Page 2 of No Potions Needed

“I hope not,” I said but my jaguar’s fur stood up in a way that let me know I was right. Hopefully, we’d be inside somewhere safe and sound when the storm hit. “Anyway,” I said and looked around for anything to distract me from my own intuition. “Didn’t this old dude say that he’d only talk to us if Teddy was there too?”

“Yes, and he doesn’t need to talk. I just need to see him and whoever he’s seeing without Teddy’s anger all over it. I don’t blame him for hating the guy. I just… I don’t know.”

“Are you worried that you’re going to respond to him and beg him to put eggs in you right there at the old folks’ home like your carrier seems to think?” I teased him.

He shot me a dirty look and let out a long breath before switching over to the Nightshade Bear link for privacy. Sometimes head speak was the only way we could communicate without being overheard. That perk was one of the only reasons I joined the Nightshade Bears. That and well to piss off my carrier in a way that did him no harm.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. Teddy isn’t my mate. No, I don’t know who it is before you ask, but could you imagine? I don’t want to have to chase my mate through the sky or have his previous hookups show up and yell about surprise babies or something and I’m not living in outer space. I don’t think I was so horrible in a past life that I have to go through that. I don’t think the universe hates me that much. I don’t think I crossed my true-mate to the point where he’d be Teddy Moonscale.”

“Yikes. Pure salinity, dude.”

“What do you care? You haven’t even talked to him.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be your friend?”I arched a brow and frowned.“Can’t wait to hear what you say when I’m not around.”

“That you’re still pretty sheltered and I have a whole world to show you. A world that I can’t wait to show you,”Mori grinned.“And Teddy is my friend. That’s how I know he’s not my mate. If he were my true-mate don’t you think I’d feel something?”

“I mean you did travel all the way here.”

“I only said yes because Dad is friends with Dern, and someone needs to find out what’s going on. They’re going to have another baby, and they need a real vacation. Besides, if we ever open up shop for paranormal investigation for real, we’d have to start somewhere, huh?”

“I guess so. Just don’t be mean to Teddy. You don’t think your dad told him he’s your mate, do you?”I asked, briefly mortified by the possibility.

“Not a chance in Frost’s Pit,” Mori said aloud as we turned around a curvy bend that led to the home where Dern currently stayed. We both paused, standing akimbo, across the street from it. The building was old brick but nicely upkept. A vivid green, well-manicured lawn surrounded it. Closer to the building sat brick flowerboxes with their bright blooms in full glory. Static danced over my fur again and I crinkled my nose. Why today? Why did the sky have to growl today?

“I don’t see anyone dead, do you?” I asked Mori.

“No one. Maybe a bird,” Mori tilted his head. “Sometimes with black birds I can never be certain. Let’s go. I bet they’ve found our trunks by now and when they figure out that we’re not at the B&B this will be the next place they look if they have a brain between them.”

“Why are you being so salty today, Mori?” I frowned. “I thought we’d have fun on this trip. I know it’s all serious business and stuff but did they do something to piss you off?”

“I’m mad at myself for not thinking to lie about what time our train came in to make time to meet Dern alone.”

“UH…. Are you telling me you didn’t even ask if they’d let you? You just assumed the answer would be no?” I asked as Mori started across the street. I followed on his heels as a crow called out. Hell, I wasn’t sure if he was alive or dead either.

“You have somethings to learn about alphas. This far north, they’re more like your carrier than your sire. They will say everything is unsafe for you because you are an omega. You can’t see the sick man alone because you are an omega. He shot someone and even though he’s in a hospital and unarmed now, it’s still not safe for you. I didn’t want to have to tell them to fuck straight off to the pit, okay? Sometimes, it’s easier to lie and say you didn’t have reception.”

“Your sire isn’t like that,” I said, still following.

We crossed the parking lot, weaving through lines of shiny, new-looking cars before Mori stopped in front of the double glass doors that led into the nursing home.

“He is. You want to know the truth? Teddy and I would never be true-mates. We’re not aligned that way, but I almost wish he was because I overheard my parents talking and it’s like my sire’s nightmare that I true-mate respond to someone like Teddy. He doesn’t think I can handle myself.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to sit across from dragons every time there is a big family celebration.”

“He already does that with Star and them! I’m just… I’m so mad that I wish I was a dragon who could spit fire at him just to prove I could take care of myself!”

“You can ‘atsilv ko’ things. That’s almost better than being a dragon. Well, actually,” I thought about it for a moment. “It is better. You still get fur, and you can spark fires!”

“Let’s just go meet the senile old man,” Mori sighed.

“Hi!” A cheerful long-haired, blonde man said from behind a semi-circle desk made of oak. He smelled like cucumber melon pheromone blocker spray and had big green eyes behind his cat-eyed spectacles. His scrubs were grey with little stars on them, and he looked cheerful in that way customer service people always had.

“You must be here to see Dern. I thought his doctor would bring you, but he’s very excited to see you,” the blonde man stood up and rounded the desk. When he was close enough his name tag read ‘Rian.’ I made a mental note to try to remember that because Mori wasn’t in the headspace to remember it. I wasn’t sure Mori was in the headspace to meet anyone new. I wished he had told me about his sire issues while we were still on the train. If he had, I would’ve had days to talk him down.

“We’re excited to meet him too,” I said, reaching out to shake Rian’s hand. “I’m Othoni and this is Mori. It’s so nice to meet you, Rian. We find that sometimes those we help open up quicker if they have a snack while we talk with them and you should make sure all the windows are shut because there’s a storm coming in this evening.”

“We can bring you all a snack,” Rian grinned. “Though, I just checked the weather and there’s not a drop of rain in sight.”

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