The ride home had been quiet. Aster hadn’t blared her music, and in a way, I was thankful. It allowed me some time to think about everything, which was likely her plan all along. She was right; she had warned me, but now that everything was out there—werewolves and vampires and magic—my reality was different.

  Everyone was asleep when I crept inside, and I had been extra careful not to cause too much panic. Small bumps and creaks felt like echoes through the stillness of the night. I should have gone straight to bed, but I couldn’t. How could I? My mind raced, and the overwhelming eagerness to learn everything I could about my new world left me with an unshakable energy.

  I changed into some of my older clothes, knowing sleep would be of no use to me right now. The best way I knew to get out of my head and stop over thinking every question I now had was some alone time in my studio. I could always clear my head through the creative process, so I tiptoed down the hall again.

  My day had been a whirlwind, but this studio stood as a constant lifeline. I couldn’t count on Theo to help with all this, or Rachel, Sue, or Cooper. Hell, I couldn’t even count on myself at this point. Aster proved one thing, along with many others tonight: that I couldn’t be alone in this anymore. I needed her and the vital support the coven offered if I was ever going to figure things out.

  Something drew me to the oversized cabinet in the corner, and I pulled out the mystery painting. I placed it on my easel and stepped back, taking it all in with fresh eyes. I was still as perplexed as ever as I studied the brush strokes. The way they mimicked mine and yet were not mine. Then something caught my eye; beneath the surface layer of greens and blues, the pops of red below formed a pattern. They looked like words.

  I turned the piece trying to find where one letter could begin, but I couldn't pinpoint which way was right. They were so well covered that I couldn't follow each line by eye, but if I traced with my hand, I could tell they connected beneath. I was so determined to figure out what it said that I didn’t hear Cooper walk up behind me.

  “There you are! What time did you get in?” he whispered to me, trying not to wake Rachel.

  I whipped around, scared half to death, and let out a small gasp. “Oh my Gods, you scared the shit out of me.” I walked over to him to keep my voice lower. “What are you doing up?”

  “What am I doing up? What are you doing out so late? Where were you? Rachel had gotten a call from Dr. Theo after you ran out of there in a panic. What happened?”

  “He called Rachel? Why? Oh, yeah, I forgot, she’s my emergency contact. Fuck. Is she okay?"

  “Is she okay? That’s all you have to say? No, Savi, she was not okay. She was worried sick; we both were. Thankfully, Aster had texted me that you had reached out to her and that you were okay."

  “She did?” I wracked my brain trying to find out when she had done that. I never noticed her text anyone.

  'Was this some sort of witchy thing she did without me knowing? Whoa, can we do that? Send texts without even using our phones?'

  My mind wandered at the thought.

  "Yeah, I figured you had called her since she's now the only other person you know after I called Sue and she hadn’t heard from you either. Don’t worry, I let Sue know you were okay so she wouldn’t worry either. Besides, we wouldn’t want to worry your terribly sick boss, now would we?” He gave me a sly side smile.

  He knew I had lied to Jakobi about her being sick, which meant Jakobi had told Theo and Theo had told Rachel. Oh boy. This was going way overboard, real fast.

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  “Care to explain what’s up with that little white lie? It’s not like you to do that, so you must have a reason. Should I be worried?” His face changed as he studied me. The sly grin shifted to deep caring and worry.

  “Oh, no, no, nothing’s wrong. I lied to Jakobi because he was trying to make small talk and I really didn’t feel like talking, so it sort of happened. Sorry.”

  "Hey, it’s okay. I’m only looking out.” He peeked over my shoulder into the studio. "Hey, that’s the painting from the other night. What’s with you and this painting late at night?” He sighed and glanced at me. “Anyways, I care about you and I don’t want to see things go sideways. You promise me there’s nothing going on?” There was that face again, deep-seated care and compassion.

  A tinge of guilt swept through me. Not only had Aster lied to Cooper for me, but this was only the beginning of more and more lies. I buried it deep and smiled at him. "Yeah, everything is fine. I’m eager to get my papers, that’s all. I’m worried something will happen to keep it from going through. But I promise, nothing is going on.”

  He stepped closer and reached toward my face. His fingers grazed the apple of my cheek, and as they retreated, I could see the speck of blue he’d lifted. "You've got some paint right here. There. All better.”

  I fidgeted in place, and my heart skipped a beat at the softness of his touch. “Thank you. Stupid oils take forever to dry. Sorry.”

  He glanced at the painting again and grinned. “I’m happy to see you creating something. You’re always the happiest when you’re in here day in and day out.”

  Another flutter of guilt surged through me, but this time it was mixed with something else. Something unfamiliar. “Oh hey, I found something for you. I’ll be right back. Stay here and let me grab it; it’s in my bag in my room. I promise you’ll like it.”

  “Something for me? Well, color me intrigued.” He grinned and stepped over to the dining table and pulled out a chair. “I’ll wait right here.”

  “I’ll be right back.” I darted down the hall on my tiptoes to avoid waking Rachel. I didn’t want to deal with her wrath right now. I doubted she would be as cool with me calling on Aster as Cooper was, but that was for future Savi to deal with tomorrow. I ducked into my room and found my bag beside the bed and rifled through it. Snatching up the folded paper tucked by my sketchbook, I headed to the dining room.

  “Here ya go!” I slid the paper to Cooper, who was cleaning the paint from his hands with a paper towel from the holder on the table. He sat up higher in his chair and grabbed it.

  "Aww, a piece of paper, Savi, you shouldn’t have!”

  “Open it, dummy.”

  He unfolded the flyer and I watched as his eyes scanned from left to right, reading each of the bolded words. His face lit up as he finished and set it back down. “This is awesome! A battle of the bands Halloween bash! Right on! Oh man, this is going to be so much fun! I bet Aster will have an absolute blast rocking out!”

  “Oh. I thought we - errr. Yeah. I saw it on a coffee shop board and thought that you would like to check it out. It’s right up your alley.” I tried to play it off, hoping he didn’t notice the falter in my voice. He did.

  “Oh Savi, I’m sorry. I already told Aster we would hang that night. I figured that would be okay since Rachel had said she wanted to do Halloween at home this year. I thought you two could ham it up with a girls' night and wouldn’t want all this masculinity hanging around.” He flexed his arms in the air before falling forward in quiet laughter. He glanced at me and grinned a sheepish grin. “Don’t be mad?”

  “Oh, that’s okay. You’re right; Rachel did say she wanted a girls' night for Halloween this year since last year's Halloween date had gone horribly. I forgot. I'm sure she would have reminded me soon. You and Aster go and have a good time. You guys make a good couple, ya know?” He flashed a curious look at me as he skimmed the flyer once more.

  “You think so?”

  "Yeah. I do. You guys kind of fit. I’m happy for you. Just don’t tell Rachel I said that.”

  “Why? What does she care?”

  'Shit.'

  “Oh, I don’t know. You know how she likes to tease you about all your girlfriends. She’d kill me if I didn’t uphold tradition and take her side in the teasing. You know how she is.”

  ‘Good save.’

  He chuckled again. "Yeah, you’re right. She does like to mess with me. Well, hey, it’s getting late. I’m going to head back to bed, that is if I can ever get this paint off. You should too since you’ve got to be at work early in the morning and wouldn't want your boss to have to get on to you in her sickly state.” He pouted his lips out while continuing to rub at his finger.

  I punched him on the arm softly. “Hey! Don't make me hurt you. And that's oil paint, genius. Use soap."

  “Ok ok ok I’ll stop. I had to. It was left wide open.” He stood up from his chair and walked toward the kitchen and stopped. Casting a single eye over his shoulder, he mumbled, “I promise I won’t hound you about something bothering you anymore as long as you keep me in the loop. Okay?”

  That lump jumped right to where it had been. "Okay," I said quietly.

  “Goodnight Savi.”

  “Goodnight Coop.”

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