Presumably it had been written with the intent of teaching any surviving descendants, which was exactly the purpose it now served. Wes had already managed to control his own dreamscape in such a way as to block Gaelin from harassing him at night, and he’d managed to develop his skill with crows in such a way that he could direct where he wanted them to go. The other day he’d even accompanied me to the local store... inside a crow’s mind.
According to the book, he should be able to fully shift his form into a crow one day. But that required a talisman much like my bloodstone ring, one gifted by another badbh, which wasn’t exactly looking likely.
We’d been in touch with the team daily, but most of the time it just wound up with me chatting to one of the guys for over an hour like we were school kids. It reminded me of when Vali and I had started talking, so I was enjoying it immensly.
It wasn’t even daybreak when Wesley hauled me out of bed one day to head back to Seamus’s house. We’d been staying in a little bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the town, seeing as there hadn’t been room for us to stay with Seamus, but I had been glad of the space.
“No,” I groaned as Wesley tried to shake me awake. “It’s too early. Go back to sleep.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” he coaxed, moving my hair out of the way and pressing little kisses to my naked back. “I was on the verge of nailing a new skill yesterday, and I have a good feeling about today.”
“You said that yesterday,” I grumbled, turning over to snake my arms around his neck. He was fresh from the shower without a shirt on yet and his jeans still open at the waist. “Come back to bed until it’s light, and then we can go.”
In an attempt to tempt him, I wove my fingers into his wet hair and pulled him down to kiss me. He gave a frustrated groan, kissing me back as I pulled him closer and slipped my hands down to his jeans. I’d not bothered putting any clothes back on before falling asleep, so I was still naked under the sheet. The only things standing in my way were a pair of jeans and boxers...
“Sweetheart,” Wes groaned. “Come on. Please? I’ll get you coffee while you shower.”
I paused. What did I want more, coffee or sex? Ugh, why were all of life’s decisions so damn hard? Speaking of hard...
“Kit,” Wesley scolded as my hands continued their quest.
“Fine,” I sighed, pouting up at him even as he gave me puppy eyes himself. “You’re going to need to make up for it later, though.”
Wes chuckled, kissing me hard and grinding his erection against me, the big tease. “Absolutely. Now get up. It’s going to be a big day today, sweetheart. I can feel it.”
“I wish you’d feel something else,” I grumbled, wiggling over to the side of the bed and stumbling sleepily into the bathroom. “Big coffee, please.”
Wes laughed. “Obviously. Back in five, and don’t go back to sleep!”
“I won’t! Geez.” I rolled my eyes as I turned on the shower and checked the temperature. It wasn’t like I often went back to sleep when he thought I was getting up. Just... sometimes.
The warm water did help to wake me up, but it was the giant cup of coffee Wes left on the vanity that really did the trick for me. When I stepped out of the water, I hurried to wrap a towel around myself before taking a long sip and not even caring that it burned my tongue.
“Oh fuck yes,” I moaned, rolling the delicious liquid over my tongue. “That’s the shit. Right there.”
“Better than sex, huh?” Wesley teased me, leaning on the bathroom doorframe fully dressed this time. I grinned back at him, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.
“Not always,” I admitted. “But fuck, it comes close.”
He laughed at me then, his baby-blue eyes sparkling with delight. The transformation in him since we’d arrived was noticeable, like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he could see light at the end of the tunnel. It was totally worth the trip just to see him like this.
“I love you, Wes,” I confessed, finding myself lost in his gaze for a moment.
“You don’t mean you love coffee?” He quirked a mocking brow at me, and I scowled.
“No, asshole. Although I love coffee too. But this time, I mean you. I love you, Wesley.”
He grinned down at me. “Well, in that case, I love you too, sweetheart.” He punctuated this sentiment with a lingering kiss that seriously made me regret accepting coffee over sex.
“Come on,” he reminded me, breaking away. “Get dressed. I’m excited for today.”
“I can see that,” I murmured, but I couldn’t stop smiling at him. Damn adorable nerd that he was. I relinquished my coffee just long enough to dress, then took it back while Wes drove us out to Seamus’s little cottage.
We let ourselves in, as Seamus had advised we do if we came over early. He was not a morning person himself, so it was better for everyone if we didn’t wake him. Not that I blamed him. I’d have loved to stay asleep too, but Wes seemed to think he focused better when I was nearby, so here I was.
“I wonder if he has any of those potato-scone things left,” I mumbled to myself, heading into the kitchen while Wesley set himself up at the table where he’d left the book and all his notes the night before.
To my disappointment, it looked like there were none left and not much of anything else either. I groaned and checked the time. The store wouldn’t be open for a couple of hours yet.
“Wes, I’m going to bake something, okay?” I called out to him and saw his pen pause on the notebook he’d been writing in.
“Uh... are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked gently, giving me a somewhat scared look.
I scowled back at him. “Ha-ha, very funny. I’ll have you know I am not a terrible cook when I actually try. It’s not my fault you guys are all so willing to cook for me, you know.”
“Fair enough,” he admitted. “What are you going to make?”
“Cheese and bacon muffins,” I announced, fishing out the ingredients that I could see in the fridge. “And I’ll go restock Seamus’s kitchen when the store opens... seeing as it’s so fucking early nothing’s open yet.”
“Uh-huh,” Wes murmured, already turning back to his notes. “Just don’t burn the house down or anything.”
“Asshole,” I muttered but was still smiling. Humming around the kitchen while I made my breakfast muffins, I briefly considered getting Tyson out for some company.
“I wouldn’t,” Sam’s voice hissed through my mind. “His fat ass will trip your clumsy feet up and the next thing you know... chaos.”
“Thanks for your input, Sam,” I whispered, rolling my eyes. For the most part, the two of them stayed quiet and just... did whatever familiars did when they weren’t in physical forms. Slept, I guess? Every now and then, though, Sam felt the need to comment on a situation or Tyson would offer his approval on something I was doing. It had started out weird. Intrusive. But I’d kind of grown to like having them with me.
He had a point about Tyson, though. The kitchen wasn’t that big, and Tyson was not a small kitty. Sighing, I continued baking in silence while Wes worked. He was approaching the whole thing in a very analytical manner—very academic—which I wasn’t totally sure was the best way to approach magic.
Then again, what the heck did I know? Not a whole lot, apparently, or I wouldn’t have somehow ended up wearing a bracelet that was blocking my magic gifted by my oh-so-loving biological mother.
Bitch.
The oven timer dinged, and I grinned with satisfaction as I pulled out my perfectly golden, savory muffins. Hell yeah, nailed it.
“Voila!” I announced, laying one down in front of Wesley on a plate. “And you doubted me.”
Wesley’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he eyed the freshly baked creation. “Color me impressed, sweetheart. This looks really good!”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I teased, rolling my eyes. “I figure if I no longer have my magic, then I might need to find another skill for you guys to keep me around.”
“Kit,” he scolded, grabbing my hand and yanking me to sit on his lap. “Firstly, you will get your magic back. And secondly, you don’t think loving you is enough reason for us to keep you?”