“Young spell?” she interrupts.
“Oh… um…” I stare at Erica.
Shit. Shitshitshit. Did I just fuck up? Will the coven, specifically Dani, get in trouble for this?
Erica smiles encouragingly, so I spit it out. “Jason from the council here is being prevented from laying a hand on me with an expiry of tomorrow at five thirty when we’ll speak to the coven about next steps. He’s identified me as his mate but I… I don’t know what it would take for the coven to agree to extend the spell. I asked for help and they granted a seventy-two hour reprieve.” I’m watching Erica and she doesn’t look panicked at all, so I’m relieved about that. I keep talking. “I was hoping to have support from the SCC or at least some sort of inclination that my case has enough merit to warrant requesting Jason be prevented from claiming me while my petition for a law change is considered.”
“He identified you as his mate and you don’t want him.”
“Right,” I say, feeling my face flame.
“A law change could take months. Years even.”
“I had hoped to find a way to expedite it. It seems to me that it’d make more sense for a female to be able to stop a claiming rather than having to endure it before having to request a severing. And once she’s… his mate officially, he could stop her from filing for a bond severance.”
“I understand and agree. Now, I need to go, so while I can’t make promises, leave your application with me. Did you fill out a severance form, too?”
“No, because he hasn’t… you know.”
“Well, he’d need the bond severed even if he doesn’t claim you, though it’d spare you the grief of all that if it’s just him that needs it. No matter. Please tell Erica I’ll call later this evening for a discussion. Please ask if she can arrange for as many of her coven to be available for that call as possible. It could be after eleven o’clock your time, but I’ll strive to make it as close to eleven as I can.”
“Have I landed them in trouble?” I ask.
“Not at all. I have inquiries to make on my own as well as with them. I’ll call the coven before your deadline tomorrow with an update on whether or not the Collective can expedite this request.”
“Thank you, Lucinda. I appreciate it.”
“I don’t promise anything,” she tacks on. “I need to look at the big picture for your pack. How this would impact the future. That the Young coven seem on your side is promising, though, I need to speak with them. I need more information and I’ll get it.”
“I understand. And thank you very much for your time,” I squeak.
“Any time. I mean that.”
“Thank you,” I say again with sincerity before I end the call.
I blow out a relieved breath, looking at Erica. “She’ll call you tonight, wants as many of your coven there as possible, but it might not be until elevenish, maybe a little after. She’ll get us an update before the deadline tomorrow and agrees with meabout the law change but can’t promise anything yet. I thought I might’ve gotten you and your sisters in trouble.”
She waves her hand. “I’m not saying she’s as much of a rule bender as I am, but Lucinda’s more witch than collective council member and being a witch inherently requires some degree of flexibility. I’d say she’d be a good ally on this, except…”
“Except?”
“Except she, too, has a fated mate. Hers is vampire. So, I’m not sure if it means she’d be more or less sympathetic to your cause, but I’ll give her all the facts when she calls. She’s a huge believer in Fate, just as a warning, but she’s a witch so of course she’s also a feminist, which will help.”
I pull in a big breath and let it out slowly.
“What happened there?” Amie asks, gesturing to the hole in the wall.
“Jase’s temper,” I mutter.
“He doesn’t seem like the type to have a bad temper,” Stacy points out.
“He’s not,” I mutter. “Apparently being fated to be mated to me brings out the worst in him.”
Because Jase doesn’t typically have a bad temper. If that’s who he was, I probably wouldn’t be so surprised and devastated by the way he’s been treating me lately.
And now that newly discovered bad temper is worse because he can’t fuck me.
And here he is, walking in with a pail of drywall spackle and a bag of stuff.