“Let… them deal with it.”
Jo shook her head. She had a very, very bad feeling
about this. “No. I need to be with him.” Her head shot up. “I mean I need to be
there for him.”
Ari bit her lip. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Jo intended to. She planned on telling herself that until
she actually began to believe it.
Ari sighed. “What about his brother, Gareth? He’s the heir
to the Wizard throne. You think he might give you some trouble?”
Jo stared at her in disbelief. “More trouble than Zach?”
Ari winced. “Good point.” She shook herself. “Let me make
that phone call.”
“And I need to set up my plane ride and a place to stay.”
She glared down at The Registry. “Ari?”
“Yeah?”
“Where does Zachary Beckett live?”
Ari rolled her eyes. “I’ll check the Archives.” She left the
room, leaving one very confused witch in her wake.
What the hell was Jo going to do about this?
More importantly: did Zach know what he was?
“Are you sure about this?”
Zach stared down at his preparations, mentally checking and
rechecking each and every one. The runic circle looked right to him, if not to
his brothers. The configuration he’d placed them in had made Chris gasp and
Daniel groan, but Zach knew he was right to lay them out in a Hecate’s wheel.
There was a beautiful symmetry about the symbol that called to him in ways he
didn’t fully understand. But he did know one thing. “It will work. Trust me.”
“But why the wheel, Zach? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Zach ran his finger down the rune for love and smiled. “No.
I think it’s just right.” He shot Daniel a look when the other man snorted in
derision. “Shut up, fuckwad.” Daniel had been giving him nothing but grief
since he’d found out Zach was going to cast the Beckett mate spell. Then again,
Daniel just liked giving Zach grief.
Daniel shot him the finger but kept his mouth closed.
The cinnamon incense tickled his nose, making him think of
apple pies and cuddling under blankets on cold winter nights. The small fire
he’d created in Chris’s cauldron burned merrily. He’d waved away Chris’s offer
of colored candles, preferring to go with pure white. His instincts told him he
didn’t need to worry about color magic tonight. A rose for love and an iris for
wisdom, the stems braided through the Beckett emerald ring, sweetly scented the
air and brought spring into the workroom.
Every item held a piece of the Beckett mate spell, but with
Zach’s unique twist. Daniel had shaken his head as he watched Zach put the
spell together, muttering under his breath when Zach decided to do away with
the purple silk robe in favor of a white cotton one. Every Beckett had worn the
purple robes for the casting of this particular spell, but Zach knew it was
wrong for him.
He wasn’t like any other Beckett. He had to do things his
way.
He was beginning to understand why Lana had been so hesitant
to accept a wizard for a mate. Explaining to his brothers that he did something
because it “felt right” was turning out to be more of a pain in the ass than
he’d thought it would be. From Chris’s worried looks, to Gareth’s supposedly
helpful suggestions to Daniel’s derision, he was ready to toss the whole lot of
them out onto the front lawn. If they were lucky he might unlock the
door when he was done.
He took one last look at the spell itself. The words were
the bond, the cement that would bring the pieces of his magical puzzle
together. The words he was keeping. Without them, he knew the spell would
fizzle out and he’d never find his mate.
He glanced down one more time at his work, rolled his eyes,
and removed the green M&M from the middle of the emerald ring. “Gareth.”
“What?”
He popped the M&M into his mouth. “Thanks for the
snack.” He had the feeling he’d be seeing a lot of green M&M’s popping up
around the place before he was done. The lecture Annabelle had given Daniel on
acceptance
Jo shook her head. She had a very, very bad feeling
about this. “No. I need to be with him.” Her head shot up. “I mean I need to be
there for him.”
Ari bit her lip. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Jo intended to. She planned on telling herself that until
she actually began to believe it.
Ari sighed. “What about his brother, Gareth? He’s the heir
to the Wizard throne. You think he might give you some trouble?”
Jo stared at her in disbelief. “More trouble than Zach?”
Ari winced. “Good point.” She shook herself. “Let me make
that phone call.”
“And I need to set up my plane ride and a place to stay.”
She glared down at The Registry. “Ari?”
“Yeah?”
“Where does Zachary Beckett live?”
Ari rolled her eyes. “I’ll check the Archives.” She left the
room, leaving one very confused witch in her wake.
What the hell was Jo going to do about this?
More importantly: did Zach know what he was?
“Are you sure about this?”
Zach stared down at his preparations, mentally checking and
rechecking each and every one. The runic circle looked right to him, if not to
his brothers. The configuration he’d placed them in had made Chris gasp and
Daniel groan, but Zach knew he was right to lay them out in a Hecate’s wheel.
There was a beautiful symmetry about the symbol that called to him in ways he
didn’t fully understand. But he did know one thing. “It will work. Trust me.”
“But why the wheel, Zach? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Zach ran his finger down the rune for love and smiled. “No.
I think it’s just right.” He shot Daniel a look when the other man snorted in
derision. “Shut up, fuckwad.” Daniel had been giving him nothing but grief
since he’d found out Zach was going to cast the Beckett mate spell. Then again,
Daniel just liked giving Zach grief.
Daniel shot him the finger but kept his mouth closed.
The cinnamon incense tickled his nose, making him think of
apple pies and cuddling under blankets on cold winter nights. The small fire
he’d created in Chris’s cauldron burned merrily. He’d waved away Chris’s offer
of colored candles, preferring to go with pure white. His instincts told him he
didn’t need to worry about color magic tonight. A rose for love and an iris for
wisdom, the stems braided through the Beckett emerald ring, sweetly scented the
air and brought spring into the workroom.
Every item held a piece of the Beckett mate spell, but with
Zach’s unique twist. Daniel had shaken his head as he watched Zach put the
spell together, muttering under his breath when Zach decided to do away with
the purple silk robe in favor of a white cotton one. Every Beckett had worn the
purple robes for the casting of this particular spell, but Zach knew it was
wrong for him.
He wasn’t like any other Beckett. He had to do things his
way.
He was beginning to understand why Lana had been so hesitant
to accept a wizard for a mate. Explaining to his brothers that he did something
because it “felt right” was turning out to be more of a pain in the ass than
he’d thought it would be. From Chris’s worried looks, to Gareth’s supposedly
helpful suggestions to Daniel’s derision, he was ready to toss the whole lot of
them out onto the front lawn. If they were lucky he might unlock the
door when he was done.
He took one last look at the spell itself. The words were
the bond, the cement that would bring the pieces of his magical puzzle
together. The words he was keeping. Without them, he knew the spell would
fizzle out and he’d never find his mate.
He glanced down one more time at his work, rolled his eyes,
and removed the green M&M from the middle of the emerald ring. “Gareth.”
“What?”
He popped the M&M into his mouth. “Thanks for the
snack.” He had the feeling he’d be seeing a lot of green M&M’s popping up
around the place before he was done. The lecture Annabelle had given Daniel on
acceptance
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