Mia Read online

  Mia

  Jessica Samuels

  Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Samuels

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  To all the people who worked retail this one is for you!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Jessica Samuels

  Chapter 1

  As a powerful witch that was part of a strong coven, it sucks to be reduced to a department store worker. I was recently kicked out of my coven due to a corrupt werewolf leader and forced to hide out. When I tried to stop Dorian, my mom was on my side and they took her out. This is personal. Me! Reduced to someone who has to serve snobby creatures with too much money and time on their hands. Forced to hide out and not be able to control the sea, and not so much make a trip to visit my friends down under.

  I have to hide for my sake. And that is why I got reduced to working at a place that sells clothes for people who don’t even know how to use it right. And this summer has been hell; between losing my job and having a relationship with an Elite who said it was time apart when really it was a breakup, was just the tip of the shitburg sundae of my life. I was done. Like seriously tired. Just a witch trying to get by, and I lost the only person that was on my side, too.

  Fifteen glorious minutes until close at Nikki’s Supernatural Clothing department store. After a long-ass day I was happy to get off. I wanted to go home. My feet ached from all the standing I was doing. I was also getting yelled at left and right over stuff I don’t control so my powers were beginning to slip, and I was becoming snappier than usual.

  I was on my feet getting orders, ringing up purchases and returns; an invisible shirt here, a winged shoe there, and even a few vampires needed some capes. I wasn’t alone in having to deal with the crowds of impatient, angry people either. A sassy witch named Laura was with me.

  I was tired, and even though I did my eyes up, they were already fading towards the end. My feet were killing me even with a foot pad. But, no, these bitches just had to come in and torment us fifteen fucking minutes before close...

  The lady in question was dark-haired, dark-eyed, and looked like she chain smoked cigarettes all day. She was dark-skinned and had the “I’m better than you” attitude that some customers possess because I work behind a counter and they don’t. She also looked like someone pissed in her cornflakes and shot her dog. All because she wanted her refund on a gift card. No we can’t, bitch all you want to!

  Still, Nikki’s has a no spell zone to make sure the employees are safe from creatures retaliating. Even the manager said “no” and she had the final say, but she still argued in the nastiest voice ever. Then, when doing her return, she forgot her license and card. The result was her leaving all her shit on the counter, and she walked away to retrieve it. While she was gone, SHE comes up. The worst customer the people of Nikki’s has ever dealt with.

  I knew her when I saw her. White-blonde hair, blue eyes, tan, and she thinks she is the shit since she is in the Dragon Army. She made a few employees cry by cutting them down and treating them like they don’t know how to do their jobs. There have even been instances where she told employees what to do like she owned the place. She looks at you like you are garbage and blinks rapidly when she is talking. She is also always bringing in wads of cash but whips out her calculator to get the best deals.

  It was almost closing time and I was checking the fitting room and I heard a nasty voice say, “Can I get some help here?”

  I turn to the counter and it’s her!

  “Sorry, ma’am, I was just around the corner,” I said apologetically.

  “Well you should keep an eye on it more often since it’s a service area,” she said. Fucking bitch of a customer and I just got unlucky enough to deal with her.

  “Hi, how can I help you?” I replied in my retail “fuck you too” voice.

  “I need to do a return for these items since they don’t fit me right. They don’t match my outfits like I thought, and this one isn’t even making me attractive to vampires,” she said.

  I go behind the counter and take out her items one by one. I ask her for her receipt since I always ask that from people.

  “You can use the customer return label,” she replied, like she knew how to do my job better than I did.

  “I know…,” I say. I didn’t even do that before.

  I still ask for the receipt anyway and she repeats, “Use the return label instead…”

  “I’m sorry I’m still new at this,” I told her.

  “Then you should know your job if you are trained to work here, and they shouldn’t put someone up here that doesn’t know what they were doing,” she replied. And she said it in the nastiest voice ever! One that made me hold back tears. This woman was a nightmare. I process her shitty returns, and she wants me to put a fresh label there, too, and finally she asks for her hold items. After all that, I’m finally left to cry in the stockroom.

  Now I have to deal with her shitty ass again. She is so infamous that she got banned at another location, too. And my unlucky ass has to deal with her. Joy! And yet again she has her bag of shit with her. Her returns, price adjustments, and condescending attitude make me want to puke.

  She gave a dirty look to the items the customer left and said, “Is anyone in line?”

  I gave her a fake retail smile and said, “How can I help you?”

  She sighed. “I have a return. Duh.”

  She has an eye twitch whenever she talks, and she is the type to break up her transactions to save the most money.

  “No problem.” I took the first item, scanned the receipt and tag for the items as well as the item return label, and told her the total. “That will be $40.73 going back to your Nikki’s account, and I just need a signature,” I said.

  She was returning a Glamour Me shirt which are used to be more attractive to others, but it depends on the person or creature wearing it. The material is made with spells weaved in and it’s supposed to work with the wearer. Some magic items should only be held by witches since some creatures don’t even know how to use them properly, but sometimes not even the strongest spell will help some people be more attractive to others. It can even work the opposite way, too. We even have blood vials that vampires can buy at customer service for a quick snack. However, it’s one of those days today.

  “Good.” She signed her name on the signature pad and the receipt printed out. I gave it to her, and she took out another item.

  “For this item I want to see if it’s past the return date,” she said.

  I took the next item and scanned the receipt and tag. RETURN NOT ALLOWED!

  “Unfortunately, it’s past the return date,” I said apologetically.

  “Okay, I was afraid of that,” she said.

  Five minutes till close and I’m still returning her shit since she brought an entire bag full of it.

  Return. Return. Return more items. Put new labels on the items she wants to rebuy since she returns and rebuys stuff constantly. Even other people have encountered her, and she made them cry, too.

  Nikki’s is now closed. Yes! The words retail workers love to hear. Luc
kily, the very last item she wanted me to order isn’t available. She left. Then it was finally time to close the register and even the evil customer left. We just laughed it off.

  Laura sighed, “Finally done with this day!”

  I was happy another Sunday was behind me. Retail in a department store is different. They have a whole different level of customers and here we have to sell Nikki’s card and push rewards programs. I was just tired. Drained. Too many people I had to deal with, and I ached all over. My neck and back were killing me from standing and moving all over.

  I made my way home after I closed my registers, which I hated since you have to count everything in the drawer, put away the slips, and finally clock out. I was done with life in general since all I have is an annoying customer service job full of self-entitled creatures with rods stuck up their asses. Life in general is the worst. I just go back to my lovely apartment and watch television. Not even magic can help me out of my despair and there is no spell in the world that will help me out of this hole I am in. My life is at the lowest it has ever been, and I’m stuck where I’m at. It’s hard having a job where people think they can shit on you every day. Getting yelled at is just too much, especially when I can feel the anger radiating off of them and directed at me just because their fucking coupon doesn’t work with the item, and somehow, it’s my fault since, apparently, I can control everything at Nikki’s. I’m also treated like I’m dumb and can’t read when their stupid asses can’t even use their own fucking cards. I have to tell them how to use it and I hate it.

  I’m not even good enough to be told the truth by my ex. He said time apart when he meant to break up, and never bothered telling me in person at all. I wasn’t good enough to be told the truth at all. I suck at everything and lost it all. My life is worthless…

  I lost my job trying to prove how corrupt a powerful leader was, and it got me fired. Now I’m here, and I have no choice but to work. It sucks and my coven cast me out. My mom is gone.

  I unwound and even had a glass of wine.

  Today was long and returns suck. I know it’s only going to get worse the closer it gets to Christmas. Even Luxor celebrates the holidays. I kick back and watch television. Of course I want to watch “Fur and Fang of Love” since it will be fun to see who wins their hearts. It gives me a chance to escape reality and my boring-ass life of department store work, if only for a little bit, and then on to watch romantic comedies until I pass out from alcohol poisoning since my life is a joke.

  Of course, I had a bad feeling I was being watched. Something wasn’t right. It’s been happening on and off lately. It happened ever since I tried to go after that asshole. It could be just a coincidence though, but I know something is up. I hear a crash. Definitely not my imagination since it came from downstairs. Luckily, I’m not defenseless and I know a lot of fire spells. I get ready for it by invoking the fire guardian and the element appears. I walk slowly down the stairs, careful to make sure that I don’t alert the thing or person that I’m aware of them. I want it to be a surprise and the fire guardian sneaks with me. Witches have guardians to help them in battle, mine are water and fire. I can also turn into a mermaid and breathe underwater.

  Of course it dulled itself so it wouldn’t be that visible. They can sneak too, and it means he or she won’t draw attention to themselves. I get closer and make sure I blend in the background so they won’t know that I’ve spotted them.

  “She is here though I know she is, and our leader will be pleased we have her in our grasp. She will be a nice addition to our girls,” the person said.

  I cast a spell so they won’t see me at all. I doubt they are human since people don’t talk like that. And the guy has wings coming out of his back. Fuck. That isn’t good at all.

  What?

  Huh?

  I’ve never seen one of those before. This isn’t going to end well if I can’t get away from them. I always thought I was safe, but it looks like I have more enemies than just werewolves.

  Chapter 2

  Wow. I’ve never seen a creature with wings unless they are dragon shifters. Even so, they wouldn’t be in their human form but their dragon ones. Since dragons are known for being fierce they would be in their true form to intimidate people like their enemies. ‘Our girls.’ Are you kidding me? What are they, a whorehouse? If so, no way would I be a part of it. Ever. I need to find some way to stop them. I crouch down to spy on them. They are two males with wings. They are dark-haired twins with black eyes and they both have tans. They’re wearing muscle shirts and black pants with combat boots.

  “Are you sure she is the one?” Twin 1 asked.

  “Positive,” said Twin 2.

  “Then our brother might not be too far behind. We have to move quickly,” he said.

  Twin 2 has a tattoo of an infinity sign. I’ll call him Twin 2 since I don’t know his name. I wonder who they’re talking about and why they’re after me. I didn’t piss off anyone major except for a corrupt werewolf leader. Oops, these just might be his minions.

  I wasn’t paying attention to anything except the dudes in front. It looked like it was just them, and I hoped it was so I could get away from them easily. Someone grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with their hand. I wanted to bite it since for all I know it could be a bad guy lying in wait for me. The thing behind me better be friendly or I’m hurling a fireball spell at them. It didn’t hurt me, but it didn’t mean he was friendly.

  I turn around to see who it is and once I meet his eyes it’s over. The dude from my dreams. He is actually here in the flesh. I fall into his eyes since they are a beautiful chocolate brown. He is gorgeous and he has dark-black, spiky hair and a tan. Also he has a strongly muscled body and no wings.

  He smiles at me and whispers, “My name is Castiel and we have to move.”

  I listen to him since he does seem friendly, unlike those twin dudes.

  “How?” I ask him.

  “Follow me,” he said. And I did since I didn’t want to be caught by the weird dudes who seemed to be making their way through the house quickly. I needed to get out since they were moving so fast, they could possibly already be here. They were constantly checking everything, and I could hear them going through the doors to my place downstairs. Their voices were getting louder, so I knew I needed to run. We walked quickly to the room and tiptoed to my bedroom window, but I still wasn’t sure if the dude in front of me was on my side or not. I grabbed my stuff and quickly packed an overnight bag since I had no idea where I was going.

  “We can’t stay here since they know where you live, but don’t worry, I have a place you can stay at,” he said.

  I nodded. “Okay but you better be trustworthy and not lying to me. I need to know if I can trust you.”

  His eyebrow raised. “I’m your Angelmate. Your mom should have told you the truth about your heritage since you aren’t just a witch but an AngelWitch.”

  I stood there shocked. “Seriously? Is that why my mom never told me who my dad was? How do I know I can trust you? For all I know you could be working for the same people that are in my house or the werewolf leader that’s after me. I’m supposed to be hiding so how the hell did you find me?”

  He nodded, “I am your Protector and there is a group of us that are supposed to help the AngelWitches with their powers.”

  My eyes widened. “Wow.”

  “Now let's going so we can get you somewhere safe,” he said.

  He held out his hand and I took it. He had wings after all. They unfolded gracefully from his back. He really was one of them. An angel, but a good one, since he wasn’t trying to kill me.

  While he grabbed my bag, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for dear life. As he took off, he kicked off the ground and his wings were flapping around. And we were off. It was amazing seeing Luxor like this. All of the trees, the grass down below, all of the familiar buildings including all the major roads.

  I left everything behind. All the stress at work and g
etting yelled at over coupons. I didn’t feel scared and for the first time I relaxed.

  “Who is after me?” I asked Castiel.

  “They are the dark angels. They are the opposite of who we are. We are the Protectors and the dark angels love to obtain our power by force. For instance, your horrible ex, Damon, who left you so suddenly, was one of the people who tracks down AngelWitches. Trackers. They’re charming sure, but he is a tracker, nothing more, and all he cared about was getting witches for the dark angels. AngelWitches are way stronger than both angels and witches, period. We need you in order to form a powerful circle and stop them from growing in the first place. Some angels are lucky enough to be Protectors and help AngelWitches, to be there by their side. Angelmates are formed between Protectors and their AngelWitches to form an unbreakable bond of love and trust, and they are promised to each other from the beginning,” he said.

  Wow. He never cared about me at all. I wanted to freak out, but I didn’t want to lose it. I still couldn’t believe this was happening so fast. I was still shocked about everything. My life is a lie, and I’m not an ordinary witch like I thought. I know there are some differences. I still have the scars thanks to him hurting me and calling me useless even though I went to a top witch school. He didn’t even go there either. He ordered me around and alienated me like an asshole would. I thought I was in love with him, but if he loved me he would not have hurt me or called me names no matter how much he drank. I’m not any better but I never pushed him into a wall the way he did me.

  “Something wrong?” Castiel asked as his wings flapped in the breeze.

  I take a deep breath. “I’m fine. I’m just thinking over the past.”