Maybe they could negotiate with the Coven.
If Jude lost his magic, there’d be no bond, and his life could go back to how it had been. Where no one knew what he was, and he could never share. It was that truth that had been missing from every part of his life. Without magic or the bond, would Jude even want to be here with him?
Probably not. His home was in the city.
Mack brushed Jude’s hair aside. There was no smile his green eyes now. No come on or tease. Jude’s worry radiated off him in waves. As unnerving as it was to be able to sense someone so deeply, he liked it. “Let me get some sleep. Then we’ll plan.”
Jude nodded and put his arms around Mack’s neck. “I couldn’t have asked for a better familiar. I don’t think the Fates messed up or were having a laugh.”
Mack almost smiled. “As witches go, you’re okay. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Their lips met. Jude traced his fingers over the new scars. “You were so lucky.”
“I know.”
There’d been a few moments when he’d thought the aufhocker had him and it was going to be all over, but then he’d found an extra burst of energy. He rested his forehead against Jude’s, unwilling to move and break the embrace but not having the energy to do any more than stand there. They lingered in the shower until the water cooled before going to bed for much-needed sleep.
Jude getting out of bed woke Mack. He listened to Jude pad down the stairs and pause when he stepped on the creaky spot. The pause roused Mack further and put him on alert. Was Jude trying to be sneaky? What was he up to? After a moment Jude continued walking. Then there was silence.
Jude wasn’t leaving the house. He just hadn’t wanted to wake Mack up. Reassured, Mack turned over with a wince caused by sore muscles and started to drift back to sleep. Jude’s voice dragged him fully awake. He couldn’t make out the words, but he felt Jude’s pain and the knot of anxiety that made it hard to breathe.
Mack got out of bed and ran down the stairs. His body ached from fighting with the aufhocker, but he didn’t care. Jude had called the Coven.
Jude turned at the sound of footsteps. He thought he’d been quiet enough not to wake Mack. Mack didn’t want him to call the Coven, but there was no other option.
Mack looked as though someone had punched him in the gut and stolen his truck. “What have you done?”
In Jude’s ear, Landstrom confirmed that the three Coven members would arrive in the morning.
“That will be too late. We need help tonight,” Jude said. He hadn’t called to confess his failure, just to get backup. No witch could deal with an aufhocker on their own. Even Landstrom should realize that.
“That keen to lose your magic?” Landstrom said. The smirk was clear in voice. He didn’t care about the aufhocker problem, only the electro-mage problem.
Jude wasn’t that keen to lose his magic, but if that was what it took to prevent more deaths, that was what he’d do.
Mack snatched the phone off him. “No, he isn’t keen to lose his magic. We need help to stop the second aufhocker. Did he tell you we’ve already taken down one? It’s a breeding pair, and we don’t even know how many cubs they have.”
Jude shook his head. He hadn’t told the Coven about Mack.
Jude couldn’t hear what Landstrom said, but Mack’s expression went from horror to a ferocious scowl that made Jude want to hide. “I’m his familiar, and this was a setup from the start.”
Mack didn’t listen to whatever Landstrom said next. He hung up but didn’t return Jude’s phone. “I thought we’d agreed not to call those assholes?”
“I called for help. We can’t do this on our own. This was meant to be my mission, my problem. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“It’s my town. I would never stand by and let something kill people.”
“What had you done before I arrived?”
“I was paying attention, but I wasn’t worried as they were staying out of town.”
“Well, now it’s coming into town, and people are a lot easier to kill than cows. I think we’ve solved why North is a ghost town.”
“But not why they’ve woken or why the Coven is keen to make you human. What did you do to piss them off?”
Jude glanced away. Mack’s happy family photos were on every wall of the living room. How could Mack understand what it was like to not know about magic until things went wrong? “The first time my magic bubbled up I was getting an MRI and I shorted a hospital. I knew nothing about witches or magic or shifters.”
“How could you not know?”
“Because my mother ditched me at a fire station when I was a week old. I don’t know who my parents are. I grew up in foster care. Some were great, others not so much. My last family were good, and they did their best, but I knew early on they wouldn’t like that I was interested in guys. That didn’t stop me from getting a few sneaky dates in. I don’t speak to them now because I won’t renounce my life of sin. If they knew the whole truth about what I am, they’d be horrified. They’d probably think I was possessed.”
It was only because of the Coven covering up his screwups that no one knew he was a witch.
“How did you learn the truth?”
“The MRI incident got the Coven’s attention. That was the first of many mishaps. I accidentally blacked out a small city before I learned control. I’m in trouble this time because I got lucky in Vegas.” He smiled, he couldn’t help it. “I won the jackpot by giving the slot machine a friendly nudge.”
That had been the most useful thing his magic had ever done. But
