A Twitch of Tail (2 page)

Idurre stood and came around to Tera’s chair.  Putting her hand on Tera’s shoulder, Idurre said, “When it’s the right time to meet them, you will.”

Tera nodded and watched them leave after wishing her peace and blessings.  The room was filled with floor to ceiling bookcases, stuffed with books and Wiccan-related objects.  She’d been in many rooms like this over the years and could spend hours just thumbing through the volumes of ancient spells.  Her mind wandered to the men from her dream.  Desire spiked through her at the thought of meeting them.

By the time she left the store, after checking her messages and returning emails, she decided it was late enough in the morning to stop by the hospital and visit her favorite patient.  The supernatural hospital was a desperately needed service in a community that was home to a vast number of supernatural groups.  Human hospitals were wary of supernatural creatures, afraid that a werewolf who was injured might kill them all in a fit of pain, the way a dog might attack if it were hurt.  Bullshit, of course, because even in their animal forms, they were still very much human inside.  Although there were exceptions to every rule, most were-animals wouldn’t hurt a human, no matter which form they were in.

When Tera turned eighteen, she was part of her mother’s coven in Greenwich, Massachusetts.  The coven was totally old-school, shutting out the unnatural witches and only accepting natural witches.  Tera came from a long line of natural witches.  She hadn’t minded the exclusivity at first, proud to be included in the small but tight group of witches.  But after awhile, when those same witches — her mother included — tried to dictate other areas of her life, including disapproving of her desire to help other supernatural beings, she decided it was time to look for greener pastures.  When she heard that the Cleveland, Ohio coven was recruiting natural witches, and that they were also helping to raise funds for the new supernatural hospital, she knew she’d found the right place.

As a supernatural creature herself, she had what was referred to as “long life,” which meant that she aged one body year for every twelve that passed.  Even though she had been alive for thirty years, she had just had her technical nineteenth birthday.  It was cool in the
I’ll live a lot longer than a human
sort of way, but it wasn’t cool when she wanted a beer and the bartender thought she had a fake ID.

On the way to the hospital, she mused over the dreams.  Two mates?  She snorted as she pictured her mother’s face going white with shock.  She’d probably disown Tera for taking two mates, especially if they were were-animals.  But Tera didn’t care about that.  She’d long outgrown the desire to please her mother.  It didn’t matter to Tera what her future mates were when they shifted.  She just cared that they were good men and would treat her with respect.

The Wiccan store was in downtown Cleveland, less than a mile from the new hospital.  Cleveland was a hot-spot gathering place for supernatural creatures.  Not only was the Wiccan coven the most powerful in the Midwest, but there was a large vampire coven, a werewolf pack, a were-serpent nest, a were-bear den, a were-tiger ambush, and a were-falcon nest.  All the groups were loosely allied to each other, each promising to handle their own business and keep their noses out of everyone else’s.

“Hey, Doc,” Tera said and smiled at Dr. Conner when she walked through the pristine waiting room and saw the head of the pediatric department looking over a chart at the front desk.

“Tera!  I wasn’t expecting you.”  Dr. Connor smiled at Tera, her eyes crinkling at the Corners.  Dr. Brenda Conner was a werewolf, and one of the nicest, sweetest women Tera had ever met.

“I was at the office and thought I’d stop by and bring Charlie a treat.”

“Oh, he’ll like that.  He sure has taken a shine to you.”

“I’ve taken a shine to him, too.”

Tera smiled and walked past the desk, taking the elevator to the fourth floor and finding room 438.  Charlie, a seven-year-old werewolf, was playing a game on an iPad Tera had bought for him.  His mother, Claire, was curled up in a ball in a chair next to the bed, asleep.  A week ago, Claire’s mate had gone on a bender and drank his weight in cheap whiskey.  When he’d run out of money, he’d gone home spoiling for a fight.  This time, little Charlie got in the way of his father’s rage as he tried to protect his mother, and his collarbone was broken as a result.  Such a strong, brave young man.

“Tera!” he whispered loudly, putting down the iPad and giving her a big smile.

Tera bent down and hugged him, kissing the top of his tawny head.  Charlie and his mom were going home in two days.  The good news was that the pack stepped in and his father was long gone, with a few broken bones of his own to think about.  Claire and Charlie were going to live with her sister who was married to the beta of the pack.  The Corners had been by earlier in the week as well, casting a protection spell over both of them.

“What did you bring me?” he demanded.

“Who me?  I wouldn’t do that.  It’s against hospital rules.”

“Come
on
, Tera,” he pleaded, casting his hazel eyes up to her forlornly.

“Hades, kiddo, you’re going to be such a heartbreaker when you grow up.”  She pulled a packet of bubble gum from her front pocket and dropped it in his lap.  He looked up again, expectantly.  Her other front pocket revealed a bag of M&Ms, his favorite.  After his lower lip jutted out in a pout, she gave up the contents of her back pockets — Crazy Eights and two Matchbox cars.  After discovering that her pockets were now empty, he thanked her with a kiss to her cheek and tore open his gifts.

While he chewed noisily on the gum and opened the playing cards, Tera checked the amount on the iPad’s gift card balance and made a mental note to add more money to the account.  She kept it filled so he could download games and movies and music as he pleased.

She and Charlie played three games of Crazy Eights before his mother woke up.  Claire had the look of a long-abused woman who wasn’t sure she was really free yet.  She was being strong for Charlie, though, and Tera applauded that.

“Go get something to eat from the commissary, Claire, while Charlie the card shark kicks my butt.”

Claire smiled and walked away after kissing Charlie on the top of the head.

“What’s a card shark?” he asked, asking if she had any fours.

She handed him two cards.  “Someone who is very, very good at cards.”

His eyes glinted happily.  “Maybe you should change it to card
wolf
instead, since I’m a wolf and not a shark.”

Tera chuckled and asked him if he had any threes.

When Claire returned an hour later, Tera ruffled the hair on top of his head and told him she’d see him soon.  She said goodbye to his mom and then headed home.

She stopped at a pub near her condo and grabbed lunch, reading some articles about equinox ceremonies that Irene had forwarded to her.  Tera didn’t mind eating alone.  She hadn’t been in a serious relationship in the last six months.  But she was lonely.  Her thoughts drifted again to the men from her dreams.  She bet she’d
never
feel lonely with two mates.

She rushed through lunch even though she had nothing to go home to except her empty place.  She had no idea why she felt the urge to eat quickly and get home, but she didn’t ignore the instinct.  Anxiety spiked through her as she paid the bill and walked quickly out to her car.  All she could think of was getting home.

She parked in the garage that was just big enough for her ruby red Lincoln MKZ.  Once inside her condo, she kicked off her shoes and stood in the center of the family room, taking in a deep breath and trying to calm the staccato beating of her heart. 
What the hell is wrong with me?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she lifted it, staring at the screen.  Mari Cruz, one of the unnatural witches of the coven, was calling.  Mari was mated to Manny, a were-tiger who was part of the ambush located in Whispering Creek, a small town south of Cleveland.  Tera wasn’t close to Mari, but she did know her from the two full moon celebrations they had celebrated together.

“Are you busy right now, Tera?” Mari asked when Tera answered the phone.

“Not really.  I’m working a shift at the hospital later, though.  What’s up?”

She blew out a breath of relief.  “Oh, that’s wonderful!  One of the cubs in the ambush was injured, and Lorene and the other Corners are tied up with coven business.  Can you come and do a healing?”

Tera’s heart clenched so tightly that she couldn’t get a breath for several moments.  Finally, she was able to choke out, “Wouldn’t it be better to take him to the supernatural hospital?”

“Tigers don’t like hospitals.  The cleanser screws with their scenting abilities, and that makes them feel vulnerable.  Vulnerable tigers get pissed off pretty quick.  It’s just easier to have a trained person come here.”

Tera had some training in healing, but her powers lay with manipulating water.  “Is it something serious?”

“It’s a bad burn, and it’s out of the scope of my abilities.  Please, Tera?  It would mean the world to me, and it would really be a good thing to do, because of the alliance.”

After a moment of consideration, Tera decided that going out to do something was better than sitting around alone and wondering why she was feeling twitchy all of a sudden.  Mari gave her directions to the ambush territory and ended the call.

Tera ran a brush through her long, dark brown hair, brushed her teeth, and changed her top, which had gotten a smudge of gravy from the shepherd’s pie she’d had for lunch.  She gathered a small bag of healing supplies and sent a quick text to Lorene to let her know she was going to handle things.

It took almost a half hour to get to the tiger territory, and she followed Mari’s directions from the entrance through the winding dirt road that passed modest homes nestled in the wooded area.  The tiger king, Midas, had purchased two hundred acres of land for his ambush when he moved into the area thirty years earlier.  The ambush was small, only forty tigers including cubs and adults, and Mari was the only human mated to a tiger.  Her marriage to her mate Manny had solidified the alliance between the coven and the ambush.

Tera parked on the road in front of what Mari said was Midas’ home.  It was a large two-story colonial, with a sprawling front porch and carefully manicured front yard.  Tera grabbed the bag of supplies and walked up the slate sidewalk to the front porch.  Before she could knock, the door opened.  A tall, lean man with long, black hair stood in the doorway.

“You the witch?” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tera.

Someone shoved at the man, and he looked down as Mari slid past him.  “Manny, it’s disrespectful to say
witch. 
It’s Wiccan.”  She frowned up at him and turned to Tera with a smile.  “Sorry about him.  He’s suspicious of everyone.  Come on in, Tera.  Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.  When we’re done here, maybe you can come by our home for a cup of coffee and we can chat.”

“Sure,” Tera said as she followed Mari and her mate through the foyer and into the family room.  As they walked into the room, Tera’s heart started to pound.  A faint scent tickled her nose, something dark and wild that she couldn’t place.  Whatever it was smelled delicious.  She stopped walking for a moment, pressing her hand to her chest and rubbing lightly.  She glanced around the room.  A quick look told her that there were mostly men standing around.  Besides herself and Mari, the only other woman in the room was standing by the couch, a worried look on her face.

“Is everything alright, Tera?” Mari asked, coming to stand in front of her.

“Hmm?  Oh, yes, sorry.  I haven’t been feeling well the last few days.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?”

“I don’t think so.  I probably just need a vacation.”  She smiled as reassuringly as she could, even though she didn’t think a vacation would solve her lack of sleep, sexy dreams, or suddenly twitchy feelings.  No, the only thing that would
fix
her problem was finding the two men from her dreams.

“This is Kaya and her mate, Ren.  This is their son, Teague,” Mari said as Tera followed her around the couch.  The young boy was lying on the couch cradling his right arm that had been wrapped in bandages.  His eyes were wide with pain, his face taut and his lips pressed together.

Tera introduced herself to the boy and his parents, opened the bag she’d set next to herself, and lifted a small tin to Mari.  “Triple strength, lukewarm water, honey, no milk.”

While Mari went to make tea, Tera said to Teague, “How did you burn yourself, kiddo?”

He glanced up at his father, and then returned his pale green eyes to her.  “We were having a bonfire earlier, and one of the logs rolled into the grass.  It wasn’t on fire, so I didn’t think it was hot, but it was
really
hot.”  His eyes filled with tears, and he stopped talking, struggling with his emotions.

She laid her hand gently on his shoulder, willing him to find peace and calm, and he settled quickly.  Mari came in with a coffee mug and turned the handle towards Tera.

“Wait, what is that?” Ren asked, his voice a barely contained snarl.

“It’s made from specially sown chamomile seeds that have healing properties.  It’ll help Teague to relax, like a drug induced twilight sleep without the drugs.  It’s perfectly safe for were-animals and young cubs.”