Page 1 of Must Love Dragons
Note to self: Restlessness is either a sign of change coming, or a need for less caffeine.
Some days felt perfectly normal.
Today was not one of those days.
Kinsley Moreau couldn’t explain it, but there was a restless energy hounding her and she couldn’t shake it.She was fairly certain that it meant something was coming, but what it could possibly be was anyone’s guess.
The crisp November air carried the scent of damp earth and saltwater as Kinsley strolled through the familiar adoption center’s yard with her cat familiar, Nysa, who was happily leaping through the grass and chasing leaves.The golden afternoon sunlight cast long shadows over the yard and the breeze rustled fiery leaves in the trees.She pulled her coat tighter around herself.It wasn’t cold but it was chilly, and she suspected the winter that would hit Sable Cove in the coming few weeks would be a rough one.Her boots crunched over the fallen leaves as she caught up to Nysa who was on her back and stretching, the sunlight making her tortoiseshell fur glisten.Squatting, she rubbed her belly and smiled at the loud purr that stuttered to life.
“Enjoying the sun while you can, kits?”she asked, scratching under her chin.
Nysa stretched luxuriously before rolling to her paws for a second leisurely stretch.Kinsley rose to her feet and looked around.Why couldn’t she shake this restless feeling?
She rubbed the space over her heart and pondered things.
Her best friends and fellow witches Delaney and Hadlee, had both found their truemates recently.And while she was very happy for them it had left her feeling a little more empty than usual.She wasn’t lonely.She had her friends and the familiars to take care of, but she was definitely longing for that one special person.
Her truemate.
Delaney had mated and married a vampire named Brody.They’d rebuilt the adoption center so they had a home that was light-tight and allowed Delaney to be available to help with the animals.Hadlee had found her truemate in a falcon shifter who lived on an island a short boat ride away.Hadlee joined them during the special events for their coven, such as the equinoxes and solstices, but otherwise, she’d moved away from the quiet seaside town of Sable Cove.
And Kinsley missed her.
As Nysa ran ahead, Kinsley made her way to the adoption center to prepare for a warlock who was traveling from New Orleans to see if any of the familiars were his.Unlike a human-run animal adoption agency, familiars chose their masters and couldn’t be forced to help a witch or warlock.If a witch or warlock didn’t feel a connection to a familiar, they couldn’t adopt them.And humans were never allowed to adopt familiars, they were strictly for magic users and allowed them to perform at a more powerful level.
Kinsley and Hadlee both had cat familiars, but Delaney had a turtle familiar.
In the adoption center, they had several animals for adoption, including an owl named Galahad and three cats.They’d had a raven familiar who had been adopted a few weeks earlier.
“Hey, girl,” Delaney called when the bell rang as Kinsley and Nysa walked inside.
“Hey, yourself.”Kinsley hung up her coat and found Delaney checking on the animals.Her petite friend was dressed in what they all calledclassic witch –long, flowing skirt and embroidered tunic, her long, dark hair in a thick braid and tied with leather and beads.Delaney’s green eyes danced as she played with one of the cat familiars.Since Delaney was a day sleeper, Kinsley took care of the animals during the day and then handed the reins over to her friend.
“You okay?”Delaney asked as she dodged the cat’s sharp claws as she leaped through the air after the toy.
“Sure, why?”
“You look stressed.Not sleeping well?”
Kinsley hummed.“I’m sleeping okay, I just feel like something is coming.”
Delaney’s brow rose.“Good or bad?”
“No idea.I also think I’m lonely?So maybe my feelings are all mucked up because of that.”
“Aw, babe.”Delaney tossed the catnip mouse to the cat and then looked at Kinsley.“Maybe you’re feeling like something is coming and it’s because your truemate is on the way.”
“That’s possible.”
“You could try a love spell.”
“Those are notoriously useless.”
“Yeah,” Delaney laughed.“But they’re fun and also it might give you some clarity.It was the one spell that Hadlee could never master.But I remember Mother Gibson saying that she cast a love spell and had a dream that night about her truemate.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Mother Gibson was an eccentric and lovely witch who ran the Magic Emporium in Sable Cove.Her husband, a warlock, had passed away years earlier, but Kinsley had never met him.She filled in as a fourth for their coven whenever they were dealing with large spells that needed a lot of magic.
