Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes Book 1)

by A. J. Macey

  “Of course, doll, but while we’re on the topic of growing up human, do you have any questions? Or anything you want to talk about?” My chest swelled with emotion at his thoughtfulness.

  “I always knew supes were out there, obviously everyone does, but I don’t think I knew any personally. Are there a lot like us?” Insecurity crept in at my lack of knowledge of my own people.

  “There’s about a 55 to 45 percent ratio of humans to supes. Each state has at least one supe-specific university. The larger, more populated states have more than one obviously. Most children don’t really talk about being a supe, since we don’t develop any kind of powers until our late teens, usually end of senior year. It’s the reason almost all supes attend specific universities. Not all mind you, but most. We go to normal schools growing up, the only difference is our home life since our parents have their powers,” he informed me, no judgment colored his words as he relayed the facts. Despite the previous melancholy mood, I felt Cam’s signature chucks rubbing lightly against my ankle. My hand still nestled in his, my pale skin only a shade fairer than his.

  “I never knew that. I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere Washington where everybody knew everyone and supes didn’t really get brought up. It’s nice to know I’m where I belong.” I gave him a warm smile, causing my dimples to make an appearance. The action drew his eyes to my cheeks. “I think that’s all I have for questions right now. I’m feeling better and more focused, so I’m going to see what I can find in this book.” I gestured to the thick, leather-bound tome in front of me. He grinned softly before returning to his notebook. His foot remained at my ankle, tapping lightly as he wrote.

  Several hours later, my messenger bag was heavy with textbooks and accompany class notes as Cam and I headed towards the front doors of the library together. He pushed the door open, holding it for me as I neared, but before I could pass by him, the boom of a small explosion sounded.

  “What on Earth was that?” His head searched the surrounding areas. I rolled my eyes and headed towards the main office. When I realized he wasn’t following me, I turned back to where he was standing as still as a statue. I gestured for him to follow. When he finally started moving, I held open the small half door leading behind the desk, thankful that it was empty in the library.

  Leading Cam through the office, I made sure to avoid the stacks of papers and files Muriel had scattered around her desk. The new addition to the library a few years ago added on a hallway in the back that led to a fire door and the door to Muriel’s rooms.

  “Where are we going, doll?” Cam’s voice bouncing softly off the barren walls of the hall as I stared at her door, smoke seeping out from under the door.

  “Muriel’s rooms,” I murmured before opening the door, no sense in knocking. If the explosion was that loud out in the library, then I know she wouldn’t hear me pounding on the door. The smoke was floating in soft clouds around the room, but thankfully nothing was actively burning. At least nothing that I could see. I spied Muriel’s grey bun right above the counter in her kitchen area. Instead of it being in a neat ballerina bun, it was looked like a bird’s nest, complete with twigs and leaves sticking out of it. I shuffled around her dated floral couch, glass coffee table, and very gaudy gold floor lamp over to where she was crouching on her dark stained wood floors.

  I glanced back at Cam, double checking he wasn’t too uncomfortable and found him eying the space. His hazel eyes were taking in every detail like he always did, the smoke curling around him as he stood still in the traditionally styled living room. I turned back towards Muriel and crouched down on the opposite side of her table that she had dragged into the kitchen, looking at her through the legs.

  “Oh, Lucienne! Did you hear that wonderful explosion?” She practically yelled the words at me, her eyes shining with excitement despite the fact she looked like she had taken a tumble down a hill. She stood and shuffled around the table. “I had the most amazing idea on how to multiply outdoor vegetation, like trees and bushes, to help with regrowth after major deforestation or to help with wood production for construction!” She waved her hand towards the deformed shrubbery in the middle of her dining room. It looked like it had been dropped in a vat of radioactive material, it was bulbous in strange places while patches of leaves were odd colors including pink, black, and yellow. To her credit though, it smelled like greenery and seemed very much alive. Although, it looks like it belongs in a comic book.

  “Give me a few moments, and I’ll be right with you, dears.” She waved her hands in several small spirals, the smoke sucking towards her hands like tornado funnels before dissipating. She then proceeded to wiggle her fingers in her ears, a soft pop sounding in both before she faced me.

  “I take it you’ve been experimenting again.” I chuckled knowing now she could hear me. I felt Cam came up behind me, his warm hand migrating to my lower back. Subconsciously, I leaned back into him, the whiff of the outdoors mixed with his parchment scent. The mixture of smells calmed me. “This certainly is an interesting looking tree, though the idea is wonderful,” I commented, my head tilting at the mutant plant.

  “Thank you, only a few more tries and I should have it down.” Muriel clapped excitedly. Her enthusiastic behavior brought a smile to my face.

  “Perhaps you should take a break for the rest of the night and try again tomorrow. If there was anyone else in the library other than Cam and me, I’m sure they would have freaked out.” I looked at her, my face slipping into one I know my mom gave me frequently as a child when I got into trouble.

  “You’re no fun.” She flailed her hands at me, a twig and a leaf falling from her hair into her eyes. “But I suppose you are right. Will you help me put Mr. Leafsolot in the corner, Mr. Smith?” She directed her question at Cam who nodded, a small smile on his face as he shifted around me to push the shrub into the corner.

  “Mr. Leafsolot?” I couldn’t help but laugh at the name. Eccentric and odd, just like Muriel. She reminded me of an older version of Sadie when she wasn’t in the library. When she was, she was the stereotypical ‘studious librarian’, not this eccentric, youthful witch who named misshapen shrubs Mr. Leafsolot.

  When Cam finally got the shrub situated in the corner and helped Muriel put her table back into the dining room, he came back to stand next to me, the back of his hand brushing against mine. Tingles shot up my arm at the contact. Peeking through my lashes at him, I saw he wasn’t looking at me, but he did have small patches of pink growing on his cheeks. My heart thudded knowing he was doing this on purpose. Do friends do this? Is this more than friend stuff? I really need a manual for this.

  “Thank you for checking on me, Lucienne, and thank you for the help”—she nodded politely at Cam who gave her a warm smile—“you two better get going. Have a good evening, children!” I waved as we passed through her living room and back out into the hallway.

  “So,” Cam finally spoke since having entered Muriel’s apartment, “Lucienne, huh?” I felt my cheeks flush as he eyed me. I shrugged half-heartedly

  “My birth mother picked it out, but my mom picked out the nickname Lucie,” I confided. I took a steadying breath before continuing, about to divulge something I haven’t told anyone, not even Charlie. “I know I said I was adopted, and while that’s technically true, my mom actually found me one night after work. I was left with my necklace and a note.” I purposely left out the fact I had a trinket box. Despite trusting him, I didn’t want anyone else to know about the tokens until I was absolutely sure about them. “It told my mom what my name was, saying how I wasn’t safe, and neither was my birth mother. So she left me somewhere she knew I’d be found.” I shrugged again as we filed out of the office and out from behind the checkout counter, the library still empty except for us.

  We fell into a companionable silence. Cam pushed open the library door once more, holding it open for me to pass out into the chilly evening air. The sun was just getting ready to set; beautiful pinks, oranges, and p
urples danced behind the evergreen trees. I couldn't help but feel like this was the end to a fantastic date, even though all we had done was study and check on Muriel. Before walking out into the quad, he pulled me to a stop.

  “I have to run to the next town over to pick up something for another class, but thank you for sharing that with me, Lucie. I know it’s hard talking about the past.” He pulled me into his arms, the warmth of his chest felt like a comforting blanket against the cold evening air. Leaning back, his hands remained on my arms as he looked down at me. The array of colors over the quad cast a warm glow over his features. I was struck once again by his amber eyes, their multifaceted hues were hypnotic, holding me in their depths. “We’re here for you, don’t be afraid to come to us.”

  His thumbs continued to rub comforting circles on my forearms, warm and fuzzy feelings crept through me at the gesture. I nodded unsure of what to say. Another flush blooming on my cheeks as he flashed a bright smile, the sharp points of his incisors peeking out, drawing my eyes to his lips. Unfortunately, before I could do anything, like kiss the living daylights out of him, he took a shuddering breath and turned down the path towards the parking lot.

  I started towards the dorms, still feeling the effects of whatever the hell just happened coursing through me, and mentally reviewed what we went over this afternoon. I felt good about our progress so far, although I could prepare some anecdotal stories from my life as a human, if necessary. The wind picked up around me bringing another wave of chilliness with it, and I pulled my black jacket tighter. Damn, I should have put on a hoodie underneath.

  Halfway to my dorm, I heard girly giggling echo through the seemingly empty quad. I whipped my head around trying to find where the sound was coming from and instantly regretted it. Fuck me. I got an eyeful of Hudson with that blonde from the Bitch Crew. Brittney, I think her name was. Both were walking from the parking lot towards the library, meaning we would have to pass each other at the crisscrossed walkways in the center. Great. I glanced away quickly, my heart aching. Don’t go all soft now. I couldn’t help but think back to his date request, making the hurt in my chest worsen. Steeling my resolve, I continued down the path, making sure to keep my eyes on the pavement.

  Hudson

  “You’re so funny, Hud.” Brittney playfully swatted at my arm. I forced a smirk, feigning interest in her incessant flirting. What the hell is wrong with me? I wanted to enjoy the night, but I found myself getting increasingly irritated with the short blonde who was hanging on my left arm. Her giggle echoed throughout the quad, gritting my teeth slightly at the grating sound. Studying the empty grassy area, I saw a familiar blonde head curved down looking at the cement. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest holding her jacket closed. I was tempted to call out to have her look up at me, but stayed the impulse knowing it probably wouldn’t go over well with my date.

  “Oh, hey! It’s so good to see you again,” Brittney’s soprano voice rang out. I glanced down at her, confused as to who she was talking to when Lucie looked up brushing the hair from her face. A tense silence followed as Lucie continued towards us down the path. Her expression held no emotion, which was out of character for her. The usual pleasant smile she wore was missing, leaving an almost bored and annoyed expression in its wake.

  “Hey.” Her voice was cold and flat, harsh compared to her usually soft-spoken timbre. I arched a brow as I looked at her. She didn’t make any move to look at me or acknowledge I was there. What’s up with her?

  “I didn’t mean for you to stop, I just wanted to say hi.” Brittney’s face broke into a wide smile, almost like she was proud of herself. Her left hand came to rest on my chest. As if her tits weren’t pushed against me enough already, she leaned into me, overwhelming my senses with a too strong floral perfume. Lucie would never wear something like that.

  “Great, nice to see you both. I need to get going.” Her eyes flicked to mine for a brief second holding some emotion I couldn’t make out. Don’t do it. The desire to drop my barrier and read her was intense. It isn’t fair to her. With that last thought, I was able to squash the temptation as I gave a small wave.

  “It was good to see you, Lucie,” I murmured, she turned to walk down the path to her dorm building without saying anything else. Brittney’s head rested against my shoulder while Lucie trailed out of sight.

  Lucienne

  I closed the front door to my dorm quietly, not wanting to disturb Sadie who was snoring in her room. We should do something soon, I thought to myself. We may live together, but I felt as though I hadn’t seen her in a while, I missed her eccentricities after seeing Muriel. Flopping down onto my bed in a heap, I couldn't get the image of that blonde plastering herself to Hudson out of my head. Instead of dwelling on it, I pulled out my phone to see if I had any messages. Distraction, give me a distraction. I noticed several private messages waiting for me and a group text with the twins.

  Logan: “how was studying love?”

  Landon: “hopefully you and Cam were able to get some work done lemon drop!” I smiled a bit, the twins always seemed to be able to cheer me up.

  Lucie: “it went well, we were able to get a lot figured out for the debate. What about you two?”

  Landon: “we made decent progress in energy manipulation, English was boring. We missed you.” My heart warmed at that.

  Logan: “so boring in fact Grigori fell asleep on Nik’s shoulder and fell off. He flapped his wings like crazy as he went down, it was great.” His text was riddled with laughing emojis.

  Logan: “but we did miss you, what are you doing Friday night? We’re going to be heading to Hudson’s room for movies, you should come!!” My heart dropped at the thought of spending time with Hudson after our brief encounter in the quad.

  Landon: “please lemon drop! We’ll let you pick the movie!” I could just see their pouting faces in my head. I chuckled as I typed my response.

  Lucie: “I’ll think about it guys.”

  Landon: “we’ll give you foot rubs!” I rolled my eyes at their blatant attempts of bribery, but if I was honest with myself, a foot massage sounded amazing.

  Lucie: “fine, but no funny business.”

  Logan: “of course not, we’re completely innocent.” I snorted at that, knowing full well they were anything but innocent.

  Lucie: “you didn’t agree, Landon.”

  Landon: “he may want to try and claim innocence, but I am most definitely not, so I make no promises.” His text was followed by several devil emojis. Sounds about right.

  Lucie: “alright, you guys win. I’ll go, see you both soon.”

  Logan: “goodnight love.” My heart warmed at his sweet message.

  Landon: “see you in my dreams.” More emojis, only this time they were winky faces. I went on to check Dante’s message once I had received Landon’s last text.

  Dante: “hey firecracker, just wanted to shoot you a text and see how your day was.” Why are they all so sweet?

  Lucie: “hey hon, it wasn’t bad. Got a lot done for debate, mental defense class was just a lecture on shielding, tips, and directions to building a mental wall.” I shot back while I checked on my most recent text from Nik.

  Nik: “hey babe, wanted to know if you would be up for something?” His enigmatic question piqued my curiosity, and I couldn't contain the grin that took over my face at him calling me ‘babe’.

  Lucie: “maybe, what did you have in mind?”

  Nik: “going out to prep for my archery competition coming up over Mabon weekend and was wondering if you wanted to come to the range with me” My eyebrows shot up, Nik competed in archery? Stunned into silence for a moment, I blinked a few times before responding.

  Lucie: “I’d love to. Just let me know when!”

  Nik: “As soon as we are able, I’ll text you. Sleep tight.”

  By the time I finally put my phone down, I was more than ready to fall asleep. My afternoon had started so wonderfully studying with Cam. Who am I to be jealous over Hu
dson and his date when I’d been ready to move in on Cam just a few minutes prior? Not to mention the twins with their not-so-innocent flirting and my impromptu dinner with Dante. I sighed and rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling. You’re losing it, this is what friends do, don’t make it out to be more than it is.

  Getting up to change into something comfy, I double checked that my cupcake night light was set before shutting off the overhead light and curled up in bed. I don't know how long it took me to fall asleep, but the turmoil I was feeling over my friendship with the guys was nothing compared to what awaited me in my dreams.

  10

  September 6th

  Thursday Morning

  Nikolai

  I was securing my quiver to my back when I saw Lucie walk onto the range, heading towards me. She was bundled up today, wearing a grey hoodie under her black bomber jacket, the sleeves of her navy blue shirt pulled over her hands in an effort to keep them warm. Her hair was down for the first time since I met her, the straight tresses were billowing out softly as she walked. The wind shifted bringing some of the hair in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear as she neared me. I was grateful when debate was cancelled today giving me the opportunity to show her the range.

  “Hey Nik.” Her voice was warm when she reached me, a smile slowly curled her lips. I was enveloped in her signature vanilla scent and could hear her even breaths next to me.

  “Hey, babe. Ready?” I felt nervous, wondering if this was a good idea. What are you doing? My brain yelled at me, also questioning if I had lost my mind. Grigori lifted off my shoulder up into the air, but instead of staying nearby as he usually did, he flew to one of the surrounding trees and situated himself on a high branch.

  I tried to have him come back down so we could get on with practice, but the stubborn bird had plans of his own. Spend time with her, he ordered. I internally rolled my eyes at the meddlesome creature before turning my attention to Lucie. Her hair escaped from behind her ears again when she nodded.