The tendril struck, and the crow shifted back into a large man. “Subdue her.”
The familiar pounced, and after a brief struggle, he quickly overpowered her.
“How dare you?” she hissed. “The bond between a familiar and a witch—”
“Is sacred, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well then, why didn’t you protect him from possession too?” I asked, pointing to the anti-demon symbol tattooed on her sternum. The horned image of Ravaric was surrounded by six orbs of different colors, representing the other Lundarian gods.
She spat on the ground, the familiar’s grip on her tightening. “Tattoos don’t work on familiars—they disappear whenever they shift!”
I pursed my lips in surprise. “Huh, didn’t know that. Thanks for the tidbit, I’m sure it will come in handy at Trivia Night. In any case,tie her up.”
The crow familiar nodded, grabbing some rope from the corner and forcing her down on a chair, bringing her arms around her back and knotting them together tightly.
“You still won’t find her,” Morgana said. “I don’t care how many days you have left, she’s so far gone you’ll be dead before—”
“Ugh, enough. I get it.”
I ordered my new vessel to find the key to my cuffs and unlock them, and then turned right around and put him in them right where I was. I double checked Morgana’s restraints, and then poured some of the sleeping draught into a few empty vials I found on the table.
I gave the familiar his dose, and once he was out, I withdrew my tendril and then turned towards Morgana.
“I’m not going to force you to take this. If you want to stay awake this whole time with nothing to do but watch your familiar sleep, be my guest.”
She looked at me, her voice dripping with vitriol. “Her blood is on your hands, demon. You may be happy now, but once you learn what he’s really done to her, you’re going to wish you’d died here instead.”
She might be right, but no matter what, I needed to find that out on my own. “Is that a yes, then?”
Morgana opened her mouth like a petulant child being forced to take their medicine, and I poured the dose inside. Within seconds she was out, her body limp and her head leaning forward.
I slapped her lightly a few times just to be sure, and then found my way to the stairs and went up.
We definitely weren’t in the Hexwood’s house any longer, but it didn’t look like we were too far away. She must have been scoping the place out in case someone like me came by.
I found my phone, wallet, and car keys on a table in the living room and went outside. It was ten p.m., and despite the sleeping draught I’d just woken up from, I was still exhausted. And wired, strangely enough.
And too fucking horny.
The rut suppressant still wasn’t working properly, and real sex was the only thing that would help. Usually, I avoided it during a job, but in this case it might be necessary, and I needed to get it over with quickly so I could concentrate again. My time was running out.
But with who? And how? My dick wanted Sage, but that was obviously not happening. Cindralis, like all the city-states, had heat clinics for single omegas who wanted pre-screened alphas to help them out with their own needs, but I’d always thought the places sounded kind of depressing.
Besides, I wasn’t pre-screened, and that process took weeks preciselybecausethey didn’t want rutting alphas coming in and accidentally hurting or taking advantage of someone.
No, I was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, and after a quick sniff test confirmed I was fine not stopping home for a shower, I found my car and drove downtown, finding the closest bar and heading inside.
The place was packed, and I took off my fake ring before ordering an Appletini and scoping out the women. A pretty beta witch who reminded me of Sage caught my eye, but when she caught me staring, she frowned and walked away.
I must have looked like such a creep.
I sighed and turned around to face the bar, pulling out my phone. There were also dating apps for alphas like me—a skeevier alternative to heat clinics. Some Magiks were actually into ruts with anonymous alphas, so it sounded like my best bet.
Garrick had mentioned one he liked to use, and I downloaded it. Just as I was about to start making a profile,a cute familiar plopped down beside me. She had long, white-tipped red hair with two streaks of black framing her face. Russet skin with warm, amber eyes, she ordered a vodka tonic and then turned to face me. “Do those ever get in the way?” she asked, pointing to the top of my head.
I looked up, seeing the tips of my horns from where they jutted out. “Get in the way of what?”
She shrugged. “Hats?”
I choked on my drink as I laughed. “Hats? Really?”
