Chapter 56
Raven
Iread Glynda’s message and frowned. We’d arranged to meet up this evening, ostensibly to binge a new cozy mystery series on Magiflix, but she’d just canceled.
Glynda: Sorry, something came up. Rain check? Xxx
Sure, no problem! Xxx
My bestie was hiding things, but each time I tried interrogating her, she evaded and changed the subject.
It was kind of hurtful that she didn’t trust me enough to share her problems when I shared everything with her.
Even the bad stuff, like when Daisy the hellhound ate Miss Windborne’s rooster. Honestly, I felt terrible about it. But by the time I spotted her chomping on a charred bird, it was too late.
Luckily, Fig kindly disposed of the evidence. Miss Windborne assumed Rodney the Rooster left of his own accord, seeking a new and more exciting flock, and replaced him a few days later.
To avoid any more calamitous events of a chicken nature, I changed things up and took Daisy into the forest for her exercise.
She preferred it there anyway, especially when Kenji joined us.
Despite his endless bitching, he rather enjoyed playing chase with Daisy.
She chased him, and he blinked away, popping up in different locations.
“I do not enjoy it,” he grumbled in my head. “The hellhound is even more irritating than the pig.”
The Ks had left us. All three of them had gone to stay with Olaf for a bit. Kenji had been quiet for a few days before perking up again.
Adam was still busy sorting out the mess his brother had left behind, and aside from one flying visit, I hadn’t seen him or Nula. He’d left Nova in charge at the farm. Now that the demon attacks had ended, the witches were safe on their own.
After negotiating with my father, the Supernatural Council decreed that demons could come and go via the portal under the watchful eye of the MIB. Demons entering the realm received magic tags, and if they committed a crime, MIB enforcers tracked them down and sent them back to face punishment.
So far, the monitoring system appeared to be working. High-level demons came and went, most of them here to do business with shady humans and magicals. There had been a few violent incidents where demons got carried away, but my father had dealt with them.
With my plans for the evening derailed, I tossed my phone aside and picked up a book I’d been reading for the last few days, but after reading the same page three times, I gave up.
Daisy lay in her bed, huffing out smoke as she snored.
She’d doubled in size over the last month, which was a concern.
Having seen a fully grown hellhound, I was genuinely panicking that Daisy might outgrow our dorm.
Dad reassured me she wouldn’t get that big unless she went back to the demon realm, but he lied about most things, so I remained skeptical.
“Hungry?” Maverick stopped what he was doing the minute I wandered into the kitchen. The yummy scents of cinnamon and sugar told me he’d been baking again. “I tried a new recipe, so you can be my guinea pig.”
“Cookies, care bear?” Zane pinged into view behind me, making me scream as he snatched me off my feet.
“They’re not for you!” Maverick still hadn’t forgiven Zane for sampling my birthday cake before I’d even seen it. He claimed he hadn’t known it was a birthday cake, despite the sugar icing decoration saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAVEN!
“But baking is your love language, care bear, and I know you lurrrve me.”
“Fine, you can have a cookie, but not until Raven’s had hers.”
“Be a good boy,” I reminded my incubus. We’d had words several times lately about his inability to recognize Maverick’s boundaries.
Training an incubus was a bit like training a hellhound—frustrating and ultimately pointless.
However, as a witch that preferred to see the good in all creatures great and small, I hoped that one day both Daisy and Zane would reach adulthood.
“Do I get a reward for being a good boy?”
Clearly that day wasn’t coming anytime soon.
“I’ll consider it,” I hedged, not in the mood for a bickering episode.
“Then I’ll be a good boy for my pet.” He kissed me on the nose and then set me down.
“Fucking irritating incubus,” Maverick muttered as he pulled a tray of golden cookies from the oven. Two seconds later, Fig barreled in, squeaking excitedly.
“No cookies for you,” I told Fig. “Sugar makes you sick.”
“Yeah, I’m not cleaning up after him again.” The mere mention of pig duties was enough to encourage Zane to leave me alone with my bear. He disappeared in a flash, muttering something about a rogue demon in Thornville.
I had a feeling Zane had been taking on jobs from the MIB to keep himself amused. He’d returned a few times covered in blood and entrails, claiming he’d stumbled across a crime scene. Fully aware he had probably caused the crime scene, I decided it was better not to know.
Besides, my father didn’t care, so why should I?
If hunting rogue demons kept my incubus out of trouble, then I was all for it. Lessons didn’t engage him, and now that I was busy with my classes, I had less time to entertain him.
Plus, I had four other mates.
“Eat this and then I’ll go run you a hot bath, little mate,” Maverick said, handing me a warm cookie.
“Can we watch a movie after dinner? Glynda’s bailed on me.”
My bear frowned. “Oh? Did she say why?”
“No. She’s being shady. Can you ask Boon to hack her phone?” I gave Maverick my most innocent expression.
“Little mate…that would be unethical, and also illegal.”
I pouted. Since she refused to talk to me, hacking her phone seemed like a sensible option.
“I’m impressed with this new criminally inclined version of you,” Kenji announced. “Maybe there is hope for you yet. Keep up the good work.”
“Ugh, how else am I supposed to figure out what’s wrong?” I moaned when I took a bite of my cookie. Holy shit, my bear was an excellent cook! This cookie tasted like heaven.
Maverick’s eyes glowed as his bear came forward. “Careful, little mate. If you keep moaning like that, I won’t be able to keep my paws off you.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to?”
Maverick groaned when I fluttered my lashes and licked my lips.
Stars, I was getting pretty good at this flirting business. It turned out my father had a lot of excellent advice on the topic, which was hardly surprising since he spent most of his free time picking up females.
Was it any wonder my mom had dumped his skeevy ass?
No.
“Little mate,” Maverick began before his phone trilled obnoxiously loud from the counter. He sighed before reaching for it.
“What’s up?” The casual greeting meant it was a family member. I picked up another cookie, intending to leave so my bear had some privacy, but stopped dead when he gasped.
“You have? Is he okay?” Maverick turned milky white. His hand shook as he stared into space while whoever it was spoke.
“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Is everything okay?” I wrapped my arms around his muscular torso and listened to the frantic beat of his heart pounding behind his ribs.
“Dad’s been found. He’s alive!” Tears dripped down, soaking into my hair. “I assumed he was dead, but it turns out he’s been hiding away.”
“And he’s…well?” Maverick had never given up on finding his father, but after all this time, the prognosis might not be good.
“Patrick says he’s very thin but healthy. No sign of feral shifter disease.”
I released the breath I’d been holding. Thank the goddess.
“Are you leaving right now?”
“Yes. I’m hoping Zane will take me, but if not, I’ll drive.”
“Let me help you pack,” I said, needing the time with him before he left us.
“Pack a bag for yourself,” he replied, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “You’re coming with me.”
“I am? What about my classes?”
Zane reappeared and wiped his bloody knife on a kitchen towel. “Fuck school, pet. I can teach you all you need to know.” He winked. “I have a master’s degree in the Erotic Arts.”
Ignoring Zane, Maverick cupped my cheeks. “Polly Windborne will understand. I’ll have to stay awhile with Dad to make sure he’s well, and we can’t be apart that long.”
“I’ll rally the troops, Daddy Bear!” Zane grinned like a maniac. “Go pack, pet. No panties needed.”