Chapter 22
We finally make it back to Megan’s right around dinner time.
Megan, not having the desire to cook, ordered take out for all of us.
I literally would have eaten anything she put in front of me, I’m ravenous.
While we eat, Donovan gets a phone call, so he excuses himself to answer it.
This gives Megan the opening that she has apparently been waiting for.
“Well, you are looking much better than you were this morning. You still doing ok?”
“Yeah, a nap and some more amazing sex was just what I needed.”
We both can’t help but laugh.
“Enough about me. How are you doing?”
Megan gives me a tired smile, and I can’t help but feel like a shitty friend.
“It’s different not having to worry about him anymore. My brother wants me to come stay for a while, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I think I’m ready to be alone first.”
“I’m sure he will understand. You are allowed to think of yourself and do what you need. And if you need an excuse, you can always just pretend I need you now that my life is upside down and crazy. Keegan loves me, he’ll happily agree that you need to be with me over him.”
“That’s not really a lie; you do kinda need me.”
“I promise I’ll be ok, and I swear as soon as I’m not, I will call you, and you can rush to my rescue.”
The sound of Don’s hurried footsteps makes me pause, and his guarded expression fills me with dread.
“What happened?”
His inner turmoil filters in from our bond, he’s at war with himself, his need to protect me fighting with his need to keep me informed. “Just tell me Don, please.”
“There was a break in at your house.”
Dread pools in my stomach, my hands fly up to my mouth, “Oh my god, Indy is still there! Did someone find him? Is he ok?”
The sharp edge of my panic spears towards him. Crouching down in front of me, he takes my hands in his, giving me some of his strength.
“Baby, he’s fine. Brent and Aiden got him out, and he’s perfectly safe at Brent’s.
Whoever broke in very clearly got injured.
Brent said there was a good amount of blood at the scene, but none of it was Indy’s.
I’m not sure the extent of the damage to your house yet, but I swear to you, Indy is fine. ”
Megan gasps in anger, drawing both of our attention.
“How the hell did they get in? I put charms on your house years ago, since you insisted you didn’t need a security system.
There is no way a normal human would have made it in.
And there is definitely no way, if the intruder was human, that they would have made it out of your house alive.
When Indy attacked them, he would have surely killed anyone non-magical. ”
I’m ashamed to admit it takes me longer to process Megan’s words than I’d like to admit, but holy shit did she really say that? “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell are you talking about? Charms on my house? Indy killing people?”
Megan sighs, and I steel myself for the truth bomb she is about to drop.
“Obviously, you had to expect me to have made sure you were safe. I can’t have my best friend not being safe in her own home. So I took some steps to ensure I wouldn’t worry about you.”
“Ok, that explains why you put the charms on my house. But what the fuck did you mean about Indy?”
Megan gives me a sheepish look, shrugging her shoulders. “I might have made a bargain with a familiar to watch over you.”
Don growls and I give him a startled look.
“You did what? Familiar bargains are dangerous. Why would you do that when Kinley had no idea about magic?”
Megan waves him off, more concerned with watching my reaction. I’m utterly confused and there is that panic again, slowly creeping back.
“So my cat isn’t a cat?” My bottom lip wobbles and I suck in several shaky breaths. I’m going to start crying, I just know it. I’m too hormonal for all this shit!
“Oh, honey, he is! He’s just a little more than that. I resolved the bargain a long time ago, but he wanted to stay with you. Honey, he’s there by choice! So is Beretta.”
“What the fuck, Megan! My dog, too?”
Maybe I’ll smash something instead. Damn my hormones!
Megan holds her hands up quickly. “I swear I had nothing to do with her! She found you all on her own.”
Growling, I push up and start pacing, breathing deeply, trying to calm myself down. I’m so mad and hurt, and I don’t know what to think anymore.
“Kinley, I swear this isn’t a bad thing. You are theirs as much as they are yours. They have an unwavering loyalty to you. A familiar that is with you by choice is a powerful thing. They will protect you with their lives if that is what needs to be done. They love you, Kinley.”
“So you’re telling me my pets are magical.”
Megan nods.
“Goddess, this just keeps getting more complicated,” Donovan mutters. “Megan, is there anything else we need to know?”
“No, that’s it. I tried not to interfere with your life, Kinley. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Just talk to them; they will reveal themselves to you if you ask. A bond with a familiar is incredibly valuable, and when freely given, it’s priceless.”
“What even is a familiar? Do you have one?”
Megan’s eyes shift first to me and then to Don. His eyes narrow at her, as if he is telling her that this is her mess and she is in charge of clean-up.
“Ok, again, it’s important that I stress they are loyal to you and would never do anything that would hurt you.
Familiars are guardians of certain dimensions of the underworld.
They can ferry souls to their afterlife destinations, and they can also torture evil souls, it just depends on their capabilities.
Sometimes familiars will come to our realm to serve and bond with magical beings, protecting and aiding them whenever they can. ”
My mouth slowly closes. It has been hanging open the entire time Megan talked. Holy fuck .
“Megan, please tell me that my dog and cat aren’t demons.”
“What, no! Kinley, familiars are definitely not demons. Honestly, it’s pretty offensive to call them such. Some familiars are even known to hunt demons.”
Well, that is a relief...I guess.
My eyes shift to Don, narrowing slightly.
“Did you know what my pets were?” I ask him suspiciously.
“No, baby. Familiars are very secretive, and are very good at disguising themselves so only their bonded know what they are.”
“But I’m not a witch, so how do I have not one, but two familiars?”
Megan smiles. “You don’t have to be a witch. You just have to be powerful.”
Bombshell after bombshell kept dropping on my head, and a less mentally stable person would probably be rocking in a corner. Megan and Donovan manage to calm me down, but really, it was mostly Donovan distracting me with his magical cock.
I was on edge and being a snappy brat, until Donovan threw me over his shoulder, swatting my ass hard, and proceeded to fuck the brat right out of me in the first room he found.
He had me bent over the bathroom sink so fast I didn’t know what was happening.
When he was done with me, he pulled my clothes back on and sent me back to finish talking with Megan with his cum pooling onto my pad. It really isn’t fair.
We ended up staying until late the following day, much to my frustration. I understand why we waited, the mating frenzy was riding us hard—figuratively and literally. And that overwhelming desire took precedence.
Under normal circumstances I would have been ok waiting, but I need to get back, and I am just not going to be satisfied until I see that both of my pets are safe.
I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that they are familiars.
The word holds no meaning to me, even after Megan explained.
They have been my pets, my babies, for years.
Nothing is going to convince me that they are more than that until I lay eyes on both of them.
This time away was supposed to be about me supporting Megan and it’s really turned into her and Donovan consoling me.
Everything is so messed up. I haven’t felt this helpless since I was eighteen .
And just like then, my world is crumbling apart.
I don’t know who I am anymore. My best friend has been lying to me for years.
My pets, my babies, aren’t even from this world.
They are fucking demon hunting, soul eating creatures, and have been living in my home for years!
I don’t know what is real anymore. How do I even begin to put my life back together when the pieces I thought belonged don’t fit back into place? Or maybe they do and it’s me that never fit the mold.
I just want to go lie down in a dark room and not think.
Maybe eat my weight in peanut butter slathered chocolate bars.
But I know if I try, if I give into the dark places my mind will go, I’m not sure I’ll be able to climb out this time.
I crave to be somewhere safe, and not have to experience any more groundbreaking, life-changing revelations.
I want to hide. I realize I need answers, but at what cost?
Things also now feel off with Megan. I love her, but it’s hard to get behind all the secrets. Megan can feel it, too, and I know she feels responsible. Thinking about it logically, I can start to understand, but my heart aches with the many things that have been kept from me.
Before we leave, I make a point to wrap Megan in a hug and whisper, “We are ok, my brain and my heart are just in too much turmoil right now. I love you. I will always love you, ok? I’m just upset with everything that is going on.”
Megan’s eyes swim with tears, but she takes a deep breath, squeezing me back.
“I understand, I really do. Please tell me if you need me, though. I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. I’ll give you some space, but don’t push Don away. I know how you can get.”
She knows me too well, but I don’t think even she realizes I can never pull away from Don. I sigh. My soul feels so weary.
As I pull away from Megan, I nod in confirmation. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Walking toward Don’s truck, my eyes lock on the sight of him waiting for me just like I knew he would be, it brings a little bit of calm to my anxious heart. He watches me, looking for anything amiss, and he doesn’t miss anything.
A lot has gone wrong, but even I can admit that I’m incredibly lucky. I have people who love and support me. Many people don’t have that. I know what it’s like to not have what I have now, so I make a vow to myself, that I won’t fuck it up by running away. I will stay, for myself and for them.