Maid for the Alpha

Chapter 27

Thank you all for your continued support of this story. Your votes and comments mean so much to me. As a writer I am continuously growing in my craft and a part of that includes some hard lessons. As you read, you may notice a change. In previous chapters I used the word "Gypsy". I am formally apologizing as this is a derogatory term and hurtful to the various traveler peoples. For the duration of the story these characters shall be Romani. I am currently working my way backwards in the story and am unsure how long this will take. If you find any G-words that I missed, please let me know right away so I can correct it. I thank you for your understanding and again apologize for my error. (note: this paragraph will be repeated in future chapters to ensure all my readers have the opportunity to read this notice)

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Jenny didn't know what to expect when meeting a real live Romani for the first time. She'd read novels, fairytales mostly, which did not make her an expert in the field. Unfortunately, in her mind she saw them as nomadic people that were probably fortune tellers or peddlers. So, as she and Leland headed towards a plain grey office building, with a large brass sign over the entrance that read "Corauni Consultants, Inc.", all of her stereotypical thoughts of circus tents and wooden carts were thrown out the window.

"A consultant company?" She questioned aloud.

Leland shushed her as he opened the door, "Remember, don't speak unless..."

"First spoken to, got it." Jenny nodded in agreement. Then she wondered why they were not actually walking through the doors, until she looked up and saw his expression. "Oh, right. Zipping it, right now."

Of all the people I need for this, Leland grumbled to himself. But without any other options at the moment, he had no choice but to hope that Jenny wouldn't bring down a curse upon him and those he loved. A subtle shiver of apprehension tickled up his neck as he continued through the door with Jenny close behind.

They took the elevator up to the fifth floor in silence. And thankfully, Jenny kept her mouth closed as Leland talked to the receptionist. Then they sat in the waiting room, listened to soft Jazz, with Leland gazing out the large window and Jenny perusing through the magazine selection on a side table nearby.

"Mr. Moore?" A female voice interrupted the silence. When they both stood, the petite brunette said, "Follow me please."

Leland was anxious to get this meeting over with. Every second apart from Liz was torture, and made it harder and harder for him to stay in control. It didn't help that he had no idea what cost Madame Corauni would charge for her assistance. It's always been a tricky thing to be indebted to a Romani . Their spell casting is as intricate as a formal legal contract with clauses and sub-clauses, addendums and articles, all of which manage to, in a most specific way, bind the client to the agreement. And if the client does not pay according to those tiny details as laid out in the spell, then the Romani would have rights to that person's soul and could exact punishment in whatever way that is deemed fit.

Jenny, of course, had no knowledge of the mastery that Romani have over magic. She had no formal knowledge of any kind of magic at all. Heck, up until about an hour ago, she had no idea that werewolves existed, but there she was, walking alongside a werewolf to meet with a Romani about casting a spell to find her missing best friend. The world really was a lot stranger than she realized.

As they walked through the door and into the bright, modern office, it just got a whole lot stranger. What Jenny would have imagined as a plump, elderly woman with a scarf around her hair, jangles and bangles around her neck and arms, and a flowy skirt wrapped in a jingly belt, was actually a tall, statuesque woman clad in a dark blue suit, with her hair wrapped up neatly in a tight bun.