2
Bevin
Most would think that people wouldn’t want a job that started at six in the morning on a Saturday… Or ever that early.
But a lot of people did. They wanted shifted hours from normal so they were available for other things. I knew this was common for humans who had to deal with work commutes and traffic. Seeing healers—doctors for them—who had certain hours.
Actually, that was for our healers too. There were lots of instances in the magical world that had normal business hours, and if your job started at five in the morning, you were done at one or two in the afternoon. That gave you the rest of the afternoon and night.
Several moms worked at the treats factory just for that option so they were home when their younger kids got out of school.
Someone else got them to school then? I wasn’t sure how it worked—probably because of the dads, but either way, it was how we had a lot of people when I started at six in the morning.
The workers and how many we had were fantastic. They were being managed well, and people were grateful for the job. Now that Tracey had put her foot down about taking advantage of me—or trying too—the factory was running smoothly.
Apparently, the problem was just me.
“I don’t understand,” someone whispered as the batch of what should have become dog treats turned rancid before our eyes.
Like would have been blurred out in an anime rancid. Maybe even the way YouTube videos did that when someone vomited.
Yes, it was that bad.
And the smell was indescribable.
“Let’s get some windows and doors open,” the floor manager called to the others. She cleared her throat. “Are you okay, Bevin?”
I didn’t know how to answer and jumped when she touched me. “I don’t know what happened. I’ve never—this—I don’t know what this is.”
“There’s probably something wrong with this batch,” she said with a sigh. “We’ve had a lot of new people—mistakes happen. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll write up a report to Tracey. Your magic probably knew this wasn’t safe for dogs.”
A thrill of worry raced through me. “You think someone sabotaged us?”
She frowned but then shook her head. “No, just a mistake. We reorganized the storage and—mistakes happen. We’ll make extra sure everything is labeled better now that we’re getting in so many bulk ingredients.
We’ll carefully dispose of this and sanitize everything. Let’s just move on to the next setup.”
I tried to accept her explanation and comfort. It was logical and of course something would go wrong. It was probably shocking that it hadn’t yet given how we’d put it all together and how fast we’d ramped up, right?
No, apparently not. We’d done a good job of picking the right people and managing it all.
The problem was me.
I ruined another huge batch—gagging at how rancid it all went and fast. I pulled out my phone in a flash and started messaging people.
Tracey.
Mrs. Reid.
Wyatt.
Like… Yeah, that was who to call. I basically sent the three of them messages saying my magic was broken and I’d fucked up in the factory and made a mess.
Literally and figuratively, and I didn’t know how to fix it or contain the situation.
Wyatt arrived first, within five minutes, and covered his nose as he jogged inside. He looked half asleep still and completely rolled out of bed disheveled.
I ignored how good of a look that was on him and was just relieved he was there. I hurried over to him and grabbed his wrist, dragging him closer to the grossness. Glad that the shift manager was busy, I pointed into the huge drum. “What the fuck did I do? Like—what is this? Am I broken or—”
“We’ll figure this out, I promise,” he muttered under his breath. “Please, go take a walk, get some air, and I’ll figure this out.”
“I’m sorry,” I rasped, willing myself not to cry. I did as he said just so I wasn’t in the way and distracting him. Cleaning up the mess with so many people around was what was most important.
A thought hit me as I reached the door and I stumbled.
Bé?inn is upset with me. She took my power to help familiars.
Then I was just panicked. I was nothing without that power.
I was beyond useless.
I didn’t realize I was even having the panic attack until strong arms surrounded me and a voice that sounded far away told me to listen to his heart.
To hang on for him.
To trust in him and that he would fix this.
Wyatt.
It was Wyatt. The others would say hang on or they would help. Kelton would tell me to listen to his heart for sure.
Only Wyatt would ask me to trust in him, have faith in him.
And I did. I tried to nod to let him know that I heard him and was listening. That I was still with him maybe?
It took a while, but then I let out a shuddering breath and felt like I could feel what was around me.
“I’ve got us in a barrier,” he said gently, somehow sensing I was back. “No one can see us.”
I swallowed loudly as I took in the situation. I was sitting between his legs and he was completely surrounding me. Not just a hug, but… It was not something people should see us doing when we were teacher and student, no matter how they knew he was involved as my power assessor.
“Thank you,” I breathed. “I’m sorry.” I swallowed a sob. “I think Bé?inn is punishing me. She took my power and—”
“No,” he said firmly, kissing my hair. “No, Bevin, I swear it.”
“You can’t—”
“Yes, I can.” He moved enough so I could see his pretty eyes, worry in them.
“Bevin, if you don’t have the magic to do something, you just don’t have it.
You don’t turn things rancid. I swear to you that you’re not being punished and the power isn’t being taken away.
There is other magic you’ve attempted and you simply couldn’t do it, right? ”
Tears burned in my eyes as what he said hit me. I lowered my head in shame. “I’m so stupid. I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not stupid,” he whispered, kissing my hair. “I was freaked out by the warning of gods punishing you too. Seriously freaked out. I was—I had a nightmare about it too and it’s not even an option for me. You’re not stupid.”
I kept the tears from falling, deciding it didn’t count as crying then, and soaked up his comfort. “Thank you. It’s—thank you.”
“Mrs. Reid said she’ll be here soon,” he told me softly as he rubbed my back, clearing his throat when I flinched. “I think I know what it is, but I’m not sure. I want to be sure.”
“Yeah, smart.”
“But I know what to say to make this better. I promise. I will protect you from this. And I think—I know how to fix the mess with people here, but I want to check the magical answer.”
“Thank you, Wyatt.”
“Thank you for trusting that I would come handle this,” he mumbled and kissed my hair again before getting us both on our feet. It felt a bit rushed, but also… There was a mess inside.
Again, literal and figurative.
Relief filled me when Tracey arrived a few minutes later, even if I had to pretend we weren’t as close as we were. Mrs. Reid was right after her. I apologized to both of them, but after a quick conference with the three of them, it was clear they had things in hand.
“It seems Ms. Millen depleted herself with her first midterms,” Tracey announced to the factory.
“We’ll have to be more careful in the future and check her magic levels after big assignments and tests.
She blossomed so fast that we ramped up, but—this isn’t math and we’ve all been there.
It’s also why we’ve found a few other witches who could have this magic. ”
I swallowed a flinch. That was news to me.
But it was a ploy, right?
“I will handle the announcement that we’re going to be light on treats this week instead of more as planned,” she continued.
“If we could dispose of everything properly according to the instructions Mrs. Reid will outline—keeping that procedure for the future—and making sure to sanitize everything twice. Thank you so much and great job.”
Mrs. Reid hurried to take over with all the employees while Tracey and Wyatt came for me, guiding me towards the door. Once we were outside, I felt Tracey’s magic over us.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, unable to meet her gaze and lowering my head in shame.
“Bev, I couldn’t give a fuck about the wasted materials or not ramping up,” she said as she hugged me tightly. “I only care about people talking or seeing this, and Mrs. Reid is going to make sure to adjust their memories.”
“What?” I gasped as I tried to pull away.
“We agreed once we realized what had happened,” Wyatt told me firmly.
“You said I’m not broken,” I said, about to spin out again.
Tracey moved me to arm’s length and shook me. “You’re not. You’re not, Bev. Listen to me, okay?” She repeated it a few times until I calmed down.
Finally, I chilled and nodded that I was with her.
But then she hesitated.
Tracey opened her mouth but then closed it a few times, pressing her lips in a line for almost a minute.
Then she sighed and shook her head. “You’re not in the right headspace to hear the analogy.
It would set you off—it would set me off.
” She kissed my cheek. “You’re valid in freaking.
I get it. Just please trust me that you’re not broken. ”
“We know what’s going on and we’ve got this,” Wyatt added. “Go do anything else to relax and we’ll find you with a way to fix it.”
And not see what else they were going to do to clean up my mess. I wasn’t that stupid.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered before pulling away and going for my stuff. I grabbed it and ducked the looks of others. I was about to tell my guards to just take me home, but that place didn’t feel like home.
It felt like soured memories now and I didn’t want that either.
Then the answer hit me and I told one of the guards where I wanted to go.
He gave me a sad smile and nodded, someone on my detail always able to circle easily.
It was a bit of a problem given how broken a lot of Taylor’s people were with their magic, but he’d hired a few for now that were basically just their magic and extra eyes.
The training could come later.