Legally Red

by A. A. Albright

  They met my eyes instantly. Some of the girls yawned and stretched, picking up their sleeping bags and airbeds, while I heard some say, ‘Why are we out in the middle of the woods, anyway? You know what I fancy right now? Getting into bed with a nice cup of hot chocolate.’

  I almost cried out with relief that it had actually worked. When I next went to see Dillis, I was going to bring her a large bottle of wine. I’d get Miles a present too, to thank him for convincing me to seek her help. But right now … right now, all I was interested in was Mack.

  As the She-Wolves drifted away, I saw him climb cautiously out of his car, staring at the mass exodus with confusion and relief in his eyes. He looked amazing. I mean, he was wearing his usual outfit of jeans and a T-shirt, and he hadn’t done anything to his tight-cut blond hair but … yeah, he really did look good.

  As I drew nearer to him (on slightly wobbly legs), he gave me that same double take as he had in the restaurant. ‘It’s you. I saw you in Swanks. In the Starlight Restaurant.’ His face grew flushed, and his voice sounded hoarse.

  ‘Yeah, you did. You’ve been speaking to me on the phone, too. Well, mostly you’ve been ignoring my calls, but … Anyway, my name is Melissa.’

  He frowned. ‘That was you calling me?’ He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. I just … I thought you were just another She-Wolf or something. I thought maybe you’d gotten into my phone and programmed your number in so I’d think I knew you and answer your calls. The She-Wolves pull tricks like that a lot.’

  I laughed. Nothing about the She-Wolves would surprise me. But if they were driven a little bit crazy in their pursuit of Mack – who, let’s face it, was the sexiest man on the planet – then I wasn’t sure I could blame them. ‘And what do you think now?’ I asked.

  He cleared his throat. ‘I … well, I … look, I’m really sorry Melissa. But I don’t go out with fans. It just doesn’t feel right to me, okay? It’d be like I was taking advantage of them or something.’

  ‘I know that you feel that way,’ I said. ‘It’s one of the things I like about you, actually. But what if I told you we’ve already been out a hundred times before?’

  His face grew redder. ‘Look, there’s a part of me that wishes that were true. But trust me, if I’d been out with you, I’d remember you. You’re …’ He paused, cleared his throat, and looked down at his feet.

  ‘I’m what?’ I pressed. ‘Mack, what am I?’

  His voice grew hoarser, and he raised his head and met my eyes. ‘You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, actually. But I’m sure you’ve got mirrors at home, so you probably know that.’ He stared at me harder. ‘You know, it’s the funniest thing, but when I saw you in the Starlight Restaurant tonight, I had this song running through my head. I felt like I knew that song. I even knew what it was called, but I swear I’ve never heard it before.’

  ‘Was it called Red, by any chance?’

  He nodded, looking almost scared. ‘How did you know that?’

  ‘Because you wrote it about me.’ I took a step closer to him. ‘Mack, you were my boyfriend and I was crazy about you. It took me forcing you to forget me just to remind me of how much I cared. I was stupid. I didn’t know how we could ever make things work. But … I’ve just missed you so much, Mack. So I’ve come here to ask you … to ask you if you’ll take me back.’

  He cocked his head to the side. ‘You’re my girlfriend? You?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said, catching his gaze and sending my will towards him. Even though I’d just proven myself with the She-Wolves, I was a lot more nervous of using my power again on Mack. The stakes were a lot higher, after all. ‘At least I was your girlfriend, right up until I broke up with you. I was your girlfriend, and you were my boyfriend. I made you forget about me, but now …’

  I pulled even more of my intention into my eyes, forcing him to stare at me so that I could compel him to recall what we used to be. ‘Now I want you to remember me again, Mack. I want you to remember everything we’ve been through, because I didn’t mean to make you forget me in the first place. It was a stupid accident. It’s just that I have these powers. Powers that seem to go a bit haywire if I’m not paying them enough attention.’

  I could see his eyes grow round, and then begin to flicker as the past rushed into his mind. After a few seconds, a smile crept over his face. ‘Because you’re part vampire.’

  ‘Yeah. Because of that. So … you really do remember me?’

  He walked towards me, shaking his head. ‘You idiot, Red. Even when I forgot you I couldn’t forget you.’ He took my hands in his. ‘Melissa Wayfair, I’m in love with you. And I know why you broke up with me, too. I remember now. We were here, at my cabin, surrounded by hordes of She-Wolves. They were making your life a misery. Saying nasty stuff about you online. Pulling you off your broom and breaking it so that they could use you as bait to get to me.’

  He stopped for a moment, shaking his head and looking almost horrified as he remembered. ‘It was a nightmare for you, and I couldn’t stand to make you go through it a minute longer. I told you I’d leave the band for you. But you, Red, you wouldn’t let me do that. Because you wanted me to be happy. And you were afraid if I left the band behind, I’d start to regret it and wind up blaming you for what I lost. See? You can’t hide your motivations from me. I see you. I know you. I get how you think. And all of that, your selflessness, your pig-headedness … all of that is why I love you. Because I do love you. So much. So all I need to know is … are you as in love with me as I am with you?’

  I nodded, my throat feeling scratchy as tears began to well up inside. ‘Yeah. Yeah I think I am. But Mack, I don’t want you to leave the Call of the Wild. I still can’t let you do that just for me.’

  ‘But … you do think you love me?’

  It was more than just a thought, actually. It was an immense, raging feeling, stronger than the hunger I’d been feeling for days. ‘Yes. Yes, I love you. I love you so much, Mack. And I want to be with you. I really do.’

  He pulled me to his chest and my heart began to race. ‘Then that’s all that matters,’ he said. ‘As for the rest? Well, we can figure that out as we go along.’

  And as he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me, I knew: he was absolutely right. It wouldn’t be easy – not when we had She-Wolves, tour schedules, and my yet to be decided career to work around – but Mack and me, we’d figure everything out. Because what we had was worth the effort.

  22. One Month Later

  I stood in Wayfarers’ Rest, surrounded by family and friends. The envelope with the results of the LOL exam sat unopened on the kitchen table. As I stared at it, all I could think was how frightened I’d been in the exam hall the week before. Frightened that I’d pass the exam. Frightened that I’d fail. Frightened that, either way, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

  But here I was, about to make that decision. If I passed the LOL, would I become a junior partner in Miles’s firm, or would I join the Wayfarers?

  ‘Open it,’ said Mack.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Candace. ‘Before I open it for you.’

  ‘If she doesn’t, I will,’ added my mother.

  ‘If she doesn’t, we all will,’ said Wanda with a giggle, squeezing my waist. ‘Go on Melissa. Open it.’

  I took a deep breath and tore the envelope open. I read the result, swallowed, and then let my eyes travel around the room. Miles was seated next to Candace by the wood-burning stove. Princess had crawled onto his lap, while Kitty, Queenie and Mischief were curled up together at Candace’s feet.

  They made a pretty picture, I had to admit. In between studying and sitting the exams, I’d gotten a chance to know what working with Miles would really be like – now that he was no longer testing my mettle. He really didn’t ask me to make the coffee. In fact, he made it most of the time. We’d already successfully defended three clients who had seemed like lost causes, and we’d managed to get Patter early admission to Wentforth’s College of Wizardry.
>
  I’d spent a couple of days with the Wayfarers too, to see what that job would really be like. And honestly? It had been just as exciting and rewarding as I’d always dreamt.

  Seated at the kitchen table was my mother, Wanda’s mother, my granny, Ronnie Wayfair, Aengus Wayfair, Finn, and Max. Wolfie was there too, but he was busy stealing all of the peanuts from a bowl while he thought no one was looking his way.

  Wanda and Mack were on either side of me, while Dizzy was hanging from a beam above, pretending to be asleep. Basically, almost everyone I cared about was in this room. And if I didn’t tell them my results soon, they’d probably pick up the few peanuts Wolfie hadn’t yet eaten, and throw them my way.

  ‘Well,’ Wanda said nervously. ‘What does it say?’

  ‘It’s okay if you failed, love,’ said my grandmother. ‘I’ve failed every exam I’ve ever taken, and I’m a billionaire.’

  ‘And Miles will hang on for you until you take the test again,’ Candace added. ‘Won’t you, Miles?’

  He gave a curt nod. ‘If that’s what Melissa wishes, then that’s what I shall do. Of course, she may decide she wants to be a Wayfarer, whether she passes the LOL or not.’

  I took a deep breath and said, ‘Well, I did pass. In fact, I got ninety-nine percent.’

  Miles grinned. ‘Well then. That’s a spiffing result, Melissa. A jolly good show.’

  I laughed. ‘Why yes, Mr Master. It is a jolly good show. Jolly, jolly good I say. Spiffing!’

  ‘Hey!’ He pretended to be offended. ‘I do not sound that posh.’

  ‘You really do!’ Candace cried, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. ‘But that’s okay. Being posh is nothing to be ashamed of.’

  The laughter trailed off, and my granny said, ‘Well? It’s your decision now, Melissa. Do you want to continue working for the Englishman, or do you want to be a Wayfarer like the rest of your coven?’

  I swallowed again, looking at Miles, then back at Wanda. She really was amazing. She was everything I’d ever wanted to be. To take her place on the Major Crimes team while she went off to Crooked College, well … it’d be a dream come true.

  ‘You don’t have to make up your mind yet, Red,’ Mack whispered into my ear. ‘Say the word and I’ll take you for a night on the tiles. You can make the decision tomorrow. Or never.’

  I gave his hand a grateful squeeze. ‘That’s okay,’ I said, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. ‘I’ve made my decision.’ I looked at Finn and Wanda. ‘I grew up in the Wayfair coven. Solving crimes and putting the world to rights … it’s all I ever wanted to do. I only went to work at the Wyrd Court because the Wayfairs had been forced to stop hiring. Now all of that has changed. The force is bigger and better than ever. It’s got a new name, awesome uniforms … it is everything that the little girl in me has ever wanted.’

  I glanced at Miles, noting that he looked quite upset. Well, as upset as Miles could look. In actuality, all he did was straighten his cuff links and hold his head a little higher than usual, but I was beginning to recognise his tells. Miles cared about my decision. And I cared about how he felt. Who knew that would happen?

  ‘But here’s the thing,’ I went on. ‘Since working with Miles, I realise that it’s not a choice between the two. Because while you Wayfarers are busy putting the criminals in jail, we’re going to be there for the ones who slip through the net. The ones who can’t afford private lawyers. The ones who really need us. And hey – I might even get to solve a crime or two on the side, now that Miles has stopped being such an uptight eejit.’

  I stopped talking, letting out a breath of relief that wound up running into a long peal of laughter. Excitable laughter. The kind of laughter that only comes when you finally figure out exactly who you are, and what you want to be.

  ‘So you’re coming to work with me?’ Miles stood up stiffly. ‘Well, I think you made the right decision, Melissa. We’re going to make a great team, the two of us. This is a thoroughly spiffing end to things, I have to say.’

  Oh my goddess! Was Miles Master actually sending himself up? So he did have a sense of humour after all. ‘Rather!’ I cried. ‘Now let’s open this very cheap champagne I bought for us all, and get spiffingly drunk!’

  As Mack uncorked the bottle, Wanda leaned closer to me and whispered into my ear. ‘For what it’s worth, I think Miles is right. You and him are going to make a great team. An odd one, but a great one all the same.’

  ≈

  You have reached the end of Legally Red. I hope you enjoyed this read. Although this book is a standalone novel, it’s set in the same magical world as my Wayfair Witches series, so you may enjoy reading those books, too. Timeline wise, the events of this book take place after Wayfair Witches Book Eight.

  You can find information on all of my available books by visiting: https://aaalbright.com

  Or by checking out my author page on: Amazon.

  And if you’d like to keep up with new releases, you can do so by signing up for my newsletter via the website above, or by following this link: http://www.subscribepage.com/z4n0f4