Zane had teleported us as far as he could, but once we reached the farthest point he’d visited previously, we had no choice but to switch to a more conventional means of transport.
From the dark circles beneath the incubus’ eyes, teleporting all five of us plus Kenji after the previous spellcasting excursion this morning had taken its toll on him.
“I feel like a dead battery,” he grumbled as we landed outside a quaint inn on the edge of a small town. The place looked homey, and from the runes carved into the gate, it welcomed magicals.
Not all inns and hotels did. Human-run ones were leery of magical guests, especially shifters with their love of parties and orgies. There had been more than a few headlines about wolf shifters wrecking vacation rentals.
If I owned a property, I probably wouldn’t want to rent it to a bunch of wolves either. Mostly because I disliked how obnoxious they often were. At least in my experience.
Maverick caught me smiling as I stared at the cute decorations hanging from the decorative trim around the porch. While humans loved to make a big deal about this time of year, we magicals didn’t celebrate the winter solstice in the same way, but families typically gathered and shared food and small gifts.
Whoever owned this place must love the holidays, which I found relatable.
Willow and I had always given each other a gift and stuffed our faces with chocolate and other treats over the holiday.
My smile faded at the thought of missing out this year, but I refused to feel sad. I’d made my choice.
“Raven and I will share a room,” Maverick announced. “You three can sort yourselves out.”
“Err, hello? There better be a bed for me,” Kenji muttered crossly. “I’m not sleeping in a fucking kennel.”
Alaric nodded, apparently happy with that plan, but Zane scowled.
“Not happening, care bear. I need to power up, and watching the vanilla popsicle jack off won’t cut it I’m afraid.”
“You’re not fucking watching me do anything!” Alaric spluttered indignantly.
The incubus folded his arms across his chest and smirked. “I can’t help how my magic works. Are you seriously kink-shaming me?” He tutted while I flushed bright red, as did the merman. Was Zane suggesting he share a room with me, my bear, and Kenji?
I’d been too tired to care about him sharing the bed with me and Maverick last night, but from his talk of needing a magic recharge, I had a feeling Zane didn’t plan on watching me sleep this time.
“I’m sure you can figure something out,” my bear huffed as snow floated down from the sky in thick, wet flakes. Kenji shook himself and puffed out his fur as protection against the chill. “Mymate’s cold and hungry.” He scooped me up with one arm and picked up our bags with his other hand.
The inn’s reception area smelled of freshly baked cookies and mulled wine. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I’d eaten nothing since a hurried sandwich before we left. While that wasn’t too long ago, meals had been an afterthought lately.
Mostly because I’d had too much on my mind.
An unhappy rumble vibrated through my bear. He didn’t like it when I failed to eat properly. “I’m not looking after my mate like a good bear should,” he growled to himself.
I kissed his cheek. “You’re the best mate a witch could have.” And I meant it.
I ignored the gagging sounds from my familiar. He didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.
“Newly mated?” The tiny gray-haired witch behind the reception smiled at us.
“Yes.”
“I remember the early days of being with a soul-bond mate.” She chuckled before checking her computer. “You’re in luck. We had a cancelation yesterday because of an incoming storm, so the honeymoon suite is available.”
“We’ll take it,” my bear said without asking how much. I cringed, belatedly remembering I had no money. “Stop worrying, little mate,” Maverick scolded as he tapped his phone on the payment terminal. “I told you, I can take care of you in every way. You don’t need to worry about money.” Kenji hopped up onto the counter and started grooming his fur.
“Oh my, what a cute little fox!” the witch cooed, not at all bothered about hair flying everywhere. Kenji preened and fluttered his eyes at the witch.How come he acted like a grump with me but was nice to other witches?
Zane and the other two appeared behind us, shaking snow from their heads and shoulders.
“Are you traveling together?” the witch asked while passing Kenji a biscuit. He fluttered his eyelashes some more and crammed the entire biscuit into his mouth.
“Yes, I’m sharing with them.” Zane pointed to me and Maverick. The old witch nodded. I guess she assumed we were all shifters.
