Chapter 30
Thirty
Felix
“Really, a witch? How original,” Felix said to Avery as she spread out her costume on the bed.
From what he could see, it was a little black dress.
The pointed hat sat beside it, the brim slightly bent at its tip.
A pitiful growl rumbled in his throat at the thought of the others looking at what was his.
He had planned to attend as Avery’s familiar, but in that dress, he would dress up as a brick wall to block any wandering eyes.
Even worse, at the back of his mind, his instincts tingled that something bad might happen.
Perhaps he could tempt her to stay with a tongue party instead. What a shame that they would miss it.
Avery scoffed at his comment. “Well, that’s what Maya chose for Spirit Night, so that’s what Maya gets.”
She was hiding it well, but a flicker of sadness came down the bond.
It really was a shame Maya was a witch; she reminded him of his sister.
They would probably get along. If things were different, a different world, he would have even invited her and Avery back to the den. What a fucking fantasy that was.
“Why do you call it spirit night? Isn’t it just Halloween?” he asked.
Avery fake-gasped. “How dare you?” she said. “They are nothing alike.”
Felix gave her a look. And she couldn’t keep up the facade.
“Okay, there are a lot of similarities, but it’s what we’ve always celebrated here. The ancient witches of Wales called it Nos Galan Gaeaf, which means night of the winter calends. It is essentially our New Year.”
“And what will you do at this party?”
“Well, in witch fashion, there will be a bonfire, lots of drinks, and fraternizing between students.” Avery wiggled her eyebrows.
Felix’s eyes darkened at the word fraternizing. Over his dead fucking body. The image alone of some drunk asshole feeling her up in that sexy costume that no witch or shifter alike deserved to see had his blood boiling. “I’m coming with you.”
“You can’t. You don’t have a costume.”
“I can just make some devil horns with my shadows.”
“No. That simply won’t do.” Avery tapped her chin, calculating some diabolical plan he was sure, before she clapped. “I have an idea.”
Felix groaned and flopped back onto the bed as Avery went to rummage through her closet with far too much enthusiasm.
Before he knew it, she emerged from the closet holding what could only be described as a costume straight from a porn set.
A maid’s outfit, complete with ruffles and an apron that wouldn’t cover a damn thing.
“Absolutely not,” Felix said sternly. He was pussy-whipped, but no one on earth could make him show up to a party in that.
Avery gave him a sour look. “Geez, what crawled up your ass and died?”
“You did.”
“You wish.”
He rose from the bed and closed the distance between them in two strides.
Avery gulped and took a step back, but he could tell she secretly loved it.
The sweet aroma of her arousal was already filling the air, the cute way her pupils blew out.
It was un-fucking-bearable. He needed to taste it.
They had time, right? Just a little taste.
A knock interrupted them. God fucking dammit. Something about this night was off.
“Avery, it’s me!” Maya said.
Felix quickly let the shadows reshape his clothes into a uniform, camouflaging his tail and ears and created Lucky the shadow cat that went with Avery to the door.
Avery gave him a look that screamed, what are you doing?
“What? She already thinks we’re fucking.”
She glared at him. “Fine.”
Avery opened the door for Maya, let her in, and gave her a hug that made his own heart squeeze just a bit. God, how soft he had gotten. Already, Avery had rubbed all the edges off of him.
The crow saw him first, giving him a squawk that made Maya stop short. “Oh…hey!”
“Sorry, I should have warned you he was here,” Avery said.
“It’s all good, the more the merrier! It’s Felix, right?” Maya said.
“Yeah, and you must be Maya?” Felix asked faux politely.
“Yep!” she said, popping the ‘p.’ Her crow cawed again on her shoulder, obviously sensing the danger as she got closer to Felix. “You can hold this.” She thrust a bottle of whiskey into his hands, smiling before spinning toward Avery and mouthing something to her that he couldn’t quite catch.
“What did she say?” he asked.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out, bitch boy.”
“Careful, kitten, you’ll get a spank for that.”
A shiver of arousal ran down the bond that had him grinning like the cat that got the cream.
“We were just discussing Felix’s costume for the night,” Avery said, her voice dripping with mischief that made him want to grab her and kiss that smug little smile off her face. He groaned, running a hand down his face.
“Oh yeah? What is it?” Maya asked.
“Well, he said he didn’t have anything, so I offered him last year’s costume.”
Smart little thing, she was backing him into a corner to wear a damn maid outfit. He could say no. He should say no. Both of the witches stared at him with a hopeful expression, grinning ear to ear.
“That would be perfect! All you need is cat ears and a tail,” Maya said.
Avery choked on a laugh, but not for the reason Maya thought.
He smiled, trying his best not to seem like an asshole in front of her friend. “Great!” he said with fake enthusiasm while Avery laughed all the way to the bathroom to get ready.
He was absolutely not wearing the maid costume.
The maid costume was rather tight. And short. He had to make shadow pants, just so he didn’t flash his ass toward everyone. Only Avery was allowed to see “his beautiful buttocks,” as she put it so kindly.
Girls could be evil sometimes. The way they both ganged up on him and wore him down was merciless. Avery even pulled out the no touching her boobs for a week card. Evil.
They sat on a log near an enormous bonfire that Avery had called a Coelcerth while the sun dipped below the horizon. Tonight was the night when they were meant to go to the midnight cave. Both of them had avoided talking about it. If the final riddle really did break the bond, then…
No. He shook his head. It was better this way.
Avery held a red cup before she downed the dregs of the mysterious punch that had been passed around. He had to admit she looked positively scrumptious tonight. It was simple, but fuck, it turned him on. Students lazed around the fire, some throwing stones into it.
Felix’s brows furrowed. “Why are they throwing stones?”
“It’s tradition, you write your name on it, toss it into the fire, and then if it’s not there the following morning, you’ll die within the next year.”
“Delightful,” he said, face blank.
Maya and Avery chuckled at him, and he had to stop himself from joining in.
“How have you been going with your magic?” Maya asked her.
“Really good,” Avery said.
They had been practicing, actually practicing. Avery was a natural when it came to controlling his shadows. Last night, she had managed to heal her arm on purpose this time. Most importantly, though, Felix wanted to make sure she could defend herself in case something happened.
Guilt gnawed at him. Severing the bond would leave her alone and powerless for any of these witches to hurt.
But he couldn’t stay here. Something in his chest tore as he thought about leaving her.
He couldn’t imagine the pain when he actually did.
What would it feel like not to have Avery on the other side of that thread?
Instead of unpacking it, he took a sip of whiskey, the burn numbing the pain for one blissful moment.
The harsh caw of Maya’s crow jerked him back to the present. Firelight danced over Avery’s frame, and she tipped her head back, laughing at something Maya said. Felix smiled, committing the scene to memory. Just in case.
The little witch was only inches away, but he was aware of every one of them.
She turned her head toward him, a slight haze of alcohol flushing her cheeks pink.
The golden sun warmed their backs as much as the fire did their front, but the heat rising within him had nothing to do with that.
He couldn’t help himself; he raised his hand and tucked a loose hair behind her ear.
“Can you two get a room?” Maya said jokingly. He had to admit that Maya was growing on him. Maybe some witches weren’t so bad.
Avery laughed, a blush deepening across her face. “Do you mind getting me another drink?” she asked him.
“Sure.”
Am I her bitch now? If he was, he kind of liked it. He knew he was a cat, but if she wanted him to be her dog, he would bark instead. Woof.
Felix walked past students enjoying themselves to the music that floated through the trees, bass thumping under laughter and the crack of the bonfire.
Some danced and grinded against each other, others just talked amongst themselves.
The smell of burning pine swept through the forest, but still, he could never shake off Avery’s scent.
He knew there was only one logical explanation for that.
But somehow he still didn’t want to admit it to himself.
It didn’t matter anyway. She was a witch.
He was a shifter. Their worlds could never collide.
No matter how desperately he wanted them to.
When he reached the table with the punch, he filled the cups with the shimmering liquid that seemed bottomless no matter how much had been taken from it.
Piles of students congregated around the table playing some sort of drinking game.
A girl on the end watched him looking him up and down.
Oh no. Time to leave. Before he’d taken two steps, the same drunk girl materialized in front of him, wobbling on her heels.
“Oh my goddessss,” she slurred. “I loveee your costume, how did you get the ears and tail to look so real?”