Chapter 15 Sage
Sage
From then on, they started showing up at jobs together. About two months after that arrangement became a regular thing, Sage had an appointment at Madame Celeste’s Boudoir to make sure all the wards and little magics there were in good working order.
They parked in the underground garage and walked toward the elevators together, though as soon as Carl, one of the security people, came into view, Will, who normally followed Sage, stepped in front of him and…
postured unless Sage was mistaken. He’d since read the damn book, not that it had cleared up all that much.
“Hey, Sage,” Carl said. “Bringing a date?”
Carl sounded mildly annoyed. He’d flirted with Sage whenever they ran into one another, but Sage had never gone for it.
“I’m his apprentice,” Will said, pushing his shoulders out to make himself look bigger.
Sage had to lean around Will, who would not be moved even by a gentle shove. It was unlike the shy and demure person he normally was.
Carl chuckled. “Pup, you turn into a big wolf every now and then. If your balls have dropped, that is. Doesn’t mean you’re magic like Sage here.”
Will started growling, and from what Sage could see from his limited point of view from behind Will’s back, Carl was just standing there with his arms crossed, a mild sneer on his face.
“He’s a witch wolf, Carl, and yeah, he’s my apprentice. Will, back the fuck down. I’m not breaking up a growling contest between two grown werewolves.”
Before anyone had a chance to back down, Carl said, “Sage, honey, you miscounted. There’s only one fully grown wolf here.”
Sage froze, worried he’d have to get between the two of them, but Will just took a step back, pulled Sage to him—and licked his cheek without so much as a by your leave.
“The fuck?!”
Carl’s expression soured. “You lick a human once, pup, doesn’t make him yours.”
Will glared. “It’s not the first time I’ve licked him, so back off.”
“We are not discussing who gets to lick me, and also, no licking in public, Will, godsdamnit.” Sage wiped at his cheek.
Just to keep things interesting, Carl growled and locked eyes with Sage. “You wouldn’t mind if I did that to you where all and sundry could see. My offer to grab a drink upstairs or elsewhere still stands. Just say the word.”
“He’s busy.” Will maneuvered Sage to the elevator.
“Yeah, um, taken, pretty much. Sorry, Carl,” Sage added, which only made Carl scowl harder.
Once the elevator doors closed, Will stopped growling, and Sage slapped Will’s forearm. “What the fuck was that?”
“Ouch! What do you mean? He wants you. I can smell it all over him, and it’s disgusting. But he can’t have you.” Will’s defiant posture and manner made a one-eighty turn, and he became the embodiment of a soufflé gone wrong. “Unless…you want to? With him?”
Sage rolled his eyes. “Sweetcakes, I’m all yours, but less growling, and a hard pass on the public licking, okay?”
Will managed to go from growling super wolf to puppy ashamed of peeing on the floor in two seconds flat. “Okay.”
He gave Sage big puppy eyes too, and sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. It was the cutest, most calculated thing.
The elevator came to a stop and spat them out on the bar floor of the Boudoir. “That’s fucking over-the-top, but you are my favorite werewolf, after all. C’mon.”
The Boudoir was classy. The carpets on the first floor, which was for socializing and meeting Celeste’s employees, were thick and bold, all reds and golds and silvers.
It was early afternoon, and at a glance, Sage could see there were only few people working right now, probably with regulars who came to a specific person for a specific need they wanted sated over their lunch breaks.
Unless Sage was mistaken, there was a vampire chatting with one of the sex workers who also allowed blood drinking and a human looking for something equally human.
Celeste was behind the bar, wearing a black silk T-shirt, a crimson and gold corset, and a pair of pants that simply drew the eyes to her firm, round butt.
As if she’d felt Sage’s eyes on her, she turned and smiled at them under her full and carefully manicured beard.
If Sage had actually been looking to grow a beard, he would have been extremely jealous of Celeste’s facial hair.
She rounded the bar and walked toward them in stilettos that always made Sage stare because he just couldn’t fathom how it was possible to walk in them. He’d checked them for magic on several occasions, but there wasn’t any. It was all Celeste.
“Sage, sweetheart.” She pulled him into a hug before kissing him on both cheeks. “And this must be the apprentice I’ve heard so much about. Will, is it?”
“Yeah?”
Celeste had presence. Sage had enchanted her crop collection for durability and to remain splinter free, so he knew she also had certain dominant character traits her clients paid extremely well for. Will apparently sensed some of that, and he kept his head low.
Celeste offered Will her hand to shake after almost moving in for a hug like she did with most people. Will shook carefully, and Sage saw Celeste’s smile falter.
“We don’t ask where people come from here, little wolf. We welcome everyone.”
Will nodded, his posture a little less stiff, and Sage found himself once more impressed by Celeste. The woman was an empath, and she had an iron spine to boot.
“You need your warding checked and stuff?” Sage said.
Celeste turned to him and nodded. “Yes. And we got a few new paravents I’d like you to spell for privacy.
Just sound. People should still be able to peek behind them.
” She waved them along and led the way through the socializing area.
“Oh, I added a few vintage paddles to my collection too. I’d like you to spell them, but I have a new trainee in my room right now.
And, of course, I need more of your glorious, magical lube. ”
“T-trainee?”
Celeste turned to look at Will, but he was looking at the customers and employees sitting around small tables or on couches spread out around the room. Some of the employees were giving him a once-over too, which in turn made Sage frown.
Will, with his curly hair, amber skin, and golden eyes, was pretty enough to get stared at. Sage discovered that he didn’t like that at all.
“We do train our employees, of course,” Celeste said. “If you’re interested in our services, you get the friends and family discount.”
That pulled Will’s attention right back. “No.” He wrapped both his arms around Sage’s right one.
Celeste giggled. “You two are just as adorable as everyone says.”
“Who’s everyone?” Sage asked so he could give “everyone” a piece of his mind.
Celeste shrugged. “Every parent in the city who bemoans the loss of yet another magically inclined single. Every eligible single looking for a magically inclined mate. Poor Carl.”
“Carl can go fuck himself,” Will mumbled, and Celeste threw them a wide grin.
“Aren’t you a feisty one? But then, maybe that makes sense with it being the full moon tonight.”
“Oh, fuck. Again?”
Sage felt his cheeks flush, but luckily, they’d reached the door to the staff area.
He liked the full moon—not least because Will always got extra horny the morning after—and living with a werewolf, he should have been able to remember when that was, but it seemed like the last one had been only last week.
“He can’t keep track,” Will said when Celeste’s eyes went wide.
“Well, I suppose he notices when you turn all furry? Not that I judge if that’s anyone’s kink.”
“Nope, not my kink. We don’t—are you serious? We don’t do that,” Sage said.
Celeste gave a beautifully executed shrug. “There are few things I haven’t seen. Let me show you the paravents.”
It took them around three hours to finish all the magic and the warding Celeste required. It took Sage much longer to forget what furry happenings Celeste’s words had had him imagining.
As soon as they got into the elevator to go back down, Will moved closer to Sage and straightened his spine.
“No licking,” Sage said.
Will huffed. “Fine. Unless he tries to lick you first.”
Sage groaned, but he was smiling. Will being all possessive was kind of hot.
This time around, there was no need for any posturing. Carl was busy with a human who clearly wasn’t the usual clientele the Boudoir received. He was too unkempt, dressed in old boots and clothes that hadn’t been washed in a while, along with a ratty ball cap.
Will, rather than growling, pulled Sage close, and they walked past Carl to the car. Sage would have offered to help, but Carl didn’t have a job in security because of his taste in ties.
“I just wanna get in there and have a look at the merchandise,” the human said.
“I apologize, but we have no merchandise, and unfortunately, you don’t meet the dress code.” Carl kept his voice calm, but he wasn’t budging.
“What about that fucker?” The man pointed at Sage. “Your whores don’t seem to mind board shorts and fucking flip-flops.”
“Shut your ugly mug, deal with a stomach bug,” Will whispered next to Sage, but the words were laced with magic.
“Bad wolf,” Sage said around a giggle, but Will’s spell hit. The human squirmed, and with the urgency brought on by imminent explosive diarrhea, he hurried away on stiff legs.
Carl gave them a subtle nod before moving back to stand next to the elevator.
“When you do magic to a human not in the know, always be careful about it,” Sage told Will in the car.
Will deflated in the passenger seat. “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. The guy was an asshole. I just mean, you don’t want humans thinking you can do actual magic—it can create problems. Although, to be fair, in New Elvenswood, they’ll just think you’re a Wiccan who likes his ritual and shit.”
“Okay. Being a wolf isn’t that different.”
Sage could have slapped himself. Of course, Will doesn’t need to be told about being discreet. He can turn into a wolf, for fuck’s sake.
“Right. Sorry. You already know the lesson about keeping a low profile, and I’m not helping.”
Will went silent. They were pulling into the driveway by the time he spoke again. “You are helping. A lot.”
“Good. Hey, you still okay staying in tonight? I’m always happy to head out with you so you can get a run on all fours.”
Will shook his head and looked at Sage with big golden eyes. “I like sitting on the couch with you, cuddling, and having your hands in my fur. It’s nice. Peaceful.”
“I like that too.”
Sage might have had trouble remembering the exact dates of the full moon, but that hadn’t kept them from building their own little ritual of watching a movie with Will in human shape for the first half, in wolf shape for the second, and Sage was looking forward to it already.