by J. E. Cluney
I snorted at the suggestion.
‘I start work there Saturday, but sounds good.’
‘Oh awesome, guess I’ll see you in there then, I grab my coffees from there, they’re so much better than the uni ones.’
I contemplated telling her I would be joining the barista team. I did make a decent coffee.
‘Cool, I finish at 3 tomorrow. Wanna meet out the front afterwards?’
‘Sounds like a plan, see you then.’
Huh. Maybe making friends wasn’t so hard.
Although, I’d have to talk to her in person about this reading minds thing. I didn’t think it was appropriate over message.
I smiled as Lucas accepted my friend request, and sent me a winky face to greet me.
I shot a laughing emoji back, which he liked.
“All right, no more Facebook, you need to learn about your new world,” I muttered as I set the phone down on my bedside table.
Not to mention I’d start my study for my Animal Management too.
I reached down to the pile of books beside my bed and picked up the encyclopedia. I was intrigued by all the different supes out there, although I’d covered the common ones a fair bit. I had so much learning to do in order to fit in. I was the black sheep here, the supernatural with barely any knowledge.
I’d change that.
I padded down the stairs in my socks and pajamas after having had my shower. It was just after seven-thirty, and Skip had messaged me to inform me dinner was ready.
Spaghetti bog. Something I hadn’t had in a while.
“I’m just saying, if it were up to me, your sister shouldn’t even be at uni anymore. C’mon, one year left, and she’s done how much of her course?” Skip scoffed as he sat down at the dining table with Lucas and Ollie.
“Apparently, next to nothing from what I hear,” Ollie muttered as his eyes moved to trail over me in my pajamas.
I was suddenly very aware that I had no bra on, and the cooler night air had made its mark.
This didn’t go unnoticed as Ollie’s eyes dropped to check out my perky nipples before flicking away.
Skip was less inconspicuous.
“Bit cold, huh?” He gave me his charming smile as I folded my arms over my chest.
“Skip,” Lucas scolded him before waving for me to join them.
I kept my arms covering my breasts as I sat down in the free seat beside him, with the other two straight across from me.
The pot of spaghetti bog was perched on a wooden chopping board between us all, and it was apparently self serve.
“Want a drink?” Lucas asked as he served me up a sizable amount.
“Um, sure,” I said as I tried to avoid meeting Skip’s gaze.
“So, Ally, meet any good-looking fellas today?” Skip asked as Lucas waved his hand and some orange juice floated out of the fridge. It glided over and poured into my cup just under full before flitting back into the open fridge.
I smiled every time Lucas did that, and he appeared to enjoy my amazement as he watched me with a soft smile.
“Um, no,” I said as I caught Skip’s expectant gaze.
“Really? No one?” His mouth curved into a smirk as he jammed his fork into his spaghetti.
“Didn’t really have time,” I muttered as I had a mouthful of the hot spaghetti bog. Damn, it was good, saucy with seasoned mince.
“That’s just sad. Especially if it’s been a while since your ex,” he snickered. “Might be getting lonely.”
“I never said it’s been a while in that department,” I retorted, causing him to chuckle.
“Well, seems our little pixie is quite the minx,” he winked, causing the heat to flood my cheeks.
I didn’t have a good response to that, so I just settled for reaching for my juice and taking a large gulp.
“I’ve never been with a pixie, would love to see how that mischief magic works,” Skip said casually as he shoved another mouthful of spaghetti bog into his mouth.
I just stared at him in shock, trying to decipher what he was saying.
“Skip, she’s going to take that the wrong way,” Oliver sighed.
“Oh, nah, she can take it however she likes,” Skip gave me a crooked grin with a wink as he wiggled his eyebrows.
I felt like my face was on fire right now. The thought of Skip naked and in my bed was definitely a hot one, and it was warming me up. I was quick to squash it down before it heated me up too much.
“Jesus, Skip, you’ll be the death of her,” Lucas chuckled.
“I’m just saying, I’m down for anything,” Skip shrugged.
I focused on my plate, staring dumbly at my spaghetti as my body quivered at the suggestion.
Was he insinuating he’d sleep with me?
I mean, I wouldn’t pretend I wasn’t an okay-looking girl, and I’d snagged quite a few one-night stands on Tinder. But he was my housemate for crying out loud.
“Ally, relax, he’s just playing with you,” Lucas assured me.
“He just wants you to believe that,” Skip laughed. “He just wants you to himself.”
“On the contrary, if I did want Ally, you know perfectly well that I’m always up for sharing,” Lucas’s mouth curved into a playful grin.
“Oh yes, Lucy does love to have fun,” Skip snorted.
“Ollie likes to get involved too sometimes, don’t ya?” Skip turned on Ollie and elbowed him, whose face lit up like a red fairy light.
“What is going on?” I squeaked, and Lucas laughed as Skip just shook his head.
As if he’d timed it, Marcus walked in right then, glancing around at all of us at the table.
“Marcus, save me,” I mumbled as I groaned and reached for my half empty glass of juice.
“Let me guess, they couldn’t keep up their cover that this isn’t a sex house?” Marcus mused, and I just gaped at him.
“What?” I nearly choked as my eyes flicked around to my housemates.
“What exactly do you think happens on their party nights, VB? You’re in a house of man-whores,” Marcus said with a straight face as he opened up the fridge.
He pulled out his cool bag and removed a small blood bag for himself before stuffing the bag back into the fridge and closing it. He then leaned against the door as those frosty eyes settled on me with an amused glint.
“Guilty as charged,” Skip admitted with one hand raised to the flag.
“I’m not a man-whore,” Ollie pouted.
“Oh, but you do sneak into the action when you can, don’t deny it,” Skip laughed as Oliver’s ashamed eyes fell on me.
What the hell was going on right now?
Had the charade been given away? Were they all just playing the part of being sweet housemates when in truth I was their next plaything?
And despite the way it unnerved me and even freaked me out, it excited me.
I had to inwardly scold myself at the thought.
“Ally, relax, don’t get stressed. Everyone likes to get laid every once in a while, and we’re all single, so sometimes, we have some… friends, come over. I’m sure you know the drill,” Lucas turned to me, those calm forest green eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Yeah, I guess,” I shrugged, but my face was burning and my body was ready to jump to life. Right. I couldn’t be annoyed at them for it, I’d had quite a few one-night stands myself.
And they were young men.
“So, wait, you bring them back here?” I asked.
“Yeah, although we generally give a heads up via messenger. I’ll add you to the group chat,” Skip grinned as he reached for his phone on the table.
I just looked around at my four housemates, stunned. I had not expected to find that out tonight.
I mean, I knew they’d be doing stuff, but I didn’t realize they’d be so open about it.
“If you wanna bring a guy back, just give us a heads up, but we don’t like to share with outsiders,” Skip gave me his charming grin, and I took a moment to try to gauge if he
was joking or not.
“Just know that sometimes we may talk about it, and Skip most certainly will talk about it. He wasn’t meant to until you’d settled in so we didn’t scare you off,” Lucas said pointedly at Skip, who just rolled his eyes as he polished off his plate.
“I’m not that easy to scare off,” I said instantly, which drew a deep chuckle from Marcus.
“Oh, but you’ve only brushed the surface, VB, trust me,” he said, drawing my attention. He was sipping from the small blood bag, using the tube to suck it out. It looked like it was right out of a hospital. Wouldn’t surprise me.
My mind flicked momentarily to the stories my cousin had told me of sex while being bitten by a vamp. Apparently the best she’d ever had.
I shoved the thought aside as I dragged my eyes away from him.
“Even you too, Ollie?” I turned to my best mate with a playful pout.
“No!” he barked, his eyes widening.
“Aw, isn’t that cute. You don’t want her to know, I think someone’s got a crush,” Marcus chuckled, and I found myself happily warming at the sound.
“No, that’s not it!” Ollie sunk into his seat as he averted his eyes.
It wasn’t like he’d tried to hide his interest in me, I just wasn’t sure how interested. Just a little crush, or a jump my bones if given the chance? Probably the second, he was a guy after all.
“Hey, leave him alone,” Lucas chuckled.
“Hey, he’s been the first one naked with her,” Skip grinned, and I rolled my eyes as the image of Ollie naked on my bed that first morning flared into my mind.
“It wasn’t like that!” Ollie snapped as his eyes flashed brightly.
“Oh shit,” Lucas sighed, and I just stared dumbly as Oliver disappeared from sight.
“What?” I muttered as I glanced around the room.
“Oh, crap, I’m sorry,” Skip cringed as he looked down at the seat beside him.
Oh, dear God.
“Look what you did! He’s got his first prac day tomorrow!” I said, horrified as I stood up, the orange and white cat sitting unhappily on the seat. He had such a grumpy cat face that I couldn’t keep from smiling despite feeling mortified for him.
“Oh boy, hopefully it’ll just be a short one,” Skip murmured as he stood up and began gathering plates, obviously wanting to pretend like it wasn’t his fault.
‘I hate you.’
I flinched at the words that rung out in my mind as clear as day. Oliver’s voice.
The cat was glaring at Skip’s back, his tail twitching manically.
“Right, Ally, you’ll hear his voice now, thanks to your bracelet,” Lucas reminded me.
Crap. I’d forgotten that.
Ollie leaped down off the chair, stalking over to Skip who was rinsing the plates and stacking the dishwasher.
‘I had prac tomorrow!’ Ollie snapped, and his small form yowled as he leaped at Skip.
I watched in shock as Ollie attacked Skip’s leg, clawing and biting him like a savage little cat.
“I’m sorry! Ow…. Ow! Fuck off!” Skip cursed as he flailed his leg in an attempt to shake him off.
Ollie hissed as he shot back, his back arching up.
“Boys, seriously? In front of Ally?” Lucas sighed. “C’mon Ollie, let’s try that relaxation spell, see if we can’t try to get you to turn back before tomorrow,” he sighed.
“A spell?” I murmured softly.
“Sometimes a relaxation spell can help reverse it sooner. It’s a gamble, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It focuses on relaxing him, and if the shift was caused by an emotional outburst rather than just a random shift, then sometimes it can fix it,” Lucas explained.
“Well, that’d be good, but he needs to do his prac,” I sighed as I looked down at the cat stalking past me. He stopped as he looked up at me, and then crouched down before pouncing up on the table beside where I was sitting.
‘I forgot to tell you, I met that dingo shifter today. Said his name was Derek, that was the guy you told me about, right? He could smell you on me, asked how I knew you,’ Oliver said, his amber eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at me with curiosity.
“Derek was in your shifter class?” I mumbled, my stomach twisting at the thought. God, no, why was he here?
“Who’s Derek?” Skip asked as he checked his scratched up leg.
‘Ally’s ex,’ Oliver stated as his tail twitched unhappily. ‘He was in my shifter class until we got split.’
I sunk deeper into my seat as I thought about him. He wasn’t a fan of my mischief magic when it flared up once. That had been the big turning point in our relationship.
He’d also been a narcissistic arsehole. And more.
“Why are we only just hearing about this?” Skip smirked.
“Because she doesn’t want to talk about it,” Marcus spoke up from his stance against the fridge.
I caught those frosty blue eyes, and for a moment, I knew that he understood me. He knew how I felt right now, and why Derek was not a talking point for me. Those icy blue eyes were soft and saddened.
I guess the real Marcus was showing through.
“Why not? Did he hurt you?” Lucas asked softly as he touched my arm.
I flinched and pulled away, standing up in a huff.
“I think I’ll head to bed, thank you for dinner, Skip,” I nodded at the confused man by the dishwasher.
‘Ally… ’ Oliver murmured, but I shook my head.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled.
“If he hurt you, we can fuck him up,” Skip growled.
“We won’t let him touch you, Ally,” Lucas said, but I was already shaking my head as I wrapped my arms around me, the uneasiness churning inside me as fear and anger boiled beneath the surface.
Why was he at this university? Why now?
“Ally,” Lucas said firmly as I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Fucking spaghetti!” Skip shrieked.
My eyes popped open, and I just watched numbly as the spaghetti bog clambered out of the pot like a writhing mass of worms.
It split into sections, and each one launched at the closest person.
I watched as a large blob of spaghetti bog splattered against Lucas’s chest, snarling and writhing as a strange little mouth tried to bite him. Thankfully, spaghetti had no teeth.
‘Help!’ Ollie shrieked as he hissed and scrambled to leap off the table. He wasn’t fast enough as a chunk of spaghetti bog latched onto his tail before he jumped.
He yowled and ran crazily around the kitchen with it hanging from his tail, all the while Skip was battling his attacker as it splattered onto the floor and snarled at him. He was wielding a chopping board and spatula to defend himself.
Marcus was too far away at the fridge, and there hadn’t been enough spaghetti left to target him, so he was just watching in mild amusement.
“Ally, calm down, you need to breathe. You need to reclaim your magic,” Lucas said as he waved his hand and the attacking mass on his chest floated back to the pot, writhing and howling softly.
I just stared at the orange stain on his white undershirt, his suit a mess now.
Well, at least my overwhelming fear and uncertainty had eased a bit.
“How?” I asked softly, knowing I had to handle this. I couldn’t just have my powers running havoc, even if I just wanted to hide and wish the day away.
“Close your eyes, imagine that same tingling washing over you, imagine your energy and power being sucked out of the spaghetti and returning to you,” Lucas murmured.
I did as he said, drawing in some calming breaths as my stomach still churned from the news.
I ignored the frantic cursing from Skip and the mad dashing of Ollie.
I envisioned the energy in my mind, my power, slowly returning to me, washing over me in that unique, tingling, electric sensation.
I felt the soft spark surge through my body returning to me and settling deep inside me. Skip sighed, a
nd I heard him set the chopping board down.
‘Thank God,’ Ollie muttered. ‘I thought it was going to eat my head.’
I managed a chuckle at his words, and I opened my eyes to look around apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” I sighed as Skip began gathering up the now dead spaghetti bog off the floor with paper towels.
“Don’t be, I shouldn’t have pushed,” Skip apologized in return. “I lack a filter, according to everyone else, I speak before I think,” he mumbled, obviously annoyed with himself.
“I know you were only worried,” I murmured, and he gave me a sad smile as he carried the spaghetti to the bin.
“Well, looks like there won’t be any leftovers after all,” Skip sighed as he tossed the spaghetti into the bin.
“Just be grateful Ollie didn’t get eaten,” Marcus smirked, and Ollie hissed in response.
I looked at Marcus, at the understanding I saw in his eyes. I was grateful he was trying to make light of the situation, if not a little surprised.
“Well, we’ll clean up here, you head on to bed if you want to, you should get some rest after your first day,” Lucas stood and looked down at his dirtied shirt.
“Sorry,” I apologized again.
“Stop saying that, you can’t help that no one taught you to control your magic. Besides, it’s just a shirt, nothing magic and a wash can’t fix,” he said with a wink.
I nodded, looking down at Ollie on the floor as he groomed his tail.
“Don’t worry about him, we’ll give the spell a go, and if we’re lucky, he’ll be back to himself for prac tomorrow,” Lucas said as he flicked his hands and the spaghetti bog pile behind Ollie floated into the air.
“Okay, cool. And thanks, for helping me fix it,” I said as I rubbed my arm awkwardly.
“Don’t mention it,” Lucas gave me a warm smile. He really was kind and helpful.
I turned to say goodnight to Skip, and my eyes fell on Marcus, who was giving me an odd, curious look.
I left it alone as I headed upstairs, wanting to fall into a deep sleep with dreams that took away all my worries.
15
“How was work?” Derek asked as he walked me to my door. I was grateful my housemate was still working, so I’d get some alone time with him. He’d turned up at my place after my shift to hang out.