Kindred Spirit: Book Five of the Bound Spirit Series

Chapter 14

Callie

Gripping my necklace, the cracked blue stone hot in my hand, I look anxiously up at the sky. It’s a clear day, but there’s an ominous storm building in my heart that I fear will manifest at any moment. Logically, I know this birthday is different from all the ones before. I’m safe and surrounded by people who love me. I also have full access to my magic and know how to protect myself. The bastard is locked away and can’t get to me anymore. I repeat all of these truths in my mind, but I have a hard time getting the terrified girl inside me to believe it.

“Want to talk about it?” Kaleb asks, startling me out of my morose thoughts.

“Sorry,” I apologize, quickly releasing my necklace and forcing a smile onto my face. “You were talking about the nephilim retreat next week, and I got distracted.”

His expression is one of tender understanding, and he holds a hand out to me. “Want to go on a walk to clear your mind?”

I look around at the party that’s in full swing outside my house. It’s a celebration filled with music and laughter. Members of the pack mingle with members of the coven, all on their best behavior in front of the solitary human in attendance. The guys group together around the backyard seating area that’s surrounded in various bushes and flowers—a gift from Mei’s parents—and listen to Mei tell some fantastical story, if her hand gestures are to be trusted. Rand, ever watchful, stands beside her. Nolan’s parents run around, orchestrating every detail of the event, making sure my birthday is exactly how I wanted. Mildred chats with Kaleb’s parents near the tree line, giving Mr. Mischief pets when he comes by for them on his loop of patrolling the party. Everything is perfect, yet I can’t seem to alleviate this knot in my stomach nor silence the voice that whispers that it will all be taken from me.

Turning my attention back to Kaleb, I answer with a hesitant tone, “It’d be rude for me to leave.”

“We can just go inside,” he suggests, gesturing toward the house. “It’s okay to need to take a breath.” His deep voice drops to a whisper. “I know how hard today is for you.”

Kaleb read my father’s journal, which recounted all the torturous things he did to me over the years. I couldn’t bear to look at it, so he took it upon himself to see if there was any important information about spirit witches within the scrawled pages. Though part of me hates that he knows the gory details, another part is relieved that I don’t have to explain it.

Taking his hand, I nod and let him lead me inside through a side door off the garage. He heads straight for my bedroom, gripping my hand tightly as we walk upstairs. Most days, they don’t bother me anymore, but today, everything is flaring up. I wanted this party to replace bad memories, but I’m starting to think a quiet day would have been better.

Once we’re inside, he closes the door behind us and opens his arms. “It’s okay not to be okay today.”

It’s like a dam bursts in my chest, and I release an ugly sob. Collapsing into his waiting embrace, I cry, “It’s not fair.”

“I know, columba mea,” he murmurs, one hand in my hair while the other runs soothing lines down my spine.

“This is supposed to be a happy day.” My fists grip the back of his polo shirt. “He’s gone. Why can’t I be happy?”

“It takes time,” he reasons, his voice a gentle rumble against my ear. “This is your first birthday away from him. Today is bound to bring up some bad memories.”

My chest feels tight, like it’s difficult to breathe, as tears fall freely down my cheeks. “I just want it to stop. I don’t want to feel this way anymore.”

He releases a deep breath and tucks my head under his chin. “Unfortunately, we can’t control how we feel, only what we do when we feel it.”

A sad laugh breaks through my tears. “Sometimes I can’t even do that much.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” he chastises gently while his fingers knead the knots along the back of my neck. “Allow yourself to feel. If that means the whole party gets rained out, then so be it. It’s the Pacific Northwest, so no one would be surprised by a sudden summer storm.”

I sniff and attempt to wipe the tears from my face. “What if there’s lightning, and I scorch a bunch of trees again?”

“Then I guess Mei’s family will teach you how to grow them back,” he supplies, obnoxiously having an answer for everything.

Before I can come up with some other excuse to keep burying these ugly feelings, there’s a scuffling noise downstairs, followed by the clear sound of Nolan complaining, “For fuck’s sake, I’m sick, not an invalid. Just because I get tired easily, that doesn’t mean I’m completely incapable of walking.”

“Save your strength for something more interesting than stairs,” Donovan advises, followed by the thumps of several booted feet.

When there’s a knock on the door, Kaleb abruptly lets me go and steps back. My heart breaks a little that he’s grown distant in front of the others, but I’m comforted by the knowledge that when I need him most, he’s still there for me. I hope he’ll let me do the same for him one day.

Felix pokes his head in with his eyes closed. “If you guys need a moment, we can come back.”

Connor, less concerned about possibly walking in on an intimate moment, pushes the door open, causing Felix to topple over. Stepping over him, Connor takes two long strides and immediately cups my face between his big, warm hands. His eyes search my face with worried intensity. “I could feel your pain.”

“It’s okay,” I assure him, placing one of my hands over his. “Today is just harder than I thought it would be.”

Donovan also steps over Felix, who’s lying prone in the doorway, and places Nolan on the side of my bed. “We can tell everyone to fuck off and spend the day having you hit stuff instead—like a punching bag, not me. I like my spine the way it is.”

I sigh. I broke his spine one time by accident, and I’ll never hear the end of it.

“I’m fine, really,” Felix grumbles, getting to his knees. “You do realize I’m corporeal now, so falling down can actually hurt me.”

“Bruises build character,” Donovan taunts, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now you know not to stand between Connor and his mate.”

“I wasn’t standing in the way,” he insists, climbing to his feet and rubbing his knees through his jeans. “It’s called being polite. Normally, you wait for someone to invite you in before you barge through a lady’s bedroom door.”

“Just felt sadness,” Connor explains, his low voice still laced with concern.

My cheeks burn as it dawns on the others that Connor would have known if I was being more intimate with Kaleb, because he would have felt it too.

“Well, not all of us have a magical empathy connection with Callie,” Felix states with a comical scowl. “Some of us have to use good manners.”

Connor shrugs in a way that says it’s not his fault they can’t make a lifelong magical bond with me. I’m relieved that they’ve reached the point of teasing each other about it. Though I understood their anger, it was hard to be caught in the middle, feeling like I was driving a wedge between them. One of the things I love most about the guys is how much they love and care for each other.

Nolan holds out a hand to invite me to sit next to him. I place a soft kiss on Connor’s wrist before stepping toward the bed. Nolan’s arm wraps around my shoulders, and he pulls me against him. He made an effort in his appearance today—combing his hair back, dressing in his casual chic attire, and lightly spritzing on his favorite cologne. I breathe in the spicy scent, using it to ground me in the present.

He kisses the top of my head. “Having a bad day, love?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” I murmur, folding the hem of my dress into a small fan.

Since summer hit, I’ve been wearing a lot more dresses to keep cool. It’s been kind of fun to be a little more girlie, even if it does sometimes feel like I’m wearing someone else’s clothes—someone flirty and feminine who knows what to do with multiple boyfriends.

Felix sits on the other side of me and starts rubbing small circles near the base of my spine. “D is right—maybe not about hitting things—but if the party is too much, we can tell everyone you’re not feeling well. They don’t need to know why.”

“We can all hang out in the living room, eat too much food, and watch movies,” Nolan suggests, snagging one of my hands to stop some of my fidgeting. Joke’s on him, I can make the fans with one hand.

My shoulders droop with an exhaustion that only comes from forcing too many smiles when all I want to do is cry. “After I managed to wrangle your parents down from planning a grand blowout to a small backyard party, I don’t want to disappoint them by canceling it halfway through.”

“They’ll understand,” he assures me, leaning his head on top of mine. “Besides, this won’t be the last party they’ll plan for you—whether you want them to or not. Party planning is one of their odd love languages.”

“Can we keep the chocolate fountain?” Felix asks while stealing my other hand, and he starts to absently play with my fingers. “I love those things.”

“Careful, or they’ll love you right back,” Donovan teases, rubbing his flat stomach.

“I’ll have you know, I actually enjoy exercise now,” he states, and then he shakes his head. “I never thought I’d say that in a million years. It’s like my body craves working out. So weird.”

“If you’re interested, I have a more advanced workout routine you can try,” Kaleb supplies, leaning against the wall near my closet. “It should keep you from plateauing.”

“Do I get to learn to use swords?” Felix asks with boyish enthusiasm.

Kaleb tilts his head to the side. “It isn’t what I had in mind, though it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.”

“Yes!” Felix cheers, raising both of our hands into the air. “I’m going to be so good at LARPing.”

Donovan groans as if the idea physically wounds him. “I hate that I know what that is.”

“You know, you’d make a pretty good LARPer,” Felix encourages, his voice practically giddy. “We could all do it!” Tapping his chin with his free hand, he ponders, “I wonder if there’s, like, DD LARPing. Callie would make an excellent wizard. Nolan could be a rogue with his super speed and reflexes. Kaleb would obviously be a paladin or cleric.”

“Why obviously?” Kaleb questions, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Because both classes are about helping people and usually about doing the right thing,” Felix supplies with a shrug. “Besides, all groups should have some type of healer.” He looks over at Connor standing by my dresser. “Hmm… For Con, maybe a druid, since he can shift into a wolf, though he wouldn’t be able to do it if we’re playing with other humans. We’ll workshop that one.” His gaze shifts up to Donovan. “I think you’d like the barbarian class.”

Donovan lifts one heavy brow. “There’s no way in hell I’m LARPing.”

“You get to run around half naked with a giant sword that you hit people with,” he adds with singsong brightness.

Donovan lifts a hand to his chin, his brows furrowing in consideration.

Somehow, we’ve sidetracked from my PTSD to DD LARPing, and the absurdity of it causes me to laugh. It starts as a small chuckle, a bubbling hiccup from my lips, but quickly escalates to side-splitting, tears streaming down my cheeks, wheezing for air, hysterical laughter.

Felix grins, fully aware of what he was doing, while the others look on with relieved smiles.

Through choking gasps, I blurt, “I love you all so much.”

“And we love you,” Nolan replies, squeezing my shoulder.

I sniffle and then extract my hand from Nolan’s to wipe the tears from my face. “Thank you. I needed this.”

“We will always be here for you, mi reina,” Connor declares, his smile lighting up the darkness that usually swims within the depths of his eyes. “For whatever you need.”

“Always,” Kaleb echoes, his expression filled with a promise that makes my heart ache with love. No matter what our future holds, we won’t lose what we have.

Donovan slaps his hands together and then rubs them with devilish delight. “Can I be the one who throws everyone out?”

Kaleb pinches the bridge of his nose. “We’re not throwing anyone out. At least not the way you mean. We are politely informing them that the party is ending prematurely due to illness.”

“You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,” Felix adds cheekily, which earns an exasperated look from Kaleb.

Nolan lets go of my shoulder to run his hand down my hair. “How about you and I stay up here” —he flashes Donovan an exaggerated annoyed expression— “since I shouldn’t waste my energy going down stairs? The others can tell everyone you’re sick.”

“Isn’t it cowardly not to do it myself?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip.

“Nope,” Felix chimes in, giving my back a final, reassuring pat. “Just sells the story that you’re too sick to come down.”

“Okay,” I murmur, tension slowly starting to drain from my body with the knowledge that I won’t have to perform anymore. My eyes travel to each of the guys. “Thank you for this. Really.”

Felix kisses the top of my head. “No problem. You rest, and we’ll be right back.”

However, before the others can go to break the news, there’s a screech of tires followed by the sound of flying gravel coming from the front of the house. Though muted, I hear shouting from an unfamiliar woman. “Where’s my granddaughter? Where have you hidden her?”

This is followed by running footsteps, and then a loud, snarling roar that definitely didn’t come from any of the wolf shifters. Donovan hoists Nolan over his shoulder, tells Felix to stay put unless he wants to see something that gets his memories wiped, and then strides out the door. All thoughts of my past are forgotten as I race after him to find out what the hell is going on. Connor and Kaleb are hot on my heels, all of us barreling down the stairs. As soon as I reach the front door, I rip it open and freeze, stunned by what I find.

A dark-haired woman, who appears to be in her mid-forties, is being backed against the hood of a beautiful, classic car by a huge black panther, which snarls and stalks back and forth in front of her.

“Mildred, call off your beast, or I swear to the goddess, I will roast it alive!” the woman shrieks, holding up a hand where a swirling ball of fire appears.

“Stop! Stop!” I shout, running out of the house, waving my hands. My heart hammers in my chest when I meet the woman’s gaze. Her gray eyes are the same as the ones that haunt my nightmares—the same color as the ones I see in the mirror. “I’m right here.”

The panther gives one final snarl to the woman before trotting over to me. I stand perfectly still as the creature rubs his scent on me and then plops down in front of me, his tail flicking aggressively. At least whoever—or whatever—this panther is, they appear to be on my side.

Mildred appears around the corner, her hand to her chest, with a slew of wolves grouped around her. Her assessing gaze goes from me to the panther to the woman, and her expression immediately turns to annoyance. “Oh, it’s you.”

“It’s me?” The woman closes her fist, the fire disappearing from her hand, and steps away from the car. “You stole my granddaughter, hid her in the middle of nowhere knowing full well I’m the one who was to bring her home today, and your first words to me are ‘oh, it’s you?’” She brushes her hands down her very chic, teal pantsuit. “Don’t get me started about naming her your next in line before she has the chance to compete to be the next Lyncas matriarch.”

“I’m what now?” I yell, my eyes bulging as I look over at Mildred.

“I did it to protect you,” my nan explains, approaching with her hands held up in an apologetic gesture. “Because I named you the next matriarch of the Volkov Coven, there would be immense backlash from our community if anything were to happen to you. It was to make the council think twice before they attempted to harm you in any way.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “Again with your conspiracies.” Her Spanish accented voice gentles, though it still holds the edge of something that has been said multiple times. “What happened with Helina was tragic, but the council had nothing to do with it. I know none of us want to believe she chose to die with her nephilim lover rather than live for her child and husband, but that’s what happened.”

“No,” Mildred shouts with fury, her hands balling into white-knuckled fists. “She’d never abandon Callie. Not ever. You just don’t want to admit that the council is corrupt, because that would mean your monster of a son lied to you. Well, I’ve got news for you, he was a bastard then, and he’s a bastard now.”

“How dare you?” she shouts, marching toward my nan until the panther at my feet leaps in front of her and releases another snarling roar. She glares down at the creature. “Oh, shoo, before I turn you into a carpet to lie prettily in front of my fireplace.”

The panther doesn’t budge, and a twilight black mist begins to encapsulate the creature. At first, I think it’s the woman’s doing, until she staggers back, a hand pressed to her full lips as utter shock overtakes her features. I startle when Connor sneezes behind me, not realizing the guys had formed a semi-circle behind me as my two grandmothers went head-to-head. The other wolves make coughing noises—the canine equivalent of a sneeze—as they spread out, creating a deadly circle around us.

It feels like time is standing still, but it’s only a few seconds before the mist dissipates and the panther is replaced with an otherworldly sized, all black male lion. The creature roars, unsheathing its claws into the gravel driveway. The muscles in his back flex and ripple as he appears ready to pounce.

Nolan’s parents push their son behind them, appearing in the blink of an eye. Pearlescent, white wings spring from Kaleb’s parents’ backs, and they shoot into the sky, landing in front of us with daggers in their hands that came from goddess knows where. Mei, her parents, and the other witches fan out, their hands loose at their sides.

The woman that all signs point to as being my paternal grandmother doesn’t notice any of this, her gaze riveted to the magical creature before her. “You… You have one of the fae living in your home?”

Mildred’s expression shifts from fury to bemusement as she looks at the massive beast who stands protectively before her. “Apparently.” Her gaze shifts to me. “Callie, darling, meet Mr. Mischief, though I doubt that’s his actual name.”

“That’s our house cat?” I blurt, my jaw dropping and eyes growing to the size of saucers.

“I knew he was too big to be a normal cat,” Nolan chimes in, sounding happily vindicated.

Connor grunts his agreement, as if he, too, suspected something, which is blatantly not true. The only feelings I tracked from him was the desire to make friends with the furry creature, opposed to the super protective mode he is in now.

Donovan slowly kneels down to pull a knife from his boot, while Kaleb looks toward their black truck, clearly trying to calculate how long it would take him to retrieve more weapons.

“Will you guys chill? If he wanted to hurt us, he would have done it by now,” I grumble, finally getting a hold of myself.

I don’t know why I get surprised anymore. If I’ve learned anything from coming to this town, it’s that everything is weird, and nothing is what it seems. Of course my house cat can turn into different giant cats with claws that can disembowel people. Why would I assume anything else?

My paternal grandmother purses her lips in frustration. “Could you please have him shift to his humanoid form so we can talk like civilized people?”

Mildred crosses her arms over her chest and leans her weight on her back foot. “I have no control over what he does. Based on his posture, I believe he sees you as a threat. I would have to agree, since you want to take Callie from her home.”

“This is not her home.” The woman waves her hand in a general gesture of everything around her. “Living in the human world was only meant to be temporary, until she came of age and could return to witch society. Which, if you recall, I fought for while you were too depressed to get out of bed. If it weren’t for me, she would have been bound and trapped here for the rest of her life!”

Shame drags at my nan’s features, and I can’t stand the thought of her feeling guilty for a second about grieving my mother. Squeezing through all of the people standing guard around me, I run toward Mildred and hug her. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

Her eyes are glassy as she looks sadly down at me. “No, as much as I hate to admit it, Carlotta is right in this instance. I failed you.”

“But then you saved me,” I counter stubbornly. “I wouldn’t have any of this without you.”

“I’m only sorry I didn’t get to you sooner,” she murmurs, running a hand down my hair.

“Sooner? You weren’t supposed to look for her at all,” Carlotta argues, pushing strands of her dark, wavy hair out of her eyes. “She was supposed to live a human life, and then on her eighteenth birthday, I was supposed to reintroduce her to witch society and bring her before the council so her magic could be unbound. Had you asked, I might have had you join me, but you can never do things in the proper order.” She again motions to the crowd at large. “Clearly, you didn’t bother to wait until today to tell her about our world.”

Donovan flips the knife, catching it by the blade, and then back by the handle. “No, we told her the truth. It’s bullshit to leave her in the dark about what she is.” His black wings burst from his back, ripping through his shirt, the sunlight casting the feathers in an oil dipped rainbow of colors. His trademark cocky smirk pulls at one corner of his mouth. “Granted, the wings kind of gave it away.”

Apparently not one to be left out, Kaleb sighs, tugs his shirt up over his head, and summons his wings. Standing tall, he glares at my paternal grandmother, his feelings clear about leaving me ignorant of the life I was born into.

One thing I will give the woman is that she has confidence for days, standing defiantly against everyone here who’s ready to rip her to shreds if she dares step out of line. She lifts her chin and holds out her hand. “Callie, it’s time to come home to where you belong. Don’t you want your magic back?”

Ice fills my veins as the memories of how my magic first manifested floods my mind. Wind howls through the trees as I hold up one hand, palm out. “The Bastard you birthed cracked the binding spell years ago.” With a single thought, I slam the woman into the classic car. “I don’t need you, and I don’t need the council. If any of you try to take me from my home or steal my magic again, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”

The wolves howl a haunting battle cry.

Nolan groans. “Not the car!”

I look over at him incredulously.

He sighs. “It’s your birthday present.” Pulling out a small blue box with a pink bow from his pocket, he pops it open to show a set of car keys. “Surprise.”

My gaze shifts back to the car. It’s the same rich blue as the box with black racing stripes. I have no idea what kind of car it is, but I do know that it’s vintage, which means only one thing. “This is one of your cars, isn’t it?”

“It’s a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302,” he explains with pride. “Connor and I modernized the interior, gave it a current gen sound system, but restored the rest to as close to the original as possible.”

“It’s amazing, but I don’t know how to drive a stick,” I reply, looking forlornly at the beautiful vehicle.

Nolan waves his free hand. “That’s easy to teach.”

Carlotta slowly gets to her feet, and the first signs of weariness cross her tan features. “It’s clear that there are things that have happened that I wasn’t privy to.”

“And honestly, I don’t want to go through it all to explain it to you,” I state, my insides buzzing for me to flee this whole mess. With an apology in my eyes, I ask Mildred, “Will you tell her everything?”

“Everything?” Mildred echoes with surprise.

I nod my head as my heart hammers in my chest. “She should know what he’s really like… and knowing the truth might change her opinions on some things.”

“That’s very generous of you,” she murmurs, her expression a mixture of sadness and love. “Where will you be?”

Looking over at the beautiful vehicle sitting in my driveway, my escape only a few feet away, I answer, “I think I want to take a drive in my new car and just not be here right now.”

She gives me a tight squeeze before letting me go. “Yes, go and try to have some fun.”

Kaleb steps forward. “If it’s alright with Callie, I’d also like to be part of the conversation.” His gaze shifts to me, all of my history telegraphed in his eyes. “There are some things I think you both need to be made aware of.”

I nod my agreement, and Carlotta wisely doesn’t argue that he should be excluded because it’s witch business.

Before anyone can volunteer, Nolan steps out from behind his parents and strides toward me with a determined gait. Holding out the pretty box, he asks, “How about we start those lessons?”

I retrieve the key from the box, rubbing my thumb along the grooved metal. “Are you up for showing me how?”

“D did suggest I reserve my energy for something more interesting.” His lips curve into that familiar smile that makes my heart flutter. “Driving around with you in a sexy car like this sounds perfect.”

“Nolan,” his mother says, her voice filled with worry. “Are you sure you’re—”

“I’ll be fine,” he insists, his tone gentle, even as his smile shifts into a hard line. “I have enough energy to drive a car.” He hooks my arm over his, like an old-fashioned gentleman leading a lady to her carriage. “Besides, I’ll have Callie with me the whole time. We’ll be home before the evening feeding.”

“Alright,” she relents, twisting her mouth into a smile that doesn’t quite hide her concern. “Be safe. Call if you need anything.”

“We will,” he promises as he guides me toward my new car. When we pass my paternal grandmother, he whispers, “Careful where you step. Callie has ties stronger than blood that far exceed the witching world. We don’t take kindly to threats toward those we claim as our own.”

She lifts her chin, but her eyes carefully catalog all who are in attendance today. “So I’ve noticed.”

“Good,” he croons with dark promise, the predator inside him climbing to the surface just long enough to make sure she heeds his warning.

Leaving her speechless, he continues our journey as if he said nothing at all. Taking the key from my hand, he unlocks the passenger door for me.

Before I climb inside, I call out, “Can someone take James home? He’s… napping on my bed.”

“I’ll get him,” Donovan volunteers, although he looks unhappy about it. Probably because he didn’t get a chance to stab someone.

My gaze does one final pass over my failed attempt of a birthday party as we back out of the driveway. I should have known better. Me and parties really don’t mix.