by R. E. Butler
The Jaguar’s Bride
The Necklace Chronicles Book Five
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2019 RE Butler
The Jaguar’s Bride (The Necklace Chronicles Book Five)
By R. E. Butler
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
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Cover by C. T. Cover Creations
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This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
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Editing by Sara Dawn Johnson
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Many thanks to the amazeballs betas: Shelley the awesome & Ann the fab.
Hugs and special thanks to Joyce.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Coming Soon from R. E. Butler
Contact the Author
Other Books by R. E. Butler
Having Hope (Ashland Pride Eleven)
The Jaguar’s Bride
The Necklace Chronicles Book Five
Wanting to help her down-on-her-luck sister, witch Thea Greene plans to concoct a spell to help her find romantic happiness. The problem is that the one ingredient she doesn’t have is a flower that blooms solely during the full moon. There’s only one place the flower can be found, so she dons her hiking boots and heads out to locate it.
Jaguar shifter Savage Bayle is a marked male. Unable to secure a bride on his own, he’s now facing his people’s traditional Mate Hunt, which occurs during the full moon. As part of a matriarchal society, the females are the ones who chase the males during the Hunt, and any male caught must mate the female or face punishment. One female in his prowl has set her eyes on him – the cold, cruel daughter of the queen. The last thing he wants to do is spend the rest of his life mated to her. Hoping to ride out the Hunt and escape unmated, he heads into the woods with his fingers crossed to find a place to lay low until the Hunt is over at dawn.
When Thea follows an enticing smell deep into the woods, she stumbles into the arms of a gorgeous man. He purrs on contact, and the attraction between them is electric. One kiss and she wants to be his forever. But she’s not the only one laying a claim to the sexy Savage – the jaguar princess has one, too. Is their budding love enough to protect Thea, or will Savage lose her forever?
Chapter One
Thea Greene inhaled the sweet aroma of her favorite tea, the steam wafting over her skin. Her gaze flitted over the edge of her favorite mug, which depicted a cartoon llama demanding there be no drama, to the front door of the quaint cabin she shared with her older sister, Anne. Any minute now, Thea expected Anne to walk into the house with details about her latest endeavor to find a man: Speed Dating for Supes.
Which Thea thought was insane on several levels. Seriously? Who called supernatural creatures “supes” anyway?
But Anne had dreams of finding Mr. Right and sashaying down the aisle before she hit the big 3-0, a mere three years away. She always wanted to ask her sister – why the rush? Why not just wait for fate to bring the right man into your life? Anne was a romantic at heart, but also not interested in waiting for fate.
After taking a sip of tea, Thea set the mug on the end table and tucked her feet up on the couch, turning her attention back to her spell book. Thea and her family were the leaders of a coven of witches, and it was her turn to choose a special spell to cast at the next gathering of their small coven. The coven called the sleepy town of Ingot’s Mill home, along with a wolf pack, a family of fae, and assorted humans and other supernaturals. Nestled in the mountains and surrounded by woods, Ingot’s Mill was Thea’s very favorite place. Her family had lived in the town for generations, and she couldn’t imagine ever living anywhere else.
Which meant that she didn’t leave town all that much, so her husbandly prospects were those single fellows in town. Like Anne, she’d never felt much more than a passing interest in the boys she’d grown up with. She’d dated a few wolves and humans, but no one had ever made her swoon like the heroines in her favorite romcoms. She wanted to meet a guy and fall head over heels for him, and she was willing to wait for fate. Unlike Anne, who had dated her way through the wolf pack and come up empty.
In a few days, Thea and the coven were gathering to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of their coven’s creation. Each coven member was allowed to cast a spell, and she was looking for just the right one. There were so many spells she could choose from and she wanted to make sure she picked the right one.
The front door creaked as it swung open and Thea looked up. “Judging by the look on your face,” she said as she put down her spell book and stood, “I’m going to guess the speed dating didn’t go well?”
Anne shut the door and leaned against it. “It’s that obvious?”
“Your mascara is smeared. You look like an 80s rocker who went a little crazy with the eye makeup.” Thea grabbed a tissue from the decorative box on the coffee table and walked to her sister, handing it to her and giving her a hug.
“It wasn’t great.”
“I’m sorry.”
Anne carefully wiped under her eyes and then sniffled. “I’m an idiot.”
“You know you’re not. You tried something and it didn’t work out, but at least you tried. Unlike me, who just hopes to trip and fall into the arms of my future husband at some point.”
Anne chuckled and gave Thea a watery smile. “It was awful.”
“How about some tea?” Thea asked. Anne nodded, and the two headed into the kitchen, Thea stopping to pick up her own mug. She turned on the burner and set the kettle on it, then reached into the cabinet and withdrew her sister’s favorite tea. “What was it like?”
“There were hardly any guys! It was at least a four-to-one ratio of guys to girls, and the ones who were there were slimy as hell. Clearly looking for sex and not love.” Anne leveled her sapphire gaze at Thea. “I think you called it.”
Before Anne had left for the speed dating event, Thea had suggested that love couldn’t be forced. Anne might meet a great guy, but the odds seemed unlikely. Thea was more practical than Anne, but she adored her sister’s doe-eyed romantic view of love.
“I’m sorry you had a bummer of a night. Those jerks missed out on getting to know you. I happen to think you’re spectacular, and whoever you choose is going to be one lucky guy.”
The kettle whistled and Thea poured the boiling water into a mug and Anne dipped the mesh ball of tea inside. Thea took a sip of her own tea and watched as the liquid in Anne’s mug turned a pretty pink from the dried strawberries in the mixture.
“Maybe I’ll be single forever, like Aunt Eugenia.
”
Their favorite aunt was what people would call a spinster, a woman who never married or had children. But Eugenia, who had sadly passed away a few years earlier, lived a long and fabulous life, filled with travel and adventure. She’d never wanted for lovers and had a reputation for telling inappropriate stories about her bedroom romps at family get-togethers.
“If you want to be single, be single. If you want to get married, then I believe you’ll eventually find the right guy. You’re still young.”
Anne hummed. “Maybe. I’m feeling pretty skeptical right now, though.”
“Well, you just spent two hours with a bunch of assholes looking for a quick lay. Anyone would feel skeptical.”
“Thanks for the tea,” Anne said, kissing Thea on the cheek. “I’m going to take a bath and go to bed. It’s been a long day.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Same to you.”
Thea finished her tea and put her mug in the sink, then cleaned up the kitchen. As she worked, her mind came back again and again to her spell book and the upcoming celebration. What about a love spell?
Drying her hands on the yellow kitchen towel, she hurried to her book and flipped through the pages, searching for a spell to help her sister. Love spells were notoriously difficult to pull off, and there was the occasional side effect of turning one of the parties into an emotionally overzealous stalker who wouldn’t take no for an answer. But she was certain she’d seen a spell at some point that would draw the parties together but not mess with their emotions.
Coming up empty, she closed her book and grumbled a curse. Looking out the window, she saw that the downstairs light was on in her parents’ home, which meant they were still up. Putting on her shoes, she grabbed her shawl to protect herself against the chilly spring air and hurried across the yards to her parents’ back door. Knocking on the sliding glass door, she waved at her mom when she peeked around the corner of the family room.
Her mother, Luanda, shared the same chestnut hair color as Thea, but she always kept it in a thick braid. Luanda tied her robe’s sash a little tighter and unlocked the back door, pulling it open.
“Hello, dear! Is everything all right? The last time you came over this late, you’d accidentally scorched the couch with a potion and needed help with the cleanup.”
Thea hugged her mom with a laugh and walked into the kitchen. The lingering scents of dinner told her that her mom had made her father’s favorite beef bourguignon with garlic potatoes and had topped off the meal with peach pie.
“Smells great in here.”
“I have some pie left.”
“I’d love a slice, but I came over here for some advice.”
“How about both? Have a seat.”
Thea sat at the kitchen table and set her spell book on it, watching as her mother put two slices of peach pie on plates and brought them over with forks. She sat across from her and smiled encouragingly.
“What can I help you with?”
“Anne had another bad dating experience.”
“The speed thing?” Luanda asked, taking a bite of pie.
“Yep. So I was thinking about using my spell during the celebration to help her. But not a love spell, of course, because they’re unpredictable.”
“That’s so true. I think it’s very sweet that you’d like to help her. I believe what you’re looking for is a spell to bring two destined people together. My mother used to call it a ‘drawing’ spell because you draw them together, but it’s actually love and locating spells mixed together. Let me grab my book.”
Luanda disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with her spell book. “I couldn’t remember the terminology for what the spell’s called, but here are a few that should work for Anne.” She pulled out the chair next to Thea and sat, showing her a page of spells. The spells were called Heart Draws and were meant to bring fated lovers together. There were three such spells listed, and after reading through them, Thea pointed at the last one.
“I think this is the one for Anne.”
“I agree, it seems tailor-made for her.”
Thea smiled. The spell was a request to bring together true loves within a month and to give them everlasting happiness. “I wouldn’t mind some everlasting happiness myself.”
“Wouldn’t we all, dear?” Luanda chuckled. She sat back in the chair. “You’re very sweet to do this for Anne. There’s just one problem with this spell.”
“What?”
“It needs Spike-Tipped Apple Blossoms.”
Thea frowned. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“Because they’re rare and they only bloom on the full moon.”
“I... have no idea when that is.”
Luanda took her cell phone from her pocket and opened the internet browser, quickly bringing up a page of moon cycle information for their area. “It’s tomorrow night. I guess that’s perfect timing.”
“That’s good. I don’t suppose that we’re lucky enough to live near where the flower blooms?”
“I have no idea, but your father might. He likes botany related to our spells and potions.”
Luanda called for Thea’s father, Arthur, who joined them in the kitchen. “Oh, you got the pie out. I hope there’s some left. What are you doing here so late, Thea?”
“I came for some help for Anne.”
While Luanda sliced a piece of pie for Arthur, Thea explained the situation to him. “Mom said you might know where the Spike-Tipped Apple Blossom blooms.”
He took a bite of pie and chewed thoughtfully. “I’d have to double-check, but I believe that it blooms in the forest that borders our town to the south. It grows near flowing water and pine trees, so you’d have to locate the creek that runs through the forest and find a stand of pine trees. It shouldn’t be too hard, and you can do a quick location spell to help you head in the right direction.”
“That sounds good.”
He got up from the table and came back a few minutes later with a botany book, flipping to a page and turning it to face Thea. “I was right. They’re in the southern forest.”
She looked at the image of the flower. “I expected it to grow on an apple tree because of the name.”
“The seeds look like those from an apple, but the flower looks more like a lily.”
It was pink and purple, with tiny spikes on the ends of the petals, and looked like it was dusted with sparkly glitter. “At least I won’t have to climb a tree to harvest the flowers. But I just realized I’ll have to find it in the dark.”
“It’s easy to find at night because the glittery surface of the petals reflect light. You can do a location spell to point yourself in the right direction, and then just sweep a flashlight back and forth ahead of you and you’ll see them. They smell amazing, too, like honey and mango.”
Her father explained that she needed to cut the stems close to the base and get them into water as soon as possible. He recommended she place wet paper towels into a gallon-sized plastic bag and then wrap each stem with one of them.
“Once you’re home, you can put them in a vase and keep them in the fridge. They must be alive for the spell to work. If they dry out, the spell won’t be effective.”
“How long do they live once they’re cut? The full moon is tomorrow night, but our ceremony isn’t for four days.”
“Assuming you cover the cut ends with wet paper towels and get them into the fridge within a few hours, they should be fine until our ceremony.”
“How many do I need?”
He hummed and read the spell. “I’d get at least four blooms.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
“Of course you can. You’re a very sweet girl.” He smiled at her as she took a picture of the flower with her cell phone.
“Would you like us to cast a drawing spell for you?” Luanda asked.
Thea looked at her parents in surprise. “No. Why?”
Luanda shrugged. “You’re doing something wonderful to help your sister. It’s
only right that your father or I cast a benevolent spell on your behalf.”
Thea stood and carried her plate to the sink. She rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher, then turned to face her parents. “I don’t want to rush anything. My husband is out there somewhere, and we’ll meet when the time is right. Anne’s the one who’s anxious to start the next chapter of her life. I’m happy with my life as it is, and until things change for me naturally, I’m content.”
“That’s the perfect answer,” Arthur said. “Your mother and I felt the same way.”
Her parents could have cast spells to find each other, but they’d both wanted it to happen naturally. There wasn’t anything wrong with casting a spell to give destiny a kick in the pants, but Thea wasn’t in a hurry. She’d meet her husband someday. Right now, it was Anne’s time, and she was happy to be able to help her.
“Can I borrow a flashlight?”
“Of course,” her mother said.
Luanda gave her a hug. “Are you going to tell Anne about the spell?”
“No, I want to surprise her.”
“We’ll keep it a secret as well. Be safe,” Arthur said as she gave him a hug, picked up both spell books, and headed to the sliding door.
“I will. Love you both.”
Her parents both said, “We love you, too,” at the same time, and she smiled and stepped out onto the patio. Taking a deep breath of the night air, she held the books close to her chest and strode toward home. Someday, she’d have a man to call her own and they’d start a family, but it was Anne’s time now. She couldn’t wait to see her sister’s face during the ceremony when she shared the news of the intended spell. It was going to be a great night.
Chapter Two
Savage Bayle eyed the large clock hanging over the wall of bottle-filled glass shelves and stifled an annoyed growl. The bartender had already shouted “last call,” and the minutes were ticking quickly toward the point where he’d have to leave. Turning on the padded stool, he looked at the still-crowded dance floor where bodies writhed to the music pounding from the speakers. He opened his senses, drawing on the enhanced abilities of his jaguar, to once more search the crowd. His people believed that there were only two ways to find mates – chance meetings and Mate Hunts. He was desperately hoping to find his mate by chance tonight, because it was, unfortunately, his last opportunity.