Page 33 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

It seems like years ago that I was flying back here, thinking I could slide into the coven and resume my old role helping Natalie find curses. What a reality check.

Footsteps swish through the dewy grass, and I don’t need to look up to know who it is.

My skin crackles as Natalie’s energy reaches me—the pull that’s grown stronger and more mystifying the longer I spend in the presence of magic.

Her scent reaches me next, that warm, herbal blend I’ve come to associate with safety.

Now, it makes my heart jump with uncertainty.

She sits on the grass in front of me, her forearms resting on her knees, watching me rock the hammock.

She’s in a cropped brown sweater and joggers, looking cozy enough to cuddle up against. The brightening sky illuminates her brown hair, highlighting the little green and yellow braids peeking through.

There’s a butterfly bandage over the cut on her cheek.

We sit in silence for a long moment, a gulf between us.

“I was thinking about you and your ability,” she finally says, her voice low, “which none of us really understand. I thought about what you read in the library, about the ancient Guardians… And I’d heard something like that before from my dad…

” She runs her fingers through her hair, looking uncomfortable, and huffs.

“He told us witches didn’t always hunt magic.

Said there used to be witches who communed with it instead, until the abuse of power happened after the turn of the century and everything changed.

I never thought much more about it. Just accepted it as history. ”

My hand freezes mid-stroke on Ethel’s back. She looks up at me and paws my arm, annoyed that I stopped.

“What are you saying?” I ask.

“I thought about it all night, and I believe you when you say you’re communicating with the chimeras.”

Her words hit me like a branch falling on my head.

I prepared for more doubts and dismissals, running through arguments that all ended in worst-case scenarios—Natalie and me breaking up, me flying back to Toronto, living the rest of my life trying to pretend none of this ever happened.

But after all this time spent drowning alone, grasping for any help, this feels like she’s thrown me a rope.

“What changed?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

“Nothing. I just…remembered what matters.” She moves closer, resting her hand on my knee.

“I’ve watched you sense curses that no one else could detect.

I’ve seen you follow invisible trails that helped me do my job and even saved our lives.

Your intuition has been right time and again.

More than that, I trust you. And I’m sorry for doubting you. ”

My eyes prickle. After all these arguments, losing Hazel, and battling with the coven, her belief in me feels like the first ray of light in days.

“I was scared that bio magic was manipulating you,” she continues. “Scared of losing you to something I didn’t know how to fight.”

I reach out and squeeze her hand. “I know you were just looking out for me. I love you so much, and I…I didn’t want to have to choose between you and what I know is right.”

She rises to her knees. “I don’t want that either. I’m on your side in life—now and always.”

I press my lips together into a small smile. “Thank you.”

She leans forward, and Ethel scrambles down from the hammock before she can get squished.

Natalie kisses me gently, and as her familiar scent surrounds me, I lean into her, feeling for a moment like everything might be okay.

But as we break apart, I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter though. Any minute, the Shadows will be on their way to try and kill them all.”

“We’re not powerless.” Natalie shakes her head. “It’s ridiculous, really, that we sent you out there with some enchanted net when the solution was staring us in the face.”

I raise an eyebrow, trying to understand what she’s getting at.

“Your ability,” she says. “That’s what we needed all along. Not traps. ”

“But how? What am I supposed to do?”

“You can talk to the chimeras.” Natalie stands, extending her hand to me. “So let’s go talk to them.”

I stare at her, not moving. “You believe me?”

“I do. You’re the only one who can fix this.”

I look up at Natalie, this incredible woman who’s fought for me and chosen to believe in me despite everything she’s been taught.

She’s right—I need to stop this. Not only are the chimeras in danger, but so are the witches.

They don’t seem to grasp how dangerous it would be to attack these chimeras.

Honestly, before I spoke to Lucy, I didn’t understand either.

But now I know better, and I have to do everything in my power to prevent a gruesome fight.

“I’ll do what I can,” I say.

Natalie smiles. “The witches need you, Katie, even if they don’t realize it yet.”

I tilt my head. “I’m not sure I care what they think anymore.”

She furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”

I swing my legs over the side of the hammock and plant my feet on the ground. “I’ve spent too much time trying to show how useful I can be. Like that would earn me a place in the coven. It’s absurd, measuring my worth by how valuable I am to others, but…”

Natalie lets out a breath, tracing her fingers along my jawline. “But these witches are too stubborn to recognize how special you are.”

I shake my head. “I’m done caring about that. I don’t want to prove myself anymore. I just want to trust myself.”

A small smile tugs at Natalie’s lips. “How wise of you.”

I nudge her with my foot. “You once told me that being in the coven is like your whole identity, and you don’t know who you are outside of it.

I feel like…I’ve been trying to do the same thing.

To mold myself into the person they want me to be.

And why? I’ve been so desperate to prove my worth that…

” I lift a shoulder. “I’ve been ignoring my intuition. ”

She searches my face, a crease between her eyebrows. “What’s your intuition telling you now?”

“That I’m not meant to be a witch.”

“Katie—”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to be anymore.

” The words feel weird leaving my mouth.

It’s something I never thought I’d say since learning Natalie’s secrets.

But there’s something freeing about releasing that desperate want—like I can stop trying so hard.

I can just be me . “I think I was born to be something else,” I say, my voice coming out strong.

“I’m meant to be someone who doesn’t fit neatly into the coven’s structure. ”

Deep down, I think I’ve known this for some time. If I truly wanted to join the coven, I would have just done what they said and stopped questioning everything. But somewhere along, I decided that doing what's right is more important than fitting in. It’s time to own that.

I take Natalie’s hand and rise from the hammock. No more hesitation, no more doubting myself. “Let’s go to Lighthouse Park and talk to the chimeras before the Shadows arrive. There must be a solution that protects both magic and humanity.”

Natalie nods. “Lead the way.”

I entwine our fingers, soothed by her warm, strong hand in mine, and pull her back toward the lounge. “First, we have to make a stop.”

As we hurry through the quiet halls, my path forward becomes clear. I’ve been looking for acceptance in the wrong places. I don’t need to be useful to be valuable. I don’t need to trap chimeras to prove my worth.

What I need is to embrace who I truly am: a Guardian, but not C.S.A.M.M.’s kind. I’m descended from the ancient protectors of magic, and I can hear what others can’t. And that’s exactly what this situation needs.

For the first time since I arrived in Vancouver—and maybe the first time in my life—I know who I am and what I have to do.