67
Lucy
I flopped onto a bench. My feet ached, but I hadn’t stopped smiling since we left the SCF office. Stacy sat down beside me and grinned. Tina sat beside me.
“Feeling all right? I know she’s a shopping monster.”
I laughed and nodded. “I’m okay. My feet hurt a bit… I guess I’m just not used to all the walking.”
Stacy chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. This is just day one! You’ll be out taking courses or… working… or whatever you’d like soon enough! You’ll need more than just the bit that we bought.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ll ever live somewhere with a big enough closet for what you say I should have.”
She laughed. “You’re not dreaming big enough!”
I shook my head as Tina rolled her eyes.
“Not everyone aspires to be independently wealthy before their senior year of high school!”
She beamed. “Again. Not dreaming big enough… Besides, Lucy hasn’t even started high school yet. She’s got plenty of time to dream big.”
I looked up at her, a little shocked but also really touched. I smiled at her.
“I guess so.”
She winked, and her communication mirror chimed. She pulled it out and placed it to her ear.
“Stacy, here, what can I—” She pouted. “Already? All right, fine, we’ll head back.”
She hung up and looked at me. “I really wanted to take you formal gown shopping.”
Tina laughed. “Where do you think she’s going? A movie premiere?”
“You never know!” Stacy cried. “And formal gowns are fun. Who doesn’t like to wear pretty things?”
I chuckled. “Maybe… sometime in the future.”
Stacy wiggled her eyebrows. “In your future? It might be sooner than you think.”
I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but I didn’t let it bother me. The driver came back around and took all of our bags.
“Thanks, Henry,” she said. “You’re always the best.”
He shook his head. “Of course, Miss Stacy.”
We climbed into the car and headed back to the SCF building. After I had been scanned by a bunch of healers, the woman told us that they had to wait for some sort of analyst and Dagon to arrive. I guessed at least one of them had arrived.
When we arrived, I saw Dagon walking up to the front desk. He turned around as we entered and smiled. Then, he began to clap.
“Escape Artist of the Year Award goes to Lucy Graves!” He said. “And the Hecate Coven Familiar Stacy Harding!”
My face heated as people started to look at us. Stacy bowed.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you! I’d like to dedicate this award to my lovely staff and my sponsor… She always believed I could help women in need, and I did!”
She let out a fake sniffle as Dagon laughed and nodded away from the front desk.
“Let’s get this show on the road. I’m sure you have more interesting things to be doing.”
I followed Dagon down the hallway. Stacy came with me, but Tina stayed behind. The room had a long table with a lot of chairs around it. On one end was a young woman with a crown-like thing on her head.
She looked up and smiled. “Glad you could make it back. Dagon, always good to see you.”
“Riley,” he greeted. “I’d heard you’d gotten in with the Hecate Coven. Glad that they found someone worthwhile… especially after the last one.”
I frowned and looked between them. She smiled and shrugged.
“The screening process was intense, but here I am!” She looked at me. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Graves. I’m Riley Redscale, the liaison for the Hecate Coven’s branch here on the coast. I’ll be the one to talk to about getting settled and back on your feet.”
“Hi,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’ll need you to certify a few things during the handoff, but after that, it’ll be you and me.”
I nodded and listened as she and Dagon said a few things that sounded really official. I answered her questions as she needed, then Dagon was leaving.
“’Vonne says that she’ll contact you soon if you still want her help studying.”
I nodded. “That would be great. Thank you, Dagon.”
He nodded and went to the door. Then, he paused and turned around.
“One last thing,” he said. “Call it a gut feeling. My last request as her former handler is to have her location and any other crucial information about Miss Graves be made an internal secret.”
Riley blinked and nodded. “Politics?”
“Always.”
She nodded and looked at me. “Did you get to the part of the primer that told you what that would mean?”
I shook my head. “Is it a bad thing?”
“An internal secret means that unless you give another handler permission to access your file, only I would have that ability. Dagon would be restricted from being able to access your file freely unless the Blue Moon Pack made a formal petition and won.”
I winced. “How likely is that to happen?”
“The petition?” Riley asked.
“Likely.”
I winced. “And them winning?”
“Well, if we can get your lineage and your mate test.”
I froze. “My what?”
“The test is administered after werewolves are mated,” Riley rolled her eyes. “That’s the official name for it due to some lobbying, but it’s a magical bonding test. If there’s a bond there, it would give them certain rights over you since they’re older.”
I shuddered. “I don’t want that. They already—”
She took my hand and squeezed. “None of those rights would override your right to sue for it to be broken.”
I blinked. “I… I could do that?”
“Of course,” she said. “It’s well-documented you were in a state of duress. Once the health scans are finalized, it will be an easy case. But if there were no bond at all, their suit would be cut off before it even began. It would be better to have it on the books before they have a chance to sue.”
Dagon smiled. “I’ll do what I can to make sure they have… other things to worry about.”
I frowned. “I thought you were their liaison.”
“Oh, I am,” he said and gave me a toothy grin. “They also attacked my eldest sister and are complete jerks.”
I smiled. “Thanks again.”
“Do you agree to have your file be an internal secret?”
I nodded, “Yes, and… I’d like to get those tests done today if I can.”
I bit my lip. “Maybe… maybe if it’s done, they’ll leave me alone.”
Riley scoffed as she worked on her tablet. “They’ll be forced to leave you alone officially, but that’s not going to stop them. Blue Moon wolves are known to be… obsessive.”
Dagon nodded. “I’ll make sure they don’t get much of a chance to make trouble for you either.”
“Thanks, Dagon,” I sighed. “I’ll… I’ll be okay.”
“You will indeed,” Dagon said and nodded toward the door. “Just because I can’t access your file doesn’t mean you can’t call for help.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Get her a personal portal, hm?” Dagon said.
Riley’s jaw dropped. “You think of everything!”
“I’ve been doing this longer, and those jackasses are persistent.”
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