true eye with me. That way you can witness his chi and won’t have to take my word for it.”
“I’ll hop in,” Dad said. “Katie needs to stay as far away from the mongrel as possible.”
Tonya paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Oh?”
“She’s got a thing for him.” He held up the jar. “He’s nice enough, as wolves go, but they’re both moony. This is a super-duper love killer. I’m going to cast it on her.”
“So that’s what you’ve been doing.” Katie would never let her father cast a spell as tricky as a libido dampener on her.
“That’s a lot of dampener,” Tonya observed. “Are you expecting Marcus to be chained in Katie’s bed for a while?”
“Dirty-minded woman,” Dad said. “You should take some too.”
It would do no good to change the subject. The weakness was part of who Katie was. There was no denying it, no escaping it, not with a wolf in the house. A wolf she may have been attracted to regardless of his species.
His manners, his self-confidence, his looks and his flashes of humor appealed to her. His wolf was icing on the cake.
“I appreciate your effort, Ba, but I’m covered.” Or she would be, when she dug out her libido dampener recipes and…shit, she’d need fresh cucumber and that meant a trip to the organic grocer and…ugh.
Marcus needed to be gone. Her stillroom was a wreck, thanks to Ba. They needed to pack, just in case. The life wipe was going to drain her magic. The patrol was tomorrow. She didn’t even want to do this…
Everything was coming to a very frustrating head.
“Nobody’s libido is going to cause trouble. We’re all adults here.” Tonya opened the bedroom door and waved Katie through. “Your spell casting, my dear Zhang Li, is too unmodulated for the delicate art of the true eye. Save it for the poppy.”
“As long as his chi’s all you look at,” Dad warned.
Tonya shot Katie a sly glance and said, “Anything you say, old man,” before shutting the door in his face.
Katie remained by the door as Tonya prepared. With Marcus out of commission, her nerves had settled. Kind of. No need to take it personally that he’d tried to use her lust to manipulate her. Why wouldn’t he? He was in danger of losing whatever life he’d created for himself.
Wolves in traps weren’t known for good behavior. She and Dad were lucky he hadn’t hurt them, and it spoke highly of his character. Dammit.
He couldn’t be the standard macho asshole. Oh, no. He couldn’t swagger and treat her like a stupid female, her desires his due. He was rational, curious and calm, making the wolf in him, that whisper of wildness, all that much more enticing.
Tonya ducked into Katie’s bathroom and scrubbed up, talking over the running water. “Any signs of him waking?”
Katie pushed her glasses up and checked his eyes—closed. His face—relaxed. His arms—limp against the pillows under his head. His chest—rising and falling evenly. His abdomen—ripped.
She thought about shaking him and decided against it. “No.”
Drying her hands on a disposable towel, Tonya reentered the bedroom. She’d left the true eye pill on the dresser and plucked it up now, replacing it with a wet washcloth. “Let’s form a circuit over his beautiful, beautiful body.”
With some reluctance, Katie crawled across the wide bed and sat beside Marcus. Her knee bumped his hip.
Tonya took her hand in a firm grip. With her other hand she popped the spell capsule. Katie smelled a pungent whiff of kava before she felt Tonya pull a little energy from her, sending it into the mixture. The magic inside witches took shape when they funneled it through the proper organic substances.
“Touch his skin,” Tonya ordered.
Both of them—Tonya with the hand holding the herbs and Katie with her free hand—placed their fingertips on Marcus’s chest. Because Tonya had linked her into her spell, Katie saw the glow of Marcus’s chi waver around him, a blue-streaked gray with sharply
“I’ll hop in,” Dad said. “Katie needs to stay as far away from the mongrel as possible.”
Tonya paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Oh?”
“She’s got a thing for him.” He held up the jar. “He’s nice enough, as wolves go, but they’re both moony. This is a super-duper love killer. I’m going to cast it on her.”
“So that’s what you’ve been doing.” Katie would never let her father cast a spell as tricky as a libido dampener on her.
“That’s a lot of dampener,” Tonya observed. “Are you expecting Marcus to be chained in Katie’s bed for a while?”
“Dirty-minded woman,” Dad said. “You should take some too.”
It would do no good to change the subject. The weakness was part of who Katie was. There was no denying it, no escaping it, not with a wolf in the house. A wolf she may have been attracted to regardless of his species.
His manners, his self-confidence, his looks and his flashes of humor appealed to her. His wolf was icing on the cake.
“I appreciate your effort, Ba, but I’m covered.” Or she would be, when she dug out her libido dampener recipes and…shit, she’d need fresh cucumber and that meant a trip to the organic grocer and…ugh.
Marcus needed to be gone. Her stillroom was a wreck, thanks to Ba. They needed to pack, just in case. The life wipe was going to drain her magic. The patrol was tomorrow. She didn’t even want to do this…
Everything was coming to a very frustrating head.
“Nobody’s libido is going to cause trouble. We’re all adults here.” Tonya opened the bedroom door and waved Katie through. “Your spell casting, my dear Zhang Li, is too unmodulated for the delicate art of the true eye. Save it for the poppy.”
“As long as his chi’s all you look at,” Dad warned.
Tonya shot Katie a sly glance and said, “Anything you say, old man,” before shutting the door in his face.
Katie remained by the door as Tonya prepared. With Marcus out of commission, her nerves had settled. Kind of. No need to take it personally that he’d tried to use her lust to manipulate her. Why wouldn’t he? He was in danger of losing whatever life he’d created for himself.
Wolves in traps weren’t known for good behavior. She and Dad were lucky he hadn’t hurt them, and it spoke highly of his character. Dammit.
He couldn’t be the standard macho asshole. Oh, no. He couldn’t swagger and treat her like a stupid female, her desires his due. He was rational, curious and calm, making the wolf in him, that whisper of wildness, all that much more enticing.
Tonya ducked into Katie’s bathroom and scrubbed up, talking over the running water. “Any signs of him waking?”
Katie pushed her glasses up and checked his eyes—closed. His face—relaxed. His arms—limp against the pillows under his head. His chest—rising and falling evenly. His abdomen—ripped.
She thought about shaking him and decided against it. “No.”
Drying her hands on a disposable towel, Tonya reentered the bedroom. She’d left the true eye pill on the dresser and plucked it up now, replacing it with a wet washcloth. “Let’s form a circuit over his beautiful, beautiful body.”
With some reluctance, Katie crawled across the wide bed and sat beside Marcus. Her knee bumped his hip.
Tonya took her hand in a firm grip. With her other hand she popped the spell capsule. Katie smelled a pungent whiff of kava before she felt Tonya pull a little energy from her, sending it into the mixture. The magic inside witches took shape when they funneled it through the proper organic substances.
“Touch his skin,” Tonya ordered.
Both of them—Tonya with the hand holding the herbs and Katie with her free hand—placed their fingertips on Marcus’s chest. Because Tonya had linked her into her spell, Katie saw the glow of Marcus’s chi waver around him, a blue-streaked gray with sharply
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