Page 71 of Captivating Magic

“What?” Surely it hadn’t answered her?

“Yes. I understand.”

“Who are you talking to, Sweet?” Laszlo’s concern for her sanity had skyrocketed based on the horrific look on his face.

“Herself,” Isis replied on her behalf.

Ebba opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. This bizarre dream had gone on way too long.

“It’s not a dream, my dear,” Damian said. “You’ve been offered the opportunity to extend both your life and that of Laszlo’s familiar.”

“Wait! What?” He did a double take and then stared at the Aether. “The wolf Ebba struck was to be my familiar?”

The dark-haired man simply smiled as Laszlo shook his head in wonder.

“The power will transfer to your mate,” Isis said. “She’ll be your familiar moving forward.”

“A witch like him?” Ebba asked in disbelief.

“Not quite,”the black wolf said.

“Ohmygod, I’m going mental,” she whispered. “I dove off the deep end, and there’s no fucking water in the pool.”

“Your magic will enhance Laszlo’s. In return, you’ll live as long as he does,” Isis explained. “The wolf, too.”

“How is it any life for her?” Ebba tangled her fingers in the black fur, wanting to bury her face there and cry. “It’s not fair. She’ll miss out on running and?—”

“No, she won’t.” Damian’s smooth, seductive tones cut through her building hysteria.

Isis squatted down and rubbed the wolf’s shaggy head. “She’ll have three days during the full moon to be herself. The rest of the time, you’re in charge.”

“You’re turning her into a werewolf?” Castor asked from the sidelines. His tone conveyed intrigue, but there was an underlying concern. “A woman who has never experienced the smallest scope of magic before? I hesitate to ask if it’s wise, but is it?”

“I’m with him,” Laszlo said. “I don’t like it.”

“The alternative is death for them both,” Isis snapped. “Is that your wish?”

A calmness settled over Ebba. “Why? There’s a reason you’re doing this, but I can’t figure out what it is. You claim the Fates have decided. What do they care about me? A nobody in their grand scheme of things?”

“She’s clever,” Damian murmured. In a louder voice, he addressed them all. “I believe my job here is finished. I bid you all a good night.”

“Wait! How do we separate the wolf? Did anyone ask her opinion?” Ebba demanded. “You both assumed a dumb animal?—”

“Watch it,”the wolf warned with a low growl.

“Sorry.” Ebba patted her head. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Focus, Ebba,” Laszlo scolded. “Please.”

“I’m trying! You deal with a second voice in your head, why don’t you!”

Isis sighed her exasperation. “Clearly, I didn’t explain it well enough. I’ll rectify my mistake now.”

She held out a hand to Damian. “The amulet, please.”

“I almost forgot.” He dropped the pendant into her outstretched palm, and Ebba got her first good look at it.

Shaped from a ruby stone with a loop at the top and flat on front and back, it had handless arms dangling halfway down each side. Weirdly, it resembled the body of a person wearing a dress. Carved into the flat surface of its center was an ankh symbol, which Ebba was more familiar with and understood to be the Egyptian symbol for life.

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