Page 15 of Sealed With A Kiss
“It’s doing its job.” I took another sip of my coffee before placing the mug down on my desk. “It’s not a total block to her magic. It is a protection layer weaved into it. She can’t do anything that will harm herself or others. And when she uses it, a magic bond signals Nik, and he can immediately check on her and what she is doing.”
“So, she can still do magic?”
“Yes, but it is dimmed to a much more manageable level.”
“That’s amazing.” Travis took a deep breath. “Listen, I have something to talk to you about.”
“Am I already in trouble?” I laughed, but a prick of fear hit my stomach. “I only got back to work this week.”
“No. You aren’t in trouble. We are excited you are back. We were afraid we lost you to the mating virus going on around here.” Travis chuckled. “But we will need you to take another break from the office.”
“What? You said no field work.”
“It’s not like that.” Travis handed me a file. “It’s about your brother-in-law.”
“Zander?” What could Zander have gotten into in the two weeks we’d been gone?
“No. Angus.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that.
Nikolai Survolar
“That’s it, Willow, you are doing so good.” I clapped to show my daughter my excitement at her achievement. She was barely twelve months old now but was ahead of many of her cousins. Except for Zander’s children, who also seemed exceptionally blessed in the magical skills department. They were much more skilled than I was when I began learning the craft.
Willow shot me a toothy grin and continued to hover the three red balls over the blue bucket telepathically. We’d been working on her control lately and making big strides. I felt more secure in my decision to cast the spell on her to dampen her full power until she had grown and mastered what she could do. Milo helped me see that by allowing her small amounts of her power and increasing it over time, Willow would be able to grow into them and become the powerful witch she was born to be without accidentally causing havoc and harm in the years between now and then. A part of me still doubted my decisions, wondering what Stacey would have done, but when those thoughts becametoo much to handle, I would contact Hendrix to give me another dose of his special tea and Stacey would visit me in my dreams. Milo understood the importance of me getting Willow’s mother’s input in the raising of our girl, another reason that I adored my mate.
“How are my sweethearts doing today?” Milo walked into the living room, placing his bag down on the couch. “That’s amazing Willow. I’m so proud of you.”
“Papa.” Willow let the balls fall into the buckets and ran into my mate’s arms before covering his face with wet and messy baby kisses.
“I missed you too, my girl.” Milo returned the affection and held our daughter close. The bond between them grew stronger every day.
At first, I was worried about Willow calling Milo Papa. Would people think I was trying to erase Stacey from her life by giving her another parent figure? But after speaking to a few elders in the clan and another nighttime chat with Stacey, I understood that I was giving my child another parenting figure who would love her unconditionally, and there were no rules that said children could only have two of those. Stacey assured me that she was at peace with it and that although she would love to be the one teaching our daughter how to walk, talk, and go potty, there was no one else she could think of besides Milo who would love our daughter as much as she did.
“How was your day, babe?” Standing, I approached Milo and Willow and wrapped both in my arms. “We missed you.”
“I missed you two, as well.” Milo kissed me briefly before slightly pulling away. He placed Willow on the couch and sat next to her, patting the spot beside him. “My day was pretty good, but can you sit here for a minute? I need to talk to you about something that came through my office today.”
“It sounds serious. Are they changing their minds about keeping you in the office throughout the pregnancy? Willow and I could accompany you if you need to travel for a case.” I joined my family on the couch, and my daughter climbed over Milo’s lap to reach mine, placing her thumb in her mouth and resting her head on my chest.
“No, it’s not that. Philip and Juno confirmed that I’m not to leave for any field work until well after my paternity leave is over. There may be a chance I won’t receive jobs out of the state once the baby is here, either. They needed a few agents to stay in the area since several agents have left GSC for the training center recently or left the job completely after mating. We will be doing a hiring round soon and they want me to help.”
“That sounds cool. I know some of the members from the clan graduating college would be interested in joining the council.”
“We will be reaching out to a few clans, covens, and packs soon and hosting some recruitment fairs on campuses.” Milo swept a piece of hair out of Willow’s face and smiled. “She fell asleep.”
“I figured.” I chuckled, thinking of the shenanigans my little minion had gotten into today. “I’ll put her down in a minute. What did you need to speak to me about?”
“Angus is up for probation. The council is asking that you, Zander, and Rayne come in and give your opinions on whether you think he deserves early release. Since your families were hit the most by his crimes, your testimonies will weigh heavily in the council’s decision.”
A sting of pain hit my heart at the mention of my brother’s name. It had been several years since he had almost destroyed the family and clan, but it still hurt to remember that someone who was supposed to love you and had grown up in the same household as you had caused so much chaos and destruction. “I know that the council had found out he was under a mind-altering spell when he attacked Zander and caused all thattrouble. But it’s hard to believe he is now free from that influence.”
“He is truly cleansed from that working. We never caught the culprit behind it, although we are still working out some of the leads. It is much bigger than just a single person or a small group, from what we have gathered. Your brother was just a tool that they used to try to bring down some of the more powerful families. We have discovered that the same group is also behind the spell that was affecting your father’s health and several of the other elders in surrounding packs and clans. We still have several agents undercover in certain groups and the intel is coming in. We won’t let it go unpunished. But your brother? He has paid for his crimes in the eyes of the council. He has been nothing but compliant with the rules and sorry for what happened. He knows that he was not under control of his actions and thoughts, that he was more like a puppet under the command of a master during those events, but he does carry guilt for it and has tried making up for any wrongdoings by helping in any way he could. Protecting other inmates, offering to be a target for us to use and get to the key players behind the scheme. I think you should speak with him and those who have been in his presence in the last few years. Maybe it will also help you heal from that pain of betrayal you still feel.”
“Okay.” I slowly nodded, thinking over what my mate had said. “You’ll go with me?”
“I can.” Milo kissed me. “Let’s go put Willow to bed and then take a nap ourselves. I could use some time with my mate.”
