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When I returned to the mansion, I realized the twins weren’t the only ones who’d arrived on my island. Before I could pinpoint the supernatural sensations prickling my consciousness, I realized someone was approaching. That presence, however, I recognized without even looking—Cody King.
I steeled myself, ignoring the urge to sigh heavily before turning to face the overexcited young shifter, except he froze on the spot. For a moment, I thought he was staring atme, but he was staring right through my person—in fact, it was like the mansion walls themselves were transparent. He lifted his chin, scenting the air so powerfully that his chest heaved and his ribs shook. It looked absolutely comical in his human form.
“Cody.”
He didn’t even blink; it was like I hadn’t spoken at all. He took a step forward, and suddenly, he was on all fours, a manic wolf sprinting toward the front door.
I knew that look—that was a wolf who’d just scented his fated mate for the first time. I hurried after him and grabbed the large chestnut wolf by the scruff. He was heavy, larger than a normal shifter, but he wasn’t the first alpha I’d had to wrestle in all my years. Those born in the Celestial Pack were much larger.
Cody growled as he realized he was being restrained, but he was so focused on the smell that all he did was try to shrug me off while clawing at the ground to propel himself forward. He couldn’t have cared less about me right then.
I could sense, now that I was actively trying to determine who was inside, that the only “new” arrival was Val’s niece.
Is she—?
By the looks of it, she most certainly was.
“Cody,” I commanded, allowing my alpha power to flow into my voice. “Enough.”
The younger shifter stopped at once, still in my grip. I tentatively let him back down. “Why don’t you shift back?” I suggested, not wanting to command him now that he was able to listen once more. “You don’t want to startle your fated mate. I didn’t…handle it particularly well the first time I met Celeste, and it took quite a bit of time to undo that first impression.”
I frowned at the memory.And perhaps now I’ve undone it all over again.
The wolf took a breath, his sides huffing in and out before he took a few steps backward. With another heavy sigh, Cody reappeared in front of me, running his hands frantically through dark blond hair. “Yeah, yeah. You’re totally right,” he said, still staring at the door.
I snorted, well-aware he hadn’t relaxed at all. “Take a deep breath,” I said. “You only get to make one first impression.” Besides, what I’d seen of Val’s niece inclined me to think rushing in and kicking a door down would only turn her off.
Before I could say anything else, Cody inhaled and then opened the door, marching right to the stairs and hurrying up to the second floor. I rolled my eyes and closed the door before hurrying after him. He’d even stopped in front of the room while giving himself a little pep talk under his breath. “You can totally do this,” he said. “Just be cool. Don’t freak her out, and just be cool, Cody.”
He opened the door, smiling like a big ball of sunshine. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes, but that only lasted until he laid eyes on Val’s niece. Morgan and Celeste were looking over a page and discussing something when they looked up.
“Cody?” Celeste said, raising a brow. “Everything okay?”
Cody’s brain seemed to short-circuit, and he just blinked. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Oh, boy…
Morgan cleared her throat, smoothing out her black dress. “Hi,” she said shyly, offering him a little smile. “I don’t think we met the last time I was here.” Her eyes darted to me, clearly nervous, before her gaze settled back on Cody. She straightened up and walked a few steps closer, holding out a hand to the young shifter. “My name is Morgan Fletcher. It’s nice to meet you.”
Cody made a strange noise, and I saw something flicker across Morgan’s face. I stepped forward before the younger alpha made this any worse.
“Cody, Morgan is Val’s niece and a very talented young witch,” I prompted him, making sure to give him a subtle nudge as I stepped to the side. I didn’t miss the surprised look Morgan gave me. “Morgan, this is Cody King. He’s been working with me recently and has proven to be a key member of the team.” Talking him up a little couldn’t hurt. My touch seemed to knock something loose in Cody, and he finally stepped forward, taking her hand before it got too awkward.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Morgan said, extracting her hand after a moment. She looked back at Celeste, and I didn’t have to be a shifter to see the stress of the awkward situation written across her face. “I still have some things to bring inside—I brought quite a bit from my coven. I don’t want to leave it on the patio.”
“I’ll carry it for you!” Cody blurted out.
Celeste’s eyebrows shot up before realization dawned across her face. She lifted her hand, covering her smile with her fingers.
“I’d carry anything for you,” Cody blabbered. “I’ll even carryyou, if you’d like!”
Morgan took a step back, looking vaguely alarmed by how strong Cody was coming on. “Ah, no. That’s okay, thanks. I know where everything needs to go. I’d rather do it myself.” She gave him a worried smile and hurried toward the door, clearly regretting that she’d introduced herself at all.
Cody turned, and I grabbed him by the elbow, shaking my head.
Val sighed. “Now, Cody,” she said, looking sterner than I’d ever seen her, “you are a lovely young man, but our family…has some ratherstrongfeelings about dating anyone outside of the magic community.”
He grinned at her. “Good thing I’m a shifter, then, huh? No normie here!”
