Page 17

I wasn’t needed at the Friday night treat truck at Morrigan anymore. We had the database and enough options for a list of familiars. I still had to go for the raw ones because there were so many random familiars. That was why Familiar Treasures now had added to our website with the list of animal species we had treats for.

So I was able to get a few sessions done instead, and Mrs. Reid asked to work with me on something because she’d had an idea.

And she asked me to come over to her house.

Cheese was happy to see me since Taylor was working. I was able to meet some of the other familiars they looked after of people Taylor knew still in the military. I knew what Mrs. Reid wanted and gave them all some love, assuring them that they would be okay and to have faith a bit longer in their witches and warlocks.

“This actually isn’t why I asked you to come here,” she said with a chuckle. “But I should have expected it given your big heart.” She waved for me to follow. “I had an idea given—I’ve never worked closely with a witch of your caliber. And it’s rare—we have no real information about working with one as they’re coming into their own.”

I nodded, having already heard that from the Oliverias.

“However, Owen has access to council records without the oversight other members have since he’s the head.” She put her hand on a box after we entered a sitting room. “This is everything he’s found so far on what the council knows about what you need to. My husband is smart and quietly snuck copies of this and that. Be careful with where you put it.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, touched he’d done that for me.

“Of course. I agreed with your worries about eyes on what Mark Oliveria might pull and too many cooks in this particular kitchen. Which is also why I’ve done this on my own on the side without consulting anyone, even Tracey.” She chuckled when I frowned. “You have too much pressure on you, Bevin. Sometimes it’s nice just to try things out without it being a project.”

By the gods, I couldn’t agree more. Now I was excited to see what she’d thought of.

I was stunned when I saw it was bags and bags full of the yarn I’d been using for the familiar comfort blankets… But it was already woven as we would need. I glanced from her to what I was holding in my hands.

“No one knows,” she promised. “I asked the staff of a human friend to help and paid for them to do it extra saying it was for a group exercise at the college I’m starting to mentor at. She took the bait and was just happy for the extra money for her staff. They won’t ever know since they’re not in our world.”

Fair enough, but it didn’t explain the plan.

But then she did and I was totally in. If this worked, it would be huge.

It would be beyond huge and handle a massive logistical issue that we hadn’t been able to figure out. So yeah, I was actually excited while trying not to get my hopes up and put pressure on myself.

That would go against the idea of doing it quietly after all.

“Do you need to focus while you do this?” she asked as I got set up.

“No, but I probably should for this test,” I hedged. “I normally listen to the familiars talk about their problems and issues they’re having or just zone out. I zone out a lot when I use my magic for work.” I bounced that around a bit. “Actually, I don’t know that you zone out and come up with answers. I tend to come up with new toys or ideas or…” I shrugged.

“I used to do the same when I knitted,” she said, seeming to understand. “You basically give your brain free rein to go where it wants and don’t focus yourself. At least mentally.”

“Yes. I just need the vibe of my magic. The rest is whatever.” I left it at that even if it didn’t explain that much. I sat in the middle of the emptied bags of finished skeins and started working on a skein of my own.

“Keep going,” Mrs. Reid guided quietly when I got to the end of the first one. “Just go with the flow and keep going. Talk if you want and I can take notes or whatever. Get things off your mind if you can. That’s what I’m seeing you need.”

That seemed very dismissive to the head of the council’s mate, an accomplished witch in her own right, but she was also my advisor and tutor in a way, so I would trust her. I tied off what I was working on and tossed it with the others before grabbing a new skein. I focused on comfort and then after a minute started talking.

I told her that I needed to update Tracey and Taylor on what I did with Jean and that Wyatt helped. Also, that I wanted to have a different type of treat for cats and dogs. We could do more than cookies because the factory said the machines—they couldn’t keep up. So we could do other treats.

I thought we could do yogurt ones since all we did was mix anyways. A rolling freezer or something that came to that setup to have with fruit cats or dogs could eat. Simple but branch out.

Next, I talked about how I wanted to change some of the plans for sessions and I didn’t know how to do it. People were too used to the format too fast like the gym. It was always evolving and so was my magic. Taylor needed another session where I basically held him up walking over their bridge like the first one.

It was a lot more magic, but they needed the confidence boost. That’s how I saw it. They were about to hit a plateau, and I wanted to skip that after how rough of a time they’d had. When Link and Loki had reached a plateau, they had bulldozed through it in a flash, both of them motivated and competitive.

That was why they had jumped so high so fast.

Taylor and Cheese were not Link and Loki. Same with Emma and her familiar. But everyone talked and now they all said how their sessions were and acted like they were the authority. I didn’t even blame them because I was an eighteen-year-old kid.

I really wasn’t mad this time. I just didn’t know how to handle it. I wasn’t confident enough in myself to feel like I could adjust and pivot like a trained professional. There was no professional familiar bond therapist basically. But it was what was needed. So I needed the confidence.

And I probably should already have that. We’d figured out how to “sabotage” the brushes now so they were only the level of toys. I’d known how to do that after a bit. I’d done so much.

Why couldn’t I value myself more and have the confidence?

I pivoted again and said how hard all of the sessions were. Everyone wanted more and some were getting a bit lazy again. I was glad they were going to pay more, but they wanted more because they paid. It wouldn’t work if they didn’t put in the effort, and I didn’t want to waste my limited time if they wouldn’t.

Screw the money. I could make a ton more spending that time making toys. Or hell, resting so I could recharge and do other things. I could finally have some of those normal dates and things Kelton talked about instead of always rushing off to meet a member of the council or their mate.

That was not normal college kid behavior. And some of them needed to get off their asses and seriously get to work. Not ask that I come plant the seed of magic in their own land or keep asking when I was going to do it for the council.

That made me circle back to ideas I had for the future. I did want to do a familiar assessment in the future. Not tell people who it was, but say we did have someone on staff who could talk to animals now, and if they wanted to really get an assessment of what their familiars were trying to tell them, they could. For a price, but that was fair.

Or a group one for cheaper even if that would give me a headache. It probably wouldn’t be bad if I had like five of the same species of animals unless they were a super hyper and loud animal like Mrs. Oliveria’s familiar.

I talked about several other things like wanting to work with Mrs. Daly’s daughter and being glad that Dr. Haskins accepted my extra credit. Sometimes I felt like he was speaking a different language to me still, but I wasn’t completely lost in class, so that was nice, amazing even since the first class had made me want to cry I’d been so far behind.

I got to the end of a skein and realized I was really thirsty, tying off the yarn and letting out a long breath.

“You are truly an astounding woman, Bevin,” Mrs. Reid said with a smile.

“It worked?” I gasped, beaming at her when she nodded.

“You did them all ,” she chuckled.

“No, really?”

“Oh yes, I saw—I used a spell where I basically could gauge their magic filling up almost like they were vessels,” she said, looking like she was struggling to explain it to me since I was still learning and behind. “I sat here and took notes for you as I watched several start to fill up. It was as if…”

“What?” I asked.

“You were using a garden hose. No, you were the sprinkler,” she corrected. “Too much magic was coming out of you for one skein that you were doing. You guessed that correctly and slowly it just soaked up into the other ones all done like a sprinkler does the ground. It was fascinating to watch. Well done.”

“So not everyone could do that?” I hedged, glancing around and trying to even get a quick count.

“With work, but—you have a lot of magic. You’ve talked about your engine being different. We’re all vehicle engines and you’re a jet one really. That’s the best analogy for the difference. So I would do that with things I was touching. You have more power.” She gave an elegant half shrug to say that explained it all.

And it really sort of did.

“It would probably be better to…” I was going to say get the magic on the skeins first and then have people put them together, but then it was easier to lose the magical yarn. No, better to do it the way we had.

But then the yarn could be more versatile. Right?

“Oh, I see your brain spinning with ideas,” she chuckled. “But you got a bit lost in your head, so you will have to be careful with this until you’re more comfortable with it like you are making toys. What made you stop?”

“I got thirsty,” I answered. “Really thirsty.” I frowned and pulled out my phone. “How long was I rambling?”

“You did several skeins so yes, you have to limit them or you will keep going.” There was something in her eyes when I looked at her. “I suggest you have Professor Wyatt check you during this. Try different ideas and maybe how far you can go to push yourself. He would be the best as your power assessor.”

She was amused. I could see that… But I didn’t know why .

Had I said something that made her think I wanted to spend time with Wyatt?

Had he?

She winked but then said she’d get me something to drink before I had to leave. Also, she’d make sure to get it all to Tracey. I flinched and she froze.

“Sorry,” I whispered, feeling horrible. “Sorry. Really.”

She gave me a kind look. “I’ll try not to take offense. You couldn’t trust your family and that should never be the case. I would never steal from you, Bevin. I really just want to help.” She gave a snort. “You’d give me as many as I asked for if I did. There’s no reason to ever steal from you when you’re too kind.”

“People still do,” I said sadly. “I just—my mind went to Jean.” I frowned. “I think I’m going to be sensitive about that for a while.”

“And that’s valid. I would be too.” She came over and gave me a quick hug which shocked me. “You bag them up and I’ll have your security take them with you.”

“No, I don’t—we have to pay you for the materials and—”

“We’ll take blankets later, but you’ve done so much for us already. We should do more for you.” And then she quickly left the room.

I didn’t take offense. She became emotional anytime she thought about how I helped her son. I didn’t understand it since I didn’t have kids, but I was glad both the Reids were appreciative of what I’d done.

I really was.

A few of her staff helped my guards drag it all to the circle when it was time to go, and I thanked her again. She told me that she’d talk to Wyatt about what happened and we could figure out how to work at it and push me.

Okay then.

“I have questions,” Winter muttered as we arrived at my house and he took in all the massive black garbage bags. “Lots of questions, little sexy. Did you rob a… I don’t even know.”

“No,” I chuckled. “Mrs. Reid is awesome and figured out how to fit a square peg in a round hole.” I bounced that back and forth. “Kind of. Or maybe—I actually don’t know the right analogy, but she’s fucking awesome.”

“My mom always is,” Taylor said from behind me, his tone curious. “And she just texted me to talk to you about my sessions and stop being so assuming. That you’re the master and every lesson is different, not PT, so to pull my head out of my ass.” His lips twitched. “Basically. So what’s the plan to—”

“Gonna stop you right there,” Winter cut in with a chuckle and gestured to the crazy with me. “She’s got a lot going on already. And a date. So people need to remember everything isn’t on their timetable just because they can catch her.”

Taylor glanced between us and nodded. “Fair. Sorry, Bevin. Habit.” He picked up a few of the bags. “Where do you want all of this?”

It took me a moment to get my mouth to work. “Oh, just inside. I have to talk to Tracey.” I blew out a deep breath. “And Wyatt. He needs to know about this.”

“Now?” Winter hedged. “It’s spa night and I have dinner.”

“No, not now,” I hurried to answer. “Sorry, just—can’t forget.”

He nodded and leaned in, kissing my cheek. “Good. Thanks. This is the last Friday night I can take for a while and we both need it. I was hoping we could talk spa night maybe being Mondays when I’m off.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it again, glad when he just chuckled. I gestured to the bags people were carrying inside. “This was a lot. My mind is racing. We like spa night, so we’ll figure out something.”

“Something is good,” he accepted. “You’re going to talk to me about what happened, right?”

I snorted. “I tell you all my secrets when you massage my scalp. Don’t act like you’re abused.”

“I like feeling special,” he chuckled and grabbed the rest with me. “Seriously, they’re super light. Did you rob a feather store?”

“Yes, yes, I did,” I teased, feeling lighter as well.

Tracey came home with food too, so she joined us with Taylor crashing, asking what had happened with the “garbage bag galore which clashed with the décor.”

I wasn’t the only one who laughed.

“That’s amazing and so is Laura,” she praised. “Now, tell me why you keep giving me worried looks. And Taylor. Are you afraid I’m really going to gobble him up?”

I barely smothered a giggle when Taylor coughed on his bite, thumping his chest. “No, but I’m not sure you’re going to like what I want to do. What I want to try with his sessions.”

Her eyebrows shot up, putting it together. “You want me involved? Why?”

Winter chuckled. “You’re amazing, Bev.” He nodded when I glanced at him. “You want to try and combine the sessions and let Taylor and Cheese see what they could have.”

It was my turn to be shocked. “Yes. Yeah, exactly that. They’re so hesitant and really just want to spend time together. They don’t seem to understand—they never had what was then lost like others have. He was too young. The time they should have started really focusing on building the bond, he abandoned it.”

“Ouch,” Taylor muttered.

“Sorry, but I’m not wrong,” I apologized… Sort of. “I’m not trying to be mean. And—I think you need the push. Cheese needs to see what you’re trying to give him even if you don’t fully understand it.”

“Bev, that’s a lot of magic and something you’ve never done while you’re doing a lot that you’ve never done,” Tracey worried. “Case in point, all the trash bags in the living room.”

“But that’s why it has to be you,” Winter surmised. “You’re not just a constant. You’re the foundation, and nothing can hurt your bond with Woodchuck. Even if it doesn’t go exactly as planned, it won’t be a disaster with you involved. Plus, Bev trusts you more than anyone else in the world, so she’ll feel safe to try something this new.”

“Okay, I didn’t think you got any sexier than telling Taylor to chill out and not stomp on my time, but you understanding all of that about me is seriously fucking hot,” I blurted… And wanted to melt into the chair when I realized I did.

But Winter didn’t let me run or hide, turning our chairs to face each other and letting out a long breath as he met my gaze. “I love that you were so open and honest about that and praise me so easily. It’s exactly what I need in my life after so many years of being torn down or being seen as nothing because I’m an orphan. You don’t get that because of how you lived.”

“Even I flinched but not because you were one,” Tracey admitted.

“It’s because you know how hard his life is over something not his fault and so stupid that our society judges,” Taylor mumbled, nodding when she did. “It’s not pity, but… I get the same.”

Winter nodded that he heard them but kept his focus on me, taking my hands in his even. “You have been told this narrative all of your life that you’re broken and not good enough. Yes, because you hid your magic, but also because—you know why. Growing up as you did—I know you don’t hate how you turned out because you didn’t have the influences we had.”

I nodded, having thought a lot that I was more confident than most women my age about a lot of things.

“Do not change that,” he said firmly, squeezing my hands when I went to pull away. “You were shocked I could easily figure out where your head was. I’m not amazing. Yes, I pay attention and understand the topic, but… I’m about to sound like I’m saying you’re simple. You’re not.”

“You talk the same language we do just fine, Bev, no matter what your family told you that you’re not like us,” Tracey added gently.

“Yes, thank you,” Winter agreed, nodding. “You do see the world differently from us and that’s amazing. And yes, you don’t always catch onto social situations because of how you grew up. But you are articulate, logical—everything better than most your age. They lied to you, Bev. They rigged everything against you to justify what they planned.”

I knew that. I knew that deep down and even at the front of my mind, but hearing him say that and the others agree, helped me. I let out a slow breath. “Can I still think it’s sexy you jumped in with Taylor and reminded him not to be so damn pushy?”

“Yes, I am your knight for that, and I love that you appreciate it and even think it’s sexy. I’m glad we’ve found our line.” He raised one of my hands to his lips and kissed it.

“Well, I just swooned,” Jasmine mumbled as she walked in with her food and Clare.

Clare seemed like she wanted to say the same, but also stared at Winter like he’d grown a second head. We also weren’t in the same place to joke around like I could with the others, so I appreciated her not jumping in and keeping it to herself.

“As someone who was torn down—I know you’re getting a lot of help and guidance. There’s some wisdom I want to hit you with that someone gave me. You aren’t an orphan… But you kinda really are and were abused in the same way I was.”

“Um, now?” I checked.

“Now, because they won’t let it go and would still listen in,” he drawled, slowly looking at Tracey and Jasmine as if daring them to deny it.

They didn’t.

So I shrugged. Okay, sure, weird Friday night dinner date, but… What did I know?

“I had a teacher in high school—an orphan as well and knew how bad things could be—ask me what I saw for myself. Not so much what happy looked like, but what did I see as the goal for adult Winter as a man? He said I needed to stop thinking of it as being better or being best—anything vague was out the window.

“It was time to put specifics on that idea like I was creating a job as adult Winter. What qualifications did he have or require to deserve being a man or adult in our world? And that would give me a clear vision—goals on how to get there just like you add to your resume.”

“Don’t,” I warned when I saw Jasmine open her mouth out of the corner of my eyes.

“Right, sorry,” she sighed. “Rough day. Holding it in for so long makes me a bit—sorry, Winter. Truly.” She let out a slow breath. “It’s actually very healthy, and I wish I’d done this with younger Jasmine.”

I felt good when all of them snorted. But I had one question. “What was the first thing you put on the list?”

“Stability,” he answered immediately. “Adult Winter has stability. He’s someone who knows his path and what he wants. He knows what he needs to do and also how to help those he cares about—be a rock when they need one instead of a fool who adds to the chaos. He gets shit done and is stable.”

“You are a rock,” I praised. “And your friends all—I think you’ve nailed that one already.”

“Not as much as I’d like, but you’ve been a big help in alleviating my greatest fear and way to stay safe,” he praised, reaching out and booping my nose. “And I’m going to give you your first one because I see you as a real adult better than you do.” He waited until I nodded. “Support. Adult Bevin has a good support system after growing up as she did.”

He gestured to the people sitting around us and I followed his gaze.

I felt my eyes burn and hurried to blink so tears didn’t form. He was right. I’d only gotten support from Grandpa growing up until I’d met Tracey and worked with her. It hadn’t ever been enough with everything else bad, and—I’d always wanted more support and help.

Now I had it. Was it perfect? No, but Winter was right and I was on my way to being adult Bevin.

“Thank you, Sir Winter,” I whispered, feeling choked up.

“Always, Lady Bevin,” he said gently, squeezing my hands again. “Let’s finish up and relax for spa night.”

Yeah, that sounded perfect.