“She’s talking to him,” Emery whispered. “In his head. It’s one of her gifts. She did it with me when she saved me.”
“What?” Knox’s tone was disbelieving, but Noah ignored him.
Fighting won’t help. Can’t remove demon poison.
Noah froze, his jaw clenching tightly. Raising his eyes to meet Zara’s gaze, as he growled, “Aurora says you can’t remove the demon poison. What the hell does that mean?”
He saw the witch stiffen before she said, “I’ve never come across anything like this, but I’ve heard there is only one way to get rid of demon poison.”
“What is it?” Knox demanded, taking a step toward them.
Before Zara could respond, Aurora’s grandmother whispered, “It’s too late. There is no time.”
“Fuck that,” Knox snarled, glaring at them all. “Aurora belongs to my brother. She’s family. My family. I will not just stand here and watch her die. Tell me how to fix this!”
“You may not have a choice, Alpha Channing,” Grandmother Emilia said, her dark green eyes so much like Aurora’s, swimming with tears. “Unless you know where to find a demon, and have the power to make him withdraw the poison from my granddaughter’s body, she will be gone within the hour.”
Noah heard Mist gasp loudly, and he glanced over to see her shaking her head adamantly. “No! There has to be another way!”
Noah was dimly aware of several of the witches’ steps faltering at the news, news they obviously hadn’t known either before they seemed to pick up the pace, chanting even louder.
“I will find you a demon,” Knox promised, turning toward the door. “I will do whatever it takes to save my brother’s mate.”
“What’s going on?” Freya demanded breathlessly as she ran into the room, almost slamming into Knox. He grabbed her by her forearms and gently set her to the side.
“Demon poisoning,” Teine growled, pulling from her mate’s arms and turning toward the door. “Let’s go find us a demon, Knox.”
“What?” Freya whispered, her hand going to her throat, her eyes widening in horror. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Knox snarled. “And, from what Aurora’s grandmother says, we have less than an hour to find a demon to draw the poison out of Aurora’s body before we lose her. I refuse to let that happen.” Nodding to Teine, he motioned to his brothers. “Let’s go demon hunting.”
“Wait,” Freya whispered, holding up a hand. “Just, wait a minute, please.”
“My mate may not have a minute,” Noah protested darkly.
“Just, please,” the doctor pleaded, quickly closing the distance between them and kneeling beside Aurora. “You have to move over, Noah.” When he growled in warning, she shook her head. “I can’t get close enough to examine your mate with you hovering over her like that. Do you want me to save her life, or not?”
His eyes narrowed on her, another growl slipping free, but he made himself slide down a little. “How the hell are you going to save her life? We need a fucking demon.”
Freya ignored him, placing one hand on Aurora’s forehead, and another on her chest. Closing her eyes, she was quiet for a moment before she took a deep breath and looked at first him, and then past him to Knox. “Emilia is correct. The poison is coursing through Aurora’s veins right now, concentrating on her heart. If I don’t remove it right away, she will die soon.”
“You can remove it?” Noah asked, his brow furrowing as the implication of what the young woman was admitting to everyone in the room sank in.
“Yes.”
“That means you are a…” Mist let the sentence drop, and the air seemed to vibrate with her fear and anger.
“Only partly,” Freya said, leaning over Aurora, her hands still on Aurora’s forehead and stomach. “My father is a demon, my mother a shifter.”
The witches slowly came to a stop, their hands still held out in front of them as they turned toward the woman. Noah read the fury in them, and instinctively moved closer to protect Freya. He didn’t like the fact that she was half demon any more than they did, but he knew the doctor. Had met her several times. She’d helped save his sister-in-law’s life. She was sweet and kind. A gentle person who would never harm a soul.
“Before you come any closer, you need to realize two things.” Freya’s voice floated throughout the room, strong and clear. “First of all, there are good and bad demons, just as there are with witches, shifters, vampires, and humans. And secondly, if you kill me now, I won’t be able to save your sister. At least, let me do that before you take any kind of action on your end.”
“You will not be harmed, Doc Freya,” Emilia promised, glaring at the others. “Of that, you have my word.”
“Mine, too,” Noah said hoarsely, his hand covering Aurora’s. “My family will protect you. Please, save my mate.”
He saw Freya swallow hard, and then she nodded. Bowing her head, she began to chant so low Noah had a hard time hearing her. He felt the effect of what she was doing, though. The hair on his arms stood on end, and a darkness seemed to fill the air. It was heavy, suppressing, and foreboding. Black magic. Demon magic.
As he watched, Freya began to shake, and a fine sheet of perspiration appeared on her skin. Dark, black beads of moisture began to appear on Aurora’s body, moving across her skin toward Freya. When he reached up to brush them off his mate, Emilia shook her head adamantly. “No, you cannot touch them. They are looking for a new host. If they find you, you will be no better off than Aurora.”
“Freya is calling the poison to her, isn’t she?” Mist murmured, watching in awe.
“Yes. She will take it into her own body. The poison is not harmful to a demon, only to…” Emilia’s voice trailed off as her eyes widened.
“Only to anyone who is not a demon,” Emery finished woodenly from behind him. “Which means, the shifter part of her could be in danger.”
Noah’s breathing became labored as he struggled with the knowledge that in saving Aurora’s life, Freya was putting her own in danger. A part of him wanted to stop the doctor, but a bigger part kept him quiet. The selfish part that wanted his mate to live, even at the expense of another life. He hated himself for it, but he stayed silent as he watched the first bead of dark evil jump from Aurora’s skin to Freya’s. Freya flinched, but didn’t stop. Not for the next fifteen minutes. The room was quiet, except for the doctor’s low voice as she called the poison to her.
Finally, Freya sat back, removing her hands from Aurora. The poison was now moving through her body, a thick blackness in her veins that Noah could see just beneath her skin. “I don’t understand,” he rasped. “Why didn’t it look like that in Aurora?”
“Her body doesn’t fight it the same way mine does,” Freya whispered, a hand going to the floor to help hold her body up. “It is attacking the shifter part of me, as the demon side is trying to accept it.”
“Which part will win?” Emery asked, slipping around Knox to move toward them.
“I don’t know,” Freya admitted, her eyes drooping, her body beginning to shake uncontrollably as she slowly collapsed to the floor, her cheek against the carpet. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Emery knelt beside her, brushing a light brown strand of hair back from her face. Her eyes went to Aurora. “Is she going to be okay?”
Noah slid his arms under his mate’s body, slowly lifting her and holding her close to his chest. “I think so. The bond between us is stronger again. She sounds as if she is breathing normally, and her pulse is steady.”
“She will be fine,” Freya whispered, flinching when Emery touched her skin. “She just needs rest.”
“What about you?” Noah asked gruffly, holding Aurora close. “What do you need?”
Freya’s eyes closed as she murmured, “Sleep, to escape the pain.”
Chapter Three
A soft moan left Aurora’s lips as she curled in closer to the warmth next to her. She was so cold for some reason. Her head was pounding, and
her entire body ached. Her lips were dry, her mouth parched. She felt as if she had one hell of a hangover, but knew that couldn’t be true. She never had more than the occasional glass of wine after being inducted into her coven. She wanted to be alert and ready at all times in case one of her charges needed her. A small tremor ran through her and she groaned, her hand going to her head. Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips, and she groaned again as nausea welled up inside her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
Aurora froze when two large, muscular arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer to that warmth she had been trying to burrow into just moments before. She knew that voice. Had been avoiding it for weeks now. Shit.
Slowly opening her eyes, Aurora blinked several times to try to bring everything into focus. Her head rested on a thick, tan, bare chest that had a smattering of coarse dark hair across it. She knew it was coarse, because her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they slowly stroked over it. She gulped as her gaze dropped lower to the treasure trail that ran down his abdominal muscles, disappearing beneath the blanket that rested at his hips. She licked her lips, struggling to hold back a moan at the sight of all that skin. Her heart began to pound when she realized that not only was Noah lying next to her, but he had no clothes on. Nothing. Not even a pair of boxers. And neither did she.
Noah’s hand stroked slowly up and down her back, his other one buried in her thick mass of auburn hair. She lay on her side, the front of her body draped over his, skin against skin. She felt her nipples bead up as desire pooled in her belly. Despite the pain in her body, it seemed to have a mind of its own. She wanted to rub her aching breasts against him, slide her wet pussy up and down his leg. She fought to keep her hand from moving lower, following that trail down his chest, over his rock-hard abs.
She’d stayed away from the bear for a reason. He didn’t want her. He had made that perfectly clear. Aurora’s eyes rested on where his large cock tented the blanket that covered them. Well, maybe he wanted her, but he didn’t want the part of her that was a witch. She needed her man to accept all of her. She wanted more than just his dick. She wanted him. His respect, his devotion, his heart. She’d vowed when she first found out about him that she wouldn’t settle for less. Which brought her back to the predicament she seemed to be in now. What the hell had happened? Why was she in bed with Noah Channing? Naked.
“What?” She couldn’t get any more out. Even her throat was killing her.
“Hush,” he said quietly, as the hand tangled in her hair began to gently massage her scalp. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? What was he talking about?
She shifted, and nearly cried out at the pain that radiated up her side. “Hurts.”
She felt him stiffen beneath her, and then he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the top of the head. “I’m sure it does. Briar researched demon poison extensively after what happened, and I bet it’s going to hurt like a bitch for a few days.”
Demon poison?
Curling her hand on his chest into a small fist, she whispered, “Demons?”
“Yes, demons. Don’t you remember?” When she slowly shook her head, he went on. “You were trying to help one of your coven members with her charge. Somehow, demons were involved. I don’t know the whole story. All I know is you showed up here, dying after being infected with poison from a demon. If it wasn’t for Freya…” A shudder ran through his body, and he pulled her closer. “She was able to remove the poison at great cost to herself. You’ve been out for over twenty-four hours.”
Aurora was so confused. She closed her eyes, licking at her dry lips again. Mist. Demons. An image of a man with long, golden hair and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen slipped into her mind and she stiffened. Suddenly, it all rushed back to her. Mist, Janna, the demons. All of it. “Mist!” Aurora struggled to push herself up into a sitting position, crying out at the agony that slammed through her body.
“Aurora, wait. Calm down, mate. You are safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Dammit, bear! Let me up! I have to get to Mist!” She fought him, pulling out of the security of his arms and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. A wave of nausea hit her, and she moaned as she paused to take deep breaths.
“Stop, Aurora.”
She didn’t know if it was the pain slicing up the back of her head, or the low, commanding tone he used, but she did as he said and stopped. Sitting in silence for a moment, she brought her hands up to cradle her head in her hands, whimpering softly. “Noah, it hurts so much.”
She didn’t know why she admitted that to him. She was a strong woman, who tended to keep everything bottled up inside, unwilling to share too much of herself with others. But he was different. She wanted to share everything with him. Her pain and suffering, her fear of what the demons might do to her coven sister. All of it. She supposed it had something to do with the mate bond, but was too tired to try and figure it all out.
She heard the sound of covers sliding against each other, felt him moving, slipping out of the bed on his side. Then he was kneeling in front of her, between her legs. He reached over and tugged on the top blanket, and she felt warmth again as he wrapped it around her shoulders, covering her bare skin. “You need to calm down, sweetheart. After a few days’ rest, you’ll feel better. Mist is fine. She’s right downstairs with the rest of your coven. They’ve taken over our house.”
Aurora stiffened when she heard the uneasiness in his voice. Raising her head, she saw the guarded look in his eyes. “You don’t trust them.”
“I don’t know them.”
“You wouldn’t trust them if you did, because they are witches.” The hurt nearly crushed her heart, but she raised her aching head high. She would not let him see what his rejection did to her.
“Aurora, you’re being unreasonable.”
“Excuse me?” Now, that just pissed her off. “You are lumping all witches in one pot, branding us all as evil, and I’m the unreasonable one?”
Noah sighed, shaking his head, his deep brown eyes begging her to understand. “Please, just give me some time to work through all of this. I’ll figure it out.” Raising a hand, he slowly traced the small frown between her brows. “I almost lost you, Aurora.” He moved closer, resting his head on her chest, slipping his arms around her hips, careful of a stark white bandage that covered her side. “I can’t lose you, mate.”
Aurora heard the catch in his voice, the pain. Against her better judgment, she let her arms cradle his shoulders, her fingers sliding through his hair at the nape of his neck. Lowering her head, she rested her cheek against the top of his and sighed. “This is never going to work, Noah.”
“How do you know if we don’t try?”
“I do,” she whispered, closing her eyes and breathing the scent that was all him in deeply. “I’ve seen it.”
Noah’s arms tightened around her, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Do your visions always come true?”
“Not always,” Aurora admitted, loving the feel of his thick hair against her skin. “Sometimes, I can alter them.” Like she had with the demons. Mist was supposed to have died, instead Aurora almost did. A shudder ran through her at the thought of the man with the blue eyes. He had claimed her as his own, warning the others off. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to just let her go. Aurora frowned, her thoughts going back to Mist. She misinterpreted the vision she’d had of the witch. Mist was to be taken, not killed.
Noah raised his head, his eyes meeting hers. His dark gaze hardened, a muscle ticking in his jaw, and he vowed, “This will be one of those times.”
“We will see.” To make that happen, her bear would have to open his heart up to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t see that happening anytime soon. Not with the resentment she’d heard in his voice when he’d told her that her coven was downstairs. He wanted nothing to do with them because of what they were. What she was. She couldn’t change the fact that she was a witch
. She didn’t want to. If she gave up a part of herself that meant so much to her, she would grow to resent the man in front of her. There was no way around it. No matter how you looked at it, they just didn’t work.
Noah stood, cupping her jaw in his hand. It was a struggle to raise her eyes to his instead of lowering them to the thick cock that was jutting toward her, but she managed. Barely. “You are mine, Aurora
Lewellyn . I’m not letting you go, for any reason.”
“You can’t just ignore the fact that I’m a witch, and you hate witches, Noah,” she snapped, yanking her jaw from his light grasp, wincing when another sharp pain slammed through her head.
“I’m not ignoring it,” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll learn to deal with it somehow.”
Aurora gritted her teeth, biting back the words she wanted to scream at him. He would learn to deal with it? His choice of words proved to her that he was nowhere close to accepting her as she was, no matter what he wanted to believe. She wasn’t sure why she’d hoped things would be different. Maybe because she had altered the future by almost dying, which she would have thought would be enough to change his mind about witches. But why would it? Her death would have had no bearing on his feeling for her kind. All it would have done was give him a long, lonely life, because his bear wouldn’t accept any other mate. The Fates had chosen her for him. He was stuck with her.
“How about a nice, hot bath? I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’ll get a bubble bath set up for you.” Taking her silence for a yes, he gave her a smile, kissing her cheek. “I won’t be long.”
Aurora waited until the bathroom door closed before she moved, letting the blanket slide from her shoulders as she struggled to her feet, looking around the room for her clothes. Yes, a bubble bath sounded like heaven, but not here. Not in the same house where her mate was. No, she would go to her own home. The one place she knew she could be who she really was with no condemnation.
Accepting His Witch’s Sass (Sass And Growl Book 3) Page 3