Ezekiel shook his head, “He is feeling protective because that was an ambush.” He thought about it for a second then acknowledged, “We’ll all feel better once we are out in the open.” He could practically feel eyes on him.
Thankfully, Ivy didn’t argue. She followed, Ezra making sure to keep pace.
“Does that happen often?” Ezra asked quietly.
Ivy looked over her shoulder. “The general theme is the same but no, it’s never been like that before.” She shook her head. “Pearl was not kidding around. She wants me gone.”
Ezekiel did not like hearing that.
When they got to Chic Chick, Ezra threw the door open with enough force to break the thing. It didn’t break, but every single person in the store cringed at the sound. He didn’t slow down.
“Don’t slam my fucking door,” Anne yelled from behind the counter. “Jack is too busy to fix the shit you break.”
Grace waved at them. She sat folding a pile of shirts. “He would fit it in if I asked him to.”
Anne rolled her eyes. “I’m not being put on Jack’s shit list because you’re putting me on his ‘Honey Do’ list. Now,” she gestured to the door, “do you want to tell me what that was about?”
Ivy, obviously feeling more relaxed, strode past Ezra. “The seniors of this town just reenacted that scene from Children of the Corn in the library.”
Grace and Anne looked concerned.
Grace looked particularly horrified. “They have the white hair and everything,” she whispered.
“Are you alright?” Anne came around the counter and gave Ivy a hug.
“Yeah,” Ivy lifted one shoulder. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. Everyone has been trying to get me to leave since I got here. My welcome wore out weeks ago.”
Grace scoffed. “Are you kidding me? We keep extending your welcome. It’s why you get invited to everything. We want you here. Besides,” she waved her hand, “living in Black Bird is like living on a wheel. You are the town’s darling one day and public enemy number one by the next morning.”
Anne picked up a pen and threw it at Grace. “Don’t lie to her. The only reason you aren’t being harassed by them right now is because Jack is the town’s darling.”
Ivy smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m going to put my stuff in back and clock in.” She walked towards the employee entrance.
Anne whipped around to Ezra and hissed, “What just happened?”
Ezra glanced around the room noting that they weren’t exactly alone. “Can you keep an eye on Ivy while we call Alpha Thompson?”
Anne’s eyebrows hit her hairline at Ben’s official title. “Of course, Grace and I have you covered.”
Ezra nodded his thanks. Ezekiel dipped his chin then followed his brother out front.
Ivy walked into the main store and immediately started looking around. There were a couple of customers milling through the displays. Thankfully, none of them were Cassidy or any of Pearl’s friends. What Ivy didn’t see, were the twins.
“Your boyfriends stepped out for a second,” Anne said reading her mind.
“They’re not my boyfriends,” Ivy muttered.
“They seemed pretty worried for a pair of ‘not boyfriends’,” Grace snorted.
“Yeah, are you still mad at them or did they grovel?” Anne cut it.
Ivy felt her head pound. The scene in the library proved her point from last night. Black Bird did not like Ivy. They wanted her gone. Hell, Lawrence might not get to collect on his deal. The town might beat him to it and run her out.
“I’m not mad at them,” Ivy admitted. “They apologized and explained things last night. I understand why they did what they did. It was really shitty of them,” she cleared the lump in her throat, “but I get it.” Anne and Grace looked suspicious. “Really. We talked things over. We’re good now.”
“Must have been one hell of a grovel,” Anne looked impressed.
Ivy blushed.
“So, you guys are back together?” Grace asked.
“No,” Ivy shook her head. “No, we’re not together.”
“Yeah, I don’t think they know that,” Anne pointed out. “They’re stuck to you like glue.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “That’s not new.”
“No, Anne’s right,” Grace said. “This is different. They’re all growly and possessive.” Grace shook her head. “You’re stuck, girl. They’ve got it bad.”
Ivy threw her hands into the air. “They turn into wolves. They’re always growly!”
“This is a different type of growl,” Anne tried to explain. “It’s got a possessive thread to it.” She scrubbed the back of her neck, “It raises the hairs on the back of your neck. Kind of like an extra warning. ‘This is mine. Back off!’”
Grace’s hand shot up. “I’ve got an example.” Suddenly, Grace’s demeaner changed. Her lips curled into a cheeky smile. She looked like the cat who had caught the canary. By the looks of things, she wanted to share. “Jack told me that Pearl made a formal complaint to Ben about you.”
“Grace,” Anne put a lot of warning in her name, “she’s not supposed to know that.”
Ivy felt her heart clench. She hadn’t been too surprised to hear that Pearl had complained to Ben. It hurt that Anne had known and hadn’t said anything.
Grace rolled her eyes, “It’s just a little pillow talk. End of the day type of stuff, nothing important.”
Anne’s cheeks flushed; her jaw clenched. “Pillow talk that you’re not supposed to be sharing. That’s the unspoken rule of being with Pack officials.” She sent Ivy an apologetic smile. “I wanted to tell you but Ben tells me a lot of things he’s not supposed to. I don’t want him to get into trouble for unloading sometimes. Sorry.”
“Thanks,” was all she said.
Anne turned back to Grace, suddenly angry again, “You still shouldn’t have told her.”
Grace looked contrite. “I know and I take Jack’s confidences’ very seriously but this is about Ivy. She has a right to know the things that are about her, right?”
Anne made a frustrated noise, “You’re right. Just this once though.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Grace winked and faced Ivy. “Like I was saying, Pearl complained about you to the Alpha.” She waited like her expected her to react.
Ivy shrugged her shoulder, “So?”
Grace smiled wider and nodded. She gave Anne a smirk then said, “She also complained about Ezra and Ezekiel. She demanded that they resign as Enforcers. She said they had a conflict of interest.” She wagged her eyebrows
“That’s complete bullshit,” Ivy laughed. “What next? Is she going to complain that they’re doing their jobs too good?” She demanded suddenly getting really mad. “I hope Ben told her where she could shove her complaint.” She noticed that both women were smiling. “What?”
Grace dropped the smile dramatically and started rubbing the back of her neck. “You just got all growly and possessive. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood on end.” She gave an exaggerated shiver.
“I’m trying to place it,” Anne cupped her chin in one hand, “I’ve heard it somewhere before. Very recently.”
Ivy grabbed a spray bottle and rag. “Whatever. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She stomped over to clean something. She stopped because she couldn’t stomp off yet. She turned back around. “What did Ben do?”
Anne’s smile kicked up a notch. “Said thank you and then shredded both complaints.”
Ivy nodded then went right back to stomping.
Anne and Grace busted out laughing.
The bell over the door chimed.
Betsy Robbins took one look at Ivy and shook her head. “What idiotic thing did these two say?”
Anne raised her lip in a mock growl. Grace jumped to defend herself, “We were teaching her the difference between humans and shifters.”
“One big difference: shifter don’t get sick, humans do.” Betsy walked over to one
of Anne’s overstuffed chairs and practically collapsed.
She looked like shit. Her long auburn hair was barely contained in a sloppy braid. Her face was pale. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her dark green shirt practically hung on her.
“Damn girl,” Grace whistled, “what happened at work last night?”
Betsy rubbed her head. “I didn’t work last night. The manager took one look at me and told me to scram.”
Anne stepped out from behind the cash register. She put a hand on Betsy’s forehead. “You look sicker than a dog but you don’t feel hot.”
Betsy rested her head on the back of the chair. “I’m so tired,” she groaned.
Grace pulled up another chair. “We just saw you. You look like you haven’t slept. What happened?”
Betsy closed her eyes. “Oh yeah, I’ve been having the most insane dreams. Probably because I keep trying different medicines to kick this thing. Nothing is helping though.”
“What’s wrong?” Ivy agreed with Grace. Betsy had dropped weight since they had seen her at Miller’s.
“I don’t know. After we went drinking, I woke up feeling like crap and it hasn’t gone away since.” She grabbed her head. “I have this killer headache. Caffeine doesn’t help. Ibuprofen doesn’t help. Cold medicine does nothing.” She tried to put on a happy face. “Joys of being a workaholic, I guess.”
None of the other women looked convinced.
“I didn’t come here for pity.” Betsy pointed at Anne. “Did you order anymore jewelry from the place you got those necklaces? I could use a matching pair of earrings.”
Ivy’s phone rang before Anne could answer. It was from an unknown number. She pointed to the back room as she answered the call.
“Hello?” Ivy waited but no one replied. “Hello, this is Ivy.” Still nothing.
“Hello!”
Ivy nearly jumped out of her skin at the scream. She rubbed her ear.
At the same volume the voice started shouting, “Hello! Ivy, my dear? Can you hear me? It’s Maggie! From the Black Bird Coven!”
“Yes, yes, Maggie, I know who you are.” Ivy tried to scream over the older woman.
“Can you hear me? I cannot hear you.” Maggie screamed back.
Ivy had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course, Maggie couldn’t work a cell phone. The woman ancient.
There was a shuffle over the phone. “Give me that.” Stella’s voice came rushing in. “You are embarrassing us all.” Ivy could picture Stella grabbing the phone and straightening her hair before she took over the conversation. “Ivy, lovely to hear your voice.”
Ivy smiled. “And you too, Stella.” Ezra and Ezekiel were right about the Black Bird Coven. They were a riot.
“Oh, I am sure that is true. Look, Maggie had a premonition when she fell asleep watching TV. You’re still planning on coming tonight, right? We’ve got to recharge our wards tonight.”
“Yes, I am still helping tonight,” she assured the other woman.
Stella nodded her head so vigorously that Ivy could hear her hair rubbing against the phone. “That’s good. The wards need to be settled by morning. We almost have everything set up. You just need to bring yourself.”
Ivy bit back a groan. It wasn’t like there was much she could do about it. She had made a deal with them. “Alright. I’m assuming you want to get started right at midnight?”
Stella laughed. “Correct! It’s like riding a bike, isn’t it? You never forget how.” She chuckled.
“I will be there around eleven to help with the set up.” She thought of something. “I have to bring both of my,” she didn’t want to use the word bodyguard, “friends.”
Stella squealed. “Oh boy, I am about to leave Patricia in the dust. She won’t have a chance with either of those boys after tonight! That woman is covered in liver spots.” Ivy could have sworn she heard clapping on the other end. “You have made my day.” Stella crowed.
“Wait, liver spots? What are …” Ivy gasped. Her heart froze in true terror for the first time that day. “Please, please Stella, tell me your Coven doesn’t still perform spells skyclad.”
In ancient times, witches used to perform their rituals skyclad. Which was just a fancy word for naked. The reasoning had something to do with being one with nature or something like that.
It wasn’t necessary to perform magic. It didn’t enhance a spell. It was just an excuse for someone to get naked in public. No Covens followed the practice anymore.
Well, except one it seemed.
“That is how one communes, my dear,” Stella huffed in a put-out voice. “Don’t tell me you are shy. I have no patience for shyness.”
“I really-” Ivy started to say.
“Ivy,” Stella interrupted, “Patricia is raiding my supplies. I have to go before she ruins everything. See you tonight!”
Ivy did not bother replying. Stella was already gone.
There was no way she was going to be going skyclad that night. The old ladies would just have to deal. She wasn’t sure how the brothers were going to deal with seeing Patricia, Stella, and Maggie nude.
A smile broke across her face. Tonight might not be all bad. Besides, this would give her a chance to schedule the other spell she owed the Coven. Then she would be free from that debt and could hightail it without consequences if things went south with Lawrence McDowell.
Which they most certainly would.
Chapter Twelve
Ivy sat between Ezra and Ezekiel in their truck. She had done this exact thing dozens of times. Unlike before though, she was uncomfortable.
Ezra sat on her left. He was focused on the road but when he wasn’t shifting gears, he kept his hand on Ivy’s knee. Ezekiel had his body pressed against her right side. Neither of them really noticed the touches.
It was all she could think about. She wished Grace and Anne had kept their mouths shut. She’d had a hard-enough time keeping her distance before. Then those two had to start putting thoughts into her head. Now, she kept imagining growly voices and her brain kept leading her down day dreams that were the exact opposite of distant.
She scooted away from Ezekiel and tried to wiggle out from under Ezra.
Desperate to think about anything else, her brain bounced to the other thing she was trying to avoid. They were headed to the Black Bird Coven’s house so Ivy could help restore their ward. She was passed feeling nervous. Now, she felt scared. The stakes were big and Ivy was out of practice. She was scared that she wouldn’t be able to…perform when the time came.
On top of that, she had the added pressure of doing this in front of Ezra and Ezekiel. Oh joy.
“Will Cassidy be alright while you are gone?” The question felt loud in the silent cab but Ivy had to break the silence.
Ezra nodded while Ezekiel said, “She’s nearly eighteen. Besides, we asked Henry to drive by.”
“Is that what you’ve been anxious about?” Ezra asked quietly.
Ivy sputtered, “I’m not anxious.”
Ezra tapped his nose. “You’ve been burning my nose since you got in the truck.”
Ivy felt her cheeks heat. “Then crack a window,” she muttered.
Ezra’s lip turned up. “I’d rather know what’s getting you worked up.”
How was she supposed to tell them that she was nervous about participating in the ward spell? On top of that, her magic wasn’t what she would call reliable at the moment. She had gotten lucky that no one had been hurt by her little outbursts. Ivy mentally crossed her fingers hoping that her good luck lasted.
There was no way on earth she would be sharing that though. So, she redirected. “I was going to let you walk in there without warning you.” She sighed dramatically, thinking of a cover story on the fly. “Now, it seems mean to let you walk in there unprepared.” She cleared her throat dramatically. “The old ladies will be naked.”
The brothers shared a confused look. Not quite the reaction she was expecting.
“Okay?” Ezra shook
his head.
“Was that supposed to be a big deal?” Ezekiel nudged her. “Did you forget that we are shifters?”
“Naked old people are just part of the life.” Ezra snorted, “Mr. Johnson walks home naked as a jay bird after every single Pack run. It’s been burned into my retinas.” He shuttered.
Ivy elbowed him, laughing. “Stop bragging, you perv.” When the laughter ended on a sigh, Ivy felt her shoulders relax.
Ezekiel made a content noise. “I love when you smell happy.”
Ezra hummed his agreement.
Ivy blushed.
“So,” Ezekiel drawled as he put his arm around her, “what will happen tonight?”
Ivy lifted one shoulder but didn’t bother telling Ezekiel to move. It seemed like too much work. “Nothing special. The Coven did the hard work when they initially laid the ward, who knows how long ago. When you create a ward, you have to physically draw it around what you want to protect. For the protection of a home or territory, you want the ward to be deep in the earth so that it has longevity. Obviously, the bigger the area, the more work that takes.” Ivy thought about it and admitted that she was impressed by the Black Bird Coven. “Since we don’t have to draw the ward all we need to do is charge it with magic and intent.”
“What do you mean by intent?” Ezra asked.
“Essentially, we are giving the magic instructions. Gathering magic is just part of the process. You need to tell the magic what to do or else it will run wild. I have a ward on my apartment. When I was setting it, I told it to keep people out who haven’t been invited in.” Ivy fingered her ward key. “If I had just released magic in my apartment, who knows what would have happened.”
“Could it cause a sink to explode?” Ezra looked into her eyes for a second before turning back to the road.
Ivy’s heart froze before she forced herself to straighten her spine. Ezra knew about the sink but there was no way he knew about Lawrence. She was just being paranoid. “Maybe.”
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