by Emma Dean
“I want one,” Lucien told her. “If the raven gets one, then so do I.”
It was hard not to smile when he said it like that. Mika sat next to him on the bed and snuggled into his side. “I think you misheard me. I told you, I don’t want one at all.”
The look on Ethan’s face was unreadable and Mika got the feeling that if she didn’t clarify something soon, she was going to fracture what they had.
“But if I decide to do that and the raven gets one, anyone who wants one can too,” Mika said carefully. “Just be aware it’s more binding than marriage.”
A tightness in Ethan’s face eased and he gave her that easy smile again. “I like the raven,” Ethan admitted. “If you want to date him, I’m cool with it.”
“Same,” Lucien said. He wrapped Mika up in his arms and then rolled them both over until she was the one underneath him, pinned and completely at his mercy.
“What about Malachi?” Ethan asked, sitting on the bed, watching them with an indulgent smile on his face.
“He’s broken now.” Lucien smirked. “I’ve heard that’s irresistible to females.”
Mika shoved him off her and Lucien hit the floor with a thunk. “I haven’t heard from him, have you?”
“Yeah, actually,” Ethan admitted. “We’re both in the same House. He asked me if I would make the request to room with him next year.”
“Room assignments are permanent,” Mika said, fixing her shorts.
“They’ll make changes for special occasions,” Ethan said with a shrug, getting up and grabbing her suitcase. “It’s already approved. Maybe we should stop by on the way to your place Lucien.”
Mika shook her head. She vividly remembered what it had been like the weeks and months after finding out her father and brother had been a part of Bradley’s scheme. Dealing with people when she’d been coming to terms with it all had been the worst part.
“He needs time,” she told them, standing and straightening her tank top. “He needs to figure out who he is after everything that happened, and we can’t help him with that.”
Ethan and Lucien shared a look but didn’t say anything.
“Whatever you think is best.” Ethan kissed the top of her head and put his arm around her shoulders. “We should head downstairs. Eisheth should be here any minute.”
Lucien popped up from the floor and dusted his clothes off. “All our shit is already in the foyer.”
“You bitches ready to go?” Audrey called from the hallway. “If we’re late the demon will complain forever.”
Mika followed them out into the hall and Audrey was bouncing up and down with a massive grin on her face. “I can’t believe we’re going to see a fox library,” she said excitedly. “This is the best summer vacation ever.”
Pop.
Ms. Jenkinson screamed and Mika froze.
“Road trip!” Finnick yelled up the stairs. “Get your asses down here now!”
Lucien took Audrey’s suitcase and the witch smiled up at him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before clattering down the stairs with an excited screech.
“Who told Finnick he was invited?” Mika demanded, suddenly panicking.
This was going to be utter insanity.
“Now Mika,” Hunter snapped.
Holy fuck.
“The entire chaos is here?” Mika pleaded with her eyes for Ethan and Lucien to tell her she was mistaken.
“Come sweet cousin! We’ve got places to be!”
Lucien and Ethan shared a grin and then they shrugged at the same time.
Mika sprinted down the stairs until she reached the foyer and froze again. Ms. Jenkinson was muttering a spell to clean the tray of dishes she’d dropped while Eisheth, Kenzie, Selene, Ash, Finnick, and Hunter all grinned mischievously up at her.
“I may have accidentally let it slip that I was taking you somewhere,” Eisheth said, eyeing his nails and not looking the least bit apologetic.
Selene gave Mika an encouraging smile and then Corbin appeared out of thin air, eyeing Hunter carefully.
Everyone held their breath while Hunter appraised the raven.
“You haven’t called in Emily’s favor,” Corbin said, dropping his small bag on the floor. “She told me about that.”
Something in Hunter shifted and Mika felt like she could breathe again.
“I’m saving it for a special occasion,” Hunter said, his smile turning vicious.
Corbin looked Hunter up and down, dismissed him, and then turned to Kenzie. “Jessica has told me a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet Mika’s other cousin.”
Despite the number of people in the foyer at the moment, one could hear a pin drop at that simple statement.
Mika shared a look with Kenzie. Did they know he knew the demon witch?
“Well, now that introductions have been made.” Eisheth cleared his throat delicately. “Yes, the pretty bird has worked with Jess before blah blah we’re all family. Let’s go!” Eisheth grabbed Lucien and Audrey first before popping out of existence.
Mika went to stand by Selene, purposefully putting distance between herself and all the males. “You’re going to help me manage all this, right?”
Selene linked her arm in Mika’s. “I don’t think anyone could manage this much chaos, but I’ll help you try.”
Then Eisheth reappeared and popped her and Selene through that dark space that folded reality to a place no witch had been in centuries.
19
Selene held onto Mika tight as they suddenly came out of the darkness into a place they could breathe again.
And it smelled…
Mika had never breathed such clean air. It smelled like pine and salt and green things.
“Where are we?” Selene asked, looking around the forest that surrounded them as far as the eye could see.
The sun was setting, and the heat of the day was starting to dissipate. Mika breathed deeply and smiled. It was good to be back in the forest, even if it was quieter than she was used to.
Mika missed the murmuring of the trees on Morgana Island.
“We’re in the Olympic National Park,” Lucien said, glancing over his shoulder just once. “Port Angeles is just a little north of us, and across the strait is Canada-land.”
Selene looked up at the cover from the trees and smiled. “It’s nice here.”
Mika agreed, feeling calmer already despite the stress of the challenge looming.
“I came here once with my family,” Audrey admitted. “We spent days hiking.”
“Yeah, well the den isn’t near any trail.” Lucien jumped slightly when Eisheth reappeared with Ethan and Corbin.
The demon disappeared again before Mika could say anything.
The raven sighed with relief, seemingly right at home in the forest. “The city is not my favorite place,” he explained with a shrug.
“The desert is a different beast, but it has the same quality this forest does,” Ethan agreed, looking around just like the rest of them. “It’s a feeling that’s difficult to describe to anyone who hasn’t been to a place like this.”
Somewhere untouched by humans.
It was the connection to nature that wasn’t polluted or covered in asphalt and buildings…
“If I remember correctly the den is over there,” Corbin said, jerking his chin to the south. “But like the eyrie you can’t enter without a pack member to guide you.”
Lucien looked impressed. “Yeah, when have you visited?”
“It was a long time ago.”
Eisheth reappeared with Hunter and Kenzie. The alpha fox’s nostrils flared in distaste as he brushed the sensation of that black, airless place from his body.
“I think I’ll be flying back,” Hunter stated.
Selene turned her back to the fox to hide her laugh and Mika snorted. “It’s not that bad.”
Kenzie shoved her mate with a laugh. “Oh, come on, Hunter. Think of all those people breathing the same air as you.”
He bared h
is teeth at the trees, eyes flashing gold. Lucien gave him a pat on the back, sharp grin on his face – clearly pleased the other fox was disgruntled.
Shifters. Mika shook her head and gave Selene a look.
The other witch smirked but hid it when Ash and Finnick appeared, cursing and sputtering.
“Can we go now?” Audrey asked, still bouncing. She hefted her bag over her shoulder and looked at Lucien expectantly.
For the first time since she’d met him, Lucien looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and looked at Eisheth who nodded encouragingly.
“Well,” Lucien said, grabbing his bag and Ethan’s. “You lot are the first outsiders allowed into the den.”
“But the ravens?” Audrey frowned and glanced at Corbin who shrugged.
“Ravens aren’t outsiders,” Hunter explained, taking his bag and Kenzie’s. “He means witches and demons.”
Finnick and Ash looked just as intrigued as Mika felt and she remembered they hadn’t been raised within a fox pack, not like Hunter and Lucien. This would be new to them as well.
“So, what should we do?” Mika asked, taking a step closer to Audrey.
“I don’t know. Just…let me introduce you first. They know who you are Mika, I couldn’t leave that part out.” Lucien winced, knowing how much she wouldn’t like it.
Mika sighed, shoved the irritation down, and shrugged. “It’s fine. Let’s go.” It didn’t seem like she could avoid telling others what she was anymore.
“This is going to be so much fun,” Eisheth exclaimed.
Lucien gave the demon a look like he hadn’t expected him to actually tag along.
“Look I brought you all here, I’m not about to be left out,” Eisheth snapped.
Mika hid her smile when Lucien rolled his eyes.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to see a fox library,” Kenzie admitted. “Maybe they’ll have something on voids I don’t already have.”
“Ooh, maybe!” Selene said. “I want to see what they have on witches.”
“Same,” Mika agreed, linking her arm in Audrey’s. “I want to find out what happened to Elizabeth.” Among other things.
Lucien started leading the way with Ethan slightly behind him. The other foxes trailed after them and Corbin brought up the rear. The demon winked at Mika and she glanced over her shoulder to see him fall into step with the raven.
“So, I was thinking we should trade with them,” Kenzie said, quiet enough that the shifters would have to strain to hear them. “Magic in exchange for knowledge, like in the old days.”
“You want me to offer?” Selene asked, that tone of Matriarch coming into her voice ever so slightly.
“I’m pretty good at enchantments,” Audrey offered. “I can take care of that.”
“There’s not a whole lot I can offer except maybe some void wards,” Kenzie admitted with a grimace.
Mika watched as Selene slipped her hand in her sister’s in silent support.
“No one else could offer that,” Audrey said with a shrug. “I think that’s pretty valuable, more than some pretty parlor tricks.”
“Look, you are all amazing,” Selene told them with just enough force Mika thought she would start scolding if they didn’t agree. “So, stop putting yourselves down and let’s enjoy this.”
“Seriously, when is the last time we didn’t have the coven or the Council breathing down our necks?” Kenzie muttered.
“Never.” Mika glanced back at Corbin and Eisheth talking in hushed tones and then up ahead at all the foxes around Ethan. It was cute to see them spread out, protecting the witches in their own way.
And Mika knew she, Selene, Audrey, Ethan, and Kenzie would throw down for the shifters just as hard.
This was what the paranormal world should be like. All of them using their strengths to make up for the others’ weaknesses.
Animals rustled in the forest, birds chirped their final songs for the day, and the trees relaxed her even if they were relatively silent, murmuring here and there but only one or two of them.
Then…they were there.
One moment they were walking through the forest with trees as far as the eye could see and the next it was like they’d stepped through some strange door she hadn’t seen.
Mika almost stumbled when the stone wall appeared as if it had always been there.
“We own this forest,” Lucien said. “We don’t share it with wolves or coyotes, but there is an eyrie nearby of ravens and another of owls. There’s a passel of raccoons here as well, but there’s room enough for all of us.”
“You got lucky,” Hunter said, looking up at the stone towers that somehow blended in with the landscape as if it were a part of the forest itself thanks to the moss and vines. “A lot of the lesser shifters have lost any right to their own land and the larger shifters don’t like anyone else in their territory.”
“The wolves down south are nice enough, we’ve traded with the Blue Mountain Wolf Pack a few times,” Lucien said, walking up to the wall with no door or gate. “It’s the ones to the east I’m not a fan of.” Then he placed his palm on the stone and the cracks started to glow orange until they created a door.
On the other side was an older man who looked just like Lucien. He studied each of them, lingering on the witches before his gaze rested on Lucien’s face. “It’s been too long, son.”
Mika felt her eyes sting as Lucien hugged his father who very clearly loved the hell out of the snarky fox.
“Dad, this is Hunter, Finnick, and Ash. They don’t have a pack but they’re still one of us.”
Hunter stepped forward first as the alpha of his small chaos. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Park.”
And it sounded like he actually meant it. Even Kenzie looked surprised.
“Well, it seems as though there have been many changes we can no longer ignore. It’s a pleasure to meet your mate, the only void witch,” Mr. Park said, stepping forward to take Kenzie’s hands. His eyes took in the runic scars still glittering white and he grimaced, no doubt reading the pain stitched into her skin. “You’ve suffered much for it. Welcome to our home.”
Lucien watched anxiously as Kenzie went to stand beside Hunter. Mr. Park then looked over Finnick and Ash.
“I’m sorry about your pack,” he said to Ash. “We arrived too late and didn’t realize there were any survivors.”
Shit.
Mika watched as Ash nodded gravely, the quieter of the three foxes in Kenzie’s triad. Kenzie had told her once that it was because his pack had been slaughtered when he was just a kit.
Sometimes it seemed like none of them could catch a break and the universe was just throwing new crap at them, waiting to see what would actually break them.
Mr. Park gave Finnick a nod – whatever that meant, but the foxes seemed to know.
Her heart jumped when Lucien’s dad turned to her.
“My son told me about you, a morrigan.”
The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself. Mika scoured her mind for every detail she’d ever read about foxes in her blood witch books. There wasn’t a lot, and there was even less from her shifter studies.
Mika held out her hand to shake his. There was a world of culture missing from her knowledge and now she was kicking herself for not asking Lucien about this either. “I’m honored he mentioned me at all.”
Then Mr. Park smiled slightly and shook her hand. “Glad to see you’re exactly as he described.”
Her cheeks heated and Mika cleared her throat to try and hide her embarrassment. “I am flattered you accepted my visit, including my family.”
Mr. Park looked over their insane group and that smile widened slightly as he took in the foxes, the witches, the demon, and the raven. “You’ve got a very interesting family. Come, we’ve prepared dinner. You may visit the library tomorrow. Tonight, enjoy the food and company. It’s been a very long time since we had anyone visit our den.”
Slowly she let out the breath she’d been holding. M
ika had been worried that despite being invited they would be turned away once they reached the den because they were witches – she hadn’t been sure.
Mika smiled at Selene and Audrey and followed Mr. Park into the den, taking Lucien’s hand in hers.
“Thank you for this,” she murmured, knowing he could hear her despite everyone talking excitedly. “It’s the best present I’ve ever received.”
Lucien smiled down at her, eyes glowing gold. “Only the best for you, little witch.” He bent down and kissed her breathless.
Part of her was embarrassed he’d done so in front of his father, and the other part could barely contain her girlish glee that he didn’t care if his family and pack knew he liked her.
Even without knowing about the mate bond.
Mika grinned up at Lucien and squeezed his hand. “I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family.”
“Good.” Lucien pulled her closer and threw his arm over her shoulders. “Because my mom has cooked enough food for three packs and has a million questions for you.”
That should make her nervous, but for the first time since she could remember Mika couldn’t wait to socialize with new people.
An entire pack of foxes…
She glanced back at the chaos as they sniped and played, constantly surrounding Kenzie no matter what.
It would certainly be a learning experience.
20
Soo Min, Lucien’s mother, was all smiles and hugs when Mika walked into their house.
What she hadn’t been expecting were the cottages that felt homey and yet still very roomy for all the rambunctious kits that seemed to be everywhere.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Soo Min said, lacing her arm through Mika’s so she could drag her through the house. “Andrew! I told you to finish your homework! Moon, you better be wearing shoes the next time I see you!”
Lucien had so many brothers and sisters, and some of them Mika wasn’t even sure were his blood but were other pack members that just happened to be over when she was.
“My son told us about you a few months ago,” Soo Min explained. “He also mentioned he wasn’t sure if you were his mate and I see why.” She wrinkled her nose slightly, no doubt at the smell of blood Lucien always mentioned. Shifters and their sensitive noses.