Page 14 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

A s Natalie steers us down Marine Drive, pedestrians on the boardwalk crane their necks and point at something we can’t see. Traffic is backed up as cars slow down to look. Dark clouds gather overhead, wind whips through the trees lining the street, and magic pulls at my blood like a tide.

I fold my arms across my queasy stomach and sink lower in the passenger seat.

This would be less daunting with Sky and the other Shadows here, but Fiona made herself clear in that special brand of ice-queen disapproval she saves just for me: “This is not a Shadow’s job.

You’re lucky I’m letting Natalie help you. ”

So I’m here with my intuition and Troy’s enchanted net in the trunk, hoping for the best. Oh, and a fake Animal Control uniform to match Natalie’s .

Meanwhile, Natalie’s hands are steady and capable on the steering wheel, her fingers tapping a rhythm as she navigates traffic. Does she ever doubt herself? Or is insecurity not in a witch’s repertoire?

She parallel parks, and we climb out into the salty sea air.

Train tracks and a boardwalk separate us from the rocky shore, where seagulls, driftwood, and tangles of seaweed bob in the high tide.

The town’s iconic wooden pier stretches toward Washington, and trotting along the weathered planks is…

Yup, that’s a pig all right. Round, pink, and as bizarrely out of place as…

well, as a pig at the beach. It’s chasing seagulls like an excited puppy.

My skin prickles as magic hits my senses. While my eyes see ‘escaped livestock,’ my gut screams ‘dangerous magical creature that’s about to ruin everyone’s day.’

“How is the coven planning to explain this when it shapeshifts?” I ask, fastening the enchanted gauntlet to my hand.

“Publicity stunt.” Natalie cuffs the sleeves of her Animal Control shirt. With her toned arms filling it out and her hair in a low bun, she manages to make the fake uniform look hot. “Some influencer with zero regard for public safety trying to go viral.”

“That actually works?”

“Sebastian usually volunteers for cover-ups. He’d probably do it again if…”

If we can find him. His and Millie’s disappearance after the Madsens infiltrated C.S.A.M.M. hangs between us.

My phone vibrates in my pocket.

Hazel

The uniform suits you.

I’m in the cafe across the street.

I should’ve known she would hang around. I look back, but the cafe windows only reflect the traffic.

Hazel

Can I come help? I don’t want to miss the fun part.

Katie

Considering this thing could transform into a giant dragon and kill us all, I’m gonna say no.

Hazel

Fiiine. Give me a signal if you change your mind.

Katie

What signal?

Hazel

I dunno. Wave your arms or do the YMCA.

Katie

Just stay there and make a getaway plan. I’m not in the mood to watch my bestie get trampled by a pig.

My stomach twists. If this goes sideways, I don’t want that to be the last thing I ever said to her.

Wish me luck. Love you.

As I pocket my phone, Natalie hands me the net from the trunk. Though it’s big enough to cover the pig when unraveled, it weighs nothing, like holding sunbeams. Magic seeps from the golden threads into my bloodstream, giving me a buzz like an espresso shot.

“I can’t use magic freely with all these people watching, but I’ll do everything I can to push the chimera toward you,” she says, her fingers lingering on mine. “Make your move as soon as you’re close. Don’t hesitate. ”

I swallow hard. There’s a pause, and she bends to brush her lips over mine, sending a ripple of heat through me. Her breath tickles my face, her taste sweet and intoxicating. After all these months, her kiss is still as exhilarating and seductive as forbidden magic flowing into my veins.

“I’ve got you, okay?” she whispers against my mouth. The words send a pleasant tingle through me, taking me back to better times—and begging the question of if I’ll ever get a chance to tell her how much I love her.

But right now, we need to focus.

I dip my chin, too nervous to speak. Her fingers trace my cheek before she steps back and squares her shoulders, all business.

With her kiss still warming my lips, we set off.

High tide crashes against the rocks, and shouts carry over the waves.

The pig trots around at the far end of the half-kilometer pier, the size of a paperclip from here.

A handful of pedestrians remain, but they speed-walk away as the pig chases them.

Most people are taking videos from a safe distance.

“Won’t it just transform into a bird and fly away the second it sees me with the net?” I ask, craning my neck to keep it in sight.

“Feral magic usually tries to kill its attacker if it feels threatened, so we’ll have a chance to catch it when it fights us.”

“Oh,” I say in a small voice. “Good.”

That explains why Troy is covered in scars.

Natalie stops at the pier’s entrance. “Ready?”

My brain screams nope , but my mouth says, “Sure.”

The net pulses against my palms like a second heartbeat. There’s a strange hiss in the back of my mind, like someone whispering from across a quiet room.

That can’t be a good sign.

“Could you imagine if this was just someone’s escaped pet pig?” I say, attempting a smile. “And we’re here with this net, going way overboard trying to catch it? ”

Natalie laughs—and then stops as the pig turns and looks right at us.

Only a group of teenagers remain between us and the chimera, giggling and clutching each other as they try to get closer. The pig lowers its head, looking right past them and staring us down.

I take a step onto the weathered planks, which creak under my feet.

The salty spray sticks to my face, and that weird hiss in my mind grows louder.

The seagulls have gone quiet, like they know something supernatural is about to go down.

A long shadow stretches over the planks beside the pig, though it isn’t sunny, and I swear the shadow doesn’t match the animal’s shape.

“Little hunter, you dare to bind what was never meant for chains?” a voice hisses in the back of my mind.

What? Who said that?

I whip my head around, but nobody is there.

“Did you hear that?” I ask Natalie.

“The train?” she asks, pointing.

“No, I…” I spin to see a long freight train appear around the distant curve of the shore, its headlight cutting through the gloom. A low rumble meets my ears.

“Okay, everybody away from the beach!” Natalie’s voice shifts into authoritative mode as she positions herself between me and potential witnesses. “Anyone remaining will be fined. Move back behind the tracks, now!”

She herds people away, beckoning sternly to the teenagers. Smart—the passing train will give us cover.

My heartbeat quickens. I grip the net tighter, my palms sweating and my skin prickling all over. Do we really think I can do this? Yeah, I can sense the bio magic in front of me, but so what? Just because a person can see a tornado doesn’t mean they can trap it in a jar.

My phone buzzes, and I steal a glance in case it’s Hazel with something important.

Hazel

I found an article on how to catch a pig.

I stare blankly at the link. Okay, first of all—

I shake my head and pocket my phone, focusing.

When I look up, the pig’s form ripples like disturbed water, and my heart lurches. Pink skin transforms into wrinkled gray hide. Tusks burst out like ivory daggers. A trunk unfurls, huge ears fan out, and I’m suddenly facing an elephant.

The boardwalk groans under its massive weight.

Well, this is inconvenient.

“Natalie?” I call, fidgeting with the net that’s now pitifully small. “We might need a backup plan.”

The elephant trumpets, the sound so out of place that my spine tingles.

“Crap,” Natalie says as screams erupt.

The train rumbles closer.

Every survival instinct tells me to run, but the same pull that drew me to Lucy, to curses, to this life, roots me in place. I have to catch this thing.

“Keep moving!” Natalie roars at the crowd. “Off the tracks!”

People scurry away as she raises her voice. Loose rocks and driftwood gather at her feet—ammunition ready while everyone’s focus is on the elephant.

The elephant’s ears flare outward as it shakes its head. And I’m no wildlife expert, but I’m pretty sure this means it’s about to charge.

The railway crossing bell rings. Barrier arms lower. The ground rumbles.

The elephant starts toward us, the planks groaning under each heavy step. I spin and grab Natalie’s wrist, pulling her off the pier with me. We hurtle onto the brick boardwalk, its thundering strides gaining on us.

The freight train roars past, a wall of metal between us and the crowd .

Natalie seizes her chance, whirling around and raising her arms. My hair lifts from the surge of power as she launches her arsenal. Rocks and driftwood rise from the beach and encircle the elephant, bringing it to a stop on the boardwalk.

Watching her control the earth with such grace is a harsh reminder of the gulf between us. She’s so utterly, incredibly extraordinary.

“Get ready with the net!” Natalie shouts.

The elephant swings its head left and right, calculating its next move.

“How? It’s too small and so am I!” I shout, searching for a height advantage. The railings on the pier… The giant white rock that the city was named for… Ugh, who am I kidding? I’m not a ninja.

The swirl of stones and wood constricts around the elephant, about to slam into it. Its form ripples again, shrinking beneath the debris. Gray hide melts into spotted fur, its trunk shortens, and its body condenses into something lean and deadly.

“Oh, come on,” I mutter as a cheetah crouches on the boardwalk, its tail lashing.

Beneath the train’s rumble, the whispers grow louder. “We remember the cages. We remember the fires. Turn back while you still draw breath.”

That voice again! Who’s talking to me? Are the Madsens behind this?

The image of a familiar long room lined with metal bars and torches flashes across my vision like a bright light. I blink, stumbling backward, and then it’s gone.

Oh God. Is the voice…?

I shake my head and raise the net, refusing to be thrown off. There will be time to decipher that later. Right now, I’m not letting this thing get away.

The cheetah bares its fangs, its haunches tensing as its purple eyes lock onto me .

Something in its eyes freezes me in place. Maybe it’s the shade of purple—the same as Natalie’s when she’s using magic, and Lucy’s when she terrorized my bedroom, and—

The cheetah launches forward like a bullet.

Adrenaline surges through me. With a battle cry that sounds braver than I feel, I throw the net. The golden threads fan out, beautiful and enchanted, gleaming like treasure—and it misses entirely, falling limp onto the damp rocks at our feet.

“Dammit!”

The cheetah twists past me fluidly, and Natalie raises a wall of rocks to funnel it back. But it shrinks into a tiny sparrow, zipping through a gap.

“This is ridiculous,” I say, collecting the tangled net. “Isn’t there a better way?”

“We knew it’d be impossible,” Natalie grunts, raising an avalanche of rocks, sticks, shells, and debris above the bird to force it lower.

The sparrow spins and dives, so small among the flying rubble that I struggle to keep track of it.

Natalie moves her arms like a dance, creating a vortex. With her hair loose and billowing in the wind, she’s a formidable sight as she works to trap the bird.

And I’m stumbling clumsily over the beach, untangling the net as I go.

Overhead, the vortex tightens into an upside-down tornado.

I run underneath it with the net held in front of me, feeling like a cartoon character trying to catch everything that’s falling at once.

“It’s still out of reach!” I stop running and thrust the net toward her. “Here. Use magic to throw it.”

“If I do that,” Natalie says, her voice strained with the effort, “I’m going to drop half these rocks.”

I growl in frustration. “This would be easier if you’d let me have magic! ”

Natalie’s face goes blank with surprise, and I bite my tongue.

The words slipped out before I could filter them.

I know it’s not up to her whether I’m allowed to be a witch, and the coven has a lot of laws, but she can’t deny it’d be a game-changer.

I wouldn’t be stumbling around like a klutz while Natalie does all the work.

I could launch the net at the chimera with magic instead of weakly throwing it.

Out of nowhere, a piece of driftwood rockets toward me and slams into my hip. I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my wrist as I catch myself.

Before I can get up, a rock hurtles at my head, and I barely raise the gauntlet in time. The stone ricochets with a clang!

“Katie!” Natalie’s concentration breaks, debris raining down as she rushes to my side.

“I’m fine!” I scramble to my feet, my hip screaming in protest, and look around for my attacker. My skin prickles uncomfortably, and I rub my arm. “It’s coming from…”

A lithe figure stands on the boardwalk in a crimson trench coat, her hands raised as she manipulates rocks and wood with earth magic. Power radiates from her like heat waves.

My stomach drops as I recognize that white-blonde braid and nasty sneer.

Sophia Madsen has joined the party. And suddenly, catching this chimera got a lot more complicated.