Chapter 14
“So, you attacking others with plants… is this something I need to be prepared for whenever we go out in public?” Briggs glanced at Cece as he drove out of the grocery store parking lot.
She flushed bright red. “It was an accident.”
“You got something against bunny shifters?” He couldn’t resist teasing her.
Her blush deepened. “I didn’t mean to… to…”
“Give her a lifelong phobia of plants?” His bear growled with delight when Cece burst into laughter.
Our mate is happy!
He ignored his bear, even though he loved the sound of Cece’s laughter just as much.
Cece was still laughing, and a smile broke out on his face as Cece gasped, “Oh God, I shouldn’t be laughing, but the look on her face when the plant slapped her…”
That set her off in more peals of laughter, and he grinned at her as he drove down the street.
His bear was a combination of delight and smugness at Cece’s claim over him.
As much as Briggs wanted to deny that the plant attacking the bunny shifter had something to do with him - his bear didn’t need any more encouragement that Cece was their mate - it was impossible.
The scent of Cece’s jealousy when the bunny shifter flirted with him had been overpowering.
Cece’s laughter had died out, and she was staring out the passenger window of the truck. “This isn’t the road to my house. Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said.
“A surprise.”
He nodded, and she studied him. “Is it -”
“I will give no clues or hints,” he said.
She laughed. “You have to give one hint.”
“Fine. It’s not your house.”
“That’s a terrible hint.”
“But still a hint,” he said.
She stuck her tongue out at him, and Christ, how sex starved was he that even that innocent gesture made his cock harden?
Cece was staring out her window again, and he quickly adjusted his dick before pulling into the townhouse complex.
“Standen Court.” Cece read the sign at the complex’s entrance. He parked in the visitor parking as Cece studied the townhouses in front of them. “Do you live here?”
“Nope.” He grinned at the curiosity on Cece’s face as she followed him up the sidewalk to a corner townhouse, their breath white clouds in the cold air.
“Briggs,” she said. “Please tell me where we are.”
He turned to face her. “My friend Hudson’s house. He and his mate Rosalie are expecting us. Rosalie is nice, and I think you’ll like her.”
She blinked at him in slow astonishment. His face a little red, he said, “You miss your friends, right? I thought you’d like to have someone to talk to who isn’t a mostly mute introvert like me.”
She smiled a little. “I don’t mind that you’re quiet.”
His bear growled happily at even that small praise, and Briggs had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at his bear’s ridiculousness.
“Isn’t Hudson worried that I’ll put his mate in danger?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Hudson is a polar bear like me. We’ll protect you and Rosalie from any danger.”
“But if they’re using magic -”
“We’ll keep you safe,” he repeated firmly. “Look, Hudson is over the top protective of his mate. If he were worried, he wouldn’t have said yes to us visiting, okay?”
“Okay,” she said.
He turned back to the door, but it opened before he could knock. Briggs smiled at Hudson’s mate. “Hi, Rosalie. How are you?”
“I’m good. Come in!” He ducked inside the home, taking Cece’s jacket and hanging it and his in the closet.
“Hudson’s just upstairs, but he’ll be right down,” Rosalie said. A grey tabby cat weaved around her feet, and Briggs’s bear growled when the cat rubbed against his legs. Briggs was neutral about cats, but his bear found them annoying.
There were heavy footsteps on the stairs, and the floor shook lightly as Hudson joined them.
Briggs heard Cece’s sharp inhale as she stared at Hudson.
He and Briggs were about the same height, but Hudson was a little bigger overall.
He slipped one arm around Rosalie’s waist, and she leaned against him, rubbing her hand up and down his arm.
Hudson was the only polar bear shifter Briggs knew of who had a human mate.
Hell, he didn’t know one who’d even slept with a human before.
Forgetting that most polar bear shifters had zero use for humans - male or female - the size difference made the actual act of sex, at best, difficult and, at worst, dangerous for the human.
But Hudson’s mate was nearly six feet tall with thick curves and looked sturdy enough to handle Hudson in bed.
His gaze dropped to Cece. She was only around 5’10, but her curves meant she wouldn’t be nearly as fragile as a smaller woman.
Still, if she slept with a shifter as big as him, they’d need to be gentle and careful with her.
His bear growled at the thought of Cece sleeping with someone else, and Hudson sniffed the air before giving him a look. His face growing warm, Briggs said, “Cecelia, this is my friend Hudson and his mate, Rosalie.”
“Hi, Cecelia,” Rosalie said warmly. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” Cece said.
There was a pause, and then Rosalie said, “I’m human. If that helps you be less nervous.” She immediately made a face before looking up at Hudson. “Why am I so awkward at making new friends, honey?”
Hudson grinned and kissed her forehead. “You aren’t, my mate.”
“I one hundred percent am,” Rosalie sighed. “If I haven’t already made things too weird, we’d love it if you and Briggs joined us in the kitchen for coffee, Cecelia.”
Cece grinned. “Call me Cece.”
“Okay, so green witches are all about the plants, then?” Rosalie handed Cece a fresh cup of coffee before sitting down next to Hudson. He immediately put his hand on her thigh, rubbing in small circles as Rosalie smiled at him before turning back to Cece.
“Yes and no,” Cece said. “Green witches are more about nature in general, so plants, rocks, crystals, herbs, flowers, and even animals. We’re about harmony and healing, and using the natural world’s magical energies.”
“That’s so neat,” Rosalie said. “Being a green witch is way cooler than selling houses.”
Cece laughed. “Okay, but remember that my actual job is working retail in a greenhouse.”
“You’re still very cool,” Rosalie said.
“I think you’re cool, too,” Cece said.
“Even if I kill houseplants?” Rosalie stared at the African Violet plant sitting on a decorative tray in the middle of the table.
It was surrounded by a few candles and a porcelain polar bear figurine.
No flowers bloomed on the plant, and it had lost most of its leaves.
The ones that remained were drooping with brown edges.
“I bought an African Violet because Bria told me they were impossible to kill, but here we are,” Rosalie said with a sad look at the plant.
Cece leaned forward and picked up the plant.
She set the pot in front of her and held her hands out over the plant.
She concentrated and murmured an incantation, smiling when that intoxicating pull of her magic pulsed in her veins, and green light glowed from her hands.
The plant shivered delicately, and Rosalie gasped when fresh leaves grew from the stems and purple flowers bloomed.
Cece lowered her hands, the light fading from her fingers as Rosalie stared wide-eyed at the plant and then at Hudson. “Honey, are you seeing this?”
He nodded as Rosalie took the plant, examined it carefully, then set it back in the decorative tray. She stared at Cece. “Okay, it’s official. You are the coolest person I’ve ever met.”
Cece laughed. “It was a pretty simple grow spell, to be honest. If you really want to be impressed by a witch, you should meet my friend Elora. She’s a fire witch and crazy powerful.”
“Hudson has met her!” Rosalie stared at him. “Right, honey? That sterilization thing with the crazy deer shifter.”
“Yes,” Hudson said.
He was just as quiet, if not more so, than Briggs. She and Rosalie had done most of the talking the last two hours, but Cece had the feeling that both Briggs and Hudson preferred it that way.
Rosalie touched the plant’s leaves. “So, those words you said, that was, like, the spell?”
Cece nodded. “Yes, it’s an incantation.”
“You have to say an incantation to make a spell work?”
“That’s right. Almost every spell has an incantation. Even some potions need one.”
“You must do a lot of spell memorizing,” Rosalie said.
“Blood witches do. Most apprentice witches like me only memorize the incantations for spells they can do.”
“Most? But not you?” Rosalie asked.
Cece shrugged. “I have a good memory, so I use that to my advantage. I know lots of incantations for spells I could never perform because my magic isn’t strong enough.”
“Like what?” Rosalie asked curiously.
“Um… levitation spells, vanishing spells, binding spells. Spells to defend yourself against a magic attack.” Cece paused. “I even know some attack spells, but not ones with dark magic. I would never use dark magic for any reason.”
She glanced at Briggs, for some reason needing his reassurance that he believed her. As if he’d read her mind, he said, “I know you wouldn’t, little witch.”
“So, you just say the incantation for a spell and poof, your hands light up, and the magic happens,” Rosalie said.
“There’s a bit more to it, depending on the difficulty of the spell,” Cece said. “And witches all have a slightly different way of casting a spell.”
“What do you mean?” Rosalie rested her elbows on the table, a look of fascination on her face.
“Well, for example, Charissa, she owns a potion store here in the city, is a green witch like me, and she has a small crystal that she holds when casting a spell to help focus her magic. My friend Elora repeats the same phrase during a spell casting to focus her magic.”
“What’s the phrase?” Rosalie asked before grimacing. “Wait, is that rude to ask?”
“Not at all. The phrase is by my power, flame and flower,” Cece said.
“But you don’t have either of those?” Rosalie asked.