by Trisha Telep
I glared at him. “Fine with me.”
We continued on until we reached an alleyway, just west of the main street. I stopped walking.
“Is this where you put it?” Owen asked without a lot of enthusiasm.
I turned to face him. “About your bracelet—”
But then my words were cut off by the sight of what loomed behind him.
The werewolves.
More this time. There were three men and two in large, scary wolf form. None of them looked very friendly even though it was a bright and shiny Saturday morning.
And this was a very deserted part of town. Just my luck.
Owen’s shoulders tensed, and he turned slowly to see what had turned my face ghost-white.
There was nowhere for us to run. My back was up against the end of the bricked-in alley, and the werewolves were blocking the only escape route.
“Morning,” one of them said. He was roughly the size of a small tank and had a bald head and a scruff of beard. “Let’s just make this really nice and easy, Owen. How does that sound? No more messing around this time. My patience has worn very thin with you.”
Owen’s biceps flexed. “Don’t do this.”
“Are you going to turn into a tiger again? I wouldn’t suggest it. I brought reinforcements this time.” The thug nodded at the wolves. “And I also brought this and I’m not afraid to use it.”
My gaze went to the black metal of the gun he held as it caught the sunlight.
I truly wished that I’d taken the few magic classes I’d attended seriously. I wouldn’t have been able to do that much—however, I might have been able to mentally influence this bully to leave us alone. Or I might have been able to throw up a glamor to fool or confuse them so we could escape. As it was, I couldn’t do anything but stand there and look like a victim-in-waiting.
Or could I? I searched my mind for what I’d learned. What I’d paid only partial attention to since I was too busy fighting what my mother wanted me to do.
Think, Brenda, think.
Mom always seemed convinced I was able to do more magic than I thought I could. She always believed in me, but I was the one who didn’t believe in myself.
“Get the girl,” the thug said. His two companions didn’t hesitate to go around Owen toward me, grabbing both of my arms tightly. I fought against them, but they were so strong and big there was no chance I was going to break away. Fear ripped through me.
Owen didn’t move, but his body looked poised to pounce, his hands fisted at his sides.
“Here’s the thing, Owen, and I want you to hear me out.” The man shifted his weight to his other foot, looking very calm and relaxed, considering the situation. “Your family and mine have always had this turf war going on. But I heard you got the boot. They don’t want you anymore.”
“You heard right,” Owen admitted hollowly.
“I’m willing to open my doors to you. Have you come on board with us as an honorary member of my pack.”
Owen laughed humorlessly. “You want me to be an honorary member of your werewolf pack?”
“That’s right. And in turn you can give us some inside information about Stan and your big brother’s secrets. You don’t owe them a damn thing anymore. Not your presence, your loyalty, or anything else.”
“And you’re willing to do this out of the goodness of your heart, are you?”
“That bracelet you have should help the goodness of my heart a little bit. I know you were going to use it to buy your way back into your pack. Now you can use it to buy your way into mine.”
“Two for one deal,” Owen said.
“Today only.”
“There’s a small problem.”
The thug raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I don’t know where the bracelet is.”
The man nodded. “I find that hard to believe. Caught a glimpse of it only a moment ago. Gave it to your new girlfriend, did you? How sweet.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled up my sleeve. The bracelet circled my wrist, where it had been since leaving the house earlier.
Owen’s mouth dropped open with shock at the sight. “Brenda—”
“I got it yesterday after school,” I said. “Fixed the clasp last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was going to.” I bit my lip and felt the sting of tears threatening to fall. I wanted to give it back to him. And I was going to. This walk to the alley was only to buy some time. But I wanted to talk to him first, tell him that I felt going back to his pack was a mistake and wouldn’t get him what he was seeking. You shouldn’t have to buy your way into your family. Love couldn’t be bought.
The thug unfastened the bracelet and dangled it from his index finger. “Nice. At least a couple hundred grand, I’d estimate.”
“At least,” Owen agreed reluctantly. “So you have it. Now what?”
“I want something else, too.” The man raised an eyebrow and nodded toward me. “The girl.”
Owen flicked a glance at me. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s part of your entry fee. Give her to me, and we have a deal.”
Every part of my body went cold. I looked at Owen, but couldn’t see any expression on his face at the moment other than anger. I had a feeling it was directed at me for keeping the location of the bracelet a secret until now.
“There’s a problem,” he said. “She’s not really mine to give.”
The thug chuckled. “Oh, come on. You know that doesn’t really matter. All I want to know is if you’re going to give me a problem about it.”
I held my breath, waiting for his reply.
“You can have the girl,” Owen said flatly. “But you can’t have the bracelet.”
I gasped. “Owen!”
He didn’t look at me. The guy laughed out loud and held out the bracelet. “You prefer the jewelry to the girl? Interesting.”
Owen shrugged. “What can I say? I know what real value is. Girlfriends are a dime a dozen.”
“You’re a funny kid. Cold-hearted. You’ll make a killer addition to my pack.”
Owen grinned and took a few steps closer. “You think?”
“Definitely. Tell you what, kid. You can sell the bracelet for me. I’ll split the proceeds with you eighty-twenty.”
“Sixty-forty,” Owen said.
“Seventy-thirty. You want it?” The thug held it out. “If we have a deal, you can have it.”
“Sounds perfect.” Owen was only a couple feet away, and he reached out to touch the bracelet, flicking it with his index finger so it sparkled in the sunshine.
Then he knocked the gun out of the man’s other hand. It skittered across the pavement.
A split second later, he’d shifted to tiger form and pounced, taking the thug to the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious.
Even though I was shocked beyond words by what had just happened so quickly, I could barely register it. I reached into my shallow pool of magical knowledge and threw out the first thing I could think of. A confusion spell. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. The werewolves turned around in circles for a moment, not knowing which way was up or down. Two of them lost their balance and fell to the ground.
I stared at them for a moment, dumbfounded. Wow, it worked. Who knew?
“ Come on, Brenda! ” I heard Owen’s voice in my head. “ Run! ”
I ran.
The tiger bounded after me as I ran out of the alleyway and kept running for three blocks before I slowed to catch my breath. A glance over my shoulder showed Owen, again in human form, but now wearing tattered clothing, following closely behind me.
“Don’t stop!” He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him until we found a safe place to hide, slipping into someone’s backyard behind a tall fence. My heart slammed against my rib cage, and I looked at him with confusion. He looked as if he was about to say something, but I spoke first.
“Why didn’t you grab the bracelet before you ran ou
t of the alley?” I asked.
He stared at me for a moment before he started to laugh. “After what just happened, that’s what you want to know? Why didn’t I grab the bracelet?”
“Well? It’s all you’ve been wanting for two days.”
“I thought so. But I was wrong. That bracelet hasn’t brought me anything but bad luck. Hopefully it’ll be enough to keep the werewolves off my back—and yours—now that they have it.”
“But your pack—”
“Forget my pack.” He looked down at the ground. “It’s time I moved on. This just proves it once and for all.”
“But he was going to give the bracelet back to you.”
He raised his gaze to mine, a look of incredulity on his face. “Yeah, in exchange for you. No way that was going to happen. He’s lucky he got knocked out first, since I was in the mood to tear him apart. Must be the bonding spell. I feel a fierce need to protect you, no matter what.”
In a few moments, he’d made the decision that would shape his future. Without the bracelet, he wasn’t going back to his pack. And it was mainly because he didn’t want me to get hurt.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciated the gesture more than I could say. But it was a major deal. Major.
“Owen—”
“And look at you with the witchcraft going on. I thought you said you sucked at it.”
“I do suck at it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Just imagine what you could do if you studied hard like your mom wants you to.” He pulled at his ripped shirt in an attempt to straighten it out. “And you know what you need in order to do that, right?”
“What I need?” I frowned. “A nap so I can get over my near-death experience?”
“No. Well, maybe, but not right now. You need a proper familiar. And to get that we need to have this spell removed. I may be many things, but I’d make a lousy witch’s pet.”
I smiled despite myself. “Have to agree with you there.”
“Then let’s not waste any more time. We’ll go to Hocus Pocus right now.”
He held his hand out to me.
After only a moment’s hesitation, I took it.
***
“And that’s why you need to remove the bonding spell,” I finished. My words had tumbled out of my mouth since we’d arrived at the magic shop. We had Mrs. Timmons alone in the back room and were explaining everything.
I just hoped it made some kind of sense.
She pursed her lips, rocking back on her heels as she studied me and Owen one at a time.
“Let me get this straight, young man,” she finally said. “You broke into my store and fooled me into believing you were a cat. You said nothing about this. And you ate my food and used my protection wards to save yourself from those who wished ill on you.”
Owen stood very rigid next to me. “Yes. Yes, ma’am. That’s pretty much it.”
She pushed her glasses down on her nose and came closer to him. “How old are you, boy?”
“I’m seventeen.”
“Why aren’t you in school?”
“I was in school. But I had to leave.”
“High school diploma?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re a senior?”
“I was.”
“It’s currently seven months before graduation, according to my calendar. And now you have no home. No family. No pack.”
He stared at her defiantly before the expression faded, and he nodded once. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Call me Vera.”
He frowned. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t like ma’am. It makes me feel old. And having a seventeen-year-old boy staying in my spare room and eating my food will make me feel old enough as it is.”
Owen and I exchanged a confused glance.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
Mrs. Timmons huffed. “Well, I would think that’s obvious. Owen has no place to stay, no family to claim him. So, I’ll claim him. He can live here and finish up school with you. Unless you have a better solution, young lady. Do you?”
“No, I don’t.” My heart pounded loud in my ears. “That sounds pretty good to me, actually. What do you think, Owen?”
I had a feeling he wouldn’t be interested. If it wasn’t for his shifter pack, he would probably take off. Backpack across the country. I had no idea what might happen to him then. All I knew was I probably wouldn’t see him again.
That thought made me very unhappy.
“What do I think?” Owen repeated, his forehead creased as if a million thoughts were coursing through his mind. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a very long time. Thank you so much ... Vera.”
I couldn’t help but hear the gratitude and emotion that thickened his words.
Mrs. Timmons pushed her glasses back up her nose and nodded once. “Then it’s decided. I haven’t had anyone here for a long time. It’s ten years since my Franklin left for college, but his room is still the way he left it, and you’re welcome to it and the clothes there, too.”
“So you don’t have a problem with me being a shifter?” he asked.
“If I had a problem, I wouldn’t have suggested this. You don’t need a litter box, do you?”
“Well, no. Of course not.”
“Then there’s no problem.” Finally a smile spread across her wrinkled face. She reached up and patted his cheek. “Now, I have a shop to run. Let’s break this bonding spell and then get back to our regularly scheduled lives, shall we?” She looked at me. “And Brenda...”
I straightened up automatically under her sharp gaze. “Yes?”
“You’ll have to pick out another familiar. I don’t suppose Owen will be much use to you there anymore.”
He still looked shocked by what had just happened—the opportunity to live here with Mrs. Timmons and go to high school to get his diploma.
“I guess you’re right,” I said.
Owen didn’t say anything.
After the spell was broken, which took about three seconds total, I left Owen to check out his new bedroom and slipped out of the store. I was going to be late to meet Sandy at the mall.
I tried to ignore the big lump that had formed in my throat. When Mrs. Timmons broke the spell I hadn’t felt anything change, other than the immediate twinge of pain. But it was over. Owen was no longer my familiar. He’d never really been my familiar in the first place. How could he be? He was a boy, not a cat. It didn’t matter what form he was able to shift into. It didn’t change the fact that he had his own life that definitely didn’t have to include me anymore.