The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches) (4 page)

There was silence for a full minute before the first questions came. Then they all came at once. Melanie shook her head. Thoughts were running through her mind at a high pace. First, the sacrifices horrified her. But that was too difficult to think about too deeply. She’d take extra care to be safe. Second, they were really pounding him with questions, and he was taking it all in stride. Admirable. Third, he was really hot.

It had been two hours, and Melanie’s butt was falling asleep before Justin called an end to the questions. “We would encourage you all to meet people of other Covens and enjoy yourselves. I understand that this news is heavy, but it should not prevent us from having our lives proceed. Just be aware. Seb has more plans for tomorrow, so arrive around ten. Thank you all for your attention.”

He made his way back to Melanie’s side. “How did I do?”

“
Great.” She ached to give him a kiss, but settled for getting her hand into his. She shouldn’t want this, considering that she was going to be leaving. But still she wanted.

“
Come on, love birds, let’s blow this joint,” Dymphna lightly punched Justin in the arm.

Justin and Melanie drove first to the hotel, picking up all her bags and putting them in the Camaro as they headed back the way they came.

Ward Manor was very close to the Coven House, but slightly smaller. As Melanie walked up to the entrance, she was still amazed at the size. Her whole apartment... no, there was no comparison. Skylar answered the door, pulling it open with a smile. The woman never seemed to be far from a smile.

“
It’s great to see you guys. Come in, you’ll have to really meet Dymphna and Leo. Don’t let Dymphna intimidate you; she’s really a big softie.”

Melanie already liked Skylar, and she'd probably dealt with bigger bitches than any this family could create, so she'd be fine with Dymphna. If only she had more time to get to know her new sisters, but it was not to be.

The entryway was nicely decorated, as was the hall leading to the living room. But as Melanie glanced around, she noticed that the other rooms were bare. Skylar caught the direction of her gaze.

“
Before I moved in, Leo and Dymphna were happy with no furniture at all. So it’s still a work in progress. But the living room is done.”

Indeed it was. The large room was taken up by an even larger TV on the wall and a half circle of comfortable-looking brown leather couches. Leo had one of the seats reclined, and Dymphna was flicking through the channels with the remote. Leo sprang up as they entered; Dymphna stayed where she was.

“
I hardly had a chance to talk to you at the Coven House,” Leo said, gesturing for Melanie to sit. “Please make yourself at home. D, shut the TV off for god’s sake. We have a guest.”

She did, and turned her green eyes on Melanie. “So you’re the one Justin married.”

“
Yes.”

Justin sat next to her and took her hand. She was more confident for the show of support. “It’s more that I was lucky enough to find her. Besides, we haven’t made it official yet.” Dymphna didn't look convinced.

“
I’d like to hear more about all of you. I’m relatively boring.”

“
I doubt that,” Leo said, laughing. “But ask away. We’ll trade: one answer from us for one from you.”

“
Does Justin have such bad breath that you had to move all the way out here?”

That brought a large laugh from Justin.

“
We didn’t like the constant stream of people and feeling like we’re always underfoot,” Leo explained. “Neither of us have a job within the Coven like Seb and Justin do, so it was nicer to get our own place nearby. Since Skylar and I married, we've been working on moving Dymphna into the other wing of the house so we can all have our privacy.”

Justin claimed the next question: “What did you do before you came here?”

“
Account exec at KYR Publicity,” she detailed her job duties until they started to look bored.

They continued to trade questions through a delicious dinner that Skylar whipped up from almost nowhere. Afterward, though, Justin and Melanie made their goodbyes and left.

“
I like your family.”

“
They’re pretty great. I wish I had more time to spend with them.”

“
Family seems to be about making the time for them,” Melanie observed. “That’s how my father and I think of it anyway.”

“
Tell me about him.”

“
He’s a rather absent father, to be honest. He preaches a good game about always being there for each other, but when it comes time, it’s always about me being there for him with no expectation of him returning the favor. When I say that he values family, he values it only enough that I'm at his call, not by doing the same for me.”

They rode in comfortable silence, lasting until they got up to Justin’s apartment within the Coven House..

“
This is fabulous.”

“
It’s messy.”

“
I know. But it’s so big.”

“
Second nicest in the Coven House.”

“
Makes my apartment seem tiny, even without a kitchen.”

“
Yeah, there’s a family kitchen down on the first floor if I ever need to cook. I try to avoid cooking at all costs, which usually means begging something off Skylar or frozen food.”

“
Very nice.”

“
Now about sleeping arrangements...” he paused, “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“
Don’t be silly. We’ve had sex, bonded, and we’re practically married. You’re not sleeping on the couch. I think we can both sleep on the bed and manage to be perfectly civilized about the whole thing.”

“
If you don’t mind...”

“
I don’t. But we do need to talk about your family. I’m a stronger air witch than Leo or Seb, so they won’t be able to get anything off me, but I’d bet they’ll know you’re not as into me as you should be in a normal bonded situation. Besides, the women will pry for all our deepest secrets.”

“
What are you suggesting?”

“
I think we need to tell them,” she said matter-of-factly. She tried to read his opinion from his facial expression, trying not to read his mind magically. He wasn’t giving anything away.

“
You’re right,” he said after a moment, “I hate lying to them. Well, let’s get it over with and go tell Seb.”

“
I’ll ask him to meet us in his office.” Melanie sent out a feeler tendril of magic, finding Seb and conveying her message. “He’ll be there in a minute.”

“
Air witches...” Justin grumbled.

“
At least it’s better than looking for sickness in everyone. I try to stay away from people’s minds when they’re close to me. I won’t read your mind, for instance, unless you give me permission.”

“
Then I won’t read your health unless you give me permission.”

“
Fair. Now let’s go talk to Seb.”

23

CHAPTER THREE

Seb was in his office, looking harried. “Do you have any idea how stressful a summit like this can be? Then Skylar forgot all about dinner.”

“
Skylar fed us dinner,” Justin smiled proudly.

“
Yeah, well she forgot to bring something by for me.”

“
I’m sure it’s just a small oversight. You can call her later and gripe about it.”

“
Easy for you to say. So what’s going on?”

“
We wanted to correct a little misrepresentation of the facts,” Justin started, but Melanie interrupted him.

“
We lied. Justin and I met at a bar last night, and we both had too much to drink. Without thinking and only hormones and magic impulses, we went back to my hotel room where we completed the bond without realizing that we were doing so. I don’t want this thing, and neither does Justin. So, plain and simple, we’re going to separate once all the details are settled, and we’ll never see each other again.”

37

THE DASHING WITCH

“
Way to sugarcoat the truth,” Justin muttered.

Seb smiled. He actually smiled! “I had a feeling it would be something like that, but I didn’t want to pry. I’m not such an idiot that I think my twin would really change his stripes overnight. Don’t get me wrong. I love you, Justin, and I wished that this would be an instant love match that would make you happy. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have my doubts at the same time. But either way, Melanie, welcome to the family. No matter under what circumstances, you’re one of our family now, and that does mean something to me. Even after you separate, the resources of the Ward family are yours.”

Melanie had to smile. She looked over, and Justin was looking sheepish, but pleased it had gone so well. “So you’re not mad?”

“
No.” He gave Melanie a hug. “I imagine it’s awfully hard for you to come to the conclusion you did about how to deal with this. Plus, I can’t imagine Justin has said much about our parents, but they had a bad relationship. They were bonded, and they insisted on trying to maintain a marriage because that’s what was expected. But neither of them were happy.”

Justin continued for him, “Our mother was miserable, and she came to hate the magic that she had, decrying it as a gift from the devil. She had us and named us appropriately to save her immortal soul. She chose Eusebius,” Seb nodded, “And Justin Martyr for her firstborn because the two worked together to eliminate witchcraft. Pantaleon is the Patron Saint of Doctors and Dymphna is the Patron Saint of the Mentally Ill. We believe she was trying to say that she knew she was going off the edge, but couldn’t stop it.

“
But when she discovered that she had passed along her magical talent to all four of her children, despite the names to ward off evil, she used her water magic to kill herself. Our father threw himself into work. We, as his kids, always had someone to take care of us, and we knew he loved us, but that didn’t mean we really saw him or connected with him.”

Seb took over again. “Our father never recovered after Gladys died. Eventually, he passed as well, from a heart attack that probably came from overworking. He was always Duke Drake, the man who reinvigorated the Covens but couldn’t do a damn thing for his own family.” Seb toasted the air. “The point of telling you all this is to show you that we don’t believe in marriage for marriage’s sake. Neither of you wanted this, and you’ll both be happier without it. So there’s no point in sticking together and being miserable together.”

“
I appreciate it, man.” Justin bumped knuckles with his brother.

“
Now get out of here so I can yell at Skylar.”

“
Let us tell them, please,” Melanie said at the door.

“
Sure. Tell them tomorrow.”

Melanie and Justin returned to the upstairs apartment. “That was easier than I expected,” he said, slouching down on the couch.

“
I agree.” She sat down next to him. There was only one couch, after all.

“
What do you want to do with the rest of our evening?”

“
Let’s turn on the television for a while.”

He obliged, and they quickly found a sitcom they could both agree on. They chatted while they watched, and were soon chatting more than watching. Without speaking or thinking, Melanie moved into Justin’s arms, and he held her close. Melanie took great comfort in just laying in his arms. When she started to nod off, they agreed to call it a night.

Melanie used the bathroom first, and consequently, she was the first in the king sized four poster. She tried hard not to be nervous. After all, she reasoned, they had already done the act, and it's not like it would happen again. She can share a bed with a man, even this man, without freaking out. But she was nervous in her sleep shirt under the covers. Justin got in as well, wearing only boxers. He couldn’t possibly know how hot that made her. He kissed her briefly on the forehead, leaving Melanie wishing for more.

“
You know, Justin, I've never spent the night in a man's bed. I visited Richard, sure, but he was my only boyfriend. He never asked me to stay the night, and I never offered.”

“
I've never had a woman in these rooms for any reason before tonight.”

“
Then I'm honored.”

Justin reflected on that. She was special, sure, and he didn't want to short-change or disrespect her while they were together so it seemed natural to bring her here. He had never wanted to even pretend commitment before, so his rooms were off limits to the flavor of the week. And lord, had she really only slept with one man before him? Talk about a bad match. How could they have even tried to make it work when she was so different from him?

She had her life in LA, her classy job, her family. If she was right about her father, she'd be forever breaking ties with the only family she had. And for Justin? He wasn't even that good of a catch to abandon all she had built up on the other coast. It was a good thing she would be going back to her life soon because it was clear that he could never keep her.

When his alarm clock went off, Justin was only somewhat startled to realize that Melanie’s head had found its way onto his chest, and his arm had found its way around her shoulders. He gently nudged her off him and took the chance to use the shower first.

When he came back, Melanie was sitting up in bed, looking delightfully sleep-tousled. More than anything else at that moment, he really wanted to toss her back in bed for more recreational purposes. But that couldn’t lead to anything more than heartbreak further down the line.

So they got to breakfast in the family kitchen without any sexual action. They had missed everyone else, so they ate quickly in order to be at the summit on time.

The theme of the Saturday’s summit meetings was to be by the elements. Seb had arranged for the other public rooms of the Coven House to be set up for smaller sessions by element. Melanie followed the other air witches to group sessions on skills and tips for air witches.

Justin followed the water witches, but he wasn’t paying attention during the sessions. It wasn’t even that he knew it all, but that he had other things on his mind. Besides, anything of any real import he could pick up from Dymphna later, after she forgave him for the deception she didn't even know about yet.

The real problem was what to do about Melanie. After talking to her yesterday, Justin had found that he actually quite liked her. As a person, at least, not as a wife. He had to keep telling himself that it wouldn’t really hurt her when they parted because that’s what she wanted too. But he was beginning to feel guilty about it just the same. Then he felt angry, because they should share the blame rather than him taking it all on himself.

Before Justin could come to any serious conclusion, they had taken a short break for lunch, which they didn’t have at the same time the other elements had theirs, and returned for the afternoon. Then, with Justin still miles away in his mind, they dismissed for the day.

He and Melanie got into the car and drove over to Ward Manor in silence, as if awaiting an execution.

“
I’m so sorry!” Melanie cried out as Skylar opened the door.

“
Whoa. Come in first.”

Melanie and Justin proceeded to the living room, where Leo and Dymphna were already listening. Melanie proceeded to tell the whole tale, hoping they wouldn’t judge her too harshly.

“
You lied,” Dymphna accused Justin.

“
Yes, I did. But don’t hold it against Melanie. She wanted to tell you, and I wasn’t sure. But eventually stronger minds prevailed.” She let him change history just a little. That was actually pretty sweet of him. “So here we are, asking you to be understanding.”

Skylar looked up at Melanie, “I’m sorry you didn’t find a bond that you wanted. I know I was wary of it at first, but I at least consciously chose to do it. No matter what happened or happens between you and Justin, you’re still my sister.”

“
Thank you.”

“
I’m sure Seb already told you about our parents. If this bond isn’t what you want, then I don’t see any reason why you should stick together,” Leo added, nodding.

“
I had thought that this would finally change you,” Dymphna said icily. “But you never will change, will you Justin?”

“
Likely not. Now look, we’ve still got one day left in the summit. I go back to work on Monday. I’m sure Melanie will need something to do during the day.”

“
You’re foisting her off on us?” Dymphna asked, outraged. “You can't handle being married, so you're getting rid of her as soon as possible?”

“
Essentially. You know me, remember? I’m a selfish asshole. I don’t know what you expected, but you thought wrong!” Melanie thought about how incorrect that statement was. He may have thought and tried to project he was selfish, but over the last few days, she had come to see that he wasn't as selfish as all that. He cared about his family, his job, his Coven, and her. Where did that last one come from? Surely he didn't care about her, and she didn't want him to. Right?

“
I could use your help,” Skylar ventured, ignoring Dymphna’s glare. “I’m finishing up my cookbook here. Any help would be appreciated.”

“
I’d love to assist.”

“
Then it’s settled. I’ll come pick you up Monday morning.”

“
Tomorrow we’re going to do our paperwork,” Justin interjected. “We may not plan to stay together, but we do need to make this legal.”

“
Certainly.”

“
I’ll drop her off after that.”

“
I’m glad she’s like a small child,” Dymphna said, still glaring at her brother.

“
Lay off, D,” Leo said quietly. “It’s not our business.”

“
No, it’s not,” Justin agreed. “We’ll be going now.”

They were quiet through the drive back to the Coven House, quiet through a movie, and quiet through getting ready for bed and falling asleep. The quiet was so strong it was nearly a physical presence in the room with them, and it pricked at Melanie the whole time.

But in the morning, Melanie found herself in Justin’s arms again. Not willing to admit her weakness, she moved away softly and got into the shower.

She wasn’t even aware of the last day of the summit really. She breezed through the first half of the day without really taking anything in. But when the second half of the day arrived, she really tried to pay attention.

First, Seb was pleased to announce that the new Coven set up went through with a landslide vote. He introduced the new leaders of the Northeast Coven, and they looked pleased as punch. Then he displayed the new website and gave instructions on how to join the site, the email list, and more.

Then it was over, and Melanie said goodbye to the others in her Coven, though the Waverly brothers still wouldn’t speak to her. She walked back into the Coven House with trepidation. But all that worry seemed to be for nothing.

“
Hey, Melanie, we’re celebrating the end of the summit with a movie marathon. Want to join us?” Seb asked, gesturing toward the main room of the House. It was a lot larger than the one at Ward Manor, and more crowded than the cozy atmosphere of the Manor.

“
Sure.” She joined the party, noting that there were about twenty people there, all of them residents of the Coven House. She knew that the House had people who lived there, but she hadn’t really thought about it. Many of the residents weren’t even there.

“
A lot of people, huh?” Justin whispered in her ear.

“
That’s for sure. I can’t even hear the television.”

“
You’re not really supposed to. Come, let’s mingle.”

Melanie paused to wonder why Justin had reattached himself to her side. After what happened at Ward Manor, she would have thought he'd drop her in a heartbeat. But there he was, hand on her elbow.

She met so many people that her head began to swim, and she was certain that she’d never keep them all straight. But all of them were very nice and friendly. Melanie supposed that it had something to do with being near Justin, but she didn’t mind.

Melanie went upstairs before Justin did, claiming a headache. She did have a headache, but that wasn’t the real reason for going up. Some of it was that she was uncomfortable with the number of people fawning all over Justin when she couldn’t really even talk to him. But really, she was evaluating the different aspects of her husband, comparing them against each other. She wouldn't have him for long, and maybe if she really thought it all out, she could figure out why he was so against a lasting relationship. Not that she wanted to change that, mind.

When he was in public, he was a consummate entertainer. Everyone around him felt special and liked, and he seemed to be really enjoying himself. On the stage, he showed his serious side as leader of Coven Protection. Everyone there felt confident of his abilities and listened in closely. He may wear all kinds of different guises when in public, but each one had its purpose. But in private, he let those personas faded away, and he was just a man, funny, kind, and possibly even a little insecure. But very few people knew him like that, and Melanie was glad that she was one of those people, even for a short time.