Page 31 of Witch of My Heart

“Is he magical too?” Cord asked me.

“Sorta, but in a different way,” I shrugged.

“This spell is a good spell to have right?” Duke asked.

“Yes,” Starry said, slowly drawing out the word.

“Okay, so my inner dude, says why not just add to it,” Duke said,

“Your inner dude?” Starry arched a brow.

“I don’t believe in labels,” Duke said, leaning back against the sofa and stretching out his long legs in front of him. “I really don’t. He’s not a wolf. He’s not a dragon. He’s not a vampire. He’s a lot of the first, some of the second, and a pinch of the latter. That’s all I’m willing to say right now. Does it really matter what my inner dude is if he has a good idea?”

I took a deep breath, ready to argue for Duke.

“I guess not,” Starry said, crossing his arms and looking back and forth between my cousin and me. “What would we add?”

“Just add him to it,” Duke pointed at me. “I don’t know why one cat shifter would need that much protection, but why break something that works? You two are going to stay friends after he and Blithe exchange their claiming vows, right?”

“Yes,” the omegas answered in sync.

“Then there you go. Add my cousin to it,” Duke shrugged.

“That might work,” Starry said, glancing at Cord. “What do you think?”

“I like our connection,” Cord shrugged. “It feels brotherly, but I’d also like you to not think I’m crazy because of it. Do you think adding Blithe to it will work?”

“I think it would give his magic permission to touch you,” Starry said. “I gotta talk to Xi. It would give his magic permission to touch me too and you know how he gets.”

“Well, bring him in,” Cord said and sat down on the sofa next to Duke.

Chapter Sixteen

Cord

An hour later everyone was convinced that extending the spell to include Blithe was a good idea. It gave us a direct tie to the main faction of the Hemlock Wolf Pack if something really big and bad ever went down. Sure, we had Bobby, but none of us were magically linked to him. Except maybe for Starry through Liam.

As I expected, Xi was easy going about the addition to the spell. He didn’t like anyone or anything that endangered or annoyed Starry, but Blithe wasn’t a threat to him anymore than Xi was a threat to me. They had some rough patches to iron out after the dive bombing, but they were tough guys. They’d figure it out.

While we didn’t need to reach inside Starry and play with his fire to extend the charm, it turned out that Starry was right about us needing Duke’s help for the spell. Blithe’s magic turned out to be too slippery for Xi or Starry to hold onto. Even when he stood still and concentrated on letting them touch it the invisible tendrils slipped right through their fingers.

I could touch it all I wanted, but just like touching any other part of Blithe it left me giddy and ready to romp. That wasn’t very conducive to tying him onto our spell. So, that part of the magic was left up to Duke and his inner ‘dude.’ Much to everyone’s surprise except for Blithe, Duke took the magical work very seriously.

We stood in the dark witch room in the dim light of a pink candle. Starry chose pink for ‘light love’ and friendship as he’d done the first time around. I held hands with my best friend and my new mate, and they held hands with each other as Dukesat in the middle of the circle we made, stroking one of Blithe’s invisible magical tendrils into a calmer state.

If I squinted, I could see rust-colored sparkles dancing off his magic. I kept squinting until my eyes drifted closed. This wasn’t the time for a catnap, but the atmosphere was perfect. Most of my favorite people were in the room and the lights were dim. My mate was relaxed and my best friend curious – which was Starry’s favorite state of mind to be in.

I peeked open one eye. Duke bit his tongue as he wrapped the now translucent tendril of Blithe’s magic around the knot of my and Starry’s bond. My friend made a small sound in the back of his throat and Blithe shook his head as if someone tickled the back of his neck. Our energetic spell knot illuminated by the candlelight sucked Blithe’s tendril in until it was properly wrapped up with ours.

I yawned, fighting off the urge to drop their hands and stretch my arms high above my head before curling up on the floor for a cat nap. It’d been a very long day filled with lots of excitement. Cats processed excitement through naps the best.

“Almost done,” Duke said, giving the knot a tug.

Starry snorted and a smoke ring shot from either of his nostrils.

“Told you it was attached to my fire,” he said, waving the smoke away.

“Not a problem,” Duke said. “Just testing its durability. How does it feel to you three?”

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