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And so one adventure came to a close while many others loomed large on the horizon. I had a cat wedding to plan post-haste, a litter of kittens on the way in less than two months, a ghostly roommate I now needed to work hard at avoiding for the rest of my mortal existence, and the big bad was still out there.

I had no doubt we’d see Dash again, especially given Harold’s eerie warning about sown seeds and dangerous fruit. Still, we had no idea how to find her, which meant we’d have to wait for her to come to us.

In the meanwhile, Merlin and I would just have to work to become as strong as possible so that we’d be ready when she returned. Thanks to Virginia’s drain, I’d lost a good portion of the magic I’d accumulated since becoming Merlin’s familiar. Luckily, my witchy cat was able to patch me up just fine. I had also started taking on magic faster the more and more time we spent together.

Everything would be fine. I had to believe that, or I would most assuredly go crazy.

The one thing that bothered me most about everything we’d just gone through, however, wasn’t the near-death experience at the hands of an enemy I thought had been killed once and for all. It was the fact that my current coworker and former admirer Drake now knew about me and my cats—and who knows what else?

He had special abilities that none of us did, and he took them all in stride. The ghost hadn’t weirded him out or broken his cool. He’d treated it like everything else in his life, somewhat interesting but mostly just… normal.

I longed to ask him what he was, but I figured he’d have no problem telling me if he actually knew himself.

He definitely knew what I was, though. And he often tried to talk to me about that night’s events when we found ourselves alone at work.

Let me tell you, the tabletops at Harold’s had never looked shinier, thanks to all the good polishes I gave them whenever I needed an excuse to avoid him.

For now, Drake was taking care to speak to me only when we were guaranteed privacy, but what if he started blabbing to others? Would I be held responsible by magical law enforcement and forced to pay for this exposure?

Merlin and Luna had said I was in the clear since Virginia was the one who exposed herself to him, but I still felt sick about him knowing.

I trusted him with my safety, but my secrets?

Not a chance.

I had a feeling I’d need to make some very difficult choices soon in order to protect him, my magical family, and myself.

And with a sweet, innocent litter of nieces and nephews on the way, I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes…

3. MERLIN KILLS A ZOMBIE

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Hey there, I’m Gracie Springs. I’m a twenty-something barista working my way through grad school. Okay, I should have gotten my degree several months ago, but I haven’t found the time to finish my thesis yet.

You can’t really blame me, all things considered. Seriously, you try working as the human familiar for a magical cat with at least two dangerous enemies and tell me how well you keep up with the everyday things.

Ever since my Maine Coon Merlin revealed his powers to me, it’s been one attempt on my life after another.

When I first moved to the tiny Georgia town of Elderberry Heights, it was just me and my normal kitty cat living in the house my grandmother gifted me when she retired to the Florida Keys. But now Merlin’s pregnant wife Luna has joined us, and so has Luna’s former familiar, a somewhat disgruntled and super evil ghost named Virginia.

Yeah, it’s getting a little cramped, and the kittens haven’t even been born yet!

Another fun twist?

I’m descended from King Arthur, and my witchy cat has a famous lineage, too. He’s descended from the original Merlin.

No, not the human imposter everyone thinks they know. The real wizard, who just so happened to be a cat.

Because of our intertwined ancestry, Merlin and I have a nearly unbreakable bond. It’s also put a gigantic target on both of our backs.

Our original enemy, Dash, hasn’t turned up for a while, but we have no doubt she’s regrouping and will make a play for us again soon.

What she wants with us, I honestly have no idea. And I’m almost too afraid to find out.

Because honestly? The more I learn about the magical world, the less I seem to understand it. I can’t cast magic, but I can hold it inside of me. That’s my main role as Merlin’s familiar, in fact: to be a walking vessel for his magical overflow. If he were a normal witch, becoming tied to him wouldn’t have upset my life all that much.

However, since my cat is anything but normal, it’s one life-or-death encounter after the next.

It may seem like I’m complaining, but actually I’m happy to help. Someone has to take on the bad guys, after all.

So why not me?

Famous last words, I know…

“Eek! Why me?” I shrieked when Merlin dropped a dead bird at my feet just as I was trying to fix my morning coffee.

“It’s a gift,” the fluffy Maine Coon announced with pride. He didn’t even seem the least bit offended by my reaction to his grotesque gesture.