Kat watched as her handsome wolf shifter mate got into the car along with Bjorn and the two MBI agents. Yeah, she didn't like the two agents much either and she more than understood the frustration and tension in Magnus's body as he got into the car and drove off.
She was careful that he didn't see her – not yet. She was in her human form and for the life of her, she couldn't explain why she kept putting off meeting her mate. At first, Bella had been the excuse. To get her newfound friend up to date on currents affairs and modern technology had been a long process, but the results were more than satisfactory. When that wasn't an excuse anymore, she kept telling herself that she was waiting for the right time.
Which never seemed to come.
Every time Magnus turned her way she hid or turned the hourglass that had her shifting into her black bobcat again. Hell, at this point it was all but a reflex! Magnus caught wind of her, and she was back in cat-form, scurrying away like the scaredy-cat she was…
She watched the car pull away but stayed put until it turned the corner and was out of sight. Then she stood--- embarrassed that she'd been hiding behind a dumpster to avoid meeting her fated mate.
"Way to go, Kat," she muttered to herself, before heading to the coffee shop that her mate and partner had just excited. A dozen doughnuts and an extra-large coffee later she was walking home slowly enjoying the cool seasonal weather. Christmas was just around the corner, and she'd always loved the lights and the scent of cocoa and pine. It reminded her of old Christmas movies she used to watch with her parents and siblings.
Not that she was likely to ever see them again…
A year after she had disappeared her parents had officially declared her dead. For all intent and purposes, Kat Weldon was dead and gone and there was even a gravestone for her back home that her parents visited twice a year. On the day she vanished and on her birthday.
Did she really want to rip up old wounds?
And how was she going to explain everything that had happened? That one witch had cursed her and another one had become her friend and was helping her to get rid of said curse? How could she tell them that she'd been there, watching as they gave up on finding her and it tore her heart out? That she left because she couldn't take it anymore…
She walked up the steps to her and Bella's apartment. The fire escape was long gone and instead, it was solid stone steps leading up to a door with the sign "THE HUT" hanging over it. It still made Kate grin every time she saw it and as she opened the door and went inside, the sight that greeted her didn't even make her blink…
"He promised, he'd be with me forever," a woman howled in a bone-crunching cry and took another tissue from Bella, who was rolling her eyes at the woman's hysterics.
Bella had made good of her powers by opening a voodoo shop, properly baptized "The Hut". And while at first, her only customers had been tourists, she'd soon made a booming business when rumors started to flow around that what she did actually worked. Of course, at that point, Kat had to take another sit down with her and explain why it was a bad idea to sell Voodoo dolls or any type of potions that might become too problematic for them.
Especially, to keep them off the MBI's radar.
"Magic like that isn't allowed?" Bella had asked with a frown before her expression turned thoughtful and distant. "No wonder people find what I do so fascinating. Where I come from even a babe with could do most of these parlor tricks."
Yeah---
Bella was the kind of person who thought that love-potions, revenge spells, and protection spells were nothing more than small circus acts that any witch would do. In their time – the 21st century that was – potions and spells like that were only forged by the most powerful of wizards and witches. And if Bella considered those to be simple tricks---
It sometimes made Kat wonder how powerful a witch Bella really was…
"In my experience, a man's "forever" rarely lasts until morning, dear," she huffed, pushing off the counter and pulling down a jar with some black-looking powder in it, carefully depositing it into a small tea-bag. "Don't take it to heart and put this in his drink. It will give him an erection he'll never forget."
Bella still didn't really understand the concept that infidelity was an unforgivable crime. As far as she was concerned all men "cheated". Her father had cheated on her mother, and she didn't care. Hell, she expected that whoever married her was going to settle his urges elsewhere. But she also reasoned that her mother had been a witch and hadn't loved their father – or that he loved her – and that perhaps if she fell in love, she might feel differently about it.
But she expected not to…
"An erection?" the woman screeched in morbid disappointment. But the snicker creeping across Bella's face told Kat that there was something way more sinister than a simple "erection".
"Yes," she said in a low, conspiratorial voice as she leaned over the counter and closer to the woman. "He will continue to remain hard and ejaculate for hours on end until he passes out. It's extremely painful, uncomfortable, and the perfect revenge, when you think about it. To turn an orgasm into a torture device."
"I liked it," the woman said, suddenly singing an entirely different tune as murderous glee spread across her features.
"It's not going to permanently hurt him, right?" Kat asked and put the box of doughnuts down. Bella was scheming and vengeful like most witches and at times Kat felt more like Jiminy Cricket than a friend. But whereas most witches were cold-hearted and calculated, Bella was anything but. Sure, she came across as evil and maleficent, but in reality, she was just blunt in her words, spoke her mind no matter the consequences, and never sugar-coated things. She lay it to you plainly and to Kat's surprise had a whole lot of heart underneath her hard exterior. Sure, she'd never admit that, and she'd probably kill Kat if she knew she was thinking it, but Kat was on to the 17th-century witch.
She was a softy…
"Of course not," Bella scoffed as if the thought of him not being permanently in pain disappointed her. "But he's going to cringe every time he thinks about sex or fucking for the next couple of months."
The woman left with a grin on her face and Kat wondered if she perhaps should talk her out of it instead. But she argued, that since she didn't know the whole story behind the whole "cheating"-claim, she wasn't going to interfere. If Kat had learned anything over the past few years, it was that you should never judge anybody until you knew both sides of the story. And hell, even then, you still didn't know the truth since all stories and experiences were personal and people could react to the same things very differently…
"What have you been up to? Stalking your soul mate again?" Bella asked the second the door closed and grabbed the box of goodies, gliding more than walking into the kitchen. "Because as cute as you are, I'm pretty sure that's still a crime."
Kat always envied Bella's natural confidence and beauty. Once she'd finally convinced the witch to let go of the dresses and join fashion in the 21st century, Bella had done so the same way she did everything else.
She embraced it like it was the summer of 19-freaking-69!
He's cut her platinum blond hair in a 1920s French bob hairstyle, that made her natural curls bounce around her heart-shaped face. Kat thought it made her look a little like a blond version of Betty Boop only with more edge and sensual sex appeal. Her sense of fashion wasn't flashy or trashy, but always low cut and short shorts. And whether she was wearing high booths or ripped tee's that flashed some of her stomach, it didn't matter. She looked good in everything and strangely it didn't take anything away from her as her identity as a witch. It was more of a punk-rock meets street corner slut, but she made it work. Today she was dressed in an oversized, off-shoulder pullover, shorts, and high boots that reached up to her thigh. But the pullover was so big, it hid her sorts, making it look like she was provocatively naked underneath it.
And she rocked it!
Unlike Kat, who was most comfortable in jeans, T-shirts or tank tops and big hoodies. Today she was in her most comfortable pair of blue jeans, a pink tank-top with a cute cat on it, and a black crop-top hoodie with a huge dog-paw resting right above her chest.
It was her favorite!
"I'm not stalking him," Kat defended her actions and followed her into the adjoining kitchen. "I'm just waiting for the right moment to introduce myself to him."
The Hut had adjusted again to accommodate the store at the front. A huge wall separated the voodoo shop from the rest of the apartment, and while it was still where Bella spent most of her time studying magic, it couldn't separate the magic from the rest of the house.
Which was sort of hard to miss…
The chairs moved on their own accord making room for Kat and Bella. The kettle turned on, on its own accord, preparing Bella's favorite tea, and the curtains lowered just enough for them not to get the sun while they sat and chatted. The TV in the living room turned on, playing the news, but kept muted for their sake. If Kat went into the bedroom that she slept in when she stayed overnight, the bed would be made, clean towels would be out and the washer doing her dirty laundry.
It was like having a 24/7 maid sent from heaven!
"Hmm," Bella harumphed, taking out a cup and started pouring her tea that was one part water and nine parts, honey. "It looks like you're talking. It sounds like you're talking. But all I'm hearing is bullshit."
Yep! That was Bella for you alright… She called it as she saw it and there was no stopping the girl. Hell, even a match between a charging bull and Bella, Kat's money would be on Bella – no matter the bet!
"Stop being so afraid and go get your man," Bella continued and sat across from her. "Or do you prefer being his part-time cat instead?"
At this point, Kat actually felt it was easier to be his cat, as she was, unfortunately, starting to realize.
"I'm a coward," she spanned, clutching her extra-large cup of black, bitter coffee. "Is that what you want to hear?"
"No," Bella replied, without even batting an eye, and picked up a glazed, chocolate ring of love. "What I want to hear is how your first meeting went if it's going to be a summer or winter wedding and how many god-childing I'm going to have." She winked. "I have to prepare, you know."
Kat couldn't help herself but laugh. But when the laughter died down, she told Bella everything.
"The pack wants him to find a mate," she told her, and hell, even now, saying it out loud, made her heart clench painfully. She'd overheard a conversation between Bjorn and Magnus at the office one day. Magnus hadn't been happy about it, but apparently, there wasn't anything he could do about it, since everything had already been set in motion.
And now she was terrified…
Of being rejected. Not being good enough, not strong enough. That with all of these alpha females around hoping to snatch his attention, he'd realize how much she was lacking in that department. That while most of the females dropping by were all gorgeous runway models, she was barely average in looks.
Not to mention that she was a feline-shifter!
Which meant that if they decided to ever have children, there was a chance that not all of them would be wolf-shifters. They might be cat-shifters and would never be able to become alphas…
So, it was just easier to be his cat.
At least then he wouldn't see her as lacking…
"You're underestimating yourself, Kat," Bella stated firmly when she was done talking, and to her surprise, reached over and gently took her hand in hers. "You're strong and brave and kind and your mate will love you for all those attributes, just like I do." She paused, frowning. "Well, almost as much. I will of course remain your best-witch no matter who you mate. All you have to do is walk up to him and say "hello". The rest will sort itself out – eventually."
And she said that with such confidence and self-assurance, all Kat could do was smile and roll her eyes.
"Of course," she replied, but felt a little of the tension ease as she continued to nurse her coffee. "And thanks for the vote of confidence, but it's not that simple either. Like, what am I going to say to him? Hi! I'm Kat, the cat you rescued and lived with for some time. Guess what, I'm your soulmate, and here's the deal: I was cursed so there's a chance you can't recognize me, but I promise if you sleep with me and pop my cherry the curse will be broken. Or at least that's what my best witch friend is telling me will happen…"
Yeah, Kat wasn't looking forward to that conversation.
"And let's not forget the part where you helped me escape from jail," Bella very not-helpfully added.
"No, how could I when you love to remind me," Kat snorted with grin and took a sip of her coffee. Hell, there was a picture of Bella in the marshal's office, and while she highly doubted anyone would ever recognize the girl in the photo and think about Bella was highly unlikely, she did feel a burn of guilt after she found out the shitstorm that Magnus had landed in after.
The MBI was NOT happy about her escape!
Kat had felt guilt ride her hard as she had to listen to some bigshot at the MBI tear Magnus a new one. Because of Bella's disappearance the Colten case was falling apart, and he'd be out again in only six months because they had nothing to hold him. And although Colten was a serial criminal, the MBI couldn't hold him longer than what the jury voted.
Which meant that in only a few short weeks, Colten might be coming for Bella again. Not that Bella seemed to be worried about it, but Kat worried. She worried about everything it would seem.
"We're like Bonny and Clyde," Bella suddenly snickered, probably laughing at something that was way more hilarious in her mind, than to anyone. Kat just stared at her.
What had she gotten herself into?