by Lexi Ostrow
Any other man’s words would be laced with defeat. Jonathon’s dark eyes merely narrowed as he stared down at the plate of red beans and rice. Deidre didn’t realize it before, but Jonathon focused in on anything was entirely sexy. Or maybe that’s just you remembering what it was like when he was focused on pleasuring you.
“Did you hear me?”
She blinked twice. “No.”
“Where’d you go? No place dark, I hope.”
Before sleeping with him, color might have flushed her cheeks. “I went back to yesterday. To realizing that pushing you away was not the way to handle this.” Deidre lowered her voice to a whisper. “To when you promised me more.”
She loved the way his composure slipped with a single grunt.
“We’re going to catch him, and if you decide you still want to be stuck with this literal young warlock when you’re not unable to leave, I will make good on that promise.”
The heat in his eyes could have melted her clothes right off. Jonathon Trevors intensity for work followed over into everything he did, and Deidre loved it.
“How do we do that if we can’t find him?” She shifted her weight. “I was thinking, what if we went to Alaska? A remote part where a hurricane wouldn’t destroy lives?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’ll matter. The hex is so damn intricate I bet if we leave and give up until it’s over, whatever we cast will still happen here.” He shoveled a bite of dinner into his mouth, chewed, and continued. “Trust me, I’ve thought about bringing it up. I want you to know, if we can’t stop this before the next time we lose control, we’ll take matters into our own hands. If one of us dies, the hex will be broken long enough to tell someone.”
“Not an option,” Fury coiled in her gut at his words. “Death is not an option. I’m not letting another criminal steal something from me – that includes you and my life.”
“Dee– ”
“No. Just shut up, Jonathon. It’s not up for debate. That. Isn’t. Happening.” She punctuated each word. He wasn’t going to run away and do the noble thing, no matter how much he wanted to. He literally couldn’t.
Jonathon stared at her, his mouth twitching with an obvious need to say something back. Only, he didn’t. Jonathon left his eyes on her as he continued to take bite after bite of his food. He said nothing, though she could see the argument raging in his mind in his eyes.
“This just in. A freak tropical storm is brewing in the gulf. While hurricane season is midway, it seems we might have our first hurricane.”
“No,” her heart sped up in her chest as blood rushed down toward her feet, sending her tipping sideways.
Jonathon grabbed her, his grip on her body sturdy, but gentle. “It’s okay.” The words sounded muffled as if she were underwater. “Do not go there, Deidre. Stay with me.”
The plate in front of her seemed to twirl, the barbecue shrimp spinning circles on the bed of rice. Deidre lost sight of Jonathon as tunnel vision began to blacken her line of sight.
“Iremía!”
The calming cast worked instantly. Her vision cleared, and the wooziness left. Still, Deidre made no attempt to leave his arms. Blinking, she stuck her neck up just enough to kiss him.
“Thank you,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck. A warm feeling built it her gut. Jonathon protected her, saved her. Again.
“He’s not going to use this storm, Deidre. I promise.”
The happy feeling left, and she pulled away from him, sitting back on the booth’s seat. “You can’t know that.”
“Yes, I can. I’ve spent the last eight years of my life tracking down killers. Trust me when I say this doesn’t fit the profile. If this is Remy, he’d want to see it. He wouldn’t be sixty-two miles away. Yes, he could watch the news, but he’d be here. If not him, someone close to him.”
“I want to go back to his portion of the swamp. The one here in Marrero.” The words sounded icy in her ears.
“Why?”
“I want to trap a gator.”
“You have everything?” Jonathon glanced around, checking for any signs of an alligator before they did what came next.
“I do.” Deidre glanced at Ivy.
To say the High Priestess seemed furious would be an understatement. Hands on her hips, Ivy’s green eyes were locked onto the swamp. Tension rocked through her body, and her feet seemed to be shoving the wet earth out to the sides as pure anger rolled off her.
“Ivy?”
“Yes. And when this is all done, I expect a full fucking explanation for why I’m out here at nine o’clock in the evening with my husband and his pack circling us for protection.”
“I, for one, want to know why the fuck you dragged my ass into it?” Tanner chimed in from next to Remy’s porch. “Whatever this is, did you need a human witness?”
“We did.” Jonathon set the candle down on the porch before leaning into the swamp with a bowl to capture the murky water. Jonathon set the filled container to the west of the candle.
“I promise, this is real, and if we could explain, we would.” Deidre dropped a clump of peat moss a few feet above the candle on the wooden slat.
“I get that. I also understand that something is seriously wrong, and if you won’t tell me, it’s that you can’t tell me or I wouldn’t even be here.”
Deidre nodded. She still didn’t believe the call to Ivy went as smoothly as it did.
“I need to catch a shifter in the swamp. I need help and protection.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain if we catch one.”
Deidre’s request for help remained vague to protect her friend. She hadn’t been certain Ivy wouldn’t drop dead, but the only way to draw the gator to her was with a circle, and she wasn’t strong enough on her own. Jonathon could have helped, but witches and warlocks called to magic differently, having her High Priestess with her was necessary.
“Let’s do this then. It’s time I found out what occurred in my city.” Elijah growled, stepping out of the darkness with a fucking baseball cap over his crotch.
“You’re supposed to be a wolf.” Ivy chided. “And it’s not your city.”
“I’ve protected New Orleans since before it was New Orleans. It’s my city.” The pissed off wolf growled at his mate.
“Fine, explain why you’re here.” Ivy’s fury turned on her husband.
“I wanted to be close by. I can’t fight as well as a wolf – not against a shifter that I presume is an alligator because what else would they be calling in a swamp?”
“Okay, I want this done too,” A wave of annoyance set the hair on Deidre’s arms on edge. “If everyone not casting could take a step back, that would be fantastic. Dark magic aside, I’d rather we not involve anyone else’s energy.”
“I still think we should have called Patrick.” Jonathon stepped into the soon-to-be circle space. He was there to cast a truth spell, not to draw the weregator out.
“Well, he’s not your best friend. I couldn’t trust he’d listen, and Ivy and I can handle a small amount of dark magic.” Deidre closed her eyes and blew out a breath. She sensed more than heard Ivy take a step closer to her.
Stepping into the circle, Deidre sat and crossed her legs. The cold, wet, mud squished against her skin, and she welcomed it. The cast would be hers, the words her own, with Ivy lending her power as needed.
“Guardian of Earth, I welcome you into this circle. Guardian of Air, I welcome you into this circle. Guardian of Fire, I welcome you into this circle. Guardian of Water, I welcome you into this circle.” Heat blossomed near her leg as the candle a few centimeters away on the porch lit.
Cracking one eye open, Deidre looked to Ivy, who nodded.
“An endless river runs to the sea. A journey home you’ll come to me. Blood by blood. Air for air. Come to me. Bind with me.” Their voices rang out in chorus, and each of them pictured a man and woman changing from human to alligator.
A wind blew over Deidre, sending a c
hill through her soul as the commanding magic blast out into the atmosphere.
Within seconds, the swamp began to churn beneath the house. The spell would forcefully rip the target away from their space and bring them to the summoner. It could take hours, days even, if the intended was not near.
“Jesus Christ!” Tanner shrieked, pulling his gun as the scaly, bumpy, green back of an alligator zoomed through the murky water.
The creature’s appendages seemed to fight against the magic tugging it closer. A wave of bile climbed up Deidre’s throat, and she swallowed, forcing it down. There was a time and a place for dark magic, and she would simply have to get used to that.
The water exploded outward as the gator was thrown onto the porch inside the circle. Deidre jumped up, surprised and terrified. The boards rumbled from the weight of the giant beast but didn’t crack. The candle remained lit, as the elemental request stayed in the circle.
“One stayed.” Jonathon didn’t exclaim, but his eyes lit up with hope.
“Say the word, and I’ll call the wolves in,” Elijah shouted over the sounds of bulk thrashing against wood.
“Ready?” Ivy shouted over the snarls and grunts of the gator who flailed near the start of the dock.
“Págoma,” Jonathon called, aiding in their cause.
The movements stopped. The animal would be able to speak and breathe, but not move. Grabbing the vial out of her pocket, Deidre threw the potion on the creature, wincing at the line of red that quickly formed from the glass slicing the animal.
The transformation potion worked quickly. Unlike shifting that occurred gradually, the creature went instantly from alligator to man. He was naked, his eyes as yellow as his changed form as he glared at them from where he lay on the dock. Peach fuzz covered a shaved head, and like many weres, his body rippled with well-defined muscle like most wereanimals. It was the pain and fear in his eyes that was unnatural.
Deidre nearly puked up the dinner she’d eaten hours ago. It wasn’t the aftermath of dark magic, it was the simple act of looking at the furious man who had zero control over his body. She could squat beside him, but she didn’t need to risk the magic failing.
“I’m so sorry, but this has to be done.” The urge to offer a calming spell screamed inside her mind, but she kept her hand from touching the were.
Glancing up, her gaze met Jonathon’s fierce brown stare. The man she’d grown close too was gone. Only the cop remained. He held his wand toward the man and spoke bitterly. “Alítheia.”
A truth potion would work best, but they couldn’t know how many potions and casts would work on the man. Layering magic wasn’t done often.
“What is your name?” Elijah growled, forgetting his place as expected.
“Henry,” No trace of an accent. It didn’t mean he wasn’t with the Cajun gators, but Remy rarely allowed outsiders into his congregation based on his family’s police file.
“We’ll take it from here, Elijah.” Jonathon didn’t take his eyes of the man trapped in the circle. “Tanner, if need be, remind Elijah he isn’t a member of the police department anymore.”
If Tanner nodded, Deidre didn’t notice. Her heart slammed against her ribs, and she forced herself to take a deep breath. She’d practiced this the whole way up. Every question. Every reaction. If she and Jonathon messed one thing up, everyone around them could die. Finally, she blew the breath out, cracked her neck and sighed.
“Are you rogue?”
“No. I live with Crescent City Congregation.”
“Why are you here when they have gone north?” her voice trembled.
“I did not agree with their actions, and had I stayed, I would have been killed. I barely escaped alive and unaltered when I did not agree.”
“What did you not agree with?”
Henry’s lips pressed together. A truth spell merely forced a person to speak the truth – if they spoke. If he remained silent, the spell would do nothing.
“Consider yourself.” Jonathon did squat by the man’s face. “You were summoned. Forced to shift. Immobilized. Do you think the man and woman standing in this disgusting place are playing a game?” He kept the wand against the man’s nose. “I can make this painful for you. I’m enabled to do so as a member of the NOPD. Our jurisdiction might not come up this far, but I’ll take my chances.”
Something that might have been worry flickered in the yellow eyes, and the man began to speak.
“Remy and the congregation are going to start the city over. They’re furious with everyone killing the gators. He thinks the tragedy will kill those who deserve to die and bring others together, so they stop the murders and hunting.”
Deidre breathed out a breath she hadn’t known she’d held as her knees crashed into the deck.
“And they would do this how?”
“Through you two.”
“Jesus, what the fuck?” Tanner hissed.
“How?” Deidre pressed, feeling the steps to freedom so close but so far.
“The congregation's coffers were drained to pay for a complex hex. He hexed you together. Prevented you from speaking of it. You’ll flood the city when the hex runs its course. You’ll bury it under so much rain and water very few save for our kind would survive. And then the city would refresh. A storm is coming, and you’re going to ride the back of it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Elijah snarled. “I’ll kill him myself and end this hex.”
“Ypnos,” Deidre waved her hand over the man’s face, and he fell into a sleep. They’d wake him again when it was time to leave, she was certain of that.
Tears sprang into her eyes and fell down her face. Her eyes burned as she cried, but she didn’t care. The hex wasn’t broken, the city was still in danger, but they’d finally had their secret told.
“Oh, my goddess,” Ivy dropped beside Deidre, wrapping her arms around her. “You’ve been going through alone.”
“Not alone,” she whispered. “With Jonathon.”
“We need to report this. We need to report this right fucking now.” Tanner finally hopped off the porch swing.
“Yes, it’s time to find him and end this.” Jonathon hissed.
“It’s time to save New Orleans.” Deidre finally gave in to the sobs that overtook her as she laid her head on Ivy’s shoulder and cried.
Numbness pinged through Jonathon’s body as he watched Deidre fall against Ivy.
He should be giddy, elated, or at the very least, grateful. Jonathon couldn’t feel anything. It was as if he’d frozen over internally the moment Henry spoke the truth and freed Deidre and Jonathon from fighting this in silence.
“It’s over.” He whispered, disbelief coloring the words. Now they had to pray those who overheard the plan could speak of it the same way Henry did.
“Almost, buddy.” Tanner clapped a hand over his shoulder. “I can’t believe you’ve been fighting this damn near on your own.”
Jonathon didn’t take his eyes off Deidre. Her shoulders rose and fell as she cried. Seeing her hurting, it was so much harder to bear now that they’d given in to their feelings. “Not alone,” He grunted and stepped off the wooden deck.
“Deidre,” Jonathon’s hand lay gently on her back. When she turned from Ivy and wrapped her arms around his neck, he sighed. His arms wrapped possessively around her. He let his hand stroke slowly through her curly hair as her tears slipped through the thin cotton shirt. “Are you okay?”
She sniffled but didn’t pull away. “I can’t tell.”
“You did the right thing. This entire plan, all of it, it was all you.” Jonathon couldn’t help the warmth of pride rolling through him. “You saved this entire city.”
“Not yet,” she pulled away slightly, lifting her head off his chest. “I didn’t think we’d actually get what we needed. Do you think?” She glanced toward Ivy, who held a phone to her ear. “Do you think we can talk freely about it?”
“I doubt it.” He kissed the top of her head. “The hex isn’t likely to break
just because someone found out about it. There’s a good chance we’re still fucked until they find Remy. God willing, he’s bound to the hex to break it because if it’s the angel and demon duo, we’re out of luck.”
Deidre said nothing as she stared into his eyes.
Something wrapped around him, nothing malicious, rather like an embrace. It warmed him all over. I’m falling in love with her. The thought didn’t slam into him like a raging inferno. Rather, it formed gently in his mind as their relationship had.
Say something. His parted his lips and quickly shut them. Now is not the time. You’re not in love with her, and don’t make this moment about anything other than what it needs to be about, saving the city.
“Are you okay?” She scrunched her nose. “You look worried.”
“I’m fine. I’m trying to process a lot of stuff right now, but we did it. We’re one step closer to stopping everything.”
“Not to make this weird, but you can kiss me, you know that, right?”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t worried what anyone would think considering our lie, but if you’re inviting me to do so, I’m not going to let you down.” He took her face in his hands and let his thumbs run over the sides of her face.
In all honesty, he could get lost in the depths of her emerald eyes. Slowly, Jonathon lowered his head to let his lips brush against hers. The smallest spark went through him, not from static shock, but from simply touching her.
Despite the small crowd, Jonathon didn’t care who saw. His hands moved from her soft cheeks to around her waist and lifted her as the kiss deepened. Deidre melted against him, leaving no room for question whether her feelings had changed.
“Excuse me.” Ivy cleared her throat after she shouted at them.
With a low growl, Jonathon opened one eye and then begrudgingly lowered Deidre to the ground.
“I’m all for the emotions swirling around this dank swamp, I foresaw them after all, but I need to speak to Deidre, and your phone is going to ring any second.”
The blaring ring chimed from his pocket right on cue.
Jonathan fumbled to stick his hand inside and grab it out. He wasn’t surprised to see Patrick’s name across the screen before he answered. Deidre shuffled off to the side with Ivy, but he let her.