Page 42 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

“Oh, if I hadn’t been around, she’d have found another way to get you out of there, even if it meant charging through the front door herself. You can bet on that.” After seeing how worried Bronwyn had been, I was certain this was true.

“I wanted to tell her what was happening the last time I was in Wicked, but I couldn’t make my mouth say the words. It was like my true self was locked away.” She pressed the charm tight to her chest and sighed. “It still feels like that.”

“The effect will wear off.”

“Because of you. Thanks.”

“No more thank yous. I already know you’re grateful.” I pushed a cup of tea toward the chair across from me. “I made mint with fresh ginger. It’ll ease your stomach, if it’s still bothering you.”

“It is, though I thoroughly enjoyed the soda. Thank—it smellsgood.” She sat down and picked up the delicate teacup. She’d trimmed and filed her nails, and her hands weren’t shaking anymore. “I appreciate the clothes, by the way. I didn’t want to bring anything from that house here.”

I nodded at the grocery sack beside the living room sofa. “You brought something.”

“That’s true. You didn’t peek?”

“It’s your property. I figured you’d tell me about it if you wanted me to know.”

She tucked her damp hair behind her ears. “You weren’t worried that it might be dangerous?”

“No.”

If it’d been actively dangerous, or she’d had any bad intentions, the park would’ve alerted me when she crossed the protection spell. It was why I’d made her carry it inside.

“It’s something he values more than anything else.” She looked me in the eyes and smiled. “And I’m going to destroy it.”

I grinned. “Good. Let me know if you need any explosives. I know a guy.” A tiny, magical guy with zero moral qualms about blowing up someone else’s property.

Her feet bounced under the table, and she drummed her fingers on the teacup. She needed to shift, but I wasn’t going to tell her to do it.

“Hope it’s okay,” I said gently, “but while you were in the shower, I called some friends to go on a run with you—if you want to.Whenyou want to.”

“Who?”

“A couple shifter friends.” I moved my head back and forth, weighing that idea in my mind. “Friendsmight be stretching our relationship. They owe me a favor, and they’re mostly harmless. They agreed to guard you while you run.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up in a way I hadn’t seen since the video of her and Bronwyn at the movie theater. She slurped down the rest ofthe tea and rose. “I’m going to go shift in the bathroom. It’s been a while, and I’m a little rusty.”

It didn’t take her long. Maybe her animal was primed for it after being suppressed for so long.

She scratched at the bathroom door, and I opened it slowly, in case she was behind it. Her clothing was folded neatly on the closed toilet and atop the pile sat a cute white rat with shiny black eyes and a pink nose. Her whiskers were broken—or cut—nearly at the base, which might make it difficult for her to navigate in the darkness. I knew that much about rats, at least.

I also knew that white rats were considered good luck in some cultures. Excellent. We could use some good luck around here.

There was a knock at the door, and Maya’s tiny head whipped to the side. Then she buried herself in her clothing.

“Don’t be afraid. I called these guys, remember?”

I left her there and went to the front door, ushering the two men into my living room. Both were shirtless and barefoot and dressed in a pair of nylon shorts. Shifting clothes.

“Hola, Witch Betty,” Kale said in Spanglish. He was Latino, young, and good-looking in a burn-out sort of way. “You aren’t still pissed at us, are you?”

Earlier in the year, they’d attacked me when I showed up on their doorstep to bust up their little Mictlantecuhtli cult. Fennel had shown the guys the error of their ways with his razor claws, and Bronwyn had appeared a few minutes later to drive the message all the way home.

The men had been apologetic when they realized I wasn’t there to kill them and even helped me take down their—false—god.

“No, dude, remember? She told us she was calling in her favor.” Denzel was whip-thin and as white as sugar on a paper plate. “You said there’s a rat here who needs protection?” He stood up tall, which made him look even skinnier. “We’re glad to help.”

Kale nodded, suddenly serious. “Yeah. If a sister rat needs our protection, we’re here.”

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