Page 13 of Mistletoe Wishes and Dragon Kisses

Holding on tight, Glo squeezed her eyes closed as tightly as she could. Absorbing all the love and adoration coming from her older, wiser, and infinitely more powerful cousin, she gave it right back in spades. If anyone could clear her name, it was her cousins–Molly, Ella, Vi, and Lucky Brown. They were just the best. They always had each other's back in every situation and always would. There was no doubt in her mind that the true culprit would be brought to justice. She just hated that her Aunties hadn't believed her, but then again… she, Gloria Angelica Brown, was nothing if not a handful of a teenage Witch.

Letting go of Molly, she stepped back, winked, and snapped her fingers before she lost her nerve and ran off to hide in the middle of the Swamp with the Galahad GatorCongregation. Whooshing through the Ether, it was less than ten seconds before she touched down on the narrow stone steps of the administration building of Cora Killjoy’s Correctional Commune for Precocious Paranormal Prepubescents. Raising her hand, the tips of her fingers had just grazed the massive brass knob when the doors flew inward, and she was grabbed by a set of the biggest imaginary hands she'd ever imagined.

Butt landing on a very hard, very cold, very orange plastic chair, a belt came around her waist and squeezed her tighter than Princess Periwinkle’s corset a split second before she was zooming upward at a high rate of speed. Stopping just before her head made contact with the marble ceiling, she flew to the left, made a sharp right turn that almost tossed her from the chair, and then came to a screeching halt inside a room straight out of one of the Alfred Hitchcock movies Auntie Penelope loved so much.

Unceremoniously dumped from the hard plastic chair, she landed with one hip on a soft, red, crushed velvet cushion while her other had sadly come into contact with a very unforgiving, highly ornately carved solid oak armrest. Sliding into an almost upright position, she rubbed the outside of her thigh, praying the resulting bruise wouldn’t show from under the orange and black plaid skirts she knew the girls attending Cora Killjoy’s Correctional Commune for Precocious Paranormal Prepubescents were forced to wear.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” she grumbled. Then added, “Shame Hilly’s not here to tell me to build a bridge and get over it or that it's all my fault. If I hadn't listened to that idiot, Bobbi Sue Mackey, I wouldn't have been outside the shed when it blew up." Shaking her head, she huffed, “I never thought I’d miss that pain in the butt Hippo, but I do. She told me not to go. Why didn’t I listen?”

“Well, Miss Brown, if you behave yourself and can convince me that you’ve seen the error of your ways, I will allow your Familiar to come and stay with you for the duration of your stay.”

Of course, that never happened. Thankfully, it was because Molly and the others proved Glo's innocence and brought the responsible parties to justice. Obviously, it was not because the young Brown Witch of Peace, Protection, and Eternal Love was a model student.

However, during her stay at Cora Killjoy’s Correctional Commune for Precocious Paranormal Prepubescents, Glo met a girl she thought of as a kindred spirit. From the first time they laid eyes on each other, she and Twiggy Girdler were fast friends. It was as if they shared a brain–and not only a penchant for finding trouble.

At fourteen years old, Twiggy was six-foot tall, thin, and gorgeous with one green eye and the other blue, and long straight hair, so black it looked like it had blue highlights in the light of the Full Moon. As the last living Twig Beetle Shifter, Twiggy, or Twigs as Glo used to call her, had not yet come into her Shift and, therefore, lacked access to her governing god, Tithonus, the Greek Deity of Insects, and her Magic, but that didn't stop Miss Twiggy Mayflower Girdler.

She was a force unto herself, and when the girls were together there was nothing they wouldn’t do or dare the other to try. It was only by the grace of the Goddess and the loving nature of Glo’s Family that they girls never got caught.

Since Twiggy was an orphan, along with her nature for mischief, she'd been at Cora Killjoy's Correctional Commune for Precocious Paranormal Prepubescents since her ninth birthday. When Gloria was given her walking papers, she begged her Aunties to take Twigs in, and the rest, as they say, was history.

The few years they spent together as sisters were some of the best of Glo's young life. Although her sadness over the loss of the boy of her dreams, that rascally Chris Archer, was never far from her thoughts, she had her Family, her cousins, and Twiggy, and she counted herself among the very blessed.

Then, on Twiggy’s eighteenth birthday, the Shifter announced that she had been accepted into Madame Maude’s Modeling School for the Magically Marvelous. It broke Glo’s heart, but she knew it was Twiggy’s dream to stomp the runways of Paris. Milan and New York, and she wouldn't stand in her way.

The days, weeks, and months flew by, but the girls stayed in constant contact. Then, the day came for Twiggy’s debut. Glo was front and center with all her cousins as the breathtaking Shifter sashayed her way into history.

For the next three years, Twiggy was on every runway, wearing every designer from Alexander McQueen to Zika Ascher. She was on the front of every magazine on every stand in Nowhere, USA, and Glo had them all. It was wonderful to see her dear friend living her dreams and having everything she’d always felt was taken from her when her parents passed away in a freak insecticide spill in the Great Forest.

Then, one night, just after midnight, the Brown Witch of Peace, Protection, and Eternal Love was awakened from a deep sleep by thetink–tink–tinkof pebbles hitting her window. Throwing back the covers, she jumped out of bed and ran across the room.

Magicking open the window, she squealed with delight, “Twiggy! You’re home!”

“You know it.” The Shifter spun in a perfect circle, arms open wide, and her head thrown back in the soft moonlight. Stopping with a trademark Twiggy flourish, she smiled, "You better get down here and let me in. I have no clue where my keyis, and that blasted Pygmy Hippo of yours has spelled the door to within an inch of its poor life."

"Girl, I got you covered." Snapping her fingers, Glo removed all the Magical security and, with another snap, Magicked herself downstairs just in time to welcome her best friend with a hug.

The next few days were full of catching up, gossiping, and, most of all, eating anything and everything that Glo's Aunties, Granny Esta, and her cousin Lucy cooked, baked, fried, and sautéed. Having Twigs back was a dream come true, but Glo couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Then, on the third night, she got her answer. Not long after they returned home from the movies, Twiggy sat down on the couch and patted the cushion to her left. No sooner had Glo done as she was asked than Twigs got right to the point.

“As you know, we Insect Shifters are governed by the god Tithonus.”

“Yeah, we all learned that in The History of Shifters 101.”

"Yeah, we did. Well, Mom and Dad always told stories about how Tithonus fell madly in love with the Moon goddess Selene and pledged his undying allegiance to her. They said that was why all the Beetle Shifters are some of the only Paranormals forced to Shift with every Full Moon. Like we have no choice. It just happens. Doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing. One minute, we're human…" Motioning up and down her body with the wave of her hands, her voice shook as she seethed, "… and the next, we're all exoskeletoned out and Beetley until dawn." Jumping to her feet, she paced back and forth, waving her hands. "And until recently, until I started this whole effin' Shifting BS, I didn't care. I mean, it was so far from my mind that I completely forgot I was turning twenty–one until the girls at the Modeling Agency threw me a surprise party."

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. The girls and I sent you that care package a week early so you’d be ready.”

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry. I meant to tell you how much I appreciated it. I just didn’t pick up my mail until it had already happened.”

“Oh, no!”

“No, no, no,” Twiggy reassured, still not meeting Glo’s eyes and continuing to pace. “It’s not your fault. I just forgot all about the mail. Paris was just a whirlwind, and I was completely wiped out.” Shaking her head and wringing her hands, she kept going, “The party the girls planned was awesome. We had a blast and drank way too much champagne, and all was well until two nights later.”

“No!” Glo shrieked, her hand slapping to her chest over her heart and tears filling her eyes.

"Yes, it was horrible. And now, I have to run and hide every time there's about to be a Full Moon. My agent says if I don't stop disappearing and missing appointments, he's gonna drop me.”

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