Manic Pixie [18+]

Chapter One

Rural witches were the worst.

Whenever Magnus got called out to the farmland surrounding Lazarus City, he knew he was in for a shitshow. The witches peppered in amongst the human hicks were a lot rougher around the edges than the city witches, and never honest about what crime had been committed. They were catty and competitive and things never went according to plan.

"Just one easy day," he muttered to himself in prayer as he got out of his car. He sauntered up the dirt lane towards a hulking farm house that loomed over him, dark and chilling even in the sunlight.

Three women glided out the door, barefoot and dressed in sheer wispy fabric, showing every curve and cleft of their soft bodies.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. So this is how it's going to be, huh? He stopped where he was, not wanting to get too close.

"I don't have time for an orgy today," he called. "What got stolen?"

All three of them pouted, and one of them moved down the steps, light on her toes like a dancer. "Are you sure?" she asked, voice like silk. "We don't get pretty things like you out here often."

"Is that why you called in a robbery?" He crossed his bulging arms.

She sighed, the slump of her body exaggerated like a disappointed toddler. "No, just always a nice perk when they send a sexy wolf out to give us a hand," she huffed, and then licked her lips. "Or two." She peeked past him towards the car. "Don't they always send you boys in pairs? Where's your fairy? Fairies like to play."

Magnus clenched his jaw, his gut twisting. He didn't want to talk about his lack of a partner. The wound was too jagged, too raw, and it wasn't something he liked thinking about let alone sharing with a random witch.

He had supposed to have been assigned to somebody new that morning, but he hadn't waited around to find out who when he got the call for this case.

"What's the problem here?" he asked gruffly.

"Some bitch stole our chocolate!" one of the women on the porch screeched.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Your... chocolate."

"It's very special chocolate," the one still simping in front of him continued. "Very, very special."

He shook his head and sighed. "Where's the scene?"

She curled a finger in front of her in a come hither motion, and danced through the grass to a gated garden. The knee-high fence looked like it had seen better days, what had once been twigs tied together with twine now falling apart in most places.

As Magnus tried to step over, his boot collided with what felt like a brick wall. He lowered his foot and cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, right." The witch flicked a slender wrist, and the air shimmered.

As the magical shield fell, Magnus blinked a few times, realizing that the garden was anything but dilapidated. With the glamour gone, it was a whole new world inside. Lush greenery towered over him, weeping branches creating curtains of viridian and emerald, flecks of ivory flowers peeking through the leaves.

He stepped over the fence freely this time, the canine part of him overwhelmed with scents of lavender and rosemary and mint and something earthy, maybe the very soil itself.

"Over here," the witch called in a singsong voice, and when he turned to her, he noticed the glamour had fallen from her body as well. She was taller, skin taut along sharp cheekbones and a longer, elfin face. Her hair hung in a flaxen purple curtain down to her knees, sparkling in the sun. Ebony irises regarded him as he approached.