My Brother's Keeper

"Didn't you have pants?"

Kendrick nodded. "Yes, but if I don't have them on for a certain period of time, the garment returns to its original state. Come here."

Anne gingerly hopped off the bed and stood in front of him.

He unbuttoned the gown and laid it across the bed where they had just made love.

"Kendrick! It's going to get dirty." She went to reach for it, but he stopped her.

"And for my next magic trick." He swept the fabric off the bed and it was as clean as it was at the beginning of the night. Anne sniffed; actually, it was cleaner. It now smelled like it had just come in off the line.

He pulled her close and wrapped the gown around them. Seconds later, her body was clean and even her teeth felt brushed. She stepped out of the gown and spun around check her body.

"That is amazing!"

"Now, I believe the order was second option, first one twice, and then back to the second?" Kendrick stalked toward her.

Giggling, she ran for the bed. His magic clothes were going to get quite a workout.

*****

The next morning, they had already checked on Keelan and were just sitting down to enjoy their first cup of coffee when Anne heard loud footsteps racing down the stairs. Anne looked around, and only Darian and Amelia were absent.

The door flew inward, and a completely panicked Darian ran in holding a bundle of clothes.

Aiden stood. "Darian? What's wrong?"

Darian just stared in horror as the lump of clothes began moving. Seconds later, the head of a puffy German Shepard puppy emerged. It gave the cutest bark and looked around the room, tail wagging.

"Oh, my god! It's so cute!" Anne exclaimed.

Meryn had already hopped out of her chair and had raced over to Darian. "He's so cute!" Meryn gave him no choice and tugged the puppy out of his arms. She rubbed her cheek over the puppy's head over and over again. She turned to Aiden. "Can we keep him?"

"No!" Aiden and Darian exclaimed together.

Darian tried to get the puppy back, but Meryn kept turning her body. "Meryn, give her back!"

Meryn ignored his request. "How do you know it's a girl?"

"Because that's Amelia!" Darian shouted, chest heaving.

Lily set her cup down on her saucer. "Amelia Violet Ironwood, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Darian whirled to Kendrick. "Fix her, please!" he begged.

Meryn laughed. "She's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!"

Kendrick frowned as the puppy licked Meryn's face repeatedly. "I've never seen this before."

"Never?" Darian asked, looking ill.

Kendrick shook his head. "Nope, never."

They both stared at Meryn and puppy Amelia, and finally, Kendrick turned to Darian. "Do you like dogs?"

Darian's mouth dropped open. He turned from Kendrick to Amelia and back again.

Marshall chuckled. "Amelia, doing spells like that, you'll have people thinking you're a shifter's daughter."

Rheia's look became thoughtful. "Or if she's pregnant right now, she could end up having puppies, then everyone will think they're Colton's."

Darian pulled at his long blond hair with both hands frantically.

Anne finally took pity on him and turned to her mate. "Is there nothing you can do?"

Kendrick sighed. "I suppose, but she is awfully adorable this way."

Crestfallen, Meryn looked at him. "Do we hafta?"

Kendrick stood and gathered up the forgotten clothing from the floor and walked over to Meryn. "You'd miss your cousin eventually. May I?"

Meryn kissed Amelia on the top of her fuzzy head and handed her over to Kendrick.

Kendrick lifted the puppy to eye level. "You never stop getting into trouble, do you?" He carried her out into the hallway, Darian right behind him.

Anne felt a surge of power, and a minute later, Kendrick was walking back into the dining room. "Back to normal," he announced.

"How did she manage that?" Marshall asked.

Kendrick rubbed his chin. "Evidently, both she and Meryn inherited their empathy from your mate's side of the family. Ever since Amelia's magic broke loose during the battle, her empathy has been fueling her earth magic. I'm guessing that she'll be able to do a lot more with her magic than she ever has before. Her empathy is acting like a nuclear reactor, generating more and more power due to everyone's high stress levels."

Lily looked at Meryn. "My side of the family? But we're human."

Kendrick shook his head. "Mostly human. I'd bet you have a witch dangling somewhere in your family tree."

Meryn waved her hand. "Can I do spells?"

"No!" Aiden answered.

"But..."

"No." Colton repeated.

"Now, that's not..."

"No, Meryn." Elizabeth and Rheia said firmly.

"Y'all are no fun!" Meryn paused then looked up at Aiden. "Can I have a kitten?"

Aiden nodded then stopped. "What?"

"I've been thinking, I want a kitten, like a baby lion or bobcat." Meryn sipped from her cup.

Aiden began shaking his head. "No. What? Why? Baby lions and bobcats aren't called kittens they are called cubs, and they would grow bigger than you!"

Meryn shrugged. "So would any boy we have; you don't seem to mind that idea."

Elizabeth turned to her friend. "What brought this on?"