“I worked as an enforcer for the Shifter Council. Tracking down feral shifters and bringing them in if they weren’t too far gone. There’s a team of scientists tasked with trying to figure out the cause of the disease, but they’re not having any success. At least they weren’t when I quit.”
“Why did you quit?” Maverick wasn’t the quitting type, so his admission surprised me.
“Because I didn’t get along with Maximus Lightfoot, the wolf-shifter leader of the council. Like most wolves, he has a superiority complex and treats other shifter species like dirt. He talked down to me one time too many, so I told him to shove his job up his ass. I bummed around for a while, did some security work, and when I met you, I’d just spent a few months working a contract for a human close protection agency down in California.”
“What’s close protection?”
“Bodyguard services for famous or very rich people, mostly. The sort of people who go to movie premieres and other high-profileevents. They hire big, scary dudes like me to keep them safe from the press and overzealous fans.” While the idea of him hanging out with gorgeous actresses and celebrities did not fill me with joy, I reluctantly admitted it sounded like a cool job.
“Did you work for anyone famous?” He chuckled.
“Yeah. A few actresses and a couple of tech billionaires, none of whom had any idea what I was. They just saw a very tall and intimidating guy.”
“So you never had to go all bear on someone?”
Maverick burst out laughing. “No. Mostly I stood around glaring at people so they didn’t get too close. It was pretty boring, albeit well paid.” He stood, lifting me with zero effort. “None of that matters, little mate. You’re the only person I care about now. Once you graduate from Starfall Academy, we can decide where we go next, but you never have to worry about money, sweetheart. I’ve never had a reason to spend my wages other than on essentials, so I have plenty of money saved. More than enough to keep us comfortable.”
Embarrassment hit me hard. I had nothing. Literally nothing to my name. Not a cent. How sad was that?
“I’m not bringing much to this relationship,” I blurted as Maverick carried me into the bedroom.
“You don’t need to, my sweet mate. You’re all I need. Now and forever.”
54
Raven
The day of the Winter Solstice Ball had arrived, but I still hadn’t found an opportunity to cast the locator spell. The pegasus feather and Kai’s scale were in a locked box under the floorboard in Maverick’s cabin.
To my surprise, Alaric had come through with the promised feather. A big part of me expected him to make an excuse or ghost me. But he’d given it to Zane, who’d handed it to Maverick for safekeeping.
I fully expected Alaric to revert to asshole mode now that he’d done his bit, although I hoped not. The spell was difficult, and Glynda was adamant we’d need help to cast it without causing some sort of magical explosion, or worse, killing ourselves.
But spell casting would have to wait until after the ball. What with end of semester exams on burning topics like ‘Are Humans a Viable Threat?’ and ‘Fungi Potions 101’, I’d not had time to do much more than study.
While I was no longer behind inallsubjects, I was behind in a lot of them. Thankfully, Glynda had been kind enough to be my study buddy.Even Kenji had made himself useful by bringing us snacks from the kitchen when we got the munchies. Yes, most had teeth marks in them before they arrived, but it was the thought that counted.
“What do you think?” I held up the dress I’d borrowed from Glynda. Kenji rolled his eyes.
“Boring.”
I dropped the boring dress onto my bed and sighed. Yes, it wasn’t really my style, but Glynda liked dark colors. She said they matched her Gothic, witchy vibe, which they did.
Bright, fun colors suited me better. I loved pinks and greens, blues and reds. Pretty jewel colors that reminded me of flowers and nature.
Maverick had offered to buy me a dress, but I said no. He already did enough for me. Besides, Glynda had offered to lend me one, only now I’d tried it on, it didn’t fit my body shape.
But since I had no other option, I’d have to suck it up.
Tonight was for the families and students. There would be a bonfire and a barbecue outdoors, with music, food, and drink. Since this was the first time the first-year students had seen their families since the start of the semester, the campus buzzed with excitement.
I knew Adam and Willow were coming later. Possibly Nova too. The thought of seeing them again made my stomach churn with anxiety. I’d missed my family, but I wasn’t sure how they’d react to news of me finding a soul-bond with a bear shifter.
“You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry,” Kenji commented from his position on my pillow. I grimaced at the sight of white hair all over the spot where I lay my head. For a kitsune who claimednotto shed, he sure shed a lot.
I sighed before picking up the dress again. It would have to do. Besides, it didn’t matter what I wore. The only person whose opinionI cared about was Maverick’s, and I knew he’d think I looked gorgeous no matter what.
Yes, I might be a teeny bit invested in whether Alaric, Zane, or Kai thought I looked pretty, but realistically, none of them would tell me even if they did.
