Page 4 of Coven

“Talk with your people and call this number with a couple of days and times. I’ll let you know which one is best, but I still recommend them not coming at all.”

Kana tucked the card into his notebook, slid the pen back down the spiral spine, and put it all back into the outer pocket of his backpack. He stood and carefully swung his bag onto his back.

“I will mention it to them,” Kana replied, wishing he could sound convinced he would be able dissuade his supervisors. They wanted the next, best, newest scoop, and they wanted it before anyone else had a chance to swoop in and snatch it from them. The vampires in town were the hot topic, and Kana wasn’t sure even a threat to their lives would stop his coworkers from moving forward with the story. Well, he would have to try anyway.

“I’ll show you out.” Ember led the way back to the long hallway, then up the stairs and into the maze.

Kana was pretty certain by the time they reached the door that he had been taken in circles again, but that wasn’t a question worth asking. He was just glad to step outside again.

The door closed with a thud that made Kana jump, and he hurried onto the street and back through the neighborhoods so he could find the bus to take him home.

They might be trailing us, Kana pushed down the bond he shared with Mika and Sora.

Mika grumbled at having to stay hidden in the bag for longer. Sora just snorted in amusement from where he was following, hidden in the grass of the front yards Kana was walking past.

You wanted to go inside, Mika, Sora teased. That’s what you get for your curiosity.

You’re just disappointed you didn’t speak up first, Mika replied, his voice cutting, yet still teasing.

Kana was happy to listen to their playful banter for the rest of the walk through the neighborhood and back to the main road to catch the bus. A touch of magic kept people from noticing Sora took the bus too, and it wasn’t long before they were getting off at the stop a few blocks from Kana’s apartment.

He didn’t live in the best part of town, but it also wasn’t the worst. The building was old, but the brick facade was well maintained and the front door locked firmly behind him when Kana let himself inside. Sora scampered up the inside stairs ahead of them and Kana felt the pull on his magic when Sora changed from his house cat sized form to his human one. He was waiting, completely naked and not caring, when Kana caught up outside the door to his apartment.

Kana opened the door quickly, hoping his neighbors didn’t come out and see Sora naked…again…and then locked it behind him once they were all inside.

Mika squirmed his way out of the bag before Kana had a chance to take it off. He leapt from Kana’s shoulder as a house cat, but when he reached the ground, he had also assumed human form.

Mika and Sora were completely identical in basic features—the shape of their nose, eyes, chin—but their coloring was opposite. Sora’s skin was beautifully dark, but all the hair on his head, arms, legs, and groin was white. The contrast made him look ethereal. Mika had pale white skin, but all his hair was the deepest black, so he seemed to glow from within.

Despite their similar looks, they weren’t related by blood. Familiars were formed in the ether, in the power beyond which Kana tapped into with his spells, and when Mika and Sora had chosen their human forms, they had decided to choose similar features.

They were gorgeous, and they were all Kana’s.

Sora padded over and hugged Kana from behind.

“I don’t think they know you’re a witch, but they definitely know you’re something,” Sora said into Kana’s neck where his nose was pressed. “Otherwise, they definitely would have tried to take your blood.”

“Which means my secret is still safe,” Kana replied. He bent his head to give Sora better access, and Sora obligingly nipped gently at the exposed skin. Kana let out a groan that was halted when Mika took his mouth, tongue rubbing deep and swallowing any noises Kana made.

“I’m more interested in your handsome wolf,” Mika said, pulling away briefly to start on the buttons of Kana’s shirt. “I didn’t get a good look at him. Is he really that pretty?”

“I liked his eyes,” Kana admitted, his voice gasping and airy as Sora’s hands pressed and rubbed against his skin as Mika revealed it to the room with every unhooked button.

“And his shoulders,” Mika added, his voice and his grin cheeky. He sank to his knees in front of Kana, his fingers fumbling with the button and zipper on Kana’s pants.

Sora’s strong arms held Kana up, his rumbling purrs echoing in Kana’s ears even as his length pressed against Kana’s butt, while Mika worked with his mouth.

Kana sank into the dual sensations, letting the magic of their bond and their love draw him away into oblivion.

Chapter Two

THE ALARM WENT off in a series of loud beeps arranged to form a song melody but were so annoying he’d downloaded the tune to use as his alarm tone. Mika let out a soft yowl, and Sora answered with a grumble, but neither moved from where they were twined around Kana.

Kana laughed and started the laborious process of extricating himself. Once he was finally free, Mika and Sora simply rolled into the warm spot he had left, curling around each other to contentedly sleep for another half hour. Kana eyed them with envy, wishing he could crawl back in with them, but a glance at the clock forced him to keep moving.

He showered quickly and got dressed in a pair of slacks and a button-down. Mika, finally awake, pushed a plate of buttered toast and a cup of tea in front of Kana’s seat at the kitchen table when Kana headed over, and he and Sora took their own chairs to eat their preferred marshmallow bomb cereal drowned in milk. Toast was more than enough for Kana this early, but he had snacks in his desk at work to tide him over until lunch if he got hungry early.

They left their dirty dishes in the sink to deal with later that night. Kana found his backpack where it had been abandoned by the front door, while Mika and Sora shifted to their house cat form. Neither wanted to climb into the bag, which was fine. A touch of magic—the same spell Kana used on a slightly larger scale at work—kept anyone from noticing them.

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