Anne, Rheia, and Ryuu left the room while he stripped Keelan and got him into his new clothes and diaper. Anne was Keelan’s mate? His mind was racing. Anne was the woman from his dreams. The one he was sure was his own mate. What kind of mind fuck was Fate trying on him now? The way Anne had looked at him, he was certain that she had recognized him, too, but she had made it a point to call Keelan her mate.
He carefully buttoned up the pajama top and pulled the blanket up the way Keelan had liked it as a child.
All the way to my chin Ken-nick, so the monsters won’t get me.
Do you think that there are monsters out there dumb enough to hurt you with me watching over you?
No, but just in case there are real, real, real dumb ones, tuck me in tight.
Kendrick smiled at the memory and felt his eyes fill. Little did he know then, there were monsters out there that cared very little that he was Keelan’s brother.
‘You just sleep, little buddy. I’ll figure out this clusterfuck before you wake up. Everything will be okay,’ he promised. He picked up a soft bristled brush and began brushing his brother’s hair in place.
He heard a knock at the door. ‘Can we come in now?’
‘Yes.’
Rheia and Anne walked in as he was finishing up. ‘He looks so much better now.’ Anne said hurrying to Keelan’s side.
Rheia nodded in agreement. ‘He really does. With only an IV and feeding tube, he looks almost normal. That stasis spell even preserved the flush in his cheeks. He’s like a male version of Sleeping Beauty.’
Anne turned to Kendrick. ‘Can you watch him for a couple hours? Colton and a gentleman named Sascha are running me into town before their council meeting. I need to pick up my things, break my lease, and let Bart know I quit. I hate leaving on such short notice, but he knew I could land a nursing job at any time.’
Kendrick didn’t want her in town alone with only two warriors for protection. Without confronting her about his dreams, he had no right to dictate her actions. ‘Maybe you should take a witch along as well, for safety,’ he suggested.
‘I’m sure Colton and Sascha will be fine.’ Anne said.
‘Actually, I agree with Kendrick. I’ll suggest that they take Quinn along; he’s in Sascha’s unit.’ Rheia said.
Kendrick breathed in internal sigh of relief. ‘Foxglove?’ She nodded.
Even better, he knew that Quinn was an exceptional witch when it came to protection, especially since he had personally sent the warrior some shielding spells from the archived grimoires. Technically, the older and more powerful spells were supposed to be studied and memorized in Storm Keep, which meant the younger witches serving in the units didn’t have half the arsenal of spells they needed to keep them safe. Kendrick had been mailing copies of spells out to the warriors and the Vanguard for centuries in an effort to keep them all from getting killed.
‘Quinn is an excellent witch; you’ll be safer with him,’ Kendrick said, keeping his tone neutral.
‘If you both think so,’ Anne hedged.
‘We do.’ Rheia said firmly. Kendrick winked at Rheia; after all, it was her mate going into town as well.
‘Okay, well, I’m heading to the clinic. A lot of the pregnant women will only stop in when I’m there, so I like to be there as much as possible.’ Rheia turned to Kendrick and surprised him when she gave him a hug. ‘Thank God you came when you did. I didn’t know what else I could have done for him,’ she whispered.
Kendrick rubbed her back. ‘You just worry about yourself and leave Keelan to me. You have a brand new life growing inside of you; that takes a lot of work.’
Rheia looked up at him, her confusion obvious. ‘You knew last night I was pregnant, yet I never said anything. How did you know?’
‘What do you know about magic?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely nothing.’
‘Well, there are two main fields of magic, elemental and psycho/physical.’ Anne and Rheia just stared at him. ‘Earth, air, fire and water are elemental. Mind, body and spirit are psycho/physical.’
Understanding lit up Anne’s face. ‘I played an RPG where the magic was classified like that. Different classes were able to master different things. Like a Ranger could do earth magic and a cleric could heal.’
‘Exactly!’ Kendrick paused his explanation. ‘Wait, there are human games like that out there?’
Anne nodded. ‘Yup. I always choose a paladin, a ranger, a knight and a cleric. I go for balance.’
‘Amazing. Paranormals think that humans know so little about the magical world, yet they invent games based on the very premise of our–‘
Rheia cleared her throat.
Kendrick smiled ruefully. ‘Right, my explanation. Anyway. One of the types of magic I’ve studied is body magic. I could see the changes in your body. It’s also how I knew that Keelan was an empty shell.’
Rheia frowned. ‘If you have studied body magic, that must mean others have as well.’
Kendrick nodded. ‘Some. It’s not very popular since most paranormals heal quickly and rarely get ill.’
‘It’s so frustrating. You can heal so much, and human doctors have to guess and try to figure things out by process of elimination.’ Rheia clenched her fists.
Kendrick walked over, took her hands, and gently bounced them until she relaxed. ‘There is another reason why body magic is so rarely studied. The body is constantly changing; every second, new cells are created and others die. Trying to treat something as simple as a virus can be life threatening to the caster. In that respect, your human science is the better method. In helping Keelan, my magic is keeping him exactly as he is, so the spell wasn’t as taxing.’
Rheia managed a smile and squeezed his hands. ‘You’re not nearly as gruff as you pretend to be, are you?’
He dropped her hands and cleared his throat. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Rheia snorted. ‘Come on, Anne, the sooner you leave, the quicker you can get back. I know that Aiden wants everyone back before nightfall,’ Rheia said.
Anne looked at him. ‘I’ll be back before he needs his IV bags changed.’
‘Take your time. I’ll be in and out of this room setting up my lab anyway.’
The women waved and left. For someone used to being on his own, Kendrick was shocked when the room suddenly felt empty.
Shaking his head, he walked past Keelan’s antechamber. His brother had set it up to be his library and practice area; it was a sacred space for a witch. That was why Kendrick was setting up his lab in Keelan’s bedroom. He cast a protective containment field around his work area and started unpacking his equipment. Grinning, he loosened his pouch from his belt. He opened it and began to pull books and test equipment from the bottomless bag. He looked back into the pouch and floated a long wooden table out and set it in the middle of the room. Now he had a place to work.
He loved his gifts from the fae. His clothes, which changed appearance and kept him clean, had been part of a set called Gentlemen Garments. He had gotten them during a visit to Éire Danu centuries ago. Keelan now wore one of the two pieces he received along with the washing towel which was now acting like a diaper. In addition to the garments, he had been given the infinitely useful Bag of Wishes; all were gifts from the fae queen herself.
The Bag of Wishes allowed him to store anything he wanted in his pouch, regardless of size and weight. He had tried to duplicate it’s magic but could never get the mass equations correct. Shaking his head at the mysteriousness of fae magic, he never appreciated it more as his lab quickly began to take shape.
Once Aiden was able to provide him with the necklaces, he would be able to start testing the different types of magic that went into creating them, including tracking down the caster. When he did find the one responsible for his brother’s condition, not even the Council would be able to keep the bastard alive for questioning. The second he knew a name, the witch was dead.
*****
Anne watched as Colton looked down at the four boxes and blinked. ‘Seriously? This is all you own?’
‘Yup. One for schoolbooks, one for clothes, one for keepsakes, and one for knickknacks. Right before my father died, he told me to get rid of anything that could tie me down and run after my dreams. Since I had to move across country for school, it made sense to get rid of anything that I absolutely didn’t need. It just became a habit after that.’ She failed to mention that her most prized possessions, her massive anime and book collections, were kept safe in digital format in cloud storage. She didn’t even want to contemplate moving her collections if they had been in hard copy. They’d be here for weeks!
‘What’d your landlord say?’ Sascha asked, picking up two of the boxes.
Anne smiled. ‘Mr. Clemson has known me since I was in second grade; he didn’t give me any grief over the lease. Besides it’s a downtown location–well, as downtown as Madison gets anyway. He won’t have any problem renting this out.’
Not to be outdone, Colton picked up the two remaining boxes. ‘How’d Bart take the news of you quitting?’ he asked, balancing the boxes carefully.
Anne let out a huge sigh. ‘He’s a stubborn old goat! I had to threaten to call his wife before he settled down. He knew I appreciated his concern though; he has daughters, after all.’
Colton nodded. ‘Bart is a wise man when it comes to females.’
Sascha looked at him intently. ‘Truly?’
Colton grinned. ‘He has lived through having six daughters and a wife.’
Sascha’s eyes rounded. ‘I need to meet this man.’
Quinn came in through the door. ‘I moved the SUV to the building entrance so we can carry her stuff down.’ He blinked as he saw Colton and Sascha with the four boxes. ‘Is that it?’
‘Y’all are too much. Come on, let’s head back; I want to check on Keelan.’
That got the men moving. Within minutes, the boxes were loaded, and they were back on the road. She rode with Colton while Sascha and Quinn followed in her Honda CRV; it had been her only splurge while in college.
‘What?’ Colton asked out of the blue.
‘What?’ she asked in return surprised at his question.
‘You’re frowning.’
‘Oh. It’s just strange, I guess. I’ve driven down this road thousands of times over the years, ever since I was a kid. But now, it feels different since I know where we’re going.’
‘How are you really? It’s a lot to take in, especially with Keelan being…’–Colton struggled to find the right word–‘unavailable.’
‘Unavailable?’ She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. ‘You make him sound like a doctor busy with a patient.’
‘I don’t like the other terms; they’re too depressing.’
‘I wish I had been brought into your lives for a happier reason, but I don’t regret being in your world. It’s scary, and I wish Keelan was awake to explain things to me, but everyone has been so supportive, even Meryn in her own way.’
Colton chuckled. ‘She may come across as a bit kooky, but she has a huge heart and is very protective of the ones she loves.’
‘She seems very heartbroken about Keelan. Were they close?’
Colton stared at the road for a moment. ‘Yes, but not in the way you’d think. They didn’t hang out together, but I think, despite his fear of an uncaffeinated Meryn, Keelan was one of the few people that got her. He understood her sci-fi references and liked the same type of movies. To Meryn, that was priceless. Even now, amongst family, we all love the little menace, but not many people really understand her. ‘
‘I know how Meryn feels. Keelan was the first person I was able to relax around since my parents passed away. It’s why I miss him so much now,’ Anne admitted.
Colton reached over and patted her arm. ‘We’ll get him back. His brother is supposed to be some kind of magical genius. If anyone can get Keelan’s soul back, it’s Kendrick.’
At the mention of his name, Anne began to remember her dreams. It had to be Keelan, not Kendrick who appeared to her at night. Otherwise, why would Keelan say she was his mate? Even telling herself this over and over again, she couldn’t ignore the burning attraction she felt for Kendrick.
‘Hey Colton, did you dream of Rheia before you found each other?’
‘Sure did. Most were nice, but they got scarier the closer I got to meeting her. Some nights, I went without sleep because I didn’t want to see her get hurt in my nightmares.’
‘That’s how you knew you were mates? Because you dreamt of her?’
Colton nodded. ‘She dreamt of me, too. It really helped her accept our mating. Why do you ask? Did you dream of Keelan before you met him?’
‘Yes, I did; that’s why I was so flustered that night in the store.’
Colton laughed. ‘It didn’t help that we had him in a pull up.’
Anne smiled at the memory. ‘His face was the color of a tomato when he walked up to explain what was going on.’
Colton groaned. ‘I still feel awful about that.’
‘Don’t feel bad. It actually made talking to him much easier. There was no way I could be intimidated by him after that. In fact, I think that entire episode made it so that we could talk to each other.’
Colton turned to her. ‘Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?’ He turned his attention back to the road.
‘Really. Normally, I get nervous around people. I was ten years older than my classmates in college, so I was on my own for a long time, but it was impossible to be nervous around Keelan with the image of him wearing a pull up burned into my mind.’
‘Thanks, Anne. I hated the idea that I might have ruined his mating.’
‘You’re really very sweet. Rheia is a lucky woman.’
The tips of Colton’s ears turned pink. ‘I’m a lethal wolf shifter. I am not sweet.’
‘You keep telling yourself that.’
Colton growled and laughed. She ended up laughing with him. Thanks to Keelan, she was making new friends. If only he could be awake to see.
*****
Sascha and Colton carried her boxes up to the guest room closest to Keelan’s bedroom. They said their goodbyes and headed downstairs to join up with Quinn before heading to some place called the Council Manor for their meeting. She stared at the boxes and felt no motivation whatsoever to unpack. So she decided to change into more comfortable clothes. She dug through her clothes box and picked out a pair of teal sweatpants, sherpa lined slippers, and her favorite sweatshirt that read, ‘Anime…Crack would be cheaper.’ Wanting to be closer to Keelan, she grabbed her backpack and pulled out her laptop and charger.
She knocked on Keelan’s door and waited. Getting no response, she exhaled in relief. She wasn’t sure how to act around Kendrick and the feelings he evoked. She walked in and immediately went over to the bed. She checked Keelan’s feeding tube and IV bag; both still looked great. She plugged in her laptop, sat down in the recliner, and made herself comfortable. With her laptop nestled in her lap she fired up her favorite boy’s love anime. Boy’s love anime was her favorite. What was better than one gorgeous guy going through the ups and downs of falling in love? Two gorgeous men. She was so engrossed in her latest episode, she didn’t notice Kendrick’s return until he was standing over her.
‘Ahh!’ She accidentally inhaled her own spit and began to cough. She set her laptop to one side as Kendrick hurried over to the table and brought back his cup of tea. She took small sips still trying to clear her airway.
‘Were you trying to kill me?’ she demanded.
Kendrick shook his head, an amused expression on his face. ‘You were so entranced by Tezuka-san and Yuri-kun, you didn’t hear me call out to you.’
Anne blinked as she realized he knew exactly what she had been watching.
Kendrick leaned down. ‘You forgot that I don’t need subtitles to know what’s going on.’
‘Oh, my goodness!’ Anne buried her face in her hands.
‘What?’ Kendrick asked, walking back to the long table that hadn’t been in the room before she left to get her things.
‘You must think I’m the biggest nerd in the whole universe for getting caught up in an anime like this.’
‘Is that what that’s called? I was enjoying listening to the story. In fact, if you don’t mind, I’d like to find out if Tezuka-san will ever admit his feelings for Yuri.’ Kendrick picked up a large, ancient-looking, leather-bound book and began to read from it.
‘You don’t mind that it’s two guys?’
‘No, the story and dialogue are very well written, and the voice actors are superb. Not many of today’s forms of entertainment hold my interest, this does.’
Anne smiled. Of course he didn’t mind that it was a love story between two guys. Not if he had a thing for Ryuu. ‘I can go back and start at the beginning. I’m only two episodes in,’ she offered hesitantly.
Kendrick turned to her, a smile on his face. ‘I’d very much like to hear how this entire debacle started.’
Anne shook her head and double-clicked on the first episode. Within an hour, they were caught up and well into the next episode when Kendrick turned to her frowning. ‘I don’t understand–why doesn’t Yuri just tell Tezuka how he feels? They could avoid a lot of the confusion and trouble.’
Anne rolled her eyes. ‘Because if he confessed his love and was rejected, it would destroy him. Right now, his dream of playing with Tezuka in nationals is the only thing keeping him going.’
Kendrick shook his head. ‘I’m worried for Yuri.’
‘Me too. Should we keep going?’
Kendrick was about to answer when the door slammed open. An angry young man with blond hair stormed into the room. Anne jumped to her feet. ‘You can’t be in here!’ she said angrily, setting her laptop down in her chair.
The man walked up to Kendrick and poked him in the chest. ‘You! Who do you think you are changing the rules? When a member of a unit is killed, a trainee takes their place. You can’t just waltz in here and do whatever you want, witch!’ he hissed in Kendrick’s face.
Anne stared in shock. Behind the angry intruder, four more young men appeared in the doorway, all of them looking equal parts mortified and apprehensive.
‘Sterling, let it go! This was decided by the Unit Commander; you need to stand down.’ The dark haired man with blue eyes stepped forward acting as the leader of the group.
‘Shut it, Lennox! By all rights, Basil should have been placed with Alpha when Keelan was killed,’ Sterling retorted.
Lennox ground his teeth together. ‘Keelan isn’t dead, you jackass! Why do I get the feeling that you don’t care the least bit about Basil? This is about you somehow isn’t it?’
Sterling looked over at Lennox, a sneer on his face. ‘Aiden McKenzie has been changing too many rules lately. If he skips over advancing Basil, who’s to say he won’t skip over us?’
‘I’ll put money on the fact they skip over you, dickhead,’ the one with black hair muttered.
‘Fuck you, Kai! You may like fawning over the warriors dreaming of the day for advancement, but I plan on advancing.’ Sterling swung his gaze back to Kendrick who remained seated. Kendrick licked his finger and turned the page, deliberately ignoring the man.
‘I’m talking to you!’ Sterling knocked the book out of Kendrick’s hands.
Bad move dude.
Anne grinned openly as Kendrick stood to his full height. At six foot six, he towered over the young man.
Sterling’s eyes widened as he took in Kendrick’s muscled form. ‘B-b-but, you’re a witch,’ he stammered.
Kendrick never said a word; he simply placed the tip of his finger on Sterling’s chest. A second later, the man was convulsing on the ground.
‘Kendrick!’ Anne rushed over to kneel beside Sterling, who was now limp, as she reached for his wrist. She made sure he was still breathing and turned back to Kendrick. ‘What did you do?’
He shrugged. ‘A lesson in humility. I would move back if I were you.’
Anne was about to ask what he meant when the smell hit her. Whatever Kendrick had done, it had caused Sterling to lose control of his bowels. She scooted back a bit and then stood. ‘But he’s okay, right? Not a zombie or anything?’
Kendrick gave her a flat look. ‘No, not a zombie.’ He looked up at the group. ‘You and you, come here.’ He pointed to Lennox and Kai. The men straightened as if coming to attention and stepped forward.
‘Yes, sir?’ they said together.
Anne half expected them to salute at any moment.
‘Take this child back down to where the other warriors are training, I’ll let Aiden deal with him.’ Kendrick frowned down at the still form.
Lennox and Kai hesitated. Kendrick waved a hand over Sterling. ‘There, none of his filth will get on you now.’ He winked at the two men.
Both were visibly relieved. ‘Thank you, sir. We don’t like touching Sterling to beat on him during drills, much less…’ Lennox indicated Sterling’s predicament.
‘Perfectly understandable.’ Kendrick paused and looked over at the two other men at the door. His eyes landed on the smaller, youngest looking one with brown hair and eyes. ‘Basil, I presume?’
Basil nodded, went to step forward, and tripped over his own feet. If not for the quick reflexes of the man next to him, he would have ended up on the floor like Sterling.
‘Sir?’ he managed to squeak.
‘Is it true that you would have been the one to take Keelan’s place while he is… unavailable?’ Kendrick asked.
Anne rolled her eyes. What was it with the men and that word?
‘Yes, sir…I mean, no, sir.’
Kendrick waited for a further explanation. ‘Well? Is it yes or no?’
‘Yes, I am the witch trainee for Alpha, and in the event that Keelan is no longer able to serve in Alpha, I would take his place, but Keelan is still a part of Alpha, sir.’
Kendrick smiled softly. ‘Excellent answer. Tell Aiden that you will be my assistant until further notice.’
Basil’s eyes got huge and a wide smile broke out over his face. ‘You really mean that sir?’
Kendrick nodded. ‘Normally, you wouldn’t receive any further magical instruction until you have completed your responsibilities as a unit warrior; however, since I am here and will be working on magical theories while I study the necklaces, it would be a wasted opportunity not to train you further.’
‘Thank you, sir! If I can, I’d like to finish out my drills for the day and start tomorrow?’ Basil asked hope in his eyes.
‘I find that acceptable. Good of you to complete today’s duties. I look forward to your assistance tomorrow.’
Basil bowed and let the tall blond steer him out of the room since he seemed to be completely dazed. Lennox and Kai were teasing him about his good luck as they shut the door behind them.
Anne walked over to the table as Kendrick picked up his book and sat back in his chair.
‘Why did those boys treat you like some sort of celebrity?’
Kendrick just shrugged. ‘I may or may not have a reputation amongst the warriors for disobeying council dictates in an effort to help warrior witches learn more, which may or may not have resulted in lives being saved.’
‘So basically, you’re a badass?’ She crossed her arms over her chest.
He looked up and winked. ‘Something like that. I don’t like being told what to do, and I don’t play well with others.’
‘If you don’t play well with others, why did you volunteer to train Basil?’
‘Because, despite his frothing at the mouth and self interest, Sterling was right. Basil should have moved up to Alpha. Since I have chosen to stay and act in my brother’s stead, I can do the next best thing.’
‘What is that?’
Kendrick looked up and gave her a heart-stopping, boyish grin. ‘I can make him my minion. I can’t wait to tell Meryn I have one, too,’ he said smugly.
Anne threw her arms up in the air. ‘Men!’
Kendrick ignored her outburst. ‘Put our anime back on.’
Grinning, she ran back over to her chair and resumed their show.
