"I'm Bellatrix Phips! And I came here from 1693, Salem, to save my family."
If Kat could, she would have facepalmed herself right then. But then again, if Bella didn't make a big splash wherever she went, she wasn't really Bella. So, all she could really do was to sit back and well, enjoy the show as it unfolded before her.
And what a spectacular show it was.
Magnus was gaping like a fish out of water, while Bjorn was frowning so deeply that the wrinkles in his forehead almost reached the tip of his nose.
"Save your---- what?!" Bjorn growled, echoing what Bella had just said as if repeating the words would make them more believable.
"Hard of hearing over there, Baloo?" Bella instantly baited him--- for whatever reason. Because Kat really couldn't see the appeal in taunting the man who held the keys to your freedom. But as she'd always stated, she wasn't Bella and Bella had a way to make an impression that lasted a lifetime. Seeing how Bjorn was glaring at her, Kat was guessing that she'd succeed in that remark…
"Stop calling me fluffy names," he huffed, unfolding his tree-trunk-like arms and fisting his hands at his side. Kat couldn't make out if it was rage that had his panties in a twist or something else entirely. Because despite looking at Bella like he wanted to pummel her, he also looked at her like he wanted to---
Do something else…
"Let me guess," Bella grinned, pretending to pity him. "You didn't read the book?" At Bjorn's confused expression Bella just waves his off. "Never mind! Too many five-syllable words for you anyway…"
Kat would have laughed--- if she wasn't afraid that Bjorn might hurtle her friend out the broken window.
"You intended to save your family," Magnus luckily interjected, before they could continue. "By becoming a time traveler?"
That's when Kat realized that Magnus hadn't been as surprised about the time-traveling thing, as much as he'd been surprised about her reasons for being here. The other night, when he'd almost caught her in her cat form, he hadn't recognized Bella, making Kat think they'd been out of the woods. But then again, Bella had looked like a raccoon the last time he saw her. And part dead the time before that, so perhaps Kat should have given her mate more credit…
"No," Bella scoffed, practically offended. "To be a traveler you need to travel more than once. Clearly, I only did it once."
Clearly!
"Just so we're on the same page," Magnus continued, looking at the witch expectantly as if he was preparing for a big "April Fool's" sign to appear – despite it being late November. "You came here? From another time? To save who, exactly?"
"I told you people wouldn't believe you," Kat sighed, and if she could, she would have rolled her eyes too as she turned to her friend.
"This is not the time for I-told-you-so's," Bella snapped indignantly, before turning her attention back to Magnus and Bjorn. "And yes! I did. There's a spell for everything if you just look hard enough."
"The space-time-thing," Bjorn grumbled, his eyes locking on Magnus. "Must be her."
Space-time-thing?!
Kat frowned.
What was that all about?
But whatever it was, there seemed to be an underlying understanding between the men, because Magnus gave his partner a sharp nod in agreement.
"When did you--- get here?" Magnus went on with his questions, much to Bella's annoyance.
"About six months ago," she sighed and tried to shrug, but the hands tied behind her beck were making it rather difficult. She wriggled them once more, before letting out a curse in outrage. "Is anyone going to take these off?" she asked, glaring at both Magnus and Bjorn, who both shook their heads.
"No," Bjorn even added with a cool snicker. "Consider it my welcome gift to you."
"Remind me to give you a housewarming gift later," she scoffed--- and then let out a loud whistle. She was calling for her Hut to come alive again. Now, Kat had seen this once before, but upon seeing Magnus's and Bjorn's reaction to the house coming to life, she couldn't help but be amused. Bjorn growled out a curse as he jumped a mile in the air and--- And yeah, her heart warmed a little when Magnus moved closer to her, his gun hand flying to the holster at his hip. He wanted to protect her! That meant that despite all of this, he still felt something for her, didn't it?
It had to…
Bella spun on her heels as if she wasn't strung up like a piñata and marched towards the fireplace. Her favorite chair was already rushing towards her and with all the grace and dignity of a 17th-century lady, she sat. Back straight and head held high.
"Is this going to take long?" she asked, sounding almost bored. "I have a business to run."
That's my girl!
Kat couldn't help but puff out her chest as her friend took on the huge shifters. With or without her powers Bella wasn't someone anyone should underestimate. She wasn't just a witch, but cunning and wise as well as a loyal friend.
Things that are rarely found these days…
"Oh, the MBI are going to love this," Bjorn grumbled and tried to sit--- but the furniture moved aside, letting him fall on his ass. Bjorn cursed again, glaring at the chair that moved, and Kat could have sworn the it even frowned right back at him.
Had they sensed that Bella didn't want them here?
"My hut, my rules," Bella snickered, practically confirming what Kat had just been thinking. "You haven't earned the right to sit yet."
"Son of a---!" Bjorn grumbled a million other curses, while getting up off the floor, glaring at the furniture in the meantime.
"I've never seen a house alive before," Magnus said in awe, but as he was looking around, he'd also reached out to Kat, stroking her gently, as he took in the scene. Kat, not someone to pass an opportunity to be close to her mate, snuggled in closer to him. She purred in pure contentment and almost missing what Bella said next.
"No, I've realized that most witches in this time don't have one," Bella concurred, taking a more appreciative look at her surroundings. "In my time it was the first thing you learned to do."
Magnus and Bjorn shared a glance, but Bjorn just shrugged in answer to whatever question Magnus hadn't asked out loud. But there was no doubt in Kat's mind that there had been an exchange, no matter how insignificant the movement was. They'd worked together long enough to have a way of understanding each other without the use of actual speech…
"What have you done since you got here?" Magnus asked in a more casual tone, while the broom was sweeping up the broken glass and the Hut mended the broken window.
Nifty…
"This and that," Bella replied honestly. "Opened a shop and started to earn money. Pretty easy once you get into it."
"And Kat?" he continued, gesturing towards her. "Who does she fit into all of this?"
"Please let me tell him about the whole jail thing?" Kat begged her friend. And with an afterthought added: "And everything else?"
"She wants to tell you herself," Bella nodded, and then turned her attention back to the wolf Marshal. "But other than being my friend and helping me out she hasn't done anything."
That warmed Kat's heart almost more than the touch of her mate…
"Where were you on November 22?"
That was oddly specific…
And as if reading her mind, Bella glanced up at her in confusion, her features questioning. But all Kat could give her was a cat-like shrug. Hell, she couldn't even remember what she did yesterday, let alone what happened over a week ago. But she'd watched enough cops shows – one of hers and Bella's favorite guilty-pleasures – to know that if Magnus was asking, whatever Bella answered was going to be used against her if necessary…
"Probably here," Bella replied, and while it was supposed to be a statement, it came out more like a question. Which wasn't good, if the shows was anything to go by.
"And on June 17?" Magnus asked again, his features not revealing a single emotion.
What the---?!
Kat frowned as she tried to think if that date held any significance to her. But other then being roughly around the time she met Bella, she couldn't put a single memory to the date. Hell, ever since she'd been turned into a cat, dates and years had sort of all burred into a meaningless waste of time. She didn't even know what day, month or even year she met her mate, let alone what Bella was up to at the time…
"Still in 1693?" Bella replied again, but this time didn't hide the fact that it was a question. Obviously, she was as frustrated with their questions as Kat was, because when the Marshals glared at her questioningly, she harumphed: "I don't know! I didn't exactly have a calendar to note everything down in case I got interrogated by the magic police." Once again, she was trying to do some hand signs to show her displeasure, but the handcuffs were holding her back. Now, truly and utterly annoyed, she growled: "And seriously? You're not going to take these off? I'm getting peckish and in fair warning: I'm quite a bitch without my sweet tea and crackers."
"You're telling me you have a sweet tooth?" Bjorn gaped, his first sign of actually surprise.
"Sounds like your kind of woman, Bjorn," Magnus teased--- earning glares from both Bella and Bjorn.
"Don't even joke about that!" Bella exclaimed in gaping horror.
"Finally, we agree on something," Bjorn muttered, giving his partner the stink eye. But Magnus waved him off.
"Take the links off," he sighed, sounding like he was midway of amused and halfway to giving up. "I have a feeling if she wanted to hurt us, her furniture would have done so already."
"I knew you were a sensible man," Bella beamed brightly at him, before her glare settled back on Bjorn. "Unlike some uncivilized ogre."
"Hey, I can still change my mind," Bjorn huffed, dangling the key right in front or her, as if he wanted to bait her.
"Then I guess I'll have to ask Kat to steal your keys again," Bella bite out--- making Magnus pause mid stroke, as he took in her words.
"What?" He questioned--- but all too late everyone realized what she'd just said. And her mistake!
"BELLA!" Kat exclaimed, panic flaring inside of her as she could feel Magnus pulling away from her. Bella's eyes widen, as she realized what she'd just said. And what that implied. The wolf and the bear shared a glance, before each of them settled to glare at their respectable female counterparts. Bjorn at Bella; and Magnus at Kat.
"Shit," Bella hissed between locked teeth, suddenly refusing to look Bjorn in the eyes.
"You…?" Magnus asked in disbelief, as he turned towards Kat. "You're the one who helped her escape?"
"It wasn't like that, Magnus," Kat rushed to say--- forgetting that she didn't have a voice in this form. "I needed her help, and she didn't seem like such a bad person! I didn't mean to betray you! Please…?"
"It wasn't like that," Bella was trying to translate everything that Kat was saying, but the cat was in such a rush, Bella barely had time to think about the words leaving her lips. "I needed her help, and she wasn't a bad person---!"
Wait!
That came out all wrong!
And more importantly, they didn't know that Bella was trying to translate what Kat was saying, thinking that Bella was just making excuses for herself.
"Bjorn," Magnus growled low, cutting off whatever Bella was about to say next. "We're leaving!"
And just like that, he was storming out of the room. Bjorn barely managed to unlock the handcuffs on Bella's wrists, before he too was trying to catch up to his partner.
"No! Wait!" Kat cried out, fear and pain like she'd never before experienced welling up in her chest, as she tried to chase down her mate. "Magnus! It's not what you think! MAGNUS!"
But all that answered her cries was the silence of the night…