“We got this. Just hang tight for a few more days, Mordecai, and we’ll have medicine for you.” I chanced easing up the hold. He tipped forward, but caught himself.

“I don’t know why it’s getting worse. It’s only been a week since my last dose,” he said softly.

“Puberty.” I rubbed his back. “Your body is probably going through some big changes right now, bud. A growth spurt, maybe. I’ve heard that your dad was a big guy. And shifters feel puberty harder than humans.”

“We don’t have the money to support my habit—”

He barely got to finish the word.

A slap rang out and he fell back into me. Daisy kneeled in front of him with new tears streaking her face, her expression screwed up in anger. “Don’t you talk like that. We do have the money. It’s just a matter of finding it. You two are my family. I need you. Both of you. So, don’t you dare give up. We’ll get you that medicine. And fuck you for scaring me.”

Silence fell over us, gooey and thick with emotion. I should’ve berated her for slapping him. I should’ve yelled at her for swearing.

But as the chuckles bubbled up through my middle, all I could do was laugh and hold on to Mordecai for dear life.

“Fuck you, too,” he said, reaching out for her.

She was right—it was only the three of us. Our family was all we had in this world, and it was unthinkable for us to lose him. We couldn’t.

Somehow, I had to get that medicine.

10

Alexis

Eyes puffy and fatigue dragging at me, I lugged my tired butt into work the next morning. Mordecai hadn’t made any kind of recovery, but the syrup had eased his coughing enough to let him sleep soundly.

Neither Daisy nor I had gotten a wink. We’d sat on her bed, hugging each other, watching over him to make sure he was okay.

Stale air greeted me as the glass doors slid open. The cream floors shone in the bright fluorescent lights attached to the ceiling overhead. Racks of clothes spread out in front of me, and shelves of undergarments rose up behind them. Toiletries were to the right, and way in the back was my section—the bed and bath section.

In a national chain that had everything, why had I gone to that other store for a blanket? Because this particular store was owned by a bunch of magic-hating jerks, run by another jerk, and its products were designed by jerks to break or fall apart within a few months so customers would have to come back for more. Still, it was a job I sorely needed, so I dealt with it.

You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.

I sighed. I hated when my mother’s sayings randomly crowded into my head to sour my already bad mood.

After dipping my timecard into the time-stamp machine, I made my way to my section and stared for a moment at the utter destruction only a few hours had wrought. Bathroom mats lay trampled on the ground, towels were wadded up, the colors mixed, and a toothbrush holder littered the floor in pieces—people were slobs when it came to perusing the wares of a cheap store with no personality.

Or maybe they treated every place with this level of disrespect. I had no idea, but if Daisy and Mordecai treated our house like this, they’d get a thumping.

Thinking of Mordecai dashed my righteous annoyance. With a heavy heart, I went about my managerial duties in a “department” of one, working from one end of my area to the other, cleaning up after patrons. When that was finished, I started over, cleaning up the same amount of destruction I’d just set to rights. It was an endless loop.

A few hours into the mindless daze, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Hoping it was my alarm signaling lunch, I dug it out of my too-tight pocket and looked at the screen.

Fear blasted through my chest. It was home calling, and since Daisy and Mordecai knew I wasn’t allowed to look at my phone or take calls on the floor, it meant this was an emergency.

“Hello?” I said, hurrying toward the stockroom.

“It’s me.” Daisy’s voice was filled with fear and determination. “He’s at it again and I can’t get him to wake up. Alexis, he’s going to die if we don’t do something. He can’t last two more days. You know it as well as I do.”

Bands of steel squeezed my chest, but I swallowed my fear. It wouldn’t help this situation. “Get him sitting upright and use the steamer. Give him the cough medicine. I can ask for a cash advance. That’ll buy us time.”

“The fees for doing that are enormous.” I had no idea how she knew that, but it was true, so I didn’t say anything. “Besides, you’ve tried that before and they wouldn’t let you. You’re magical, remember? They don’t trust you. But that bitch Denny does owe me two hundred bucks. That’s our play. Grab a sword or something from the store. If I call again, it means everything went to shit, and we need to fight back.”

“No! No.” I lowered my voice when a guy on a forklift looked up. I scurried toward a large stack of unopened boxes. A woman in a different uniform stood idly in the far corner, picking her nail while watching me with solemn eyes. I had no idea what she was doing there. “I’ll apply for the cash advance. You take that job with Denny’s dad. And please don’t call that boy a bitch to his face. People don’t take kindly to that. He is a boy, right, not a man? He’s your age?”

“If he doesn’t pay up, I’ll call him a bitch! And yeah, he’s fourteen. Why do you think he bought fake weed? He doesn’t know any better.”

“Good point. But… Just take the job at his family’s vet clinic.”

“Lexi, I love you, but you are shit at making decisions—”

“You’ve got to stop swearing.”

“—and money doesn’t grow on trees…” Her voice trailed away as a hoarse, hacking cough sounded in the background. “Shit. Oh shit. That’s blood.”

“What?” I clutched the phone so tightly it dug into my palm and fingers. The woman down the way took a step in my direction, confusion on her face.

“He just coughed up blood. He just coughed up blood! What do I do?”

Adrenaline flooded my body. “Fuck it. Get that money from Denny. I’ve got a bat at home. If he gives you trouble, tell him I’ll personally bash his face in. Please don’t hold this horrible parenting against me.”

“What about Mordie?”

“I’ll be right home. I’ll watch him.” I was running through the store before I knew it, headed straight for the office. Once there, I burst in, out of breath.

Jason Bertram’s shiny bald head jerked toward me. His annoyance at having to momentarily lift his eyes off a clearly riveting game of solitaire was evident. As the store team lead, he sure was busy. Of course, it wouldn’t help my case to point that out. I needed him on my side.

“Sorry to barge in, Mr. Bertram.” I put my hand on the doorframe to show I wasn’t technically invading his space. It was the little things. “But I have a family emergency. I need to take lunch early.”

A cloud settled over his round face, something fairly common when he was talking to me. He’d only hired me because the labor force willing to work in the dual-society zone was small. “Your lunch isn’t for”—he checked his watch—“another three hours.”

“Two hours. I came in at nine. But I don’t really have a choice. My ward is sick. He needs someone to watch him while my other ward goes and gets his medicine.”

His brown eyes were cold and flat. “Your lunch is in two hours. I suggest you have your ward wait until then—”

“He might not have two hours. Please, Mr. Bertram—”

“As a woman who is out of sick and vacation leave because of these types of situations—”

“I don’t get sick or vacation leave. I don’t qualify because I’m mag—”

“—I think you should really take a hard look at your life. A place of business cannot juggle its schedule around a flighty employee.”

“But Mr. Bertram, it’s only two hours—”

“End of story. You leave early, and you can hand in your resignation.” His lips pressed into a thin, colorless line.

I stared at him in shock for a moment with my mouth hanging open. All the odds-and-ends jobs I could conceivably do until I found another job rolled through my head. Followed by Mordecai’s sick, exhausted face.

I let a humorless smile contort my lips. “You miserable bastard.” I took off the nametag pinned to my shirt and thought about stabbing it into his leg. But then he could call the cops, and I didn’t need that. “You can keep your joke of a job. And for the record, I know for a fact that I have the cleanest, best managed section in this entire store. I have been nominated for employee of the month every month since I started. Guests find me attentive and courteous. In just six months, I’ve already earned a star for excellent service. A star I’ve never seen, of course.” His eyes widened and his cheeks turned red. “Yeah, I’ve been peeking at the files. I like to know when I’m doing a good job, or when I need to improve, and because no one here has ever done me the favor of filling me in, I had to self-educate. Us magics can be resourceful, which you should know, you filthy, black-hearted bastard. I hope a bird shits on your head at lunch! In fact, maybe I’ll use my ‘superpowers’ to ensure that it happens.”