Magical Musing (Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy #2)

Chapter Five

When we reached the house, I was breathing hard, my boots sliding against the thin layer of snow coating the ground. Keegan’s home was nestled behind his hotel, and it was a grand structure that somehow felt hidden despite its size.

I’d never noticed it before, which didn’t make sense.

I’d walked past this spot more times than I could count, yet now it stood in front of me like it had always been there—solid, immovable, waiting.

I suppose it was because I had no reason to notice. There were hundreds of homes dotting the town that I hadn’t stepped inside or observed.

“Nova,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath as I stood beside her. “What happened? What’s wrong with Keegan?”

She didn’t answer immediately.

Her gaze fixed on the heavy wooden door in front of us, and my stomach knotted.

Snowflakes clung to her dark lashes with a steady expression.

Her shoulders shifted as if she carried a weight I couldn’t see, and she sighed.

“It’s the curse,” she said, her voice quieter than usual. “Every ten years, Keegan faces a hardship based on the moon’s currency and curse.”

I blinked at her, still panting and trying to catch my breath.

“That… means absolutely nothing to me.” I held up a hand. “Explain it like I don’t know the first thing about magic. Because I really don’t.”

Nova’s eyes darkened with something close to sadness as she turned to me.

“Not yet, but you will.”

“You keep talking in riddles,” I pointed out.

Nova’s lips curved, not quite a smile, not quite amusement.

“You’ll understand soon enough. I have to show you. I can’t tell you.”

She lifted her hand and pressed it against the door, and her fingers splayed as if feeling for something unseen. The wood seemed to recognize her touch, creaking under her palm.

Or maybe the door was just unlocked. After being around Stonewick for so long, I tended to find magic where it didn’t exist.

“What does the moon have to do with Keegan's suffering?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

Nova exhaled, turning back to me.

“Magic is tied to cycles. The sun, the stars, the seasons. But the moon… the moon is different. It affects things that live between the light and the dark.” Her eyes flickered with something expressionless. “Sort of like Keegan.”

The door hinges groaned and swung open before I could ask more questions.

“You will understand, Maeve,” she said softly. “Sooner than you think.”

And with that, she left me alone with the snow falling softly around me, my pulse pounding in my ears, and the unsettling feeling that I was about to learn something I wasn’t ready for.

I stepped inside and was in awe of the home I’d stepped into. Stepping into Keegan’s foyer felt like stepping into him. The space was understated but intentional. Dark hardwood floors, scuffed in places, and clean white walls with black trim spoke to the quiet strength he always exuded around me.

A worn dark jacket was tossed over a rustic bench, carelessly perfect, leaving it there without a second thought.

But now, he was ill or injured.I needed to see him. I spotted a wooden shelf by the door that held small, random but deliberate objects—a smooth river stone, a tarnished compass, and an old photo with curling edges of two adults, maybe his parents.

Everything was simple and rugged yet layered with meaning. It felt like tracing the edges of him without touching. I found myself wanting to see him—to ask, to know.

Nova walked down a hall before me, and I quickly followed her into a large room, which I quickly realized was Keegan’s primary bedroom.

Frank sat at the end of the bed like a wrinkly gargoyle, his squat body tense and his jowls pulled tight in an expression I couldn’t read.

My gaze jumped to the bed, and I saw him.

Deep and guttural, the growls rumbled low from under the mound of covers, a sound that raised the hairs on my arms.

“Keegan?” I called softly, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Deep, pained moans rumbled from the tangled mess of blankets. Then another growl, this one sharper, edged with something feral. The bed creaked under sudden movement, and a flash of dark fur peeked beneath the covers before being hidden.

I sucked in a breath, my heart kicking up a notch as I tried to make sense of the sights and sounds swirling around me.

My gaze snapped to Nova, who remained still, watching with measured eyes.

She slightly nodded, confirming what I saw was real.

I turned back to the bed, my mind struggling to reconcile what I heard and saw.

The growls deepened, and I knew they belonged to him.

To Keegan.

The rumble rolled through the room like thunder. The blankets shifted again, and for a split second, I saw claws.

No.

That wasn’t right.

I swallowed hard, a lump thick in my throat as I slowly shook my head.

Frank didn’t react. His face remained perfectly, almost eerily, stoic.

No judgment.

No alarm.

Just… waiting.

Patiently waiting.

I turned back to Nova. “Is he—”

“Shifting,” she confirmed quietly. “Or fighting it.”

Shifting.

The word lodged itself in my brain, thick with implication.

I knew there was magic in Keegan’s blood.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

The growls from the bed turned to heavy, uneven breathing. The air in the room crackled with tension. I could almost taste the magic swirling around us, thick and charged with something I couldn’t describe.

Nova gestured toward the bed, motioning for me to step forward.

I hesitated.

Not because I was afraid—though maybe I should have been—but because I didn’t know what I could possibly do.

What did one do when faced with a man half-lost to whatever dark magic was clawing its way through him?

Still, I took a step forward.

“Keegan,” I said again, this time a little firmer.

The blankets shifted again, and then, all at once, they were tossed back.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

He was… bigger.

Keegan’s chest heaved. His muscles bunched as if his entire body was coiled in tension. His skin, where I could see it beneath the dark fur creeping over his arms and shoulders, was slick with sweat.

His eyes snapped open, glowing an unnatural, burning amber.

But the soft hazel from the Keegan I knew danced behind his gaze.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Keegan,” I whispered, reaching for him.

He blinked, something like recognition flickering behind the unnatural glow.

But then another growl rumbled from his chest, his lips pulling back to reveal sharper-than-human teeth.

His hands curled into the sheets. His claws— claws —dug into the fabric.

I could barely breathe.

“Nova,” I said without looking away. “Tell me what’s happening.”

She sighed, stepping closer but keeping her distance.

“The curse. Every ten years, the moon forces him into a state of… imbalance.”

“Imbalance?” I echoed, unable to tear my gaze away from Keegan’s shifting form.

She nodded.

“It’s different for all of them. Some weaken. Some lose themselves entirely. Some have just remained frozen.”

“And him?”

Nova hesitated before answering. “Keegan fights it. He always fights it. Because if he doesn’t…”

Keegan let out a low snarl, his fingers twitching against the sheets.

His body was visibly trembling, caught in a war between his own nature and whatever magic was pulling him toward the other side of himself.

I swallowed hard and took another step forward against my better judgment.

His glowing eyes locked onto me, sharp and assessing.

“Keegan.”

His breathing hitched. His claws dug deeper into the sheets.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know if my presence was helping or making things worse. But I knew one thing—I wouldn’t leave him alone in this.

Nova remained silent, watching.

Frank hadn’t moved a muscle.

I reached out slowly, hesitantly, my palm hovering over the space between us.

Keegan’s nostrils flared. His muscles tensed further. His eyes burned golden with something not quite human.

“Maeve,” Nova warned, her voice barely above a whisper.

But I ignored her.

I moved closer, letting instinct and not logic guide me.

“Keegan,” I whispered. “You’re still here. I know you are.”

A strangled noise rumbled in his throat.

His entire body shook in a battle he wanted to win.

And then, after what felt like an eternity, his fingers twitched.

His claws slowly and painstakingly retracted.

The glowing hue of his eyes flickered, dimming ever so slightly.

For a moment, I thought I saw something else there—something raw, vulnerable, achingly human beneath the beast.

And then, just as quickly as it started, his entire body went limp.

Keegan’s eyes fluttered closed, his breathing slowed, and the dark fur that had begun creeping over his arms receded.

Silence settled over the room with uncertainty.

Frank finally moved, letting out a soft huff as if the whole thing had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Nova exhaled, tension draining from her shoulders.

I stared at Keegan.

“What the hell just happened?” I whispered.

Nova didn’t answer right away. She only looked at me, something questioning in her expression.

And then she said, “You stopped it.”

I blinked. My mouth opened, then closed.

Stopped it?

I had no idea how or what I stopped.

But one thing was certain: whatever had just happened, it wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

Keegan’s breathing was deep and uneven, his chest rising and falling in heavy waves. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, dampening the dark strands of his hair where they clung to his forehead. His features, usually sharp and composed, were slack with exhaustion, his body limp against the tangled sheets.

I didn’t know what to feel.

I wanted to be relieved that whatever had just happened had stopped. His hands, no longer tipped with claws, now rested against the mattress, fingers twitching slightly in the aftermath. But the conflict twisting in my gut wouldn’t settle.

I turned to Nova, my voice quiet but firm. “I thought he was a warlock.”

She met my gaze without hesitation. “He is.”

I swallowed, glancing back at Keegan’s still form. “Then what the hell was that?”

Nova sighed, her fingers tightening slightly around her staff. “He’s also a shifter.”

My eyes widened, my thoughts scrambling to keep up.

“A shifter,” I echoed, the word unfamiliar on my tongue about him.

I turned slowly to Frank, who had remained at the foot of the bed like some kind of regal sentinel. His broad face, which had been hurried moments ago, now looked… calm. Content, even. The worry I’d sensed in him earlier had melted away.

Nova followed my gaze and nodded.

“Frank knew the moment it started. That’s why he was here. He’d left the cottage and arrived here. He’s loyal to Keegan in a way most wouldn’t understand.”

I frowned, looking between them. “Why?”

Nova’s expression softened. “Because Frank is all Keegan has. Ever since the curse.”

The weight of those words hit harder than I expected.

My stomach twisted at the thought of Keegan—stubborn, brooding, sharp-tongued Keegan—having no one but a grumpy bulldog by his side.

But the years that had stretched between the curse and now…

How could Frank? I didn’t want to answer my question. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

I glanced back at Keegan, my heart giving a familiar squeeze as I watched another bead of sweat trail down his temple. He looked so different like this—vulnerable in a way I’d never seen before.

I dragged my gaze back to Nova. “Why was I summoned?”

She studied me for a long moment before answering. “Because I knew you’d be able to calm him.”

I blinked, my breath hitching slightly. “Me?”

She nodded. “Keegan fights this harder than anyone. And he never lets anyone see it. Not like this.” Her voice softened, her tone threading with something more profound. “But he let you.”

A shiver ran down my spine, though I wasn’t entirely sure why.

Nova continued, “I also wanted you to see firsthand how deep the curse runs.”

I exhaled sharply and glanced at Keegan, who lay motionless, his face turned toward me, his lips slightly parted. The remnants of something feral still clung to the air around him, but whatever fight he had been battling had quieted.

And I didn’t know what this meant.

For him.

For me.

For any of us.