Chapter 2
Chapter two
Nat
It was hard not to laugh at Thea as she pretended that she still hated him. Nathaniel could hardly keep his mouth from twitching in amusement as she looked away from him, her brown eyes darting around the room in an effort to look at anything but his face.
At least, it would be amusing if he didn’t wish desperately to know why she was avoiding him. If her dark curls hadn’t been up in a bun, she would probably be hiding behind her hair, too.
He had hoped when she first came to the Northlands that she would be willing to tell him what had happened, why she had never written to him, but she not only had been unwilling to talk about it with him, she seemed actively angry at him.
He was at a loss as to why, but at least he had the café as an excuse to talk to her and see her and interact with her—no matter how much she tried to pretend she didn’t want to see him.
He counted the money the way she’d asked, even though he would rather just trust her. She wasn’t going to try to shortchange him. It would go against all her beliefs.
There had never once been a short payment from her, even in the months when the nights grew cold and the visitors grew slim, and he worried that she was cutting her groceries rather than asking him to hold a rent payment until later.
But that was one of the things that he’d fallen in love with all those years ago: how unfailingly honest she was. It wouldn’t be the same if she was no longer that girl…though that girl had been willing to speak to him, so perhaps he should wish for her to come back.
“I want to wish you a wonderful evening,” he said to Thea. His voice was more formal than he would have liked, but when he tried to be informal, Thea didn’t like it.
He would give anything for her to love him once more.
“I’m just going to say hello to Ginger before I leave,” he told her. Her eyes softened at the mention of her beloved cat, and she turned to look at the empty fireplace where Ginger was waiting, looking up at Nat expectantly.
“I see you,” he said to the orange cat as he made his way over to pet her.
It was odd to be jealous of a cat, but at times he was. Ginger had a closeness with Thea that he desperately wished to have again.
“Did you think I’d forgotten you?” he asked Ginger as he knelt down and began to rub her belly. “You are a spoiled little thing, aren’t you?”
“Yes, she is,” a voice piped up from behind him.
Nat glanced at the woman. She looked familiar, but why? He couldn’t place her.
“I’m Guinevere,” she said with a smile. “I was just coming over to say hello to Ginger as well, before I have to head back to Eldenwilde.”
Ah, that explained it. If she lived on Lord Dunham’s estate, he wouldn’t have had much opportunity to meet her, but he had probably seen her around town.
And if she was familiar with Ginger, then she was probably a regular at the café, which meant he was indebted to her for keeping Thea from leaving town.
He had no doubts that if the café ever failed here, Thea would leave the Northlands just as quickly as she’d come.
It was his personal mission to ensure that that never happened, because if Thea left, he wasn’t sure what he would do—except leave everything and follow her like he should’ve done the first time he left.
It wasn’t that he regretted staying to take care of his mother. He couldn’t. But he did regret never going back when his mother no longer needed him. He should’ve gone back for her, and he was reminded of that every time he saw her. Saw how she had to be strong all the time. How alone she was.
She was alone, but she didn’t want him to change that.
Yet.
He had every intention of changing her mind.
He would be willing to return to their happy camaraderie, at the very least, if it meant Thea wouldn’t be so alone. And if that led to more as it had before…well, he wouldn’t complain.
His mind returned to happier days baking in her father’s bakery, flour messes and stolen kisses, working together and sharing life.
That’s what he wanted again.
Ginger bumped his hand, begging for attention, and he brought himself back from his memories.
“I’ll see you around, Ginge,” he told the cat, scratching under her chin one more time before he got to his feet and turned to wave to Thea, who nodded her head briskly and turned away, pretending she hadn’t been watching him the whole time he’d been talking to Ginger.
Oh, Thea. He hid his grin as he made his way toward the door, waving to a few of the patrons as he exited. The door closed behind him, and he stepped into the sunshine, letting his smile loose.
She was paying more attention to him, whether she wanted to or not. It was only a matter of time before things would change between them. He could feel it. Change was brewing.
The back of his neck prickled, and he turned around to see a man making his way toward the café, muttering to himself, walking in a wavy line.
It didn’t seem like the effects of having spent too much time in his brother’s tavern…but there was something off about him.
And he was going toward Thea.
Adrenaline surging, Nat strode toward the man, intercepting him before he made it to the café’s entrance. “Hello, sir. Can I ask your business?”
“What’s it to you?” the man growled, surly.
“I own the building,” he said, “and I’m making sure everything is well here.”
“I’m in need of a drink,” the man snarled. “It’s none of your business what I do.”
“On the contrary,” Nathaniel said, stepping to the side to block as the man tried to go around him. “I do believe it is my business. I think you ought to move along, sir.”
“I don’t have to listen to you,” the man said shortly, reaching into the pocket of his cloak. “You are in my way. I suggest you move.”
Did he think Nat was going to let Thea deal with this situation instead of him?
Not a chance.
“I don’t think so,” Nat said.
He froze as the man pulled something out of his pocket.
Was it a knife?
No, a stick.
That wasn’t a stick.
Was it…a wand? Wasn’t magic a childish story? Was it simply a strange attempt to intimidate him, or was the man delusional?
He didn’t want to find out, but he didn’t want to leave Thea to face it, either.
He stood his ground.
“You need not go to the café,” he said formally. “You can find a drink elsewhere. Perhaps the tavern.”
Roan was a big boy. He could handle himself when it came to strange men with wands.
“Yeah? You think I’m some sort of animal unfit to enter your building?”
“If you are going to act civilly,” Nathaniel said, “you are welcome to visit the café. But your manner as you approached suggested that you might cause issues, and I cannot allow that to happen in my building.”
The man began muttering again. “Maybe you ought to try being an animal and see how that feels, before you go around accusing people of being unwelcome in places for no reason.”
Nat’s eyes widened as a stream of light began to appear from the end of the wand. He stepped to the side instinctively, but he couldn’t move fast enough, and it enveloped him.
What was happening?
He was warm. Strangely warm. And his whole body began to itch.
Was he being cursed? He’d heard rumors about people being cursed.
He’d never believed they were real.
But it was true.
Magic was real.
The itching turned into pinpricks, and he tried to yell, but his throat was suddenly closing up.
Was he dying?
The pressure around his neck lessened, and he drew in a deep breath, the air tasting different than usual.
What had the sorcerer meant by being an animal? Was he turning into one?
The pain and the light began to fade, and Nathaniel opened his mouth to inform the man that whatever he tried hadn’t done anything—but the words came out as a meow.
Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and he looked down in horror.
He had paws, the fur a burnt orange color similar to his own hair.
His boots and legs and hands had disappeared.
Paws. He didn’t want paws.
How was he supposed to protect Thea as a cat?
This was a nightmare.
And not just protecting Thea—he had finally started to get close to her again. Was he going to be a cat for the rest of his life now?
Were Thea and the rest of the town doomed to wonder what had become of Nathaniel Alder?
Would his brother even notice?
Maybe being himself wasn’t enough to get Roan’s attention, but disappearing certainly might be.
But of the attention he’d been hoping to find, Roan didn’t even pale in comparison to how much he wanted to gain Thea’s attention and affection.
He looked up at the sorcerer—when had he gotten so tall?
He opened his mouth to yell at the sorcerer, forgetting that he had no voice.
The man chuckled. “I suppose I will leave your precious building alone. I need something stronger anyway while I try to figure out my problems. The tavern was a good suggestion. Thank you for your help.”
The tone was mocking, and Nathaniel jumped forward, claws extended.
Perhaps this form was good for something.
He sank his claws into the man’s shin and grinned in satisfaction when the man shrieked. He tried to kick Nathaniel, who jumped back with all the agility of a feral cat.
Yes, perhaps this form wasn’t entirely useless.
However, that didn’t mean he wanted it. He needed to figure out how to become human again—and soon. How could he do that if he couldn’t speak?
The man muttered to himself under his breath as he turned and walked away toward the Lucky Goat.
Nathaniel watched grimly. Hopefully his brother would manage to avoid getting cursed, too, though if he had any guess as to whether Roan would let the man do whatever he wanted, he would assume that Roan would stand his ground—in which case he might find himself in cat form, too.
But for now, Nat faced the dilemma of what to do with himself.
He could see if Thea would take him in.
She would never turn away an animal in need.
And if he was in the café…he would be able to keep an eye on her and ensure that the man didn’t try anything else.
Because with a madman on the loose in the Northlands, protecting Thea was his first priority.
Nathaniel hurried to the door of the café and began pawing at it, meowing, hoping that Ginger would hear him inside.
Let me in, he called as loudly as he could. Please, someone, let me in.
He waited a moment, but the door didn’t open, so he tried again. Ginger, tell them to let me in. I know you’re in there. Can you hear me?
He waited another moment, and the door snicked open a crack. Nathaniel looked up to see someone…who looked vaguely like Guinevere, the girl he had just met, looking down at him with a frown on her face.
Humans looked different from a cat’s-eye view.
“Did you want to come in?” Guinevere asked, opening the door just enough to let him inside, looking outside warily.
Ginger stood from her place by the fireplace and hurried over. Nathaniel could read the emotion on her face like never before. Was this a perk of being a cat? It wasn’t one he particularly enjoyed when he was faced with such pure hostility.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my café?” Ginger snarled at him.
The hair on his back stood up. “I’m Nathaniel,” he said hastily.
Ginger snorted. “There’s no way you’re Nathaniel,” she said. “He’s a human, and you’re a cat.”
“But I am,” he protested. “I was cursed to be a cat.”
“Well, this is my café,” Ginger said. “So you’re going to have to leave.”
Nathaniel looked up as footsteps sounded and Thea appeared.
He knew it was her, more from her sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon than because he could see her face when it towered above him. But even as a cat, she was still the most beautiful person he knew.
She looked at Guinevere, who was still eyeing him suspiciously.
“Who’s this?” Thea asked.
“A cat that wanted to be let in,” Guinevere said. “Ginger seems to like him.”
Ginger did not like him whatsoever. Had she just hissed at him?
“I think you should keep him,” Guinevere continued, with a tone in her voice he wouldn’t have expected from her. Had she seen what was happening in the square?
“I thought you’d already left,” Thea said.
“Oh, yes. There was a man out there who seemed a little odd, so I didn’t leave yet, and then this cat was here, and I knew you’d want me to let him in.”
Had she seen the transformation? Why wasn’t she telling Thea that he was Nathaniel? Why was she not saying anything?
Guinevere peered down at him and Nathaniel’s heart lifted ever so slightly.
If she’d seen him be cursed…and she wasn’t saying anything to Thea…maybe she knew how to break it.
Or she had no idea, and she didn’t want to break Thea’s heart…as if that would happen.
Maybe he just wished Thea would care if he disappeared.