Page 115 of Magic's Rise

“Oh no, you don’t.” He turns me around and points me at the pile of luggage and coolers. “Be a helper bee.”

I slump as I plod down the stairs. “Vacation is over.”

We work together to bring everything into the house, and Haut moves the van to the back of the driveway next to the other cars to make room for the upcoming ceremony.

With the suitcases in the house, I stand at the edge of the porch and stare down at Hartford Cove. The golden rays of the setting sun cast a warm glow over the little town, and a sense of awe fills me at how right it feels to be here.

So much has changed over the last several months. When Tris and I arrived here, we’d only been planning to stay for a few weeks, just long enough to sort out our lives after losing everything.

But then I met Haut and reconnected with Owen. Slowly but surely, Hartford Cove had gone from being a place I visited as a child to becoming the place I call home.

Haut steps up beside me. “Delilah will be here soon to perform the blessing. If you don’t want to participate, we should go inside before people arrive.”

“Right,” I say, snapping out of it, but my feet refuse to move.

“You could always do it together with Delilah.” Haut leans against my side without giving me all of his weight. “It can be a bonding moment with your sister.”

“She’d probably like that.” A lump forms in my throat.

It took some time to grow accustomed to having a sister-in-law, and now I have a cousin, too. My life continues to get bigger, no matter how much that scares me.

I’d even been bummed to leave Aris in Silver Hollow, but she promised to come visit. She wants to see Hartford Cove, and I vowed to make copies of all of my family’s grimoires to compensate for destroying hers. She’d been sad about the loss but said the grimoire had never liked her anyway.

She had also agreed to look at the yearly spell I perform for the vampires to see if she could can a charm from it that will last forever. Or at least a decade. With the moon madness spell no longer a puzzle she needed to solve, she was happy for a new project.

“Rowe!” a feminine voice calls out, and I turn to see Delilah striding up the driveway. She lifts a hand and waves. “You made it back in time!”

A grin spreads over my face. “We couldn’t miss the grand finale! And I heard congratulations are in order, Pie Queen.”

Her laugh rings out, lifting my soul. “It was a complete lark. After eating so many of Jesse’s pies, I had a craving for an old family recipe, and thought others might enjoy something a little different.”

She joins us on the porch and pulls me into a tight hug, filling my nose with the fresh scent of the garden. “I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures, sister.”

I squeeze her tighter, glad that she has enough meat on her bones now that I don’t fear breaking her. “We’re going to need some snacks and cocoa.”

“That sounds delightful.” She steps back as people begin to arrive, and the driveway quickly becomes packed all the way down to Main Street.

It’s quite the sight, and anticipation hangs heavy in the air.

“Will you join me?” Delilah holds out a hand.

I look at Haut, who nods, and notice that Tris, Ros, and Owen now stand on the porch, too, in quiet support.

With a deep sigh, I clasp Delilah’s hand, and together, we bless all who have gathered in Hartford Cove, wishing them fertility for pups come summer.

As I speak the words, I feel the tingle of magic for the first time since I started rubbing bellies, and I open myself to it.

With a gasp, I see sparks of light floating through the air, spreading out over the wolf shifters, while overhead, our barrier comes to life, carrying the blessing far and wide.

As if on cue, the citizens of Hartford Cove shift into wolves, and howls echo around us as they race for the forest in a blur of fur and grace.

It’s breathtaking, and I imagine what it would be like to run through the woods with my mates chasing me. The wild freedom of the wind in my hair and the thrum of the earth beneath my feet, knowing that I’ll be caught, and excited for the takedown, for the tumble on the forest floor where exhilaration turns to desire.

The thought tempts me, and I move toward the steps before a brisk breeze catches me, flinging me back into Tris’s waiting embrace.

“Ha! Caught my mate.” He laughs as he scoops me up.

Haut chuckles and shakes his head. “Didn’t I say you wouldn’t even make it off the porch, bad puppy?”

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