Mathlin brightened. “Thanks.”
Titan’s mind raced with this new option. Depending on how much Mathlin could do... maybe Twin Buns could be back in business sooner rather than later. He would have fewer products available, but it was better than having none.
Mathlin’s stomach gurgled. Only then did Titan look down, remembering that they were still pressed together on the counter.
He yanked himself away, his face growing hot. “Sorry, sorry. I forgot that we were done acting. I was... lost in thought.”
Mathlin looked disappointed. “It’s okay. That was nice. I mean, you and me squished together like two lumps of dough in a loaf pan.”
Titan raised his eyebrows. “You bake?”
Mathlin shrugged, his mouth twisting. “I... I used to cook for my Master.”
“Your Master?”
“I was an apprentice,” Mathlin said. “After my parents died, a wizard took me in. I learned a lot of healing stuff from him, but...”
His pause sent a chill down Titan’s spine.
“What did he do?” Titan asked warily.
“I’m a black cat,” Mathlin mumbled, his eyes downcast. “The wizard cast a spell on me and kept me in my cat shape for a few years, forcing me to remain as his apprentice. During mealtimes, he would change me back into a human so I could cook for him. If I didn’t obey, he would beat me.”
Anger bubbled fast and harsh through Titan’s chest. “What the hell? How did you get out?”
“I waited for a long time.” Mathlin sagged. “I learned some things because he was full of himself and he liked to tell me exactly what other people did wrong. He had embedded his curse under my skin. He would get really mad whenever I tried to scratch it out, so I knew it was important. But it took years for me to grow strong enough to carve the spell out of my body.”
Mathlin twisted at his waist, pulling up his shirt to reveal a splotchy, scarred divot at his hip, two inches above his ass. It was surrounded by several faint scars—claw marks? Knife wounds?
Titan’s heart hurt. “Did you inflict all that on yourself?”
“Trying to get it out.” Mathlin nodded. “At first, the wizard would heal me when I bled. After a while, he decided not to. I had to figure out how to shape my magic to close the wound. There were several binding spells around his house so I couldn’t just run out of there—”
“Fuck,” Titan hissed.
“But because he left me alone and didn’t lock up his spell books, I began to read them when he was away. It took me a long time to figure out how to undo the binding spells—I had to learn how to make them first so I could create my own, because I couldn’t risk messing his up and having him find out. There were a few accidents.”
Mathlin showed Titan the faint silvery scars on his arms.
“Math, sweetheart.” Titan’s chest hurt.
“I was lucky—I could heal myself before he saw the injuries,” Mathlin said. “It always takes a lot out of me.”
“But you got away in the end?”
“Yeah. I got to the point where I knew how to dismantle all the binding spells around the house. Then I waited until he went away on a long trip. When he’d been gone for a day, I undid all his binding spells, scratched out the spell on me, stole some of his money, and fled.”
“How old were you?” Titan almost didn’t want to know.
“Eleven when I met him. Sixteen when I got out.”
“Fuck. It’s been, what, six years? Do you think he might still be searching for you?”
Mathlin shuddered. “I hope not. I tried to remove as much of my genetic material as I could from his house... But you know cat hair.”
Titan winced, leaning in to bump Mathlin’s knee. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Math. I wish I had been there to get you out. How the hell are you still here, getting yourself into a contract with me?”
“You’re not a wizard,” Mathlin said, his gaze steady. “And I know you. I’ve spent a while with your pack. You’re good people.”
