The Dashing Witch (The Ward Witches) (6 page)

“
You did the right thing. We’ve got a guest room that you can use for as long as you need.”

“
I need to call the airline and get on the soonest flight out.”

“
I understand.”

“
I’m all torn up inside, Skylar. I was going in there to tell him that I’m glad we’re married because I’ve fallen in love with him, and I find him with another woman. I was going to ask him to reconsider our separation. I had already been thinking that it might not be a good idea to change the status quo because I couldn't stand to be a Justin groupie like other women. But then this happened and it proved that I'm just like the rest of them, looking for handouts of affection where there is none to spare.”

“
It’s going to be OK.”

“
If you say so. At least I didn't tell him.”

They pulled into the driveway at the Manor, and Skylar brought the bags up to the guest room. Melanie called the airline, and she paid way too much to get on a flight back to LA in the morning. Skylar readily agreed to drive her. They sat down and watched corny zombie movies, trying to get Melanie’s mind off the earlier encounter. It didn't work.

Dymphna came home earlier than usual. “I heard the news. I’m sorry, Melanie. I know I’ve been distant, but I really do like you, and I can’t believe my idiot brother would do this to you.” She hugged Melanie, the nicest gesture she had given her since they met. “I was actually excited to have you in the family. You’re still family despite his actions, but I wanted you to be happy about being family.”

“
Thanks. That means a lot to me.” Dymphna joined the zombie watching marathon after popping a few bags of popcorn for everyone.

Leo also came home early. “I’m sorry for what my brother did to you, Melanie. Are you sure it’s not a misunderstanding? I know he’s an asshole, but I didn’t think he would stoop to this level.”

“
I don’t know how else to explain it. I’d love for it to be a misunderstanding, but I saw her with her hand on his crotch.” She let out a little sob. “I still love him and everything.” As the tears started to flow again, Melanie ran back to the bathroom to be sick again. When she got back, Skylar was cooking something that just made Melanie want to be sick again.

“
Are you alright?” Dymphna asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“
I’ve been crying so much, it made me sick. Twice.”

Dymphna got a contemplative look on her face. “Do you mind if I do a general peek at your health? Just in case there’s something else that’s wrong?”

“
Sure, that’s fine. I’d hate to see myself getting really ill from this trip in addition to everything else.”

“
Holy shit,” Dmyphna pronounced after a few moments. Melanie could sense the other woman’s magic feeling her out, and then it was gone.

“
What’s the matter?” Melanie asked. Leo also looked concerned, though he didn't say anything.

“
It’s morning sickness.”

“
What do you mean?” A sense of dread took hold in her chest.

“
You’re pregnant, Melanie.”

“
WHAT?” She cried out. “I can’t be!”

“
We all know you had unprotected sex last Thursday night when you bonded. One thing led to another, and now you’re carrying his child.”

“
Holy shit,” Melanie agreed.

“
Did I hear what I thought I heard?” Skylar called from the kitchen.

“
You did,” Dymphna called back.

Skylar came back out to the living room. “Let me be the first one to congratulate you!” She gave Melanie a big hug.

“
Thanks. I think.”

Dymphna and Leo took their turns congratulating her as well.

“
But more importantly,” Dymphna added calmly, “How do you feel about it?”

“
I’m torn, to be honest. As we all know now, I’ll be a single mother. I’m nervous. But at the same time, I’m excited that I’ll be a mother at all. I didn’t think I’d have ever children, but now that it’s happened, I can’t regret it. So I’m excited. It'll be a new opportunity, and I'm going to make it a happy opportunity despite the circumstances.” She didn't need to add the part where she talked about her longing to raise her child with the man she loved.

Dymphna hugged her again. “Good. You’ll make a good mom, Melanie. And we’ll always be here for you.”

“
Are you going to tell Justin?” Leo asked.

Melanie thought about it for a minute. “No. Well, maybe. Eventually. But after how he behaved, I don’t think he has a right to know yet. Besides, he might want to take my child after it's born, and I can’t have that. I at least want to be a continent away when I tell him.”

Leo nodded. “Then we won’t tell him either, right, ladies?”

“
Right,” Skylar’s voice came from the kitchen where she had returned to tend to the meal.

“
Right,” Dymphna agreed. “Now I hate to burst your happy bubble, but we need to talk about magical pregnancies.”

“
Oh. Of course.”

“
Leo, this is girl stuff. Go help your wife in the kitchen.”

“
D, I’m a doctor.”

“
And I’m a water witch. You can do human pregnancies from the book. I can do magical pregnancies from my own powers. Besides, you're a plastic surgeon not an obstetrician. Now go.”

He grumbled, but went.

“
I’m sure you’ve heard that a witch’s pregnancy is different from a human’s.”

“
I don't know much about it at all, to be honest.”

“
It’s more difficult for a witch. All the symptoms will be more severe, and if you don’t take care of yourself, you can seriously hurt the baby or yourself. You’ll be tired almost all of the time, and you need to make sure you keep well-rested. You’ll need to modify your diet, take prenatal vitamins, and visit a water witch at least once a week to make sure everything’s going according to plan and to help it progress properly.”

“
It’s that hard? Why?”

“
It gets harder the stronger the mother and father are. You’re the strongest air witch in America, and Justin’s a very strong water witch himself. You’re in for a hard one. See, as the baby grows, it will need magic to nourish it, just as adults do. But we don’t think about needing magical nourishment because we make our own naturally. A baby doesn’t start making its own magic until about six months to a year. Until then, it’s up to the mother and her water witch to supply the little one with magic. Depending on how strong the baby is, which depends mostly on how strong the parents are, the baby will need more or less magic, which can sometimes be more than a pregnant body can produce on its own, especially if you keep up any kind of other activities. So a water witch not only monitors the baby’s growth and health, but supplements its diet of magic.”

“
It’s a good thing I already quit my job. They say air witches have some passing skill with premonition, and that must have another subconscious reason why I quit.”

“
I hate to be like this, but it really is. You’ve got a long hard nine months ahead of you.”

“
That puts my delivery date around May, right?”

“
Yeah. But magical babies also have a tendency to come early.”

“
Man, my head is reeling. First, Justin’s cheating on me. Second, I’m carrying his baby. Third, I’m going to have a difficult pregnancy. I don’t even know which way is up anymore.”

“
Don’t worry too much. You’ll get it together. And Skylar, Leo, and I will keep in touch with you. No matter how Justin hurt you, you’re still our family, and we’re here for you.”

“
You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“
Really, though. Anything you need, just ask. I'm not spouting platitudes here.”

“
Thanks. You’ve got my number, my email, and our address, right?”

“
You betcha. I've got the same for Skylar too.”

“
Food’s done!” Skylar called.

“
It’s going to be wicked good.” Dymphna winked. “I’ll let you know what’s best for you to eat of this, and we’ll work out a diet for you after dinner to take home with you.”

“
Again, thanks.”

“
No thanks necessary.”

The food was, indeed, wicked good. Dymphna spoke up about what Melanie should eat and how much of what would be most helpful.

“
In addition to getting you some information on diets, I’m going to get you a list of affiliated water witches in your area. Since Los Angeles has a substantial witch population, hopefully one of them will be suitable for your purposes.”

“
I appreciate it.”

“
Have you gotten all of the legal stuff sorted out with Justin yet? Do you need to see him again before you leave?” Skylar asked.

“
It’s all been sorted. As much as part of me would love to see him, I don’t really want to. I don’t want to look at him and think that we might have had a future or about how much it hurts that I won’t see him again.” Tears threatened again.

“
He’s a good man, Melanie,” Leo put in gently. “He’s totally screwed up when it comes to the fairer sex, and it’s inexcusable for him to hurt you like that, but he’ll do right by you. You do have to tell him eventually, you know. You don’t have to stay with him, or even see him again, but you really do need to tell him about the baby at some point.”

“
At some point, I will. Preferably when I’m on the other side of the continent, like I said. And I won't be mentioning my feelings for him. I’m tired. I know it’s early, but would you all mind if I called it a night?”

“
No problem. Besides, Skylar’s going to drive you to the airport wicked early tomorrow morning. Please, keep in touch. I really do want to know how everything is going with you,” Dymphna smiled. “Remember, we’re family.”

“
I don’t even want to think about how my family back home is going to take this.”

“
Then don’t. Sleep, and if I don’t see you in the morning, safe travels.”

“
Thank you.”

41

CHAPTER FOUR

Upstairs, Melanie thought it would take forever to fall asleep, but as soon as she got comfortable, she fell into a dreamless sleep immediately.

Skylar chatted all the way to the airport, despite Melanie’s few answers. But she enjoyed the other woman’s company and appreciated how much Skylar was working to pretend everything was normal.

The flight was steady enough, but Melanie was still sick several times during the trip. Looks like Dymphna was right about her morning sickness being particularly bad. Melanie caught a cab back to her apartment, and all in all, she had an uneventful time getting back to her apartment.

She called the water witch Dymphna had recommended and set up an appointment for her to visit Melanie at home. Then it was time for the call she dreaded: her father.

65

THE DASHING WITCH

“
Hey Dad.”

“
Right back at you. Haven’t heard from you since you left for that conference. Are you still there?”

“
No. Some things came up, and I’m back at home.”

“
I missed you. Since you’re back, would you like to do dinner?”

“
Sure.”

“
In fact, you could come by today. I'll grill some steaks.”

Despite her nagging conscience, she said yes. A change of clothes and some herbal tea for confidence, she headed over.

Melanie's father answered the door with a smile. “It’s good to have you home. You look good for just getting off a plane.”

“
Thanks.”

He hadn't made the connection immediately, but he did then. “You bonded.” It was a question, a statement, and an accusation all in one.

“
Yes. It was kind of an accident on both our parts. Neither one of us really want to be bonded,” and here Melanie’s tears threatened to spill. But she kept her composure while she began to tell him everything. She ended with, “and if he doesn’t want me, I don’t want to be around for him to want any part in the baby’s life.”

Her father was silent. “Bullshit.” He said after a length. “I will not support you behaving like a child with no regards to the consequences or the future. You got yourself into this mess, and that child is just further proof of your recklessness. I won’t have you here when your own husband won’t have you.”

“
What?” Melanie asked, startled.

“
If you can't control yourself to the extent that you accidentally bond with someone you don't know, you don't belong around here.”

Think about what you’re saying, Dad,” Melanie tried. “I'm your only daughter.”

“
Not anymore. I didn’t raise you to act like a fool. Now get out. I don't want anything more to do with you.”

Hurt, Melanie did as he asked. Maybe if her mother had still been around, but there was nothing more to be done.

More alone than ever, she went home. The one bedroom apartment didn’t seem nearly as big, impressive, or welcoming as it used to, and she wondered if it ever would again. She’d need to do some searching for a new place for her and the baby, but she wasn't sure she could make a new place seem like a home either after all that had happened.

Melanie spent the day Sunday going over old campaigns she had done. On a pad of paper, she scribbled notes on what tactics she could steal from those and apply to the Coven Campaign, as she was now thinking of it.

The next day, Melanie headed over to KYR Advertizing and helped to hand off her assignments to other agents.

“
We’ll miss you,” Lisa hugged her.

“
I’ll be around. We can still talk.”

“
It won’t be the same around here.”

“
Thanks. As part of the Coven, I'm going to be putting together a publicity campaign for them...”

“
And I'll help in any way I can. You're good at what you do, Melanie, and if anyone can do this campaign, it's you.”

“
Thanks. I'm sure going to miss being around here, though.”

“
Good to hear. Now pretend to be surprised when Martin gets back with your goodbye cake.”

“
You didn’t have to do that.”

“
I know, and since we didn’t know when you were coming, we almost didn’t. But Martin made an emergency cake order, and here it comes.”

“
You all are too great.”

The cake was tasty as well as kind, and she accepted congratulations from everyone on her nuptials and well wishes. The whole time, though, she felt like a fraud since while she was married, it wasn’t married like everyone thought. But she didn’t have the heart to tell them, or more importantly, to really give it up all the way herself. Despite everything, she still wished it weren't all a lie.

Back in Boston, Justin grumpily glared at the clock. He’d been tracking down leads all day, with no appreciable progress whatsoever. In fact, they were getting more leads on wild tangents than the team could manage to take care of, so he would soon be leaving with more work on his desk than there was when he arrived that morning.

Not to mention the fact that he felt unfulfilled. Ever since meeting Melanie, he’d wanted her, no matter how much he tried to not want more. His brief encounter with Kelsey had just made matters worse. He had been thinking X-rated thoughts about what he’d like to do with Melanie when Kelsey walked in and deliberately misunderstood. He felt almost as if he should go ahead and apologize to his wife, because she was after all, his wife.

Even just thinking about her he got aroused. She was beautiful, sweet, and dedicated. Melanie was a good person, and he didn't deserve someone as good as her with his tawdry past. Kelsey wasn't the first woman to try to get with him since his marriage, and she likely wouldn't be the last. That would be unfair to Melanie.

But at the same time, he still felt she should trust him a little. It was a good thing he discovered that flaw in her early. It wouldn't do to make any kind of relationship if there wasn't even trust to start with.

Even more, he didn’t want a wife! He wanted to be free to pursue liaisons with people like Kelsey, if not Kelsey in particular. He wanted to have X-rated thoughts about other women, but even when he tried, he couldn't manage it. He'd either not be able to get aroused or the imagined image of the woman turned into Melanie. He wanted to be free to be who he was before she arrived in his life.

The three notions had warred within him since he Melanie left and today, he still didn’t know what to do. Since he usually stayed in his office and worked late, he felt justified in leaving on time for once. He needed to leave especially because he wasn’t getting much work done when his mind was so stuck on thoughts of Melanie.

Justin decided that his emotions were too volatile and that perhaps Seb could be more dispassionate and give him some advice, so he headed down the hall to his twin’s office.

“
You have a minute, Seb?”

“
Sure I do. I’ve been reviewing this proposal so many times that I think my eyes are crossing. What’s up?” He put down the paper, face down, and sighed. Justin idly wondered what could be bothering Seb so much and why he would hide it, but Justin wasn't here for that.

“
It’s Melanie.”

That caught Seb’s attention even more. “Tell me.”

“
I never wanted this, you know. I thought I could just live my life without any kind of bond-mate, always moving from one woman to the next, and it’s never done me wrong. In fact, I plan to return to it as soon as I have the Melanie situation figured out.” Justin wasn’t sure if he was telling Seb or convincing himself, but he continued on nonetheless. “the problem is that on Friday, my ex, Kelsey, came in my office and put me in a particularly compromising situation despite my efforts to get her to back off. Melanie came in and assumed the worst.”

“
Can you blame her?” When Seb asked like that, it made Justin think. Seb didn't ask the question lightly, and it would be a mistake to answer it lightly.

“
I want to. I want to say that she should trust me, but I guess she has no history to fall back on but a tale of me doing precisely what she thought she saw.” The energy seemed to drain out of him all at once, and Justin slumped into a chair in front of his brother's desk.

“
You feel like you could have done more to ward off Kelsey,” Seb observed, a statement rather than a question.

“
You know I hate it when you read my mind without telling me.”

“
I’m not using my magic. I’m being your twin who knows you better than anyone else. Anyway, continue.”

“
Part of me thinks I should go apologize and try to make things right, part of me thinks I have nothing to apologize for, and the last part of me thinks it would all be easier if she just left and I can get back to the life I was leading before I was so interrupted with a bond-mate I was trying to avoid finding.”

Seb looked thoughtful. “You know I try not to read minds if I’m not invited or if it’s not necessary. Your wife, and make no mistake, she is your wife, was radiating her emotions so loudly Friday night that I couldn’t avoid sensing them. She was feeling very hurt and distressed, and I am glad you came to explain that to me before I had to hunt you down to find the reason. I've been busy lately, but you were rapidly moving up the list the longer you left things on bad terms with your wife. I also know that I felt her leave soon after the fight.”

“
What?” Justin stood up so quickly his chair clattered backwards onto the floor.

“
I expect it’s because of what happened Friday, but she went beyond the distance I could sense her in early Saturday morning. She probably got on an airplane, but I can’t confirm that, only that she’s no longer near here.”

“
To make matters worse, huh?”

“
I think you’ve succeeded in that well enough on your own.” Seb seemed disappointed. One thing Justin had tried hard not to do, no matter what his devil-may-care attitude may have been like, was disappoint his twin. Now, apparently, he had finally done it.

“
What should I do, Seb?”

“
Are you asking as a member of the Coven, as my second-in-command, or as my twin?”

“
As your twin. I feel like I’ve screwed everything up, and yet I’m still not sure if I should or could put it to rights.”

“
As your twin, the one who knows you most and loves you best, I think you’re being too hasty. A bond is a precious thing that many witches search their entire life for and many of them never find it. Did you even consider that maybe there’s something in that bond, and in Melanie, that would make giving up the single life worth it? As your twin, I would say you need to reevaluate your priorities in life and see if you’re willing to give this gift a shot. And you didn’t ask, but as Duke, I can tell you that particularly in this trying and convoluted political and magical situation, an air witch of her power could prove a very strong asset for our side. Also as Duke, I can hint that there's confidential happenings that are going to be going on soon, and she's right in the middle of it.”

“
I see.”

“
I don't know that you do. You need to take some time to harness your emotions and see what you really want to do. I’m not going to make this decision for you, but I’ll support you no matter what path you take. I can at least do that as your twin.”

“
Appreciated, man.”

Justin headed up to his room and begin making lists of possible things to do and the positives and negatives of each course of action. By dinner, he still hadn’t come to a conclusion.

At precisely six on Tuesday evening, Carol Haymaker, Los Angeles’ strongest local water witch, showed up at Melanie’s apartment. Melanie knew her from the community, and she was a kind woman who was always up for healing or helping, so she was glad that Carol could come, especially at such short notice.

“
I rushed to get here. Sorry if I’m late.”

“
Not at all; you’re right on time. Let me get you some water.”

“
Please. And if you would, could you get me the diet Dymphna designed for you?”

“
Sure.”

After she read through all of Dymphna’s notes, Carol nodded. “Very good and very thorough. I approve.”

“
She’ll be glad to hear that.”

“
And the baby’s father?”

“
Doesn’t know. I’m not ready to tell him yet, and the Wards have agreed to keep my silence.”

“
Very well. I don’t know much about Justin Ward as a person, but I’ve heard that he’s a very strong water witch. It might help to have someone like that on your side.”

“
I’ll keep that in mind.” Melanie's tone clearly said that keeping it in mind was as far as that would go.

“
Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to do a little silent meditation and examine your condition. If I’m going to help you, I’ll need to see what we’re dealing with.”

“
Go ahead.”

Unlike Dymphna, who only took a few moments to make her assessment, Carol took a full fifteen minutes before she spoke. “The baby is less than a month old, and is just barely starting to grow.”

“
Yes.”

“
Even with bed rest and Dymphna’s diet, once the baby starts growing faster and larger, your body will never be able to keep up with the amount of magic that is needed to both maintain your systems and let the baby grow. Your own magic is so strong that your body is hard-pressed to keep that up, much less another's needs. Plainly speaking, unless you get regular infusions of magic, you’ll miscarry, and possibly hurt yourself in the process.”