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“The witches and mages I grew up with weren’t any better,” she clarified.
“That’s because you grew up in a cult,” I reminded her. Jasmine had fled here two years ago from a very strict coven a few miles south of us. She’d offered her services to my father in exchange for room and board. Since he didn’t believe in keeping a resident witch, he sent her to me, thinking I could use some help at the bar.
It was the one decent thing I could come up with whenever I tried to find anything redeeming about my dad. It didn’t make up for the years of abuse, but it kept me quiet when he did something stupid. I supposed he bought my indifference when he let Jasmine stay.
She shrugged. “I suppose there’re some good ones out there somewhere. Maybe we’re just too limited in our options.”
“That must be it,” I said with a smile. Copper Springs didn’t have a huge population and by this point in my life, I knew all the eligible bachelors too well. I’d attended school with them, learned to shift with them, and watched them get shit-faced in my bar at least once a week.
“Of course, there could be some good ones. The kind that hide the fact that they’re secretly squishy as marshmallows inside,” she offered.
If there was a hidden gem here, I’d know. “I doubt it.”
“Nobody would know you’re like a marshmallow on the inside,” she teased.
“That’s because I’m not. And now, I’m going to bed,” I said.
She laughed. “Right. The fact that you took me in and let Mary crash downstairs really shows off your asshole nature.”
“Goodnight,” I called as I opened my door.
“Movie night tomorrow?” Jasmine asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” I gave her a wave before closing my door behind me.
* * *
Someone was poundingon my door. I groaned, then glanced at the clock. “Shit!” It was already noon. How had I slept so late?
Tossing aside the blankets, I scrambled out of bed then looked around for a shirt to throw on.
“Morgan? You okay?” Jasmine called.
I exhaled, my racing heart easing a bit at the sound of her voice. I thew on a random, rumpled tee. While the weather was starting to cool, it was an oven in my apartment up until the point it turned into a freezer. There was no in-between. So I slept in nothing or in several layers depending on the temperature.
The door squeaked as I tugged it open. Jasmine greeted me with a smile. Her dark curls were pulled back in a tight bun on the top of her head and she had a sheen of sweat on her dark brown skin. She’d clearly already been out for a run today.
Jasmine had quickly taken the place as my favorite person in the world after moving in here, but her morning routine of waking early to go for a run was something we’d never share.
“You didn’t come in here to drag me outside with you, did you?” I asked.
She laughed, then handed me a bottle of a thick, green liquid. “I know better than to invite you along. Though I did see Owen out on the trails this morning. I pretended I didn’t hear him when he tried to flag me down.”
“I’m sure we’ll hear about it sooner or later.” I’d been up half the night bracing myself for how I’d react to his inevitable apology or excuses. He wasn’t the type to get dumped. He probably wanted us to get back together so he could be the one to break up with me.
I held up the bottle and examined the sludge. My nose wrinkled. The potion kept me from shifting, which was exactly what I wanted, but it wasn’t exactly fun to drink. “I wish there was a way to make this taste like something else.”
“That’s a complicated bit of magic,” Jasmine said. “Not just any witch can whip that up.”
“I know. And I’m grateful, I assure you,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said.
I choked down the green sludge, fighting against the gag reflex between swallows. It was disgusting, but effective. It was worth it to prevent shifting and the other things that went along with that.
When I was younger, I’d been as excited as any wolf to have my first shift. I participated in the monthly full moon runs and was just starting to get the hang of what it was like to be in my wolf form.
Nobody warned me about the other piece of getting your wolf. Female shifters went into heat once a year. We gave off a scent that made us irresistible to males and blurred the lines between desire and reality.
