Chapter 13
Amrin
I could not believe it.Tonight had turned into some sort of fantasy or fairy tale, and I was so happy I thought I might burst. The dress, the ambiance of the festival, the new friends I’d just made, and most of all him, it was all just perfect. More than I’d hoped, and everything I’d ever dreamed.
Sten—no, Menon, he was Menon now—had claimed me and I him with words, and I was hoping for more than that once we got home. I said home, but I meant his rooms, which I would definitely be moving into ASAP. There was simply no way I was spending another night away from the man I loved.
My body tingled with anticipation, but there was something I had to do first. The insomnia that had plagued me all my life, that I looked at as a curse, apparently wasn’t. It was my body’s way of preparing to be mated to the Premier Celestial Guardian of Asgard.
Hmm, maybe my magic’s way, too.
I’d called Dr. Childs thinking I needed some potions to help with sleep, but what I really needed was to change my schedule. Nocturnal classes would suit me far better, I was sure of it. These were all things I intended to discuss with Menon later, but first, I had to thank the doctor and tell her I was wrong.
I didn’t need potions, I just needed my mate.
My heart was pounding inside my chest, and that buzzing, sparking feeling I’d been getting ever since I met him seemed to be growing with every step I took. Like my magic had just been simmering under the surface, and I wondered maybe if he was the trigger I needed to get going. All I knew was Menon made me feel good when I was with him. And that was a vast understatement. He completed me in ways I could hardly describe.
Just think, this is only the beginning.
Had I imagined what had just happened?
Did this beautiful creature really just claim me as his mate?
I shivered with emotion, and he tightened his hold, reassuring me that this was real, he was real, without him even knowing it.
He didn’t seem to mind I was not powerful and didn’t share the same history as him. And if he didn’t mind, then I wasn’t going to sweat it either. I mean, I was still young, still learning and discovering what made me tick. I was not exactly sure what his title meant, or what his position entailed in Asgard, but he would explain it all. Of that, I was certain.
We cut through the crowd, his firm hand in mine as we made our way to the area where various carnival rides sat tall and bright against the night sky. I spotted my childhood doctor standing with someone else.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Recognition warred with revulsion, and I froze in place.
“Mother?”
Holy fuck!
What was she doing here?
“Amrin, there you are. Come, let’s go,” my mother said, her icy gaze sweeping over me.
I shivered, clutching the hand holding mine, but Menon did not waver. He stood closer to me, his tail wrapping around my waist, along with his free hand on my hip, the other still clasping mine.
“I am not going anywhere,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“Of course you are, Amrin. You will do as you are told. Gunner is here, and requests a moment of your time, which I granted, before I take you back to re-educate you on your place in the Coven.”
“Mother, you can’t. I won’t—”
“Shut up, you stupid girl! Now you, Monster, release my daughter or I will be forced to use my powers against you,” my mother hissed.
“Do not step closer or I will be forced to use my powers,” Menon spat her own words back at her.
I felt his hands loosen on me and his tail worked to push me gently behind him. But this was my fight, and I did not relish the idea of my mother and Menon throwing down at each other like some sort of magical Wild West gunfight.
“Stop it, both of you! Mother, I already told you, I won’t be your doormat or pawn. Not anymore. I never fit in back home. Not with you or my sisters, and I think I know why now,” I said, stepping forward.
I felt Menon’s gaze on me and knew he was there, ready to defend me in any way needed. I loved him for it, and I loved him even more for giving me the chance to speak up for myself. My mother had been the boogeyman in the back of my mind for so long, I hardly knew how important it was to face her and tell her all the things I’d been feeling. But it was important, and long overdue.
“Amrin, you are being absurd. Of course, you aren’t like your sisters, but you’re family, you are Coven,” she said.
“I’m not Coven. I renounced any claim I ever had on the Cordoza Coven on the phone earlier, and if you need me to say the words, then I disown you and everyone I have blood ties to. I never felt like I belonged before I met Menon—”
“He is just a Monster!”
“Yes, he is a Monster,” I said, smiling when I felt him stiffen beside me. “But he’s my Monster. My mate. Mine. Mother, can you understand that? He is mine. And I am his.”
“But you have no powers, no dowry, and you can’t stay here without the funds to pay your tuition, and I swear I will not give you a penny!”
“She does not need your money, Witch. I will provide for my mate, as I am more than capable.”
My cheeks burned, and I did not like the idea of Menon keeping me like some sort of pet. But we would discuss that later, too, in private. It was not important. The only thing that mattered was that we would have each other from now on.
“Actually,” another voice joined us. “I just spoke to Professor McEwan, and he was very impressed with your project, Amrin. So impressed, he wants to offer you a position in his lab. You too, Menon. He would also like to discuss going into business with your Celestial Mapping program, Menon. He seems to think you and Amrin cracked some sort of magical code that might be of good use to other supernaturals looking for their mates,” Headmistress Blackthorn said.
“You mean he wants to make Menon’s star app into a dating app for supes?” I asked, eyes wide.
“Are you serious?” Menon asked.
“As a heart attack,” the headmistress said, before turning her nose down at my mother. “I hope you were not serious about attacking one of my students on school grounds, Evelyn. I would hate to revoke your license to visit Northumberland Island,” she said with steel in her voice.
“What? No, um, of course not,” Mother said, backing down right away.
That was unsurprising since Blackthorn Academy had been the go-to school for Cordoza Coven Witches for centuries. My mother would be forever shamed if she lost them that privilege.
“Sorry, but I don’t care what you Witches are talking about. You promised my son your daughter,” Arthur McFadden snarled, and it was the first time I noticed him and Gunner standing in the periphery.
All eyes snapped to the feral looking Werewolf’s face, and I backed up, welcoming Menon’s warmth as it surrounded me.
His growl reverberated in his chest, and I felt his magic rising to the challenge. I’d never noticed it before, not like this. Menon seemed to ooze power.
“I will be compensated for your breach of promise, Witch!” Arthur raised his hands, claws extended as if to hit my mother.
Angry or not, I could not allow her to be hurt. I reached out with my hands, but I was too far away to make contact. Didn’t seem to matter, though. Bright blue lightning shot from my hands. My magic seemed electrified as it connected with the male, sending him flying and kinda sorta setting his fur on fire. The stink of burned hair made me want to gag, but I managed to keep it down.
“Amrin! You saved me,” Mother said, her eyes wide.
“This is the headmistress, send a nurse down by the Tilt-a-Whirl for Mr. McFadden. Tell her we need burn cream,” Headmistress Blackthorn spoke into the receiver of her phone.
She shook her head as she placed a pair of magical cuffs and a muzzle on the fallen Werewolf. Gunner stood nearby shocked, before turning his angry gaze on me and Menon.
“Bitch! How dare you? I wanted your fat ass when no one else did—”
“That’s where you went wrong, dog. She was always wanted,” Menon grunted, and that time he succeeded in putting me behind him before he lodged his fist right into Gunner’s face.
Everything went crazy for a little while. Menon and Gunner fought like mad things. My mother ran to my side, pulling me back when I almost got hit by the idiot Werewolf. She was still shaking, but for the first time in her life, she’d actually acted maternally toward me. Finally, the headmistress broke them up, and I ran to Menon, who caught me in his arms, as he always seemed ready to do.
“Enough! Menon is mated to Amrin, Gunner, and you have no claim to her whatsoever.”
“What? They’re mated?” the Werewolf said, looking shocked. “I didn’t— I mean, I’m sorry. I just felt this, like, blinding rage fill me.”
He looked as confused as I was, but then I felt Menon’s chest rumble as he made a sort of hum of acknowledgement.
“That is to be expected,” Menon explained. “Your kind has hunted mine for eons, Gunner. You see, I am not just Sten, I am Menon Blau.”
“Holy shit,” the Wolf said, eyes wide. “You’re the prey.”
“I beg to differ, but maybe save it for another time,” my mate growled.
“I heard stories of your kind. I cut my teeth on them,” the Wolf said without heat.
“Yes. It is a long shared history of animosity, but while we are here, I think we can agree to a truce?” Menon said, his tail wrapped around me once more. “As long as you know my mate is off limits.”
“Agreed. While we are here, I will not fight you or attempt to take Amrin from you. She is your mate, and we Werewolves understand the importance of that,” Gunner said, and for the first time I saw him as something more than just a jerk.
But he, and all others, still paled in comparison to my beautiful, blue-skinned mate. I sank into his warmth, allowing his arms to circle me as he nodded in accord with Gunner. Then I watched, shocked, as my mother approached.
“I am sorry, Amrin, for the way I handled this. I know you are justified in your feelings, but maybe, maybe we can try to have some sort of relationship?” she said, and I saw feeling in her eyes.
Real feelingwhich was not something I had ever seen on my mother’s face before. I swallowed and nodded, not quite ready to forgive, but definitely ready to move on.
“Well, this is turning out to be quite the Equinox,” the headmistress said, interrupting the moment. “Shall I walk you to the portal, Evelyn?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” my mother said.
Gunner went with his father to the infirmary where his wounds were to be treated, and I said my goodbyes to my mother, a new understanding dawning between us. Menon held my hand, standing beside me, offering me silent support, which I took gratefully.
“Take care of her, young man,” Mother said.
“With all my being,” he replied.
“Oh, and Amrin,” Headmistress Blackthorn said. “I have arranged a new schedule for you to start immediately. After all, we can’t have our newest Lunar Witch running ragged without sleep.”
“Lunar Witch?” I asked, shocked into stillness.
“Of course, dear. Hadn’t you ever considered it? You’re a night owl, insomniac for lack of a better word, and you are mated to a direct descendant of Mani himself. Your powers are energized at night. You are wearing a piece of the sky as a dress, for Pete’s sake. Of course you are a Lunar Witch!”
“I knew she was special,” Mother said, bowing to me before she took off with the headmistress.
I could have sworn the older woman said something like kids these days, they have worlds of information at their fingertips with those darn smart phones and they still don’t bother using them. I grinned, biting my lip. It all made perfect sense. Why I was always tired and impotent during my classes. Why I could never rest during the night.
I was a Lunar Witch and Menon was the other half to my soul.
“Let’s go home, my sweet Luna.”
“Yes,” I said, taking his hand in mine.