Familiar (2 page)

He said it flippantly, but there was a strange slide
of emotion through his eyes. Something like envy and a little
sadness.

I pried my hands off my mouth for a moment. “You’re a
shifter.”

I’d never met a shapeshifter before, but I’d heard
plenty of stories about them. Most of those stories made me
positive I wanted to stay very far away from them.

“Good guess. What was your first clue? The fact that
I can shift form? Brilliant deduction, Brenda.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“It’s your name, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but...but I need you to go away.”

“My name’s Owen, whether or not you think it’s cool
enough for you. My mom—may she rest in peace—thought it was pretty
cool seventeen years ago so it’s good enough for me. So, it looks
like we’re all bonded together now. I have this strange compulsion
to be close to you. So annoying.” He actually rolled his eyes.
“Witches. Honestly. Think they rule the world.”

I wrung my hands. “If you’re a shifter, you can’t be
my familiar.”

“The spell that shopkeeper put on us seems to
challenge that theory.” He placed his hand casually over his
stomach and my gaze followed. Owen was fairly gorgeous, actually,
with a thin but muscular body. He looked like a runner. I could
even count his abs. You know, if I wanted to.

And I didn’t.

“You need to get out of my bed right now.” Words I’d
never actually spoken together in that sequence.

“Sure thing, boss.” He began to move and the sheets
started to slip over his bare left hip.

I turned my back to him so I wouldn’t see anything
else. “No, wait! Stop, just stop. Just change form again.”

“Back to the kitten? Or the tiger? I can be a
full-sized regular cat, if you’d prefer—that’s the best for staying
incognito. Maybe a puma would be fun, though. Or a leopard. Choose
your kitty-cat, Brenda.”

“Just the kitten is fine!” There was an edge of
hysteria in my voice as I heard the stairs creak. My mother was
coming up with my orange juice. I turned and looked at Owen.
“Please change back!”

“Because if mommy dearest sees me here like this...”
His lips curled with amusement. “That would probably look bad for
you, wouldn’t it? She’d think her darling daughter is a naughty
little witch?”

“Yes!”

“So I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of guys
sneaking into your bed in the middle of the night?”

Even though I was freaking out, I had enough time to
send him a withering glare. “That’s none of your beeswax.”

“You didn’t just say beeswax. You couldn’t have.” He
laughed and the sound was low and throaty. “That’s so completely
adorable I could seriously die.”

My cheeks were blazing with heat. I always said the
lamest things when I was nervous. “Change! Now!” It was more of a
frantic whisper than a shout.

His smile faded as if it had never been there in the
first place. “I want the bracelet.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll get it for you, but it’s not
here.”

“You hid it somewhere else?”

“Yes!”

The door opened the next moment and my mother walked
in carrying a small glass of orange juice. I nearly passed out.
When she saw Owen, there was no way I could ever possibly explain
having a naked boy laying in my bed. I’d be grounded till I was
thirty. There was no possible—

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “How adorable! But I thought you
said you didn’t get anything last night.”

I whipped around to see that the boy in my bed was
gone, replaced by a tiny, striped kitten. A tiny, striped,
purring
kitten.

“No, uh, you must have heard me wrong. I got one,
obviously.” I frantically waved my hand at the kitten. “But I don’t
have any extra supplies for it yet.”

Still holding the juice glass, she picked the kitten
up in her other hand and nuzzled it against her face. “So precious.
Excellent choice, Brenda. I approve. Does it have a name?”

“Yes, it’s, uh, Owen. And it’s a he.”

“Does this mean you’re excited to start your training
in magic?” Before I could say anything, she continued, “I know
you’ve resisted, thinking you don’t have the natural talent, but I
know you do. You’ve already shown it in the few lessons we’ve done.
You simply need to believe in yourself. And now that you have this
darling little friend to help you, I think the sky’s the limit for
you. I really do.”

My mother was nothing if not encouraging. I couldn’t
help but feel guilty for constantly making up reasons why I
couldn’t study witchcraft along with my regular high school
classes.

“I don’t know if I can say I’m excited,” I said
honestly. “But I’ll give it a try.”

She smiled, then handed me the juice and gently put
the kitten back down on the bed. “It’s a start.”

So I’d devote myself to learning to be a witch. If I
failed, then she couldn’t very well hold it against me. Fine. It
was decided. No more excuses.

However, I had an excuse for today. I needed to get
the bracelet for Owen so he could get out of my life. And Mrs.
Timmons thought
I
was a troublemaker. Right.

Mom left my room. Out of the corner of my eye I saw
that Owen had turned back into his human form and was still in my
bed.

“I need clothes,” he said.

I didn’t turn to look at him full-on, but I knew he
was right. He couldn’t very well wear my bed sheets all day, could
he?

“My brother’s in college right now, but he’s got a
closet full of clothes here. I’ll get something for you.”

“You’re so accommodating.”

“I get the bracelet and you leave me alone,
right?”

“I get the bracelet, I deliver the bracelet to the
person expecting it, and then we need to get this bonding spell
between us removed.”

“I don’t feel anything,” I said honestly.

“That makes one of us.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “It means that because of this spell I
feel this need to be close to you. And I have this crazy sense that
I...belong to you, and only you. And I don’t think I like that very
much.”

When I turned to look at him to see if he was messing
with me, he’d already changed back into a kitten.

* * * * *

Owen changed into an old pair of my brother’s jeans,
Reeboks, and a blue T-shirt before we set off for the alley where
I’d stashed the bracelet last night. Then I had to get to
school.

“So,
Brenda
,” he said my name as if
taste-testing it. “You’re a witch-in-training, are you?”

I glanced at him sideways. “You could say that.”

“Can you do magic?”

“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”

“But can you?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the ‘in training’ part. I need to
practice.”

“Like playing the piano?”

“Sort of. Only completely different.” I nervously
crossed my arms, feeling the weight of my backpack pull at the
shoulder strap. “And you’re a weretiger? Werecat?”

“Just shifter is fine.”

“Is that the same as a werewolf?”

“No. Werewolves are a breed unto themselves.” There
was a sneer in his voice. No love lost there. “They can only shift
into one form. I can be any size or kind of cat I want to be.”

Even though I found it unsettling, I couldn’t help
but be slightly impressed. “Shifters like you and werewolves fight
like cats and dogs, huh? Seems kind of appropriate.”

“My pack and theirs don’t get along and never
will.”

“And you don’t want them to get the bracelet.”

“Nope. They got wind of me having it and they’ve been
tracking me for days. I was fine inside the magic store since
everything inside was protected with a magical ward.”

“You were hiding out in there?”

He nodded. “The owner had no idea. I just sneaked in
and made myself at home. Not a bad place, really. That woman who
gave me to you? She seems like a bitch on the surface, but she’s
actually really nice when there’s nobody there but the animals.” He
sighed. “Thought I was okay for a while, but then you had to single
me out.”

“Half-dead runt,” I repeated what Mrs. Timmons had
said about him.

“It’s a look I was trying to perfect. Who knew that
was your type?”

My type. I suppose you could say that.

He didn’t look like a runt at the moment. In fact, he
was almost a whole foot taller than me, so that put him at a few
inches over six feet. He wasn’t hugely muscular, but he was solid
and lean. My brother’s clothes didn’t fit him perfectly but they
looked pretty good, all things considered.

“Yes?” he asked, making me realize that I was openly
checking him out.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing.”

Owen swore under his breath, his eyes now on the
sidewalk ahead of us. I looked with alarm at what had caused this
reaction. Someone stood there, leaning against the fence next to
the sidewalk as if waiting for our approach.

He was tall, lean, with tawny-colored hair a lot like
Owen’s. This guy was a few years older, though.

“Brother,” he said and a wide grin spread over his
face “Long time no see.”

I jumped when I felt Owen’s hand on the small of my
back and he leaned toward me to whisper, “Please play along or this
is going to go badly.”

He then pulled me fully against him until I was
pressed against his hip, his hand sliding around to my side.
“Jeremy.”

“Is that any greeting for me?”

“Sorry, I guess after our last brotherly chat I’m not
really feeling the love.”

Jeremy spread his hands. “It had to be done, you know
that.”

“Right.” Owen’s voice was tight.

Jeremy nodded at me. “Who’s she?”

“This is Brenda,” Owen said. “She’s...my
girlfriend.”

I raised my eyebrows with surprise. Girlfriend?

“She’s a witch,” Jeremy said. “I can sense it.”

“Your point?”

“No point.” Jeremy drew closer, his gaze assessing me
from feet to face. “So you’re dating my little brother, are
you?”

Play along.
Owen had nearly begged me a moment
ago to do just that.

“I...am. Yes, that’s right.”

He grinned. “Owen has good taste. Who knew?”

“Listen, Brenda, I’ll catch up with you in a sec,
okay?” Owen said, leaning closer. “Just go on ahead. I need to talk
to my brother alone for a minute.”

“Okay, I’ll just—” But I couldn’t finish my sentence
because Owen kissed me, taking my breath completely away. His lips
felt soft, but a bit demanding, as if he wanted some sort of
response from me. I kissed him back, confused by what was going on,
confused by how good this felt.

Owen pulled back from me after a moment, and there
was confusion on his face as well, his brows drawn together. I
touched my mouth with my fingertips.

Good kiss. Very, very good kiss. By the look on his
face, I think he might have agreed with me.

“Get a room,” Jeremy said dryly.

Owen gave me a gentle shove to propel me a little
down the sidewalk. I “played along” and started walking away.

One thing I had learned when it came to using my
so-called natural witchcraft was how to eavesdrop at a distance.
And yes, I had paid attention to that lesson since it helped me
listen in to my parent’s hushed arguments just before they
separated. It eased my mind a little that they weren’t divorcing
because of me. Although, it didn’t ease my mind
that
much.
Divorce sucked, but at least my parents seemed much happier now
that they weren’t living together. Good friends, but lousy spouses.
That’s how they put it.

I walked away without looking back, but I focused on
tapping into that eavesdropping ability.

“I hear you’ve acquired a little something shiny,”
Jeremy said. I was at least fifty feet away by now, but I could
hear him as clearly as if I was still standing beside Owen.

“Who told you that?”

“A little bird.” There was a smile in Jeremy’s voice.
“You think that will appeal to Stan’s sensibilities, do you?”

“Come on.” There was a catch of emotion to Owen’s
voice now. “You know how badly I want back in the pack. I don’t
understand why you’re not helping me.”

“Because I don’t want you there. Mom was the only one
who thought you had a home there and now that she’s gone—”

“Yeah, I know. You never wanted me around in the
first place. Do you honestly think I’d be competition to you? I’m
not interested in being alpha.”

“When Stan dies, I’m alpha,” Jeremy said and there
was a threatening growl to his words. “And after me, you’re next in
line and that would cause problems.”

“I wouldn’t fight you for it.”

“That’s just a chance I don’t want to take. Because
you know what? You’d lose. And I’d rather not have to kill my own
brother if I can help it.” He was quiet for a moment. “But I will
if I have to.”

Owen exhaled shakily. “I don’t have anyone I can
depend on out here. Without the pack, I have no family. I have
nothing.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that’s fitting.” Jeremy’s voice
was cold. “You
are
nothing. Mom told me you were a mistake
she wished she hadn’t made when she cheated on Stan. It’s time you
accepted that and stopped trying to buy your way back in with
stolen jewelry. You’re almost eighteen. Time to find your own life
and get the hell away from mine.”

I wondered if it had something to do with the bonding
spell, but I could actually feel Owen’s emotions then. His
brother’s cruel words were like a physical blow to him.

I couldn’t help but hurt for him. I didn’t know much
about him at all, but I didn’t need to. He was in trouble. He’d
been kicked out of his shifter pack—his “family”—after his mother’s
death. Maybe she’d been the only one who protected him from the
brother who just flat-out didn’t want him around. Some brother. My
own brother was a thousand miles away at college right now, but I
knew—despite our many differences and disagreements—that he’d do
anything for me. The feeling was mutual.