Sure enough, when I turn my head, I see Kendra striding towards us, or rather me. The first adjective that comes to mind when I look at her is petite. She’s more than a foot shorterthan me, even with her candyfloss-pink hair piled high into some complicated style atop her head. The colour shocked me when we first met during my video call interview—it’s not what I’d expected from a newspaper editor, but there’s no denying it suits her. Like Ocean, she’s even got her eyebrows and eyelashes to match, and the colour works well with her golden-brown complexion.
“Jared, welcome to Crystal Lake and to our team here at The Chronicle.”
I spring to my feet and take her outstretched hand, giving it a quick shake. “Thank you. I’m excited to be here.”
Her pink brows tug together, and her moss-green gaze flicks between my own hazel eyes and our clasped hands. “Your energy is incredibly muted. Are you alright?”What in the New Age nonsense?
“Um, yeah, I’m good,” I reply, carefully extracting my hand from her grip. “Ocean said you have an assignment for me?” I prod, hoping to move away from whatever that was. I’m all for people expressing their beliefs as long as they’re not hurting anyone, but I’d rather not have my new boss trying to read my aura or some shit. Save that for your own time.
“Yes, I’d like you to acquaint yourself with the local business owners and do a series of short articles on how they all prepare for the Halloween festival. It’s not until the end of October, but it’s the town’s biggest event and we like to help build the excitement early on each year.”
“Huxley was actually just telling me about it—I’m excited to learn more.”
“Excellent.” Kendra rummages in her handbag for a moment before pulling out a list and handing it to me. “Here’s a list of everywhere you should pay a visit. Hopefully making the rounds will help you feel more at home here. Crystal Lake really is a wonderful community. We don’t get too many new residents, sofolks might be eager to meet you, but their attention will shift to the festival soon enough.”
“Glad to hear I won’t be a novelty for too long,” I joke.
Kendra stares up at me for a moment, lost in thought before seeming to remember herself with a jolt. “You have the town map Guppy gave you?”
“Yes, between that and your list, I’ll be fine.”
“Alright then, I’ll leave you to it. Huxley, please join me in my office for a moment.”
The man in question stands to follow her, pausing to lay a hand on my shoulder. “Good luck.” He stares intently, almost as if he’s lookingthroughme.
“Thanks.” I smile despite feeling uncomfortable. My new colleagues are a strange bunch.
Hux trails after Kendra and I redirect my attention back to the list in my hand. There are a lot of businesses on here. Reclaiming the seat at my desk, I quickly compare the list to the map Guppy gave me, plotting out my best plan of action. Halloween is almost six weeks away, so there’s plenty of time for me to make my way around everywhere on Kendra’s list. Once I’m confident in my approach, I leave armed with a quickly compiled list of questions to ask each business owner. It’s time to begin my investigation.
Chapter 9
Selene
It’s been a slow day. Not that any day at Threads of Magic is ever really what I’d describe asbusy. Enchanted clothing is expensive, so most residents can’t afford to make regular purchases. Luckily we’ve got a strong enough reputation that any visiting supernaturals usually make sure to stop by, and we’re able to fulfil online orders thanks to the supe network.
But today has been slower than usual.Glaciallyslow. Bored out of my mind without a soul to talk to slow. I’m pretty sure I know the reason for the lull too. So far there’s been no sign of the new guy, and I guarantee this nosy lot are all too busy camped out at Sweet Dreams and the other eat-in businesses or twitching their curtains at home hoping to catch a glimpse of him to come shopping. I look around in search of something else to do—I’ve already deep-cleaned the entire shop. Maybe I can draft a few floor plans for where to place the Halloween stock. I’m emerging from the office, notepad and pen in hand, when the bell above the door rings, making me perk up at the promise of a customer. “Sorry, I was just grabbing a?—”
The apology dies on my tongue, and I freeze in the middle of the shop, staring at the man who’s just entered. It’s him. The man from my recurring vision—my mate. Here in my shop.
“Golden Boy.” The nickname tumbles from my lips without permission.
“Pardon?” He asks, cocking his head, and I about swallow my own tongue at the rich timbre of his voice.
I clear my suddenly dry throat. “Nothing.” I don’t remember deciding to move closer to him, but the next thing I know I’m looking up at hazel eyes framed by a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, my heartbeat fluttering. “Hi, I’m Selene. You must be the new resident.”
“Jared,” he replies, offering his hand for me to shake.
The moment our palms connect, I’m struck by an intense feeling of rightness unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s like everything I didn’t know I’d been waiting for has arrived all at once, and it’shim. Jared. It’s the feeling I listened to my sister describe the day she met Brooks. Something I hoped to find for myself one day but, before my trip to the library, I never dared to hope that day might arrive so soon.My mate.
“The books were right,” I whisper reverently, still holding onto his large hand. I feel a lot less silly about taking extra care in choosing my outfits since learning what my visions meant now that my mate has actually shown up. Today’s wide-leg tartan trousers make my legs look great, and my dark-brown jumper is both cute and cosy.
“Sorry?” Jared extracts his hand from my grip and nudges those sexy glasses up the bridge of his nose. He looks… uncomfortable. Does he not feel this?
As far as I’m aware, out of all supernatural species, witches are the ones who feel the mate bond the least, often requiring physical contact to recognise their mates. Jared isn’t a witch—I’m sure of that much. But his magical signatureisincredibly faint. Strange. I reach out with my magic, trying to figure out what he is. Usually I’d be able to tell the moment he walked into the room, but it’s like there’s something blocking him…Ah,there it is. He’s a demon, but I still can’t tell what kind. My magic focuses just below the base of his throat, and my eyes zero in on the spot. There’s something beneath his crisp, white shirt. My attention slides upwards to his open top button, where I catch a glimpse of a gold chain. He’s wearing a dampening amulet—a powerful one at that. Maybe he reallycan’tfeel the mate pull—shit, no wonder he looks uncomfortable. I drop his hand.
“Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there.”Act normal. I can bring up the mate thing later. “Welcome to Crystal Lake. How are you liking it so far?”
“Thanks.” Luckily Jared shrugs off my weirdness, smiling warmly. “It’s been great. For the most part, the people here are very friendly. So far, the only downside has been discovering my phone doesn’t work—well, that and it took me forever to find the town on Saturday. Kendra sent me a map, but I got turned around,” he admits sheepishly. There’s a boy-next-door charm about him that’s deeply endearing. Most demons are a lot more… intense.
