Page 95 of Do You Even Hex, Bro?
"Fifteen minutes to the lunar vendor," Sadie says, checking a pocketwatch that shows warping phases of the moon instead of numbers. "Want to look around? Just don't wander off."
I'm about to decline when something catches my eye. It’s a small stall tucked between two larger ones, its wares displayed on midnight blue velvet. The merchant, a wizened woman with skin like aged parchment, meets my gaze with milky eyes that somehow see right through me.
"For your mate," she says, her voice like dry leaves rustling.
I approach cautiously, Sadie trailing behind me. “Aaaand here we go,” she grumbles.
The old woman's gnarled fingers hover over her merchandise, an assortment of glittering objects that seem to change form when not directly observed. But it's one item in particular that drawsme. A pendant, small and delicate, hanging from a silver chain so fine it looks like spun moonlight.
"What is it?" I ask, unable to look away.
"A starlight compass," the merchant replies. "For those who have lost their way. Or those who have found it but need reassurance."
The pendant itself is a small circular disc with intricate etchings, suspended within what looks like a drop of liquid glass. Inside, tiny points of light shift and move like actual stars.
"It’s… beautiful," I murmur.
"It's also expensive," Sadie warns. "Luna merchants don't take Visa."
The old woman cackles. "For the wolf whose mate bears scars from his kind, I might be willing to cut a deal."
My head snaps up. "How did you?—"
"I know many things, young wolf. Throw in a lock of your fur, and I'll let you have it for half off."
I blink. "My fur? What are you going to do with that?"
"Wolf magic," she says flatly, as if it should be obvious. And I guess it kind of should.
Sadie groans beside me. "Bad idea, Micah."
"It's just fur," I protest.
The merchant is already coming around, like she wants to act fast before I change my mind. That gives me more pause thanSadie's concerns, but then I think about giving the pendant to Regina and all my reservations flee.
I shed my clothes behind the counter and shift into my wolf form, and I can tell from the way the merchant's eyes widen she wasn't expecting it to be so big. Most people aren't expecting the size difference between an alpha and a normal non-shifter wolf.
She’dreallyshit a brick if she saw Sean.
My tail sinks between my legs as the old woman pulls out a pair of black shears, and Sadie gives me a "you fucking idiot" look as the merchant examines a patch of fur by my neck.
"You won't miss it," she says with a toothy grin, snipping off a lock and pocketing it before I can process. "There."
Sadie looks away with a grimace before I've even shifted back, and I change hastily back into my clothes. I rummage through my pockets for my wallet and hand her my credit card. "You uh, take card, right?"
“They don’t take cards, dumbass, remember?” Sadie cuts in.
"Five percent transaction fee," the old woman says with a smile, pointedly ignoring Sadie as she swipes it on a less-than-whimsical card reader. The machine chirps and spits out a receipt.
The merchant slips the pendant into a purple velvet pouch and hands it to me along with the receipt. As my fingers close around it, I feel a faint warmth, like distant starlight somehow made tangible.
"It will guide her when paths grow dark," the merchant says. "And remind her that even the night sky contains light."
"Thank you," I reply, pocketing the pendant carefully.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" she calls, suspiciously happy.
Sadie tugs at my arm. "Come on, Romeo. The lunar vendor awaits, and he'swayless sentimental than this one."
