Page 69 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Is the magic getting easier?” Harley asked.

“I think so,” I said, looking out the window at the herbs that had grown three times their size in only a couple of days. “I can feel it more, anyway.”

“You need to stay there until you have full control of it. You don’t want to sneeze in class and, like, accidentally turn some kid into a frog or something.”

“Harley,” I said hesitantly. “Does this mean we won’t be able to be friends anymore?” It was one of the biggest fears I had. “If I have to go into hiding?”

“Shush, no way. You said you were going to stop aging, right? We can be best buds until I die. Hell, maybe you can use that new magic to keep me looking all tight and young into my eighties. All the boys will think I’m a hot granny.”

We both laughed, but a dark thought tickled the back of my mind. This was my reality now. Everyone I knew and loved would age and die, and I’d be left behind. It hurt to think about how lonely it would be to walk through time while everyone else withered away, blowing into history like dust in the wind.

“You need to come visit,” I blurted. “Soon.”

I wanted to see my friend. Suddenly, I realized time was a thief, and every moment with the people you loved mattered.

“I was literally just thinking the same thing. Hey,” she chided, “are you reading my mind with those witchy powers?”

Chuckling, I said, “No, I just want to see you. And I want you to see this place and how pretty it is.”

“Okay. Count on it. I’ll check my schedule and see how soon I can get down there.”

Jace called not long after I got off the phone with Harley and asked me out to dinner. A real date at a restaurant, he said. I jumped at the chance. Even hearing his voice on the phone sent shivers up my spine and tingles racing across my fingertips. But as excited as I was, my thoughts drifted to the darker places throughout the day.

At dinner, Jace must have noticed something was up as I picked at my salad. Reaching across the table, he touched my hand. “Are you okay?”

I put the fork down and glanced around the restaurant. The little bistro was in downtown Crestwood and much fancier than I’d expected of a small-town restaurant. On the way into town, Jace told me that the owner—one of his pack members—had studied under some of the best chefs in the country before opening the place. People came all the way from Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield to eat there.

“I talked to my best friend today,” I admitted. “It got me thinking.”

“About?”

“There’s so much about to happen. So much that’s changing. I’m afraid I’m not ready for it. There’s being a witch, but there’s also being a shifter’s mate. On top of that, I have this creepy guy asking me to help him make babies, people are following me… it just feels like a lot.”

“It’s overwhelming,” Jace said. “I get that. I grew up with the knowledge that I would have an extended lifespan. I can’t imagine all this happening so fast.”

“Exactly! When I talked to my friend today, I realized that living in the normal world again may not work. I won’t age, and that will bring up questions eventually. I don’t really want to move every five or six years. That sounds exhausting. What will the government say when I’m still renewing my driver’s license and paying taxes a hundred years from now?”

Jace grunted in agreement. “True. As far as I know, the powers that be don’t know that witches are real. Probably good for you all. If they knew, I doubt they’d wait long before rounding you up to create some special witch force or something.”

For a moment, I imagined myself dressed in camouflage and crawling through mud to cast a spell on a rose bush so it would strangle some dictator. I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle the giggle bubbling up at the back of my throat.

He ran a thumb over the back of my hand as the server cleared our salads. “It’s healthy and normal to be scared and freaked out. This is a huge change for you. You aren’t alone. No matter what you choose, I’m here for you. You can count on that.”

The words were like a balm for my soul and precisely what I needed to hear. I’d spent my whole life doing things on my own, but now I was starting to see that some things were too big to do alone.

“Thanks,” I said. “I needed to hear that.”

The server returned with our entrees, and I gaped down at the food. “Oh, wow, this looks good,” I said.

Jace pointed a fork at me. “Watch out now, you’re gonna hurt my feelings.”

“Hey, you’re a good cook, but look at this.”

He nodded begrudgingly. “Yeah, David’s got me beat, but I’m working on it.”

We moved on to lighter topics, such as the books we’d read, movies we liked, trips we’d taken. It was a real date. Not that the last two dinners hadn’t been, but this was more familiar territory to me. By the time we’d finished our dessert, all my stress and worries had melted away.

“Let’s take a walk,” Jace offered as we walked out of the restaurant. “Work off some of that food.”

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