Familiar

“That one.”

The witch followed the direction of my pointing finger, which singled out a tiny, tawny-colored striped kitten sitting in the far corner of the pen. She frowned with disapproval.

“Wouldn’t you rather have one of the others, Brenda? They’re more playful. That little runt looks half-dead. I’m not even sure why my apprentice put it in the mix today.”

I shrugged. “I guess half-dead runts appeal to me. My mother said I could pick whichever one I wanted.”

“Your mother also said she’s wanted you to do this for almost a year now.”

“What can I say? I’ve been busy.”

I tried to ignore the icy glare my flippant comment inspired. When it came to witch manners, I figured I was lacking. Not that I really cared. It’s not like my powers were any big deal. Not compared to my mother’s.

“Go pick out your familiar so you can start your real training.”

“But I don’t want to be a witch.”

“You can’t change what you already are.”

We’d had this discussion every Monday for nearly a whole year, ever since I turned sixteen. But when you don’t really want to do something, it’s hard to feign interest. Basically, I just wanted to be normal. I didn’t want to go into the “family business,” as it were.

Maybe I should have gone to live with my dad after the divorce. Normal high school, normal friends, normal life. I just wished I knew for sure what the right answer was. A little bit of perfect clarity would really come in handy every now and then.

Like this—picking out my “familiar.” A familiar is a witch’s pet, an animal that becomes her constant companion and is supposed to help her do magic and bring protection and good luck. Frankly, I could use all the luck I could get. My mom was a high-level, respected witch in our neighborhood coven, but me? I could barely do a decent card trick. Mom said it’s because I don’t practice very much, but I had other things to do. More important things. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

But to get her off my back for a while, I agreed to go to Hocus Pocus, a magic shop that supplies all sorts of witchy paraphernalia—including potential familiars. There were cats, ferrets, snakes, rats, even a couple of bats. No puppies, though. I really would have preferred a puppy.

I wasn’t much of a cat person. But, in my opinion, it was way better than a snake.

The kitten hissed as Mrs. Timmons picked it up by the scruff of its neck.

“Interesting,” she said. “It’s wearing a little rhinestone collar. Denise must have put it on earlier. I’ll include it with the price since it suits him.”

“Great,” I said, not really listening to her. Instead I swept my gaze over the interior of the shop. I’d been there loads of times before with my mom as she picked up her supplies. The place always creeped me out with its musty, dusty interior and cluttered shelves holding everything from carved wooden boxes to crystal balls of all shapes and sizes to herbs and spices for potion-making to what looked like a dried-up severed monkey’s paw on a shelf directly to my right.

I grimaced. Poor monkey.

“Here you go,” Mrs. Timmons said, and her face cracked into a thousand wrinkles as she forced a smile that was not even slightly genuine. She didn’t like me very much. I once heard her call me a troublemaker. She handed me an open shoebox that weighed next to nothing even with the tiny kitten sitting inside. “I know your mother already has a feline familiar, so I won’t worry about food and litter.”

“No. Don’t worry.”

“You’ll have to give it a name. Just concentrate and it’ll come to you. Remember, there’s power in names, so be sure it’s the right one.”

“Power in names. Got it.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Do I need to pay anything right now?”

“No. I’ll bill your mother’s account.”

“Okay, then, bye. Thanks.” I turned to leave.

“Wait!” Mrs. Timmons grabbed my arm. “One last thing.”

“What?”

“The bond.”

“The—”

“It’s important it be done right away. As long as you’re certain this kitten is your chosen familiar...”

“Couldn’t be more positive if I tried.” I glanced at the clock on the wall that read seven o’clock. How long was this going to take?

Mrs. Timmons grabbed my wrist tightly and reached into the box to touch the kitten. “I bond you together as Brenda Collins, apprentice witch, and her loyal and obedient familiar.”

“And what does— ahh !” I gasped as an electric bolt of pain jolted through me so fast I barely had time to register it.

“Ow! Damn it!”

I frowned at the sound of the pained male voice. Who said that?

“Now you can go.” Mrs. Timmons wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and gave me a weary look. “Give my regards to your mother.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

I was out of there before she changed her mind and turned me into a toad, or something. Mission accomplished. I hoped this would be enough to get Mom off my back for a while longer. I mean, the cat had to grow up before it could be any real use to me. How long did I have? A few months, maybe?

I’d take what I could get.

“Now I have a kitten,” I mumbled, holding the shoebox close to my chest as I walked home in the dusky light of early evening. It was only a half-mile to my house from the store. “At least you’re cute enough. Kind of antisocial, but cute. Sort of like me, without the cute part.”

“I think you’re cute.”

I stopped walking and looked over my shoulder. No one was there. I continued on walking, figuring it was just my imagination. My positive affirmations bubbling to the surface. Mom always told me not to put myself down. Maybe I was starting to get it.

“I have no idea what to call you,” I said. “Mrs. Timmons said just to concentrate and it would come to me.”

“The name’s Owen.”

“I don’t like that name at all,” I told my imagination. “I want something way cooler than Owen.”

My imagination swore under its breath. “Wait a minute, you can read my thoughts? How the hell can you do that?”

I was about to answer my imagination when I noticed that someone was standing in my way. Two men, actually, both well over six feet tall with broad chests and shoulders like football players, blocking what little light there was on the horizon. I stopped walking and looked at them nervously.

“We need that,” one of them said.

“I don’t have any money,” I stammered. “Like, maybe five bucks total.”

“Keep your money, we just want what’s in the box.”

I looked down at the box holding the kitten. The kitten itself eyed me curiously for a moment before the box was pulled completely out of my hands. The kitten jumped out, and one of the men grabbed for it.

“ Hands off,” my imagination—which I was now thinking wasn’t my imagination at all—snarled.

The kitten arched its back and hissed, swiping a tiny paw in the man’s direction.

“Aw, isn’t that adorable?” one of the men said sarcastically to the other. “Little Owen’s showing his big, scary claws. Kids. Pain in the ass, if you ask me.”

Before I could say anything, do anything, something crazy happened. And, growing up in a house with a magic-using witch as a mother, that was saying something.

The kitten grew before my very eyes.

Instead of a tiny striped kitten standing between me and the men, there was now a huge tiger who had to be five hundred pounds or more.

It growled, baring long sharp teeth and flicked a glance at me.

“Stay back. Werewolves are dangerous even in human form.”

Werewolves? I staggered back a step, almost falling over.

“Come on,” one of the men said, although he was backing up a step at a time. “We don’t want a fight, Owen. Not here, not now. Just give us what we’re after, and nobody has to get hurt.”

What they got was another fierce growl as the huge tiger moved toward them. Without another word, they turned and ran, the tiger stalking after them.

Had they called the tiger Owen?

I looked with shock down at the discarded shoebox that had contained a tiny kitten only minutes ago. Next to it was the sparkling collar the kitten had been wearing around its neck— rhinestone, Mrs. Timmons had said. I reached down and picked it up, looking at it closer. I didn’t know jewelry, but it didn’t really look like cheap knock-off rhinestone jewelry to me. And it didn’t look like a collar for a pet. It looked like a bracelet with a broken clasp. A diamond bracelet.

Another growl from the huge wildcat now loose in the city made me instinctively turn around and start running for my house. I didn’t think I’d ever moved so fast in my life. Keeping the bracelet on me made me nervous so I decided to quickly hide it under a Dumpster in an alleyway I passed on my way home. I’d come back for it in the daylight when every shadow didn’t seem as if it was ready to pounce.

“Hey honey,” Mom said, distracted since she was on the phone when I blew through the front door. “How did it go at Hocus Pocus? Did you find a familiar?”

“I don’t know,” I said when I’d found my voice. It came out really shaky. “I’ll have to go back tomorrow. I have homework. Talk to you later.”

I ran upstairs and shut my bedroom door, trying to put what had happened out of my mind forever.

There was a small striped kitten sitting on my chest, looking at me, when I woke up the next morning. It cocked its head to the side.

“You’re finally awake. I’ve been waiting forever. Where’s the bracelet, Brenda?”

I heard the voice in my head, the same voice from last night. I pushed the kitten away from me and scrambled out of the bed and got tangled up in the sheets and my baggy pajamas. My legs felt shaky.

“Wh-what do you want from me?”

The kitten watched me carefully. “The bracelet. Like I just said.”

“How come I can hear you?”

“Good question. I figure it’s because that old witch did her abracadabra thing last night. I’m your familiar now, remember? Who knew that would actually mean something? But at least it helped me find you again. You’re like a homing beacon for me now.” He didn’t sound terribly happy about that.

The familiar/witch bonding spell.

“You turned into a tiger last night.” My mouth felt very dry.

“And you’re lucky I did. You have no idea how dangerous those werewolves were.”

“Werewolves? Wh-what did they want?”

“See? We’ve come back to the subject of the bracelet again. It’s what they want. It’s what I want. So why don’t you hand it over so I can go on my merry way and leave you to your normal life?”

“Brenda!” Mom called from the hallway outside my closed door. “You up?”

I tensed. “Yeah.”

“Breakfast is almost ready. I made blueberry pancakes.”

I gulped. “Super. Just a moment.”

“I’ll bring you up some orange juice to start.”

“No, that’s not really—” But I heard the footsteps on the stairs, indicating she’d already headed back down to the kitchen. Great. Today of all days my mother decides she wants to hand-deliver me some vitamin C.

I blew out a long breath. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if I was hiding anything other than a little kitten in my—

I turned around and nearly screamed, stopping myself only by clamping my hands over my mouth.

The kitten was gone. In its place was not a tiger this time, but a boy with tawny-colored hair and dark blue eyes. He was bare-chested and had my sheets pulled up to his waist. I had the sinking feeling that was all he was wearing.

“Comfortable,” he said, pressing on the mattress. “I could get used to this. Haven’t had a bed for a while. Being on the run has a tendency to mess up your sleeping patterns.”

He said it flippantly, but there was a strange slide of emotion through his eyes. Something like envy and a little sadness.

I pried my hands off my mouth for a moment. “You’re a shifter.”

I’d never met a shape-shifter before, but I’d heard plenty of stories about them. Most of those stories made me positive I wanted to stay very far away from them.

“Good guess. What was your first clue? The fact that I can shift form? Brilliant deduction, Brenda.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“It’s your name, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but ... but I need you to go away.”

“My name’s Owen, whether or not you think it’s cool enough for you. My mom—may she rest in peace—thought it was pretty cool seventeen years ago, so it’s good enough for me. So, it looks like we’re all bonded together now. I have this strange compulsion to be close to you. So annoying.” He actually rolled his eyes. “Witches. Honestly. Think they rule the world.”

I wrung my hands. “If you’re a shifter, you can’t be my familiar.”

“The spell that shopkeeper put on us seems to challenge that theory.” He placed his hand casually over his stomach, and my gaze followed. Owen was fairly gorgeous, actually, with a thin but muscular body. He looked like a runner. I could even count his abs. You know, if I wanted to.

And I didn’t.

“You need to get out of my bed right now.” Words I’d never actually spoken together in that sequence.

“Sure thing, boss.” He began to move and the sheets started to slip over his bare left hip. I turned my back to him so I wouldn’t see anything else.

“No, wait! Stop, just stop. Just change form again.”

“Back to my kitten? Or the tiger? Or I can be a full-sized regular cat—that’s the best for staying incognito. Perhaps a Puma would be fun, though. Or a leopard. Choose your kitty-cat, Brenda.”

“Just the kitten is fine!” There was an edge of hysteria in my voice as I heard the stairs creak. My mother was coming up with my orange juice. I turned and looked at Owen. “Please change back!”

“Because if mommy dearest sees me here like this...” His lips curled. “That would probably look bad for you, wouldn’t it? She’d think her darling daughter is a naughty little witch?”

“Yes!”

“So I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of guys sneaking into your bed in the middle of the night?”

Even though I was freaking out, I had enough time to send him a withering glare. “That’s none of your beeswax.”

“You didn’t just say beeswax. You couldn’t have.” He laughed and the sound was low and throaty. “That’s so completely adorable I could seriously die.”

My cheeks were blazing with heat. I always said the lamest things when I was nervous. “Change! Now!” It was more of a frantic whisper than a shout.

His smile faded as if it had never been there in the first place. “I want the bracelet.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll get it for you, but it’s not here.”

“You hid it somewhere else?”

“Yes!”

The door opened the next moment, and my mother walked in carrying a small glass of orange juice. I nearly passed out. When she saw Owen, there was no way I could ever possibly explain having a naked boy lying in my bed. I’d be grounded till I was thirty. There was no possible—

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “How adorable! But I thought you said you didn’t get anything last night.”

I whipped around to see that the boy in my bed was gone, replaced by a tiny, striped kitten. A tiny, striped, purring kitten.

“No, uh, you must have heard me wrong. I got one, obviously.” I frantically waved my hand at the kitten. “But I don’t have any supplies for it yet.”

Still holding the juice glass, she picked the kitten up in her other hand and nuzzled it against her face. “So precious. Excellent choice, Brenda. I approve. Does it have a name?”

“Yes, it’s, uh, Owen. And it’s a he.”

“This means you’re excited to start your training in magic?” Before I could say anything, she continued, “I know you’ve resisted, thinking you don’t have the natural talent, but I know you do. You’ve already shown it in the few lessons we’ve done. You simply need to believe in yourself. And now that you have this darling little friend to help you, I think the sky’s the limit, Brenda. I really do.”

My mother was nothing if not encouraging. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for constantly making up reasons why I couldn’t study witchcraft along with my regular high school classes.

“I don’t know if I can say I’m excited,” I said honestly. “But I’ll give it a try.”

She smiled and handed me the juice and gently put the kitten back down on the bed. “It’s a start.”

So I’d devote myself to learning to be a witch. If I failed, then she couldn’t very well hold it against me. Fine. It was decided. No more excuses.

However, I had an excuse for today. I needed to get the bracelet for Owen so he could get out of my life. And Mrs. Timmons thought I was a troublemaker. Right.

Mom left my room and I saw, out of the corner of my eye that Owen turned back into his human form and was still in my bed.

“I need clothes,” he said.

I didn’t turn to look at him full-on, but I knew he was right. He couldn’t very well wear my bed sheets all day, could he?

“My brother’s in college right now, but he’s got a closet full of clothes here. I’ll get something for you.”

“You’re so accommodating.”

“I get the bracelet, and you leave me alone right?”

“I get the bracelet, I deliver the bracelet to the person expecting it, and then we need to get this bonding spell between us removed.”

“I don’t feel anything,” I said honestly.

“That makes one of us.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “It means that because of this spell I feel this need to be close to you. And I have this crazy sense that I ... belong to you, and only you. And I don’t think I like that very much.”

When I turned to look at him to see if he was messing with me, he’d already changed back into a kitten.

Behind the house, Owen changed into an old pair of my brother’s jeans, Reeboks, and a blue T-shirt, before we set off for the alley where I’d stashed the bracelet last night. Then I had to get to school.

“So, Brenda,” he said my name as if taste-testing it. “You’re a witch-in-training, are you?”

I glanced at him sideways. “You could say that.”

“Can you do magic?”

“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”

“But can you?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the ‘in training’ part. I need to practice.”

“Like playing the piano.”

“Sort of. Only completely different.” I nervously crossed my arms, feeling the weight of my backpack pull at the shoulder straps. “And you’re a weretiger? Werecat?”

“Just shifter is fine.”

“I thought you might be a werewolf.”

“No. Werewolves are a breed unto themselves.” There was a sneer in his voice. No love lost there. “They can only shift into one form. I can be any size or kind of cat I want to be.”

Even though I found it unsettling, I couldn’t help but be slightly impressed. “Shifters like you and werewolves fight like cats and dogs. Seems kind of appropriate.”

“My pack and theirs don’t get along and never will.”

“And you don’t want them to get the bracelet.”

“Nope. They got wind of me having it, and they’ve been tracking me for days. I was fine inside the magic store since everything inside was protected with a magical ward.”

“You were hiding out in there?”

He nodded. “The owner had no idea. I just sneaked in and made myself at home. Not bad. Lousy food, but not bad. That woman who gave me to you? She seems like a bitch on the surface, but she’s actually really nice when there’s nobody there but the animals.” He sighed. “Thought I was okay for a while, but then you had to single me out.”

“‘Half-dead runt,’” I repeated what Mrs. Timmons had said about him.

“It’s a look I was trying to perfect. Who knew that was your type?”

My type. I suppose you could say that.

He didn’t look like a runt at the moment. In fact, he was almost a whole foot taller than me, so that put him at a few inches over six feet. He wasn’t hugely muscular, but he was solid and lean. My brother’s clothes didn’t fit him perfectly, but they looked pretty good, all things considered.

“Yes?” he asked, making me realize that I was openly checking him out.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing.”

Owen swore under his breath, his eyes now on the sidewalk ahead of us. I looked with alarm at what had caused this reaction. Someone stood there, leaning against the fence next to the sidewalk as if waiting for our approach.

He was tall, lean, with tawny-colored hair a lot like Owen’s. Only this guy was easily a few years older.

“Brother,” he said, and a wide grin spread over his face. “Long time no see.”

I jumped when I felt Owen’s hand on the small of my back, and he leaned toward me to whisper, “Play along, please, or this is going to go badly.”

He then pulled me fully against him until I was pressed against his hip, his hand sliding around to my side. “Jeremy.”

“Is that any greeting for me?”

“Sorry, I guess after our last brotherly chat I’m not really feeling the love.” Jeremy spread his hands. “It had to be done, you know that.”

“Right.” There was a tightness in Owen’s voice.

“Who’s she?” Jeremy nodded at me.

“This is Brenda,” Owen said. “She’s ... my girlfriend.”

I raised my eyebrows with surprise. Girlfriend?

“She’s a witch,” Jeremy said. “I can sense it.”

“Your point?”

“No point.” Jeremy drew closer, his gaze assessing me from feet to face. “So you’re dating my little brother, are you?”

Play along. Owen had nearly begged me a moment ago.

“I ... am. Yes, that’s right.”

“Pretty little thing.” He grinned. “Owen has good taste. Who knew?”

“Listen, Brenda, I’ll catch up with you in a sec, okay?” Owen said, leaning closer. “Just go on ahead. I need to talk to my brother alone for a minute.”

“Okay, I’ll just—” But I couldn’t finish my sentence because Owen kissed me, taking my breath completely away. His lips felt soft, but a bit demanding, as if he wanted some sort of response from me. I kissed him back, confused by what was going on, confused by how good this felt.

Owen pulled back from me after a moment, and there was confusion on his face as well, his brows drawn together. I touched my mouth with my fingertips.

Good kiss. Very, very good kiss. By the look on his face, I think he might have agreed with me.

“Get a room,” Jeremy said dryly.

Owen gave me a gentle shove to propel me a little down the sidewalk. I “played along” and started walking away.

One thing I did learn when it came to using my so-called natural witchcraft was how to eavesdrop at a distance. And, yes, I had paid attention to that lesson since it helped me to listen in to my parent’s hushed arguments just before they separated. It eased my mind a little that they weren’t divorcing because of me. Although, it didn’t ease my mind that much. Divorce sucked, but at least my parents seemed much happier now. Good friends, but lousy spouses. That was how they put it.

I walked without looking backward, but I focused on tapping into that eavesdropping ability.

“I hear you’ve acquired a little something shiny,” Jeremy said. I was at least fifty feet away by now, but I could hear him as clearly as if I was still standing beside Owen.

“Who told you that?”

“A little bird.” There was a smile in Jeremy’s voice. “You think that will appeal to Stan’s sensibilities, do you?”

“Come on.” There was a catch of emotion in Owen’s words now. “You know how badly I want back in the pack. I don’t understand why you’re not helping me.”

“Because I don’t want you there. Mom was the only one who thought you had a home there. And now that she’s gone—”

“Yeah, I know. You never wanted me around in the first place. Do you honestly think I’d be competition to you? I’m not interested in being alpha—”

“When Stan dies, I’m alpha,” Jeremy said, and there was a growl to his voice. “And after me, you’re next in line and that would cause problems.”

“I wouldn’t fight you for it.”

“That’s just a chance I don’t want to take. Because you know what? You’d lose. And I’d rather not have to kill my own brother if I can help it.” He was quiet for a moment. “But I will if I have to.”

Owen exhaled shakily. “I don’t have anyone I can depend on out here. Without the pack, I have no family. I have nothing.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that’s fitting.” Jeremy’s voice was cold. “You are nothing. Mom told me you were a mistake she wished she hadn’t made when she cheated on Stan. It’s time you accepted that and stopped trying to buy your way back in with stolen jewelry. You’re almost eighteen. Time to find your own life and get the hell away from mine.”

I wondered if it had something to do with the bonding spell, but I could actually feel Owen’s emotions then. His brother’s words were like a physical blow to him.

I couldn’t help but hurt for him. I didn’t know much about him at all, but I didn’t need to. He was in trouble. He’d been kicked out of his shifter pack—his “family”—after his mother’s death. Maybe she was the only one who protected him from the brother who just flat-out didn’t want him around. Some brother. My own brother was a thousand miles away at college right now, but I knew—despite our many differences and disagreements—that he’d do anything for me.

“I’m still going to Stan, and you can’t stop me,” Owen said after a moment. His voice had grown stronger. He wasn’t backing down. “He’ll listen to me. The bracelet is only to buy enough time to explain things to him. He won’t refuse. The thing’s worth a lot of money, and I know he likes money. He’ll see that it’s what Mom would have wanted.”

“Stan’s my dad, not yours. All you are is an unwanted little bastard. Now why don’t you go back to your pretty little witch girlfriend, consider yourself lucky that somebody wants to be around you, and stay the hell out of my life and out of my pack.”

Again, there was that sharp twist of pain I felt coming from Owen. His brother’s words hurt him deeply and made him feel completely and utterly alone. I kept walking, but I realized I was now crying. I wiped the tears off my cheeks.

I stopped eavesdropping, cutting it off as if mentally hanging up a phone. I walked and walked before I looked over my shoulder. Owen wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

I didn’t stop till I got to school. I didn’t see Owen again, although for the rest of the day it was as if I could still feel his grief—the grief of a boy I barely knew but felt a deep magical bond with whether I liked it or not.

My heart ached for him.

“Morning.”

I pried my eyes open the next day to be greeted with a total déjà vu. There was a tawny-striped cat looking at me. A larger, older version of the kitten from yesterday.

“You,” I said.

“In the fur.”

“Where did you go yesterday? I thought you were going to catch up to me but you never did.”

“Sorry. Had a couple things I needed to take care of after talking to my brother.”

“That’s vague.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“I got more clothes for you.” I nodded over at a stack of folded clothes on a chair I’d grabbed from my brother’s closet.

“Cool. Thanks. Your mom already left. It’s Saturday so she said she was letting you sleep in. She talks to herself a lot?”

“All the time. It’s bizarre.” Although, not as bizarre as having a conversation with a cat. Luckily Mom had barely been around yesterday after school so I didn’t have to explain what had happened to my familiar that seemingly had vanished into thin air.

He was back. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“I’m going to change and, uh, get changed,” Owen said. “Consider yourself warned.”

I quickly turned over and sat up so my back was to him. Through our connection, I could actually sense when he shifted form back to human. Then I heard the soft sound of rustling material as he grabbed something to wear off the pile and got dressed.

“So we’re all alone,” he said after a moment. “No mommy to barge in on us and find out the little secret you’ve been hiding from her.”

I stood up and finally turned around. He stood on the other side of my small peach-colored bedroom wearing a new pair of jeans. He hadn’t put on a shirt yet. His skin was tanned as if he’d just come back from vacation in the sunny south. He pulled a white T-shirt on over his head, covering up everything I was gawking at.

“Your brother is a jerk,” I said.

He looked at me with confusion before his dark blue eyes narrowed. “You were listening? What is that, some kind of a witch trick?”

“A simple one, actually, which is the only reason why I could do it since I suck at magic. If it’s your pack you should be allowed to go back without having to jump through hoops.”

“I don’t do hoops.”

“It’s just an expression.”

“Like ‘none of my beeswax’ was just an expression?”

“Sort of.” I looked at him sharply and realized he was smiling. “What’s so funny?”

“You are. Why the hell do you care about me?”

I frowned. “It’s probably because of the bonding spell.”

“So you’re admitting that you care about me.”

I just looked at him, afraid to answer that. What was I admitting? I didn’t want to admit anything, but the truth was kind of obvious. I did care about Owen. I cared about what happened to him, and I felt the pain he felt when he was rejected by his brother.

And it wasn’t just because he was inarguably gorgeous. I just ... liked him.

I blamed the bonding spell entirely. I never fell for a guy after only knowing him only a day.

Well, hardly ever.

“I guess I just don’t want you to get hurt,” I said honestly.

He drew closer and brushed my long dark hair back over my shoulder. I suddenly felt very aware that I was wearing a pair of pajamas that had tiny smiley faces all over them. I felt like a little girl even though I was only a month away from my seventeenth birthday.

But I wasn’t a little girl. Despite the PJs.

“Thank you,” he said simply. “And I’m sorry I had to kiss you like that yesterday. I needed Jeremy to believe you were my girlfriend. I don’t think he’d understand if I told him I was actually your familiar. I don’t even understand that.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t?”

My cheeks warmed. “Let’s just forget it happened, okay?”

“Not so sure I can.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want to kiss you again.”

He drew me closer to him. His hands were on my shoulders, and my hands were pressed against his firm chest so that I could feel his rapid heartbeat. His warm breath glanced against my cheek as he lowered his mouth to mine.

The phone rang. I jerked away from Owen, pulled out of whatever spell I’d just sank into and grabbed for the phone on my nightstand.

“What? I mean, hello?”

“You. Me. Shopping. Noon. Yes or no?”

My best friend Sandy often spoke in bullet points.

I glanced at the clock. It was a little after nine. I flicked a glance at Owen and realized I wished Sandy hadn’t called to interrupt our potential second kiss.

Dangerous kitty-cat.

I quickly calculated what had to be done. Owen wanted his bracelet. Then he wanted to deliver it to Stan, his stepfather, as payment for letting him back into the pack, even though his brother was still a major obstacle there. I assumed that whatever Stan said was gospel for the pack. If he agreed that Owen was back in, then all was well with the world.

Then we needed to have our bonding spell removed. I had no idea what I was going to say to Mrs. Timmons, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

“Noon sounds doable.”

“I need new socks,” Sandy said. “Are you up for the challenge?”

I turned away from Owen. The sight of him was very distracting. “Socks. Exciting stuff.”

“They disappear. And I can’t even blame magic for it.”

“Socks are obviously the source of all evil.”

“We’ll have lunch in the food court first. Then sock hunting. Mike’s joining us. Is that okay?”

“Totally fine with me.”

Mike was Sandy’s new boyfriend. A senior. She’d introduced us the other day. Nice guy. Now he was automatically part of our little group of misfits through his association with my best friend.

Sandy was also a witch-in-training with two overbearing magic-using parents. It was nice to have something in common that we could complain to each other about. Didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun, too.

I wondered what she’s think of my current situation with Owen. She probably wouldn’t believe that he was technically my witch’s familiar at the moment. Nothing interesting usually happened to me. And Owen—well, he was very interesting.

After ending the call, I looked at Owen. He waited patiently over by the door.

“I need a minute to get ready,” I said. “ Alone.”

“No problem.”

“Um, Owen? Do you want some breakfast or something?”

A smile stretched his face, making him better looking if that was even possible. “Breakfast sounds really good. Almost as good as ‘or something.’”

He slipped out of the room and closed the door before he could see just how red I was able to turn.

Two bowls of cornflakes later—I never claimed to be a great chef—we were out of the house and on the same route we were taking yesterday morning.

“Look, Brenda,” Owen said after a couple of minutes. He stopped walking and turned to me. “I know this has been a real nightmare. I appreciate your help.”

“My help? I stole your bracelet.”

A smile played at his lips. “I didn’t exactly come by it honestly myself, although if it helps, I stole it from a horrible rich woman who killed a litter of kittens by drowning them when her Persian got knocked up.”

I shuddered at the horrible thought. “It represents a lot more than a few expensive diamonds to you, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

“I know I shouldn’t have listened in yesterday, but I did. And I’m worried that what you’re doing is going to end up getting you in trouble.”

There. I said it. It was none of my business, but I said it anyway.

“Because of my brother?” he asked stiffly.

“Yes.”

His jaw set. “Let me worry about Jeremy, okay?”

I racked my brain for a good answer to his difficult situation. “What if you don’t go back to your pack? What if you find a new home and a new, uh, pack? Just start fresh somewhere else?”

His expression shadowed. “Because it’s not that easy. You don’t understand. That bracelet that you’ve got stashed somewhere is my only answer.”

“I totally disagree.”

“You don’t know my situation. Overhearing one conversation isn’t enough to make you an expert on me.”

I faltered. “Maybe not.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just like my knowing that you’re afraid to embrace your magical potential is only part of who you are.”

I felt a sharp and sudden stab of anger at the accusation. “I’m not afraid.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Just because I’m not interested in doing something doesn’t mean that I’m afraid.”

Owen shrugged. “If you say so.”

I crossed my arms and studied him for a moment. “You’re trying to change the subject.”

“From what you were talking about, you mean.” He blew out a breath. “All I want is the bracelet. There’s nothing else in this town I’m interested in. And the kiss? Don’t read too much into it. It was more to fool my brother than anything else.”

I’d be hurt more by his words if I didn’t remember what he’d said to me only forty minutes ago.

“I want to kiss you again.”

Maybe he was lying. Maybe he thought I was easy and just wanted a distraction to get his mind off his troubles.

The smiley-faced PJs were rather fetching, now that I thought about it.

I mean, what did I think this was between us? Something real? Something that had the potential to be something more?

I was such an idiot. All I was to Owen was a flashing arrow pointing him to where his shiny diamond bracelet was—his one-way ticket back into a shifter pack that he was too stupid to see didn’t even want him around.

And I wasn’t scared about learning magic. I wasn’t afraid that I’d be a big fat failure and disappoint my mom when she realized I was nowhere close to being as talented as she was.

Of course not.

I bit my bottom lip.

Well, maybe I was a bit scared. But that wasn’t a very helpful realization at the moment.

“Let’s go,” Owen said angrily as he started to walk again. “All I want is the bracelet, and then I promise I’ll be out of your life once and for all.”

I glared at him. “Fine with me.”

We continued on until we reached an alleyway, just west of the main street. I stopped walking.

“Is this where you put it?” Owen asked without a lot of enthusiasm.

I turned to face him. “About your bracelet—”

But then my words were cut off by the sight of what loomed behind him.

The werewolves.

More this time. There were three men and two in large, scary wolf form. None of them looked very friendly even though it was a bright and shiny Saturday morning.

And this was a very deserted part of town. Just my luck.

Owen’s shoulders tensed, and he turned slowly to see what had turned my face ghost-white.

There was nowhere for us to run. My back was up against the end of the bricked-in alley, and the werewolves were blocking the only escape route.

“Morning,” one of them said. He was roughly the size of a small tank and had a bald head and a scruff of beard. “Let’s just make this really nice and easy, Owen. How does that sound? No more messing around this time. My patience has worn very thin with you.”

Owen’s biceps flexed. “Don’t do this.”

“Are you going to turn into a tiger again? I wouldn’t suggest it. I brought reinforcements this time.” The thug nodded at the wolves. “And I also brought this and I’m not afraid to use it.”

My gaze went to the black metal of the gun he held as it caught the sunlight.

I truly wished that I’d taken the few magic classes I’d attended seriously. I wouldn’t have been able to do that much—however, I might have been able to mentally influence this bully to leave us alone. Or I might have been able to throw up a glamor to fool or confuse them so we could escape. As it was, I couldn’t do anything but stand there and look like a victim-in-waiting.

Or could I? I searched my mind for what I’d learned. What I’d paid only partial attention to since I was too busy fighting what my mother wanted me to do.

Think, Brenda, think.

Mom always seemed convinced I was able to do more magic than I thought I could. She always believed in me, but I was the one who didn’t believe in myself.

“Get the girl,” the thug said. His two companions didn’t hesitate to go around Owen toward me, grabbing both of my arms tightly. I fought against them, but they were so strong and big there was no chance I was going to break away. Fear ripped through me.

Owen didn’t move, but his body looked poised to pounce, his hands fisted at his sides.

“Here’s the thing, Owen, and I want you to hear me out.” The man shifted his weight to his other foot, looking very calm and relaxed, considering the situation. “Your family and mine have always had this turf war going on. But I heard you got the boot. They don’t want you anymore.”

“You heard right,” Owen admitted hollowly.

“I’m willing to open my doors to you. Have you come on board with us as an honorary member of my pack.”

Owen laughed humorlessly. “You want me to be an honorary member of your werewolf pack?”

“That’s right. And in turn you can give us some inside information about Stan and your big brother’s secrets. You don’t owe them a damn thing anymore. Not your presence, your loyalty, or anything else.”

“And you’re willing to do this out of the goodness of your heart, are you?”

“That bracelet you have should help the goodness of my heart a little bit. I know you were going to use it to buy your way back into your pack. Now you can use it to buy your way into mine.”

“Two for one deal,” Owen said.

“Today only.”

“There’s a small problem.”

The thug raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I don’t know where the bracelet is.”

The man nodded. “I find that hard to believe. Caught a glimpse of it only a moment ago. Gave it to your new girlfriend, did you? How sweet.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled up my sleeve. The bracelet circled my wrist, where it had been since leaving the house earlier.

Owen’s mouth dropped open with shock at the sight. “Brenda—”

“I got it yesterday after school,” I said. “Fixed the clasp last night.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was going to.” I bit my lip and felt the sting of tears threatening to fall. I wanted to give it back to him. And I was going to. This walk to the alley was only to buy some time. But I wanted to talk to him first, tell him that I felt going back to his pack was a mistake and wouldn’t get him what he was seeking. You shouldn’t have to buy your way into your family. Love couldn’t be bought.

The thug unfastened the bracelet and dangled it from his index finger. “Nice. At least a couple hundred grand, I’d estimate.”

“At least,” Owen agreed reluctantly. “So you have it. Now what?”

“I want something else, too.” The man raised an eyebrow and nodded toward me. “The girl.”

Owen flicked a glance at me. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s part of your entry fee. Give her to me, and we have a deal.”

Every part of my body went cold. I looked at Owen, but couldn’t see any expression on his face at the moment other than anger. I had a feeling it was directed at me for keeping the location of the bracelet a secret until now.

“There’s a problem,” he said. “She’s not really mine to give.”

The thug chuckled. “Oh, come on. You know that doesn’t really matter. All I want to know is if you’re going to give me a problem about it.”

I held my breath, waiting for his reply.

“You can have the girl,” Owen said flatly. “But you can’t have the bracelet.”

I gasped. “Owen!”

He didn’t look at me. The guy laughed out loud and held out the bracelet. “You prefer the jewelry to the girl? Interesting.”

Owen shrugged. “What can I say? I know what real value is. Girlfriends are a dime a dozen.”

“You’re a funny kid. Cold-hearted. You’ll make a killer addition to my pack.”

Owen grinned and took a few steps closer. “You think?”

“Definitely. Tell you what, kid. You can sell the bracelet for me. I’ll split the proceeds with you eighty-twenty.”

“Sixty-forty,” Owen said.

“Seventy-thirty. You want it?” The thug held it out. “If we have a deal, you can have it.”

“Sounds perfect.” Owen was only a couple feet away, and he reached out to touch the bracelet, flicking it with his index finger so it sparkled in the sunshine.

Then he knocked the gun out of the man’s other hand. It skittered across the pavement.

A split second later, he’d shifted to tiger form and pounced, taking the thug to the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious.

Even though I was shocked beyond words by what had just happened so quickly, I could barely register it. I reached into my shallow pool of magical knowledge and threw out the first thing I could think of. A confusion spell. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. The werewolves turned around in circles for a moment, not knowing which way was up or down. Two of them lost their balance and fell to the ground.

I stared at them for a moment, dumbfounded. Wow, it worked. Who knew?

“ Come on, Brenda! ” I heard Owen’s voice in my head. “ Run! ”

I ran.

The tiger bounded after me as I ran out of the alleyway and kept running for three blocks before I slowed to catch my breath. A glance over my shoulder showed Owen, again in human form, but now wearing tattered clothing, following closely behind me.

“Don’t stop!” He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him until we found a safe place to hide, slipping into someone’s backyard behind a tall fence. My heart slammed against my rib cage, and I looked at him with confusion. He looked as if he was about to say something, but I spoke first.

“Why didn’t you grab the bracelet before you ran out of the alley?” I asked.

He stared at me for a moment before he started to laugh. “After what just happened, that’s what you want to know? Why didn’t I grab the bracelet?”

“Well? It’s all you’ve been wanting for two days.”

“I thought so. But I was wrong. That bracelet hasn’t brought me anything but bad luck. Hopefully it’ll be enough to keep the werewolves off my back—and yours—now that they have it.”

“But your pack—”

“Forget my pack.” He looked down at the ground. “It’s time I moved on. This just proves it once and for all.”

“But he was going to give the bracelet back to you.”

He raised his gaze to mine, a look of incredulity on his face. “Yeah, in exchange for you. No way that was going to happen. He’s lucky he got knocked out first, since I was in the mood to tear him apart. Must be the bonding spell. I feel a fierce need to protect you, no matter what.”

In a few moments, he’d made the decision that would shape his future. Without the bracelet, he wasn’t going back to his pack. And it was mainly because he didn’t want me to get hurt.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciated the gesture more than I could say. But it was a major deal. Major.

“Owen—”

“And look at you with the witchcraft going on. I thought you said you sucked at it.”

“I do suck at it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just imagine what you could do if you studied hard like your mom wants you to.” He pulled at his ripped shirt in an attempt to straighten it out. “And you know what you need in order to do that, right?”

“What I need?” I frowned. “A nap so I can get over my near-death experience?”

“No. Well, maybe, but not right now. You need a proper familiar. And to get that we need to have this spell removed. I may be many things, but I’d make a lousy witch’s pet.”

I smiled despite myself. “Have to agree with you there.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time. We’ll go to Hocus Pocus right now.”

He held his hand out to me.

After only a moment’s hesitation, I took it.

“And that’s why you need to remove the bonding spell,” I finished. My words had tumbled out of my mouth since we’d arrived at the magic shop. We had Mrs. Timmons alone in the back room and were explaining everything.

I just hoped it made some kind of sense.

She pursed her lips, rocking back on her heels as she studied me and Owen one at a time.

“Let me get this straight, young man,” she finally said. “You broke into my store and fooled me into believing you were a cat. You said nothing about this. And you ate my food and used my protection wards to save yourself from those who wished ill on you.”

Owen stood very rigid next to me. “Yes. Yes, ma’am. That’s pretty much it.”

She pushed her glasses down on her nose and came closer to him. “How old are you, boy?”

“I’m seventeen.”

“Why aren’t you in school?”

“I was in school. But I had to leave.”

“High school diploma?”

“Not yet.”

“You’re a senior?”

“I was.”

“It’s currently seven months before graduation, according to my calendar. And now you have no home. No family. No pack.”

He stared at her defiantly before the expression faded, and he nodded once. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Call me Vera.”

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t like ma’am. It makes me feel old. And having a seventeen-year-old boy staying in my spare room and eating my food will make me feel old enough as it is.”

Owen and I exchanged a confused glance.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

Mrs. Timmons huffed. “Well, I would think that’s obvious. Owen has no place to stay, no family to claim him. So, I’ll claim him. He can live here and finish up school with you. Unless you have a better solution, young lady. Do you?”

“No, I don’t.” My heart pounded loud in my ears. “That sounds pretty good to me, actually. What do you think, Owen?”

I had a feeling he wouldn’t be interested. If it wasn’t for his shifter pack, he would probably take off. Backpack across the country. I had no idea what might happen to him then. All I knew was I probably wouldn’t see him again.

That thought made me very unhappy.

“What do I think?” Owen repeated, his forehead creased as if a million thoughts were coursing through his mind. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a very long time. Thank you so much ... Vera.”

I couldn’t help but hear the gratitude and emotion that thickened his words.

Mrs. Timmons pushed her glasses back up her nose and nodded once. “Then it’s decided. I haven’t had anyone here for a long time. It’s ten years since my Franklin left for college, but his room is still the way he left it, and you’re welcome to it and the clothes there, too.”

“So you don’t have a problem with me being a shifter?” he asked.

“If I had a problem, I wouldn’t have suggested this. You don’t need a litter box, do you?”

“Well, no. Of course not.”

“Then there’s no problem.” Finally a smile spread across her wrinkled face. She reached up and patted his cheek. “Now, I have a shop to run. Let’s break this bonding spell and then get back to our regularly scheduled lives, shall we?” She looked at me. “And Brenda...”

I straightened up automatically under her sharp gaze. “Yes?”

“You’ll have to pick out another familiar. I don’t suppose Owen will be much use to you there anymore.”

He still looked shocked by what had just happened—the opportunity to live here with Mrs. Timmons and go to high school to get his diploma.

“I guess you’re right,” I said.

Owen didn’t say anything.

After the spell was broken, which took about three seconds total, I left Owen to check out his new bedroom and slipped out of the store. I was going to be late to meet Sandy at the mall.

I tried to ignore the big lump that had formed in my throat. When Mrs. Timmons broke the spell I hadn’t felt anything change, other than the immediate twinge of pain. But it was over. Owen was no longer my familiar. He’d never really been my familiar in the first place. How could he be? He was a boy, not a cat. It didn’t matter what form he was able to shift into. It didn’t change the fact that he had his own life that definitely didn’t have to include me anymore.

“Brenda!”

I heard him shout behind me, and I froze, wiping at the tear that was sliding unceremoniously down my cheek.

I turned slowly to see him walking quickly to catch up to me. “What?”

“Why did you take off without saying anything to me?”

“I didn’t want to get in the way. Also, I have to meet Sandy at the mall like I said I would.”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to thank you for all your help.”

“You mean helping you lose your bracelet and your chance at getting back into your pack?”

His lips twitched into a small smile. “My pack was lost to me when my mom died. I just didn’t want to accept it. I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted anymore. I don’t want to force anyone to want me in their life if they aren’t interested in having me around.”

“Your brother’s a jerk.”

“Yeah, you said that before. And it’s true. Maybe he’ll realize that one day, too, but I won’t be there when it happens.” He raked a hand through his tawny-colored hair. “Look, there’s a bit of a problem.”

I looked at him with surprise. “What?”

“It’s the bonding spell.”

“Mrs. Timmons removed it.”

“I know, but I’m not sure she did it right.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I feel the same as I did before,” he said softly, approaching me so he was only standing a few inches away. I didn’t pull away when he slid his fingers into my hair and swept it off my shoulder.

“Which way is that?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Like I belong to you.” He smiled. “And that’s kind of hard to ignore.”

A breath caught in my throat. “Well, I don’t think that has very much to do with the spell.”

“Why not?”

“Because the bonding spell would make a witch’s familiar feel like he belonged to the witch, right?”

“Right.”

“The thing is—I feel like I belong to you too.”

“So it’s a mutual problem we seem to be having here.” He nodded. “And what do you think we should do about it?”

I slid my hands up over his chest to his shoulders. “I’m thinking ... nothing. Nothing at all.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.” He bent forward and kissed me.

My heart swelled and felt like it was going to burst. I was crazy about Owen. I didn’t care if I’d known him two days or two years, it wouldn’t change a thing about how I felt.

After a long moment he pulled back a little from me. “So now what, little witch?”

“Now?” I reached down and took his hand in mine. “I need to introduce you to some people.”

“Who?”

I grinned at him. “My pack of misfits. Consider yourself the newest member.”

His dark blue eyes filled with happiness. “Sounds good to me.”

That made two of us.