Bailey narrowed his eyes, already thinking. “How would that work?”
“Maybe you’d feel free through the connection. Worth a shot?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because I’m not an asshole.” He raked his fingers through his short hair. “We have to work together.”
“Or do you secretly want to drain me?” The corner of his lips turned up.
And Kass wasn’t sure if Bailey was talking about sex or magic because the former was no secret. The latter was a banned practice. He licked his lip as he considered how best to reply. Bailey’s gaze tracked the movement. If they weren’t in a room full of people…
“Not a secret, and I can do it tonight.” Though giving a blow job wasn’t the same via the bond.
“I’d like that.” Bailey grinned and rested his elbows on the table.
Lust pulsed through the bond and Kass wanted to adjust his jeans, but he didn’t dare drop his hands below the table to do it. Not with so many eyes watching.
“But seriously, stay away from my family. They bind people like you.”
“Noted. I won’t go near them again.” He sighed, needing to come clean. “You should know there was an accident on the freeway with two fatalities.” He should feel guilty, but it was his job to take out the bad guys and the men who’d stitched up Bailey were definitely bad.
Bailey’s eyes widened. “You…what?”
“It’s physics. Objects in motion only need to be nudged to change course.”
“I understand physics, I’m not an idiot. But they will be pissed.”
“They weren’t like us.”
“No… I’d tell you more, but…” Bailey shrugged and glanced up at the ceiling.
“Same.” He wanted to explain how the Coven worked and go on a proper date. “How about we go out sometime? I know a great bakery. Their Danishes can solve any problem.”
Bailey tilted his head. “Even mine?”
“They’ll be able to answer any questions you have.”
“You don’t have to bribe me to go out with you.”
Kass smiled. The earlier awkwardness had vanished, but they were running out of time. “Why didn’t you turn witness?”
Bailey drew in a breath. “They threatened Gran, and I couldn’t do it. Maybe they were lying, maybe they weren’t, but she honestly believes that she did the right thing raising me this way. I don’t share her paranoia about the government and such.” He nodded at Kass.
“And your mum and dad?”
“I have no idea who my dad is. Mum’s dead. I used to imagine that she run off and would come back for me.” His lips turned down. “She probably tried to live her own life and paid a higher price than me. Tell me about your family.”
“Mum is, dad isn’t. They hated me joining the army, said I could do better, and that I was wasting my brain. But I wanted to use my other talent.”
“What do you do?”
“Sniper.” He couldn’t help but feel a little pride. Yes, he used magic to be the best, but everyone used their skills, and made the most of their abilities, so why shouldn’t he?
Bailey gave him that grin again, like he was ready for so much more than talking. “I’d like to see you in uniform…and out.”
Kass lowered his gaze to the table, remembering Bailey’s earlier confession. “Have you ever even—”
“Dated? No, a bit hard with my family. So that’s a no to your next question. But I didn’t lie in the club.”
Kass frowned for a heartbeat, sifting through the few words they said before the night had fractured under the weight of the magic.
Bailey rolled his eyes. “You seem to have a preference.”
“Ohh.” He did, and every time he’d shared those thoughts with Bailey, he’d made it clear he was a top. Okay, so that was something he could try next time they got together through the bond.
“Every second Friday work for you?” Bailey said with a lift of his eyebrow.
“What?”
“I like…never mind.”
“No, I do mind. It’s too late to shut me off, so we have to deal.” They were getting the wind up. “Whatever we do strengthens the bond.”
“I figured.”
“So, do you need anything?”
“A pair of wings and new life.”
“That I can’t give you. What else?”
Bailey worried at his lower lip. “Can you put some cash into my prison account so I can get a haircut and a few bits?”
“Is that all?”
“That’s heaps.”
In that moment, Kass realized no one else would be visiting Bailey.
Chapter 10
Three days later Bailey was informed his lawyer wanted to see him. Given that the lawyer had been worse than useless—and had probably gotten a fat bonus from the men who’d stitched him up—he didn’t want to go, but he’d never seen the woman in the room before. From the doorway, he could smell she wasn’t a shifter. She wasn’t human either, but she had that energy about her like Kass. Was that what witches felt like? If he’d known that in the club, he wouldn’t have kissed Kass and they wouldn’t be in this mess.
Or maybe he would’ve because there’d been something about him. He liked the sharp edges that he could cut his tongue on. He’d certainly like to be using his actual tongue on Kass instead of only his imagination.
The night after the visit, Kass had followed through and he’d damn near bit through his knuckles trying to stay quiet. He wasn’t sure if his mind had filled in the blanks or if Kass really knew what he was doing. Either way, every time they met like that the need for more grew. He wanted to get laid so badly it hurt. But he refused to count down the days.
When he got out, he would spend a week with Kass just fucking.
He put the brakes on that thought before he started building a future that may not happen. One day at a time was Eli’s advice, and he was taking it.
However, he was hanging out for Friday so he could run through the bond with Kass. Maybe it would happen once or twice before Kass moved on or forgot, so he had to make the most of it. That he doubted Kass was like a thorn between his toes. It shouldn’t be there, but he didn’t know how to pull it out either. Kass had never once turned his back, and he’d followed through on everything. But Bailey still couldn’t trust him fully. He was too good.
The money Kass had put into his account had to last, so as much as he’d have liked to buy chocolate, he didn’t. He’d gotten a haircut, and that was all. He was still missing the length—every time he touched his head there was only short stubble—but at least he didn’t have the god-awful regrowth.
He sat opposite the lawyer and the guard closed the door, leaving them alone.
She snapped her fingers. “Now we have sound proofing. Can’t do anything about the video recording. Remain seated and we’ll be left alone.”
He stared at her. “I don’t know you. You’re not a lawyer.”
“Yes, I am.” She put her business card on the table. “I do cases like this pro bono. My way of helping our community.”
Lucy Petony. He didn’t recognize the firm name, but the card was thick, and the letters were raised, giving it an expensive feel. She’d said our community like he belonged to something bigger.
He put the card on the table. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t understand why you’re here?”
She gave him a thin smile. “Do you know about the Coven?”
He shook his head. Only that Kass said he was getting them involved. “Is it to do with witches?”
“It’s the governing body for witches and shifters and a few of the other small groups. We look out for each other and make sure no one is putting us at risk. Like your family, we like to stay hidden, but we do it in plain sight.”
He nodded like he understood, but he felt like he’d walked into a theoretical math class. “So the Coven doesn’t hunt shifters… Can they really not hear us?”
She ignored his questi
ons. “Do you have any contact with other shifters?”
“In here? There’s only one.” And it wasn’t Bailey’s place to out Eli. “Before? Not really. Like I knew that others existed because I saw them about.”
“I mean snow leopards?”
“Oh…There were others, but I never met them.”
“Okay. And witches? What do you know about them?”
That depended on how much of what he’d been told was true. Probably very little. “Kass is the first witch I’ve met.”
“So you don’t know anything about the bond?”
“Not before it happened.” He resisted fidgeting, but the tone had changed, and he wasn’t ready. “We’re joined somehow. I can feel when he’s in trouble and such.” And she didn’t need to know the rest.
“Some shifters think being a familiar is an honor, others shun it. It’s a shared magic. You both get stronger, but the trade is that your lives are bound.”
“But it can be broken?” They’d gone too far for that.
She gave a single nod. “Yes, but the witch must surrender their magic.”
Bailey gasped as though hit. “He didn’t tell me that. I can’t ask him to do that.”
“It doesn’t matter what he wants, you weren’t old enough to make that decision.”
His eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”
“He told me.”
Curse him for being so bloody honest. “I’m old enough to be here, I’m old enough to decide what I want.” He leaned back and crossed his arms.
“The Coven prefers both parties to be over twenty.”
Bailey shook his head and stared up at the ceiling. He was not losing the best thing that had ever happened to him because of some arbitrary bureaucratic rule about age. “It was an accident.”
“It usually is. All I need to know is if you want it or not. Then I can start proceedings.”
Without the bond, he’d be trapped in jail with nothing and no one. “I need to talk to him.”
“It’s a yes or no.”
“I don’t know. We hardly know each other, except through the bond. We need to figure that out.”
“There is no obligation on your part to be more than a familiar and assist with magic. Some take it further and become familiar mates.”
Yeah, they’d been experimenting with that already. He didn’t want to rush, but he didn’t want to break the connection. “I’m kind of stuck here for the best part of a year, so I don’t want to be making life-altering decisions.”
She considered him for several heartbeats. Could she see the bond? Did she know what they were using it for? It probably wasn’t meant to be used for fucking and running.
“Do you have your shifting under control? I can have something prescribed that will stop your shifts if needed.”
“No.” He said a little fast. As inconvenient as it was, he didn’t want to lose what little magic he had. Being able to disappear in prison was very useful for staying out of trouble. Nor did he want the drugs to dampen the connection to Kass. “I’m fine. I hide under the covers and pretend I’m running free.”
“If you were to shift where people can see you, you understand there’d be consequences?” She held his gaze, and he didn’t want to discover what those consequences would be. “However, I have been reviewing your case and your previous lawyer was terrible.”
“He was provided by my family. I’m sure he’d been told to make sure I got the maximum possible.”
“I’ll do what I can to shorten your sentence, but expect a few more months. I also need some information on your family.”
Bailey shook his head. “I can’t, they’ll take it out on Gran, and while she’s…” the word bitch rested on his tongue. “She’s old and scared and knows nothing other than their lies.”
“Can you tell me anything?”
“I don’t know their names, or where they base their operations.” If he’d started work like they’d demanded, he might have discovered more. “Gran might, but I doubt she’d tell.” He frowned. “The one I called Crooked Nose worked at the police station near home.”
Lucy looked at her file and read out Bailey’s old address. “Is that correct?”
“Are you going to talk to Gran or him?”
“I won’t talk to either, but someone will. Be prepared for a court date. Any other questions?”
A thousand tumbled through his head. Why had no one stepped in earlier? If the Coven knew about his family, why hadn’t they done a welfare check and helped him? What should he expect from the bond if he kept it? Did shifters and witches really shack up as couples? Was there more than one potential mate or was it one and one only?
“How common is the bond?”
“That’s a good question. Rare. Few ever find their familiar. Fewer are compatible in a way that lets them make the connection deeper. Some say it’s bad luck to throw away what the Fates have offered.”
“Is it?”
“I can’t tell you what to do. Nor can Kassidy.”
“So, I have the final say?”
She nodded. “When you are released, you should stop by the bakery and learn the history of what you are and why these things matter.”
She stood.
“Wait. What did it mean when the men threatened to bind Kass?”
She hesitated. “It’s possible for a shifter to take a witch’s power. It’s fatal for the witch, but the shifter gets the witch’s magic, though only temporarily.” Her finger twitched and Bailey nodded.
Lucy snapped her fingers. “Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you for seeing me.”
“If my firm had known about you, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Then she walked out. A few minutes later he was escorted outside, but the basketball game had moved on and he didn’t feel like playing.
Kass sat at the dinner table with his parents and sister. It was always weird whenever he came to see them. They didn’t ask about his work, and he couldn’t say much beyond it being a good trip—regardless of whether that was true. They’d covered his sister’s studies, and mum’s promotion to principal, and then a silence descended.
Meaghan had been studying him for the last five minutes, to the point that Kass wanted to ask if he had something on his face. Meaghan wasn’t a witch, but she was perceptive, and he didn’t like it when she narrowed her eyes.
She waved her fork at him. “There’s something different about you. Mum, have you taken a proper look at Kass since he got back?”
Mum turned her gaze on him. He lifted his eyebrows and was about to argue, but his mother took Meaghan seriously. “Your magic is different.”
Now Dad was staring at him too, and he felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. “What have you done?”
“Oh my god, why do you think I’ve done something?” He drank from his wine glass and scrambled for a plausible anything, but came up with nothing. They should know. They’d want to meet Bailey. But fuck, Bailey was younger than his sister, and he was in prison and they didn’t know what they were doing yet. But it had to be something because he hadn’t wanted to even go looking for a hook up. He was hanging out for Friday when they could get together.
“Because you reacted like that.” Meaghan grinned. “I may not have magic, but you are an open book. Who is he and why is he affecting your magic?”
Kass clamped his teeth together, but there was no escaping this one. “Fine, I met someone before I went away.”
“Ohh, sounds serious if you’re still seeing him,” Meaghan teased.
“Shut up,” he snapped.
“Kass.” It was warning wrapped in concern. His father didn’t understand magic and didn’t really want to. “If there’s something going on…”
He glanced around the table; they were all staring at him, expecting him to make some kind of announcement. Fine, he’d give them one.
“He’s a shifter.” He didn’t need to say anything else.
Meaghan glanced a
t Mum. Mum drew in a breath but looked like someone had announced he was dead.
“Mum, what does that mean?” Meaghan pressed.
This silence was worse. His parents shared looks, then Mum spoke. “You have a familiar?”
“Yeah. It just kind of happened.”
“Are you okay with it?”
“I think so, mostly. We were apart for six months and haven’t really talked or gotten to know each other or anything.” And now he was speaking he couldn’t shut up. He told them about the nightclub and losing his wallet, then Bailey’s letter and the way Bailey had saved his life. That meant showing the scar and worrying his parents further because he hadn’t told them when it happened. “And now he’s in jail.”
Meaghan stared at him. “That’s not what I was expecting. Should I say sorry or congrats?”
“I don’t know.”
“This one is definitely for you,” Dad said to Mum, before turning his attention to Kass. “Though I have to say, if you were dating him without the magic, I’d be asking a few questions regarding his suitability as a partner.”
“I understand. Mum?” She’d been too quiet.
“I don’t know what to say. The only way out is to give up your magic.”
“I don’t think I can. Who would I be? What would I do?”
“You could be like the rest of us and actually work,” Meaghan said.
“Meaghan, that’s not helpful,” Dad cut in.
She muttered something about fairness under her breath. Kass didn’t answer, they’d had that argument as kids too many times. She didn’t understand the work that went into mastering magic, so it didn’t become destructive.
“Well, at least he’s trying to turn his life around. Until he gets released, I guess you do nothing.”
“And if he wants it broken?”
“Then you must abide by that decision.” Mum reached out a hand. “I’m sure it will be okay.” It would’ve helped if she’d sounded a little more convincing.
Having a familiar, and possibly a mate, was meant to be a good thing. But if so, why wasn’t it easy?
Chapter 11
Warlords, Witches and Wolves: A Fantasy Realms Anthology Page 75