Chapter 43
“Or why your father showed up when he did,” Kinsley said. “Did he hear the fighting?”
She was sitting in the rocking chair near the fireplace, and Cece sighed when vines slid up Kinsley’s arms and across her shoulders. They caressed her cheeks and slid through her hair, and Cece waved her hands impatiently in Kinsley’s direction.
The vines retreated reluctantly, and Cece said, “Sorry, Kins.”
“It’s fine. You know I don’t mind,” Kinsley said. “Your magic seems supercharged today.”
“Yeah, because they were probably fucking like bunnies all morning,” Maisie said.
“Maize!” Kinsley threw a pillow at her, nearly spilling Maisie’s coffee.
“What? Am I wrong?” Maisie asked Cece.
“No,” Cece said.
Maisie laughed and threw the pillow back to Kinsley. “Told you, Kins.”
Kinsley rolled her eyes before saying, “So did your dad hear the fighting?”
“No,” Briggs said. “He was coming to the river to swim, and it was just luck that he was running late.”
“But not luck that you did a protection spell on Briggs’s parents?” Kinsley asked.
“And my sister and her mate, apparently,” Briggs said before pressing a kiss against Cece’s forehead.
“It was sort of luck,” Cece said. “And a spur-of-the-moment decision. I didn’t know that my family would show up in Alaska, but I just had this… feeling, I guess, that I should do protection spells on Briggs’s family. I could tell they thought it was a bit weird, but were too polite to say no.”
“Thank God,” Kinsley said.
Cece glanced at Briggs. “I meant to tell Briggs I did the protection spells, but got distracted.”
“By a magical humpfest with your man, yeah?” Maisie made a humping motion with her hips.
“Pretty much,” Cece said, making the other three laugh.
“Okay, next question - how did your family find you?” Maisie asked.
“Well, before we left for Alaska, I did barrier spells on the house, but Adora and Alistair broke them.”
Cece made a face as Briggs squeezed her hand. “It took them over a week to break them, my mate, even with how powerful their magic was.”
“Anyway, they broke the spells and then broke into the house. They used a hair from one of my brushes to do a locator spell,” Cece said.
“Ah, the old locator spell,” Maisie said. “Of course.”
“Then they got on a flight to Alaska,” Cece said.
“And your grandfather realized they went to Alaska and followed them?” Kinsley asked.
“Sort of,” Cece said.
“Werner works for the WWC,” Briggs said.
“Right. Cece said he’s on the High Council.” Kinsley looked to Cece for confirmation.
“That’s right,” Cece said. “Members of the High Council are always informed when a witch using dark magic is taken into custody, even if it’s not in their,” she hesitated, “jurisdiction for lack of a better word.”
“So, he found out about the attack on you at the restaurant,” Maisie said.
Briggs nodded. “Yes, but there’s a backlog with information sharing, so he didn’t find out about the attack on Cece until the day his wife and son attacked us.”
“Fucking government bureaucracy shit,” Maisie said before grabbing a cookie from the plate on the coffee table and biting into it.
“They had a picture of the witch who attacked Cece in the case file, and he recognized her,” Briggs said.
“Holy shit,” Kinsley said. “How?”
“She was an old high school friend of Adora’s. They hadn’t spoken for over twenty years, but the coincidence was too much for him,” Cece said.
“Ye old spidey senses were a-tinglin’,” Maisie said.
“Something like that,” Briggs said. “He went home to talk to his wife about it, only she, of course, was missing. So, he used -”
“Let me guess - a locator spell,” Kinsley said.
“No. Find my location,” Briggs said.
Maisie laughed so hard that the vines slowly creeping up her thighs retreated. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“Nope,” Briggs said.
“Okay, so he used find my location to discover that his wife is in Alaska, and he what… charters a private jet to fly him directly there?” Kinsley asked. “Because it took the two of you two different planes and nearly seventeen hours to get home from Alaska.”
“He teleported,” Cece said.
“The fuck he did,” Maisie said, sitting up straight, her cookie forgotten. “Teleporters are a myth.”
“He used magic,” Cece said. “Apparently, if a witch or warlock is powerful enough, they can use magic to teleport.”
“Holy shit,” Kinsley said. “Did you know that was possible?”
“Not until recently,” Cece said. “Anyway, Werner didn’t know why his wife and son were in Alaska, but he suspected it had something to do with me because he knew Briggs was my mate and he had…”
“What?” Kinsley asked.
“He’d looked into me after he introduced himself to Cece,” Briggs said. “He knew that I was from Wellington, so when he realized Adora and Alistair were in Wellington…”
“Clever,” Maisey said.
“He teleported to Alaska just in time to help us stop his wife and kid from drowning Briggs and setting me on fire,” Cece said.
“You did most of the work,” Briggs said, squeezing her hand.
She smiled at him. “I think it was a team effort.”
“So, where are they now?”
Cece sighed, her stomach clenching as guilt washed over her. “They’re locked up in magic suppressed cells at the WWC.”
Briggs kissed her temple. “You don’t have to feel guilty, my mate.”
“Fuck feeling guilty,” Maisie said as the vines returned to creep up her legs. “They tried to kill you, babe.”
“I know, but Werner is so… sad,” Cece said, tears pricking at her eyes. “He came to see us yesterday, and he looks like he’s aged about ten years. It’s awful.”
“You aren’t responsible for what they did,” Kinsley said softly. “So, that’s it? They’re locked up for good now?”
“There’ll be a trial in a few months, and we’ll have to testify, but both of them are,” Cece hesitated, “half-mad from using dark magic. Werner thinks they’ll both be imprisoned for life.”
More guilt bit at her stomach, and she was grateful for Briggs’s support when he slipped his arm around her and tucked her up against him.
“I’m sorry, Cece,” Kinsley said.
“Thank you.” Cece studied her hands. The knuckles glowed a light green, and she traced them lightly with her fingertips.
“So, will you try to have a relationship with this Werner guy?” Maisie asked.
Cece nodded. “Yes. He knew nothing about any of this, and he’s not at fault for any of it. I want to get to know him better, and he wants to have a relationship with me, too.”
“Of course he does. You’re fucking great,” Maisie said.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kinsley studied the wall where the hole had been. Briggs had patched and sanded it, and a few days later, he and Cece repainted the entire room. “The house is looking good. I can’t believe how many improvements you’ve made in the last couple of weeks.”
“It’s easy to do when your mate is ridiculously good at home repairs,” Cece said with a laugh.
Briggs grinned at her as Kinsley said, “Well, you should be able to sell it no problem once spring hits. Have you picked a section of the city to live in yet? Because there are some gorgeous houses about ten minutes from my place that are…”
She trailed off, staring intently at Cece. “Oh no.”
“What?” Maisie said.
“You’re not staying,” Kinsley said.
Cece shook her head. “Briggs and I are moving to Alaska once the house sells.”
“Well, fuck,” Maisie said.
“Maisie,” Kinsley said gently.
Maisie sighed before giving Cece and Briggs an unnatural smile that made Cece laugh. “I mean, I am so happy for you both.”
Kinsley snorted as Cece leaned over and hugged Maisie. “I’m sorry, Maize, but Alaska is…”
“Cold as fuck with giant bugs in the summer?” Maisie said.
“Alaska is perfect, and I love it,” Cece said.
Maisie gave Briggs a suspicious look. “What did you have to do to talk her into moving there?”
“Actually, I was the one who talked him into moving back to Wellington,” Cece said. “And you can’t be mad at me because I’ve given you cookies and coffee.”
“I’m so mad at you,” Maisie said before hugging her again. “Also, I love you and want you to be happy, so if Alaska makes you happy, you do you, Boo.”
Cece smiled at her. “Thanks, honey.”
“But expect both Kinsley and me to visit regularly,” Maisie said. “And I don’t even want to know what Elora will do when she comes home and finds out you’re living in Alaska with a goddamn polar bear.”
“She’s gonna shit a brick,” Kinsley said.
Cece and Maisie stared in surprise at her, and Kinsley shrugged. “What? I can be crude, too.”
“Fuck yeah,” Maisie said before glancing at her phone. “Shit, we gotta go, or we’ll be late for our Learn to Square Dance class, Kins.”
Kinsley groaned. “God, I don’t know how you ever talked me into doing that class.”
“Because I thought it would be a great way for you to meet a guy,” Maisie said.
“The men are all in their eighties,” Kinsley said.
“Well, you frickin’ act like you’re in your eighties, so they’re perfect for you,” Maisie said. “Let’s go, girl.”
With a flurry of hugs, kisses, and more promises to visit Alaska, Maisie and Kinsley left. Cece shut the door behind them, smiling when Briggs slid his arm around her waist and kissed her neck.
“That went better than I thought,” he said. “I figured they’d give me hell when we told them about Alaska.”
“They know how happy you make me,” Cece said, before turning to face him. She draped her arms over his shoulders, smiling up at him. “But convincing Elora when she returns that my moving to Alaska is a good idea will definitely be more of a challenge.”
“I’m not one to back down from a challenge,” he said before nipping her bottom lip. “Now, what should we do on this cold and stormy Saturday afternoon?”
“Well, I do have quite a few more potions from Charissa to work on, and if I want to build an online presence for potion creation before I move to Alaska, I should look at creating a website and -”
She squealed when Briggs growled and lifted her into his arms. He headed toward the stairs. “I was thinking more along the lines of you sitting on my face and making the flowers bloom… repeatedly.”
She giggled and kissed him. “That sounds like a much better plan.”
He returned her kiss before growling to her. “I love you, my mate.”
“I love you, Briggs.”
Keep reading for an excerpt of the Shifters Series, Book Twelve, “Kinsley and the Wolf” Coming Soon!