Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten Read Online Free PDF Page A

she walked away.
    Shannon and I exchanged looks.
    With a sigh, I asked, “Will you go with her? I think she’ll be fine, but I don’t want her to do anything she’ll regret later.” While Shannon was just as new to supernatural culture, she’d acclimated astonishingly fast. I knew she could comfort Ricki and probably scare off any lecherous vamps.
    “Too late,” Shannon joked.
    Unfortunately, she was right. Ricki was going to have to face the consequences of her night with Calder and, being uninformed of shifter customs, she would probably have difficulty dealing with them.
    “I’ll find you later, okay?”
    “Okay.” Shannon smiled. “I’m sure we’ll be somewhere near the bar, so we should be easy to spot.”
    We both chuckled before she turned to follow Ricki.
    I looked around until I found Belinda and walked over to her. “Hey.”
    Her eyebrows rose at my familiar greeting. Though she was only a decade or so older than me, Belinda had a decidedly old-fashioned attitude towards etiquette. Still, she didn’t say a word about it, which surprised me. At the very least, I usually received a gentle reprimand.
    “Why don’t we go outside for a bit?” she asked. “I could use some fresh air and there are things we need to discuss.”
    “Sure.”
    Yet again, she didn’t comment on my casual attitude toward her. Interesting. Usually, I did this to needle her, but it seemed to be useless tonight.
    We walked through the house and out the back door. Since the evening was cool, there was no one out there except the two of us.
    “So why did you need to talk to me?” I preferred to get straight to the point. Belinda rarely spoke to me, except at coven gatherings, so I didn’t feel the need to dance around the subject. I respected her, but I hated all the social niceties that she seemed to expect.
    Once again, Belinda said nothing about my borderline rude behavior. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and studied me closely.
    Accustomed to this, I was silent as I waited for her to answer my question. The High Priestess often looked at me as though she thought I must be from another planet. However, she was one of the few witches in the coven who treated me as a friend. Despite my sometimes bad attitude, she never shunned me or made me feel lesser because of who my father had been and what he had done. In fact, she’d known me since I was a child and often spent time at our house with my mother and me, studying, practicing spells, and asking question after question. The elders, well, they hated my guts and probably pestered Belinda weekly to kick me out of the coven.
    “Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be meeting with the vampire Council and the alpha of the MacIntire pack in order to hold a sort of diplomatic summit. It’s time for the different supernatural races to learn to coexist, because if we can’t accomplish this, then I fear we will all perish.”
    I wanted to believe that Belinda was being melodramatic, but she was one of the most gifted Seers of the coven. Her instincts were always spot on.
    “Okay. Do you need me to handle some coven business while you’re busy there? I’m happy to do it.”
    Belinda shook her head. “No, I want you to come with me.”
    I almost choked. “Pardon me?” For once, I was polite.
    The High Priestess’ eyes shimmered with amusement. “It’s time for me to begin training my successor.”
    I didn’t speak, unsure where she was going with this conversation.
    “It’s time for me to begin training you , Kerry.”
    That was the last thing I expected her to say.

Chapter Four

    T he next morning, I stood in front of my closet with both hands on my hips, clad only in my underwear. What exactly did one wear to a meeting of the leaders of the supernatural species? I pulled out my charcoal pantsuit, but put it back almost immediately. As a plus size girl, the boxy jacket and pants made me look like a gray blob. I continued to dig through my closet, cursing Belinda