‘Perfect. Ask her to conjure me up a dress for the Wolf Ball. It doesn’t need to be fancy or anything. I don’t want to draw too much attention to myself.’ She patted his shoulder. ‘Good thinking!’
He shook his head slowly. ‘How did you ever manage before I came along?’
She beamed. ‘It’s a genuine mystery!’
He sighed. ‘You will be careful with that damned wolf, won’t you? I swear he’s up to something with the offer of these lessons.’
‘Alexander MacTire can be a bit tetchy but he’s a good guy.’
‘If you say so, Mallory.’
‘I do. Understanding people and their needs is what I do.’
‘And what does Alexander MacTire need?’
‘The love of a good woman. And in three days’ time, when he has a date with Cathy West, he might achieve it.’ There was an odd twinge in the centre of her chest as she said those words.
Boris tilted his head. ‘Fingers crossed,’ he muttered.
Mallory’s smile was a fraction too bright. ‘Indeed.’
Mallory’sentire flat could have fitted inside the MacTire fitness suite three times over. There was a large area for sparring, several running machines, and complicated looking weights machines. A door to the right opened to a sauna while another led to a lap pool. There were two changing rooms. There was an array of small jars along one wall, each neatly labelled with the names of various magicked concoctions, and a special warded area for practising with them. Every single thing had been thought of; it was truly extraordinary.
Mallory whistled. ‘Wow.’
Alexander, dressed in loose sweats and a tight T-shirt, was observing her. ‘It’s important to stay in shape and be prepared for anything. I like to work out for an hour or two before breakfast, and I encourage the other MacTire werewolves to maintain a healthy regime.’
She gave him a mock salute. ‘Sir! Yessir!’
He rolled his eyes. ‘You should tie back your hair or it’ll get in the way.’
Mallory patted her springy curls. ‘I’ll try, but my hair doesn’t tend to obey orders.’
Alexander flashed a grin. ‘Par for the course considering you don’t obey my orders.’
‘I’m not yours to order,’ she told him, but she found a scrunchie in the bottom of her bag and did her best to tame her curls into temporary submission. One could only try.
As she took up position at the side of a mat, Alexander wheeled over a dummy. ‘We’ll practise on this to begin with.’
Mallory eyed its blank face. ‘What’s his name?’
‘He doesn’t have a name. He’s a dummy.’
She gasped and covered its non-existent ears. ‘Shh. You’ll hurt Kevin’s feelings.’
‘Kevin?’
‘If you’d rather call him something else…’
Alexander was already shaking his head. ‘Kevin is fine. Now,’ he instructed, ‘imagine that the dummy is threatening you.’
‘Kevin, you mean.’
‘Whatever. Kevin is threatening you.’
Mallory pouted. ‘Kevin is mean.’
‘Very.’ He pointed at the dummy. ‘He’s coming at you and there’s nobody around to help. What are you going to do?’
