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Magical Solutions
Kade
I’dcollapsedintobed after a slightly later finish without undressing or eating dinner. When I thought about it, I wasn’t even sure I’d eaten lunch. It was really no wonder that my clothes were hanging off my already narrow hips.
Realizing I couldn’t avoid the light streaming in from the window any longer, I checked my alarm clock and got up. Pushing off the blanket that I must have pulled over myself in the night, I rose, stretching out the kinks, and then undressed, leaving a trail of clothes on the way to the bathroom. Switching on the shower, I took a leak and stepped under the freezing water to wake myself up before turning the water to a pleasant warmth, allowing it to wash my cares away.
First on my list after some food, maybe, was a trip to The Spell Store that my friend Poppy ran. It didn’t open until ten, so I had a couple of hours to waste. After so many hours of sleep, I still yawned as I washed my hair. I’d passed out around nine and woken just before eight, but felt bone-weary. I could sleep for ten hours and still need a nap later recently. Brushing the thought off, I put it down to not eating enough calories for what was a pretty active job.
The longer I worked for Mercury, the harder the job seemed to be physically. As a wolf shifter, I was pretty fit. Sure, it’d been a while since I’d shifted and taken part in a moon run, but my shifter perks didn’t seem to help recently. My wolf often felt far away, and I was just so tired all the damn time.
Even after I’d finished washing, I stayed under the spray, just enjoying the feel on my skin. Using it to keep me grounded in the moment until the water ran cold again and my skin erupted in goosebumps. Letting out a high-pitched, “yip!” I scrambled out of the shower and into a fluffy towel.
Grateful I’d done laundry the day before when I’d been feeling pretty good, I pulled on some clean black skinny jeans and a long-sleeved charcoal t-shirt. Running my fingers through my curls a little, I called it good and went into the kitchen in search of something I actually wanted to eat.
The nearly empty fridge didn’t inspire me and I needed something more than cereal after missing dinner and probably lunch, so I decided to eat out somewhere in Northarbor near Poppy’s shop. I grabbed up my phone and car keys and locked up my house, checking the wards were still intact, out of habit.
My car was parked next to the company van in the driveway. Honestly, I kind of hated the car. It was a boring silver-colored, mid-level manufacturer hatchback. Designed to blend in with all the other similar cars out there. I could afford something way better, the same way that I could have afforded to buy a better house. I had the money, after all. The council had made sure of it. Except, everything about my current identity was meant to help me blend in. Even my job was unremarkable. Who paid attention to delivery drivers? Not being stuck in an office made it easier for me to hide, since I wasn’t always in the same place.
The drive to Northarbor took about fifteen minutes since there was surprisingly little traffic on the roads. I entered the name of Poppy’s shop into the GPS since I always got turned around on the side streets surrounding the store and wanted to avoid traffic if I could. I knew there was a pretty decent diner nearby, and I wanted to be in and out of the store just after opening. If I got home on time, I could nap before my afternoon shift. The drive seemed to have sapped my energy, or it was the lack of food getting to me.
I parked down the street from The Spell Store and headed into the diner, grabbing a booth seat where I could see the door and the adjacent street. The server approached within a couple of minutes to take my order; a large coffee and a stack of pancakes with bacon and eggs. I really needed the protein and carbs. I received a quick smile from the guy and an up and down look, making it clear that he liked what he saw. Human guys were cool and all. They loved it when they found out I was an omega, but usually, when I was on form, they didn’t have the stamina to keep up with me.
My food arrived quickly and was just as delicious as I remembered, yet my appetite vanished after just a few bites of the fluffy pancakes I’d smothered in syrup. Forcing myself to finish up, I ordered another coffee to wash it down. Bite after bite, I made myself eat everything on the plate. The server probably knew I was a shifter, there were tells, like our vivid eyes, and he would think something was wrong if I didn’t eat everything on my plate. It’d been drummed into me the last few years that standing out for any reason was a bad idea.
Feeling vaguely nauseous by the time that I’d cleared my plate, I sipped at my coffee and took breaths, pushing my gorge down. Worried I’d never be able to eat there again if I vomited at the table. I thought about going to the restrooms but pushed that idea aside. I needed the calories badly.
Observing the passersby, I noticed Poppy enter her store and begin switching on the lights. The feeling of nausea passed, and I relaxed a little into that sleepy, full feeling after a good meal. I caught the server’s eye again and asked for the check, which arrived quickly, along with a slip of paper containing his phone number. I pocketed both, because why not? And exited the diner, crossing the street to Poppy’s store.
The bell rang as I entered and Poppy turned from her position at the counter where she was sorting the register to greet me. “Oh hey, Kade, what’s up?”
“Hey, Poppy, how’ve you been?”
“Not bad, busy. You know how it is.”
I did. The shop was quiet now, but I knew Poppy made up spell bags and tinctures for online orders that people either collected or were put out for delivery. She hired a couple of people, another witch and a human to help her with all the orders, but she was often rushed off her feet.
“I’m really sorry, but I have something that’s urgent. Normally I wouldn’t ask for it, but I’ve heard on the grapevine that my dad might be in Sweetwater.” I let Poppy see my unease, something that went against the grain. She knew some of the history with my dad. Just enough so that she would be helpful, but not too much to put her in danger, I hoped.
“Oh, shit! Really? Fuck!” she exclaimed. “What do you need? A glamor or another scent masking spell instead of the talisman, something stronger?”
Often on deliveries, I wore a scent masking talisman in an effort to leave no trace of my real self. Shifters had a great scent memory so if anyone from my past was to come looking for me, my scent would give me away. Remembering I still had it tied to my wrist because it needed skin contact to work, I took it off and rammed it into my pocket. Hopefully, I’d be leaving with something better.
“I have to work in Sweetwater, so a masking spell will make me stand out to other shifters. I use that talisman you gave me to mask my scent everywhere else, but shifters can smell the magic on it.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Also, not having a scent is weird and I move too much like a shifter not to be one. Other shifters pick up on that super quick. So I was thinking, could you make me a beta?”
“A beta?” Poppy echoed.
“My dad will look for an omega, not a beta,” I explained. “It’d need to be seamless, though.”
Poppy nodded and wrote something on a pad of paper next to the register. “I’ll need to put in a quick call to the council,” she informed me. “This kind of magic is restricted, like your talisman, but I reckon with your history that they’ll allow it.” She picked up her phone and tapped out a message.
I nodded, expecting that answer, and went back to the other thing she’d mentioned. “As for a glamor, like a talisman, shifters can smell them, so that’s out.”
“Seriously?” Poppy repeated, looking dumbstruck.
