookshelves, filled with books. I am pretty sure that you could find just about any topic within her personal library. Her sharp gaze flicks between the two of us as she crosses her arms over her chest. Her deep purple, Victorian gown is tight against her chest, another thing she refuses to “get with the times.”
She turns back to her shelf, running her finger along the bindings, as her eyes squint as she reads over the gold embossed lettering. “It’s extremely rare for a witch to bond mark her chosen mate. Even more rare for the mark to glow. Usually it would be similar to a tattoo. Black ink, unique design, and special to the two people. It should be noted that it’s dangerous, this type of bond you two formed. So, no Mr. Everhart, I won’t say it’s cool. But, I’ll definitely give you that it’s important and world changing.”
I lean forward, gripping the skirt of my dress between my hands. What does she mean by it’s dangerous and important? I don’t even understand how the bond was formed, let alone how I performed a type of magic I’ve never learned before.
Mabel hums when she finds the tome that she was searching for. The pitch black leather binding absorbs the light in the room. It doesn’t even look as if it’s been opened this century, maybe even the last two centuries.
My patience is growing thin the longer she takes to elaborate on what all this means. She doesn’t seem to be in a rush to speak either. “Dangerous how?”
Mabel waves her hand in an intertwined circle as if she’s drawing a magical bond in the air in front of us. “Wolf bonds are forged between the stars, drawn by two souls split in half, forever seeking their twin flame. The person who will complete them. They are strong, primal, and instinctual. Wolves don’t have to be told who their mate is, they know the second their eyes connect.”
Miles nods along, his hand wrapping around mine as he gently squeezes it. I’ve known loosely about wolf mating and how the bonds are chosen. Obviously it wasn’t something I ever thought that I’d need to know more about.
“Witch claims are rare as most witches don’t feel a need to bond with someone. Often they stick with marriage or even just a common law marriage. So when a witch chooses to claim someone, it’s through blood and magic. Essentially fusing the two souls together.”
She moves to stand in front of us, both of us looking up to her, waiting. “But when both types of bonds snap into place at the same time? It’s unheard of, except for one other time.” She flips open the book she’d pulled off the shelf, showing none other than Ivora and Elias. Her black polished nails press into the pages as she holds the book open in front of us. Mabel’s left hand reaches around as she points to the faint glow of a moon beneath Elias’s button tunic.
“You’ve created something beyond a bond. You’ve created a channel between the two of you. You’ve amplified your magics through the bond.”
Both of our eyes bulge as her words sink in. Miles’s mouth is gaped open as he turns towards me. I forget how little he knows about magic beyond the shifter world and even less about his own magic gifted to him as a shifter.
Miles blinks slowly, his grin still broad even if he doesn’t understand what’s happening. “What does that mean? Amplify?”
“Each of you have powers, even you Miles. With this channel running between the two of you, your strength, your instincts, even your wolf can be shared to Bellamy. Just as her magic, spell work, and powers can be shared to you. It feeds back and forth until there’s no telling where one of you ends and the other begins.”
My stomach drops, I’ve barely begun to control the full extent of my power and now I’ve got to worry about him blowing up a building? “That doesn’t sound…stable.”
Mabel’s sharp laugh cracks across the silence. “Stable?” She laughs darkly. “Not at all dear. You’re going to have to work together to learn how to balance the powers. Even you Bellamy, since you aren’t used to having the strength and reflexes of a wolf. It’s going to be a challenge for bothof you. You’ve turned into a living myth. Which, if I recall, is your life story at this point, wouldn’t you agree?”
Miles squeezes my hand again, ever the support system that I’ve always needed. “Or,” he says brightly, “it means we are the next power couple and there's no stopping us.”
I close my eyes, dropping my head back against the chair. I groan as I feel the excitement building inside him. “Stopping us from burning the town to the ground, by accident, of course.”
Mabel tilts her head, a glint in her eyes as if she’s already seen how this plays out. Maybe she has, who knows. “So what’s next for the two of you? You know, besides learning to balance the power dynamic?”
Before I can even consider the words or gather my thoughts, Miles blurts without hesitation. “The wedding, of course.”
My eyes snap open as I whip my head towards him. “Excuse me?”
Mabel only hums as she picks up her copy of the Pumpkinridge Gazette, resuming her reading from earlier. She looks over the rim of her glasses, giving me a knowing look. “You better decide quickly, dear. The Gazette is already writing tomorrow’s paper and that juicy morsel is on its way there as we speak.”
I’m just about to ask her what she’s talking about when I hear it.