Chapter Seven
Parking at the curb outside the laundry hub, Emberlyn let out a long sigh.
Her first morning at the manor had certainly been eventful, though not entirely negative.
Reena’s visit hadn’t been fun, of course.
But Emberlyn had collected some powerful allies, and it meant that she and Ripper could have the civility that she’d wanted.
Sliding out of the car, she took an idle look around.
The street was a sleepy sight at such an early hour.
There were many shops, including a hair salon, bookstore, clothing boutique, deli and flower shop.
The storefronts all featured welcoming displays, planters and striped awnings.
Benches, light posts and saplings were spread around.
She crossed to the hub’s door, pushed it open and stepped into the reception area.
It was warm, tidy and inviting. Fresh-white paint, sleek wood, marble flooring, good lighting.
The wall-mounted TV was angled toward the plush seating and ‘kids’ corner’.
Magazines and cup coasters rested on the coffee table.
Framed nature canvas prints adorned the walls. Posters, ads and flyers were pinned to the bulletin board. A potted dragon tree was tucked in a corner near the glossy white reception desk.
Stood behind the desk, Paisley smiled at her. ‘Hey, how did your first night in your new home go?’
‘Very well, thank you. My morning was weird, though.’
Paisley’s brow dented. ‘Weird, how?’
Rounding the desk, Emberlyn explained, ‘In a very short space of time, I agreed to being allies with Ripper and had a visit from a very frustrated Reena.’
Paisley’s lips parted. ‘I can’t decide which part I want to hear about first.’
Emberlyn shoved her purse under the desk out of the way.
‘I’ll start from the beginning.’ She brought her friend up to speed, keeping it brief since customers would enter soon.
She didn’t mention the curse jar. It had been buried on Ripper’s land, so whether he made it public knowledge was his business.
If he made decisions regarding the manor, she’d want to kick him in the junk.
Paisley did a slow blink. ‘Wow. I’m glad you said yes to being Ripper’s ally – it’s extra protection for you. I know you don’t need it, but I like that you have it. Do you think Reena will heed his warning and let the situation lie?’
Emberlyn raked her teeth over her lower lip as she considered it. ‘No, but I think she’ll be careful how she goes about pushing this.’ She inhaled deeply. ‘Anyway, how was your morning?’
Paisley’s eyes dulled. ‘Not great. I had another fight with my mom. She doesn’t like that I won’t drop the idea of taking the Change. Says she can’t “lose both her children”. Like I’d be as good as dead.’
‘Ah.’ While a bite from a werewolf could put non-wolves through the Change, most witches would never do it due to the price tag for their kind.
‘She went on and on about how I’d lose my connection with my magick.
I know that already. But where’s the big deal when my magick is weak anyway?
Other witches in my position have taken the Change.
Yes, it’ll mean leaving the coven and joining the clan of whichever wolf turns me.
But I can’t say I’d miss being part of it. ’
Knowing Ethel as well as she did, Emberlyn could easily guess . . . ‘She threatened to disown you, didn’t she?’
Paisley grimaced. ‘Yes. Don’t tell Kage, he’ll flip, and that’ll make things worse. I’m not close to my mom, but I wouldn’t like to lose her. What do you think I should do?’
‘I think you should do what you feel is best for you. Living to keep others happy . . . it’s not living, it’s people-pleasing. There shouldn’t be conditions attached to a person’s love for you.’
Paisley gave a hard nod. ‘I’d like to join Ripper’s clan. It has the best reputation. Shane’s clan has its shit together now that he’s Alpha, but it’s not all the way there yet. And Carver’s clan is . . . problematic.’
Yes, his wolves were fond of vandalizing, thieving, starting fights and flirting with the mates of other werewolves like it was their right. ‘Plus, Kage is part of Ripper’s clan.’
‘So?’
‘So he’s your twin.’
‘And?’
‘And it’d surely be nicer for you both to be in the same clan.’
Paisley’s nose wrinkled. ‘I couldn’t give a monkey’s left tit what clan he belongs to. But, as you’re allied with Ripper now, I’d feel safer being part of his. Do you think he’d agree to it?’
‘First of all, it will make a difference to you to be in the same clan as your brother – no, don’t deny it.
Secondly, I don’t know if my alliance with Ripper is going to be permanent, so only choose his clan if it would be your preferred option no matter the situation.
Thirdly, I don’t know what his vetting process is, so I can’t say whether he’d agree to welcome you into his clan.
But you could ask. You don’t ask, you don’t get. ’
Hearing the door open, Emberlyn looked to see her other two laundry aides entering. ‘Morning, girls.’ The sisters Chrissie and Clementine were werewolves whose mom was a witch. A mating between a witch and a wolf never produced hybrids – only one or the other.
Chrissie blew out a breath. ‘Sorry we’re almost late. Clem’s car wouldn’t start again, so we had to walk.’
‘That contraption hates me, I’m telling you,’ Clem muttered. ‘It operates just fine whenever I have a mechanic look at it. Other times, it acts like an ass.’
Chrissie sighed. ‘It’s a car, Clem, it can’t hate you.’
‘Wrong. So very, very wrong.’ Clem marched to the back of the hub, her sister close behind her.
Paisley looked at Emberlyn, her eyes dancing. ‘So, anyways, when are you heading upstairs to pack the rest of your stuff?’
‘When we get a lull,’ Emberlyn replied. ‘It won’t take me long, since I’m leaving the majority of the furniture behind for you. And I already got started on it yesterday, I just didn’t take everything back to the manor with me.’
‘Awesome. Because I’m packed and ready to move in once you’re gone. My mom isn’t pleased that I’ll be living on neutral territory. But she does feel better knowing that you have wards all over it to keep intruders out.’
Just then, the front door once more opened. Emberlyn felt her lips curve at the middle-aged werewolf who strode in. ‘Good morning, Mr Weaver.’
His default grin kicked up a notch. ‘Morning, pretty witches.’ He plonked his basket on the counter and blew a breath upward, making his unkempt salt-and-pepper hair flutter. ‘You know what yesterday was?’
‘What?’ she asked.
‘My fiftieth birthday, which means . . .’
‘You now qualify for free delivery,’ she finished. ‘Happy belated birthday. Did you do anything fun?’
‘At my age, you don’t much celebrate it.’ He took a complimentary mint from the bowl near the devil’s ivy plant.
‘We can also have your things collected, you know,’ Emberlyn said, plucking a shirt out of his basket.
‘But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to come in and flirt with you, would I?’
She snorted. ‘I suppose that’s true.’
‘Would you like tea or coffee?’ Paisley asked him. ‘Flirting is thirsty work.’
‘I’ll take a coffee. You know how I like it.’ He gestured at the glass case built into the desk. ‘I’ll also take one of those potions that help with joint pain. These bones of mine ache something fierce at times.’
Werewolves generally suffered from pain in their joints as they aged, which wasn’t surprising given the amount of shapeshifting they did. All the snapping and popping had to put a real strain on their bones over time.
Emberlyn swiped a tag and pen from beside the telephone. ‘So, how’s Mrs Weaver?’
As Mr Weaver talked about his mate, Emberlyn neatly wrote down the relevant details on the tag for his shirt – his name, the locations of stains, and that two buttons were missing and would need replacing.
She generally worked at the counter, tagging and inspecting clothes.
Paisley would then sort the items according to the fabric and necessary treatment.
Clem had a keen eye, so she’d apply magick-spiced solvents or other treatments to stains before passing them to Chrissie, who placed the items in the necessary machines.
Once Emberlyn had sprinkled in a little magick, those machines would be switched on.
After the cycle, Clem would check the clothes for any stains or residue – something that very rarely happened. Paisley and/or Chrissie would then either steam, press or iron the clothes. Following that, Emberlyn would fold and bag them. It was a system that worked well.
Emberlyn kept the prices reasonable and provided discounts for customers who brought in more than a certain amount of clothes at a time, as well as special deals for their most frequent customers.
It wasn’t a glamourous job. They were on their feet virtually all day.
There was a whole lot of lifting, carrying, moving, organizing, cleaning, etc.
A whole lot of talking, too, since customers liked to chat.
But as a team they made it work, and there were aspects of it that they enjoyed.
Also, a simple spell kept the place from being too hot and humid.
After Mr Weaver had left, Paisley sidled up to Emberlyn and said, ‘I took it as a very good sign when you cut his nephew loose.’
Emberlyn felt her brow pinch. ‘Uh, why?’
‘It shows that you’re really moving forward. I can see why you allowed said nephew into your bed six months ago. He’s fun and hot and he doesn’t do serious. You needed that then, because you weren’t ready for more.’
‘I’m still not.’
‘I wouldn’t say that. You’re gun-shy when it comes to werewolves. I get it. But what happened to Michael isn’t exceedingly common. The likelihood of you taking another mate who did the same thing is hyper-small. I’ve never heard of anyone who lost two mates to Bloodhill.’
Neither had Emberlyn, but stranger things had happened.