Page 61 of Severed By Magic

She put her arm around my shoulders. “Give yourself some time and patience. Your magic has to readjust too. It’s been in self-preservation mode for so many years, protecting you by hiding. Undoing that won’t happen overnight.”

“Thanks.”

Emily was right. I couldn’t expect things to change miraculously without putting in the work. Magic wasn’t automatic. It wasn’t an innate talent. It was something that needed to be taught and practiced. It was easier to see that with my witch abilities, but it was just as true for my shifter.

Sai

Receiving a summons to the Alpha’s office wasn’t how I expected to start my workday, but Rodney didn't seem that surprised.

“Should I go, or should I wait until the end of the day?” I asked him.

“We only have a routine maintenance check on the water tower scheduled. I can handle it by myself, so why don't you go meet with him? I'll check in with you at lunch and see if there’s anything I need help with.”

“All right. If you're sure.”

I felt guilty about leaving him to go off alone. Not that he wasn't capable, but I got the feeling he liked having me around. Not very many people talked to him as just Rodney—not as the Alpha’s son. His posture and expression changed when other people were around, almost like he put on a mask or a whole new persona. He was much more relaxed with me. We joked, and he teased me, especially about Saige. He asked me about her and her family and how she grew up.

I wanted to tell him he should ask himself. If he wanted to get to know his niece, he couldn't do it through me. But we're all busy, and any free time we had lately, we spent with Emily and her mates. I didn't want to take her away from that.

We would have time getting to know them, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was a countdown hanging over our heads. Even though I knew we were safe here, I couldn’t forget the Council wanted us. And not just for a meet and greet, like they claimed. If they figured out exactly what our group was and what we could do, they would hold us captive for experiments. How far would that go? I didn’t want to find out.

I went back to the main lodge, hoping to run into Niall or Saige, but I didn't have to go down their hall to head up the stairs to the Alpha’s office. When I got to the top, I expected Nancy. She always magically appeared when we needed her, but the front office was empty.

I wasn't sure if I could just walk in, so I knocked and waited.

“Come in,” the Alpha called.

I opened the door enough to slide in before shutting it behind me.

“Hello,” I hesitated. Do I call him sir? Alpha? Mr. Grandpa?

“Hello, Sai. Why don't you sit down?”

I was grateful he decided for me. It felt like I was in the Dean's office waiting to be reprimanded for something. That feeling was all too familiar from when we've been called into the Academy office to find the Councilmember waiting for us. But the Alpha was grinning, so I had a little hope we weren't in any trouble.

“Thank you for responding so quickly. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that I had an update for you.”

I straightened in my seat. “An update about my family?”

Even though he said he would try to contact them or at least find out where they went, I hadn’t expected him to get results. Not this quickly.

“Yes, I just spoke to Robert. He went to your parents’ house, but there’s no trace of them. There was no clear indication of where they went, either.”

“Was all their stuff there? Did it look like they packed up?”

“He didn’t see any suitcases, and there were empty hangers in the closet.”

“So it looked like they packed. Were their cars still there?”

“Yes. He also noticed their cell phones, so it doesn’t look like they went on a normal vacation.”

I was trying to put together the pieces. They would have their cell phones and have taken one of their cars to the airport if they were going on a trip. They weren’t the type to use a car service, which means they listened to the warnings. They got out.

“There was no sign of a struggle or anything, right?” I had to know.

“No. Nothing that would lead Robert to think anything harmful happened.”

I nodded. That was as good as I could hope for. “Thank you for letting me know.”

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