Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  "This lady is way out of your league, mate, so I suggest you get up and take your sweaty balls out of here before I do something that might upset you.” He didn’t raise his voice, but there was a hint of threat in his tone.

  He was a self-employed paranormal bounty hunter. Some paranormals would cross the street just to avoid him, others tried to run, but that just made him angrier. This troll was obviously too brave or too stupid to realise what was coming. Jasper was just over my height and I truly wished that I’d never dated him. A lot of human customers were staring at me when I glanced around. Ella looked mystified by what was going on with her jaw hanging wide open. I wanted to kick her.

  "I ain’t in the mood today, pal, and you’re getting on my nerves," the troll snarled, spitting on Jasper. Then he turned around, and I was sure he was going to leave, but instead, he jerked forward, then smashed his fist into Jasper’s face. His punch sent Jasper straight toward the tables before he landed on the floor. The troll obviously took him by surprise. Ella screamed; the barman went rushing towards the phone, shouting that he was going to call the police. Humans started getting up to take a better look at what was going on.

  Half of me was glad that Jasper was screwed, but the other half was buzzing with electricity. Several glasses started to crack; I wasn’t in control of my own powers anymore. Shit.

  "Now, that we’ve gotten rid of the problem we can get to know each other," the troll said to me with a bright smile.

  I wanted to gag when the scent of cat puke and petrol wafted into the air. Seriously, this was too much.

  "We’re leaving…" My voice trailed off, and the air around me shifted. I smelled and felt magic soaking the atmosphere. Someone had cast a suspension charm; all the humans were suddenly frozen. Then, in the blink of an eye, Jasper was beside the troll clenching his large hand around his throat. The troll’s breath was shallow and his eyes wide.

  “Did I mention that I don’t really like you?” Jasper whispered, suffocating the obese troll whose face was now scarlet; his eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

  “Jasper! Let go of him,” I hissed, but he wasn’t paying attention to me and squeezed his hand around the troll’s throat harder. I could see that he was under the influence of dark magic. His eyes were illuminating with blue neon light. His magic wand was in his right hand. This was not good.

  "Jasper!" I screamed. Finally, he released the troll, quickly muttering something under his breath. The unexpected spell lifted the hair on the back of my neck and the large creature was suspended in midair.

  "Free entertainment for tonight," Jasper said, spinning the troll around.

  I wished that I was more creative, more in control of my abilities, then maybe we could all find some kind of peaceful resolution. At that point, I wasn’t following Jasper’s magic anymore. He was waving it around like a maniac.

  He didn’t understand that we were done, that we weren’t a couple anymore. It drove me nuts that he kept showing up in these random places, pretending that it was all a huge coincidence. This time he had crossed the line. Rage boiled inside of me. Strong currents of electricity lifted my hair and my fingertips were suddenly covered in flames.

  "Jasper, you psycho, put him down!"

  He didn’t listen, because he was too busy torturing the guy who was only trying to buy me a drink. The wind that he’d created ruffled his dark hair. Maybe this was a very, very, bad idea, but I couldn’t let him kill another creature.

  A mass of yellow light streamed from my hands as I concentrated. The first wave of energy didn’t even touch him, but then my fury took over. The second bolt of magic threw Jasper off his feet, where he banged his head on the nearby chairs. He lost control; his magic wand flew across the pub, stopping somewhere by the entrance. There was a huge crash, and several tables and chairs smashed when the huge troll landed on the floor.

  Jasper lay still a few meters away from me. The suspension spell was lifted, and all the humans in the pub began stirring back to reality. My heart was galloping out of my chest. The air was so thick with spells that I couldn’t breathe properly.

  I glanced down at my hands, not believing that I was able to produce so much magic. Then, the tiny voice in my head reminded me to get the hell out of here. I quickly wiped the sweat from my forehead and rushed towards Ella who looked like she was going to start screaming at any moment.

  "Come on, let’s go before the police get here." I took her hand and rushed towards the door.

  When fresh air hit my lungs, the aftermath of the energy I’d produced ripped through me. I felt much better after getting rid of my excess magic, but Ella seemed to have lost the ability to speak. I quickly called out for a taxi, knowing that we had to disappear straight away.

  "Julia, oh, my God," she said after a long moment. "What the hell happened?"

  "Jasper went slightly out of control. He beat up that poor guy," I explained. Ella wasn’t exactly a bright human.

  "Julia, you need to tell your dad. What if that guy in the bar is dead?"

  "He isn’t dead," I said quickly. "The barman already called the police. We disappeared just before they were about to show up."

  I was glad that Ella wasn’t asking me about the black hole that suddenly appeared in her memory. She was more worried about the fact that Jasper arrived and beat someone up because of me. I told the taxi driver to stop near the cinema. I was starving and needed to take the edge off my stress. We walked for another ten minutes, passing High Street after we were dropped off. The cinema was on my right and we entered the Italian restaurant next door. Ella was cursing Jasper under her breath.

  "Two shots of vodka, please," I told the British waiter when we walked inside. I didn’t want to be caught in the middle of that mess when the Paranormal Unit arrived to check out what had happened. I’d lost control yet again, but I was glad that Jasper ended up unconscious. He had a lot of explaining to do, probably to my father who was on duty tonight. My magic had saved our arses—that much, I was thankful for, even though I still wasn’t sure how it happened.

  Jasper was my ex-boyfriend. We broke up a year ago. His dark magic skills allowed him to track me anywhere I went. He’d finally stopped following me in the past few weeks, and I was kind of hoping that he had realised that we were over.

  Ella didn’t know Jasper wasn’t human. She didn’t even know supernatural beings existed, or that I was one of them. My best friend was human, born and bred in London, so that was why I decided to keep the bad news about my cousin’s kidnapping to myself. It was hard lying to her, but I was trying to protect her. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to handle the magic, or understand why an elf had been taken away.

  "Get a restraining order, Julia. That guy is insane," she said, tensing her jaw. Ella was two years older than me. She had long red hair, fake eyelashes, fake nails, and she used a tanning bed at least once a week. She was always well-groomed—and she was the kindest person that I’d ever known. She was a healthy size fourteen, and deep down, I knew she was self-conscious about her weight.

  The handsome waiter brought our shots; I didn’t waste any time and drank one right away. “I’m considering that," I told her, staring at the menu.

  "Don’t be an idiot. How did he even know you would be at that bar? What if he kidnaps you next?"

  Well, Ella didn’t know that Jasper had once tried to use a dark spell to make me go on holiday with him. Right now, I was anxiously waiting for a phone call from my dad, but I was so done explaining myself. Jasper hated me because I’d ditched him, so he was trying to punish me. He knew that my magic was unstable and that I would never be in full control of my abilities.

  Either way, he was going to remember tonight because I was so done dealing with him.

  "Seriously, Julia, what are you waiting for? He’s dangerous!"

  I knew what she was saying, but Ella had no idea that Jasper was also an exceptional magician.

  “I’ll deal with him, don’t worry. I thin
k I need another drink."

  "Me, too." She waved toward the waiter, then cursed about Jasper for the next few minutes. When she finally changed the subject, I exhaled with relief. "By the way, my brother keeps asking about you."

  I groaned. "I don’t need this right now, Ella. We both know that for some reason when it comes to men, I’m cursed.”

  Chapter seven

  Problematic love.

  “Oh, don’t be silly. He would be perfect for you." She beamed. The waiter approached to take our order. After going through what we wanted to eat, I asked him to bring us a bottle of wine as soon as possible. Then Ella added, "I need to tell you something."

  "You’ve got a date with a guy you met at the club." I didn’t have to use my gift to know what my best friend was going to say. She had been searching for the right guy since she broke up with her long-term boyfriend, Bryan. She was signed up on most dating sites and had been going on dates all the time. I was amazed how she could switch subjects so quickly, forgetting about the life-threatening situation with Jasper.

  "Oh, my God! How did you know?"

  "It’s magic." I chuckled.

  "I think he might be the one," she sighed loudly, and I forced myself not to roll my eyes. "He works as a solicitor and we’re seeing each other tomorrow."

  "Ella, you know how much I love you, but you say that about every guy you meet. Can you take a break for a few weeks? If there is someone out there for you, then let him come to you."

  She waved her hand. “I’m tired of dating. All this work will pay off soon." "I like your enthusiasm."

  Ella giggled. "Tell me; what’s new with you?"

  The usual; people kidnapping my cousin, a vampire wants to have sex with me, and my ex-boyfriend nearly killed someone again.

  I drank a bit of my wine and smiled, thinking that if I told Ella about my paranormal life, she’d probably want to have me committed. She worked as a beautician in a posh salon in central London.

  "Nothing spectacular, just an ordinary day at the office," I explained. "Although, I went to a meeting the other day and—”

  "And what?" she cut me off.

  "Well, the managing director of this huge corporation was hitting on me."

  She set down her glass of wine. "What? Did he ask you out?"

  "He did, but I said no. Besides, he was just playing with me," I replied, dismissing her comment. I glanced at my phone again, but there were no missed calls or text messages. Maybe I got away, and Jasper didn’t give my name, but I still needed to stay on alert, just in case.

  "Why not? You need to go on a date,” she said. “Imagine if you went out with him. That would so much fun."

  "No, I don’t think so. He’s just a stuck-up rich guy," I countered, trying to ease off the memories about La Caz. I didn’t need another alpha male to boss me around, so I quickly shifted this uncomfortable conversation to something else. "How is your mum, by the way?"

  "She doesn’t want me to do this diet…"

  Ella was talking, and I couldn’t focus, thinking about Jasper and my father. What happened in the pub threw me off balance for a bit. While Ella was talking about her mum, about her diet and dating, I was trying to keep my thoughts away from the handsome vampire who’d caused havoc inside my heart. I had to admit, there was a strong connection between us, but he just wasn’t the right man for me. My grandmother would have a heart attack if she knew that I had to deal with vampires on a daily basis.

  An hour later, I told my best friend that I wasn’t feeling well. For some reason, I had a mounting headache. After we paid the bill, we called a taxi to get us home. After all, Ella’s car was still at the pub and I didn’t want to run the risk of seeing anyone from the Paranormal Unit there.

  I lived in a block of apartments in a quiet neighbourhood. The area wasn’t great, but I couldn’t afford anything else in this economy. Rufus paid me decently, but it wasn’t always enough. It was close to nine when I relaxed in the bath and thought about Jasper and my poor cousin. I wouldn’t normally think about my ex, but I was pissed that he still refused to leave me alone. I wanted him out of my life and regretted that I’d been so blind. When I was just about to go to bed, my mother called. She asked if I would come over for dinner this Sunday. She mentioned that Dad was still at work, which meant that I wouldn’t get anything out of him anyway.

  The next day was Thursday, and the day in the office passed without any surprises. I filled a couple of vacancies, talked to Jennifer, and made a few mistakes with the payroll. At lunchtime, I tried to call my dad again, but he just wasn’t picking up the phone. I couldn’t sit still, wondering if he’d questioned La Caz already. While I was eating lunch, my phone rang, and Ella persuaded me to go out to dinner with her on Saturday night. For Ella, this was the only day of the week where she got drunk and I always ended up carrying her home. Alcohol and Ella—well, they didn’t go well together. We arranged a dinner in our usual place.

  “Has anyone been in?” I asked Kate when I returned to the office. She shook her head while filing some paperwork with yet more magic, quickly waving her wand around.

  Once I went through all the CVs, I made a list of names that I needed to contact. I was hoping by Monday that I would have a few more to choose from. Half of them were vampires; the rest were a mix of giants, trolls, werewolves, and witches. Then I saw another email flashing through and froze instantly, seeing his name at the top of the screen.

  Julia,

  As I said earlier, I’m persistent and you won’t get rid of me until you say yes.

  Nathaniel La Caz

  Managing Director of La Caz Pharmaceutical

  My heart started racing again and I deleted the email. I wasn’t going to reply, but then I thought about the werewolf who’d called the office the other day. Nathaniel’s company was somehow linked to Claudia’s disappearance.

  He didn’t send another email and surprisingly, I was disappointed. My mind kept whispering that I wanted him, that my body was drawn to his as if I’d known him for centuries. I was so confused inside; my mind and body were warring with itself.

  I managed to get through the day without any more drama. When I got home, I made a quick dinner and tried to watch TV. I couldn’t sit in one place—I was restless—and I knew that my dad must have already talked to Nathaniel about the Lucrative Shot.

  It was late when I called a cab and went to the police station. Mum confirmed that my father was still at work, so he couldn’t dodge me anymore.

  Of course, he wasn’t too happy when I showed up.

  “What are you doing here, Julia? I told you that you shouldn’t be out so late,” he growled when he spotted me sitting on one of the benches.

  “I need to know if you’ve found anything more on Claudia’s kidnapping. Besides, I’m the one who told you about the Lucrative Shot.” I folded my arms over my chest. He narrowed his crystal blue eyes and barked at me to follow him to his office.

  “How did you get here in the first place?”

  "I took a cab, so don’t worry. Just tell me already; did you speak to that managing director, Nathaniel La Caz?”

  “Yes, I have spoken to him. I also looked through CCTV’s around the city, but we didn’t find much. Someone must have known that I would be checking the cameras because all the CCTV from around that area have been damaged with dark magic." I was suddenly disappointed; this was a dead end. "Your aunt wants to go to the media, but I’m advising her against it. We all know that we have to work quietly."

  "That guy, La Caz, came to the office earlier," I said. “I’ve got a feeling that he knows a lot more than he’s prepared to say."

  Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but my dad needed to know that I had seen Nathaniel, plus, knowing Claudia, she wouldn’t stay calm while being kept in some dark basement, or wherever she was.

  Dad sighed and brushed a hand through his hair.

  "Why would he come to your office?" he asked "Besides, I told you not to get involved. I don’t want
you to get in any trouble."

  "Because Paranormal Personnel signed a contract with La Caz Pharmaceutical to supply people. I’m the main point of contact, and somehow, I’m already involved with this."

  "Then you shouldn’t talk about this matter with anyone. I gave you strictly confidential information. Now, I want you to go home and stay there. Don’t do anything stupid. I’ve got enough on my plate hiding this from your mother."

  "Tell me what he said. Do you think he’s a suspect?" I was annoyed that he didn’t want to reveal anything.

  “Dear Lord. You’re worse than your mother. The production of that shot only just started, but he told me that one of his vans containing the first unofficial batch of the product was highjacked about a week ago. We found some evidence of fairies’ blood in the shot, but he said that he didn’t use paranormal blood for production. Apparently, he uses human donors and wizards. I made him show me the production. I don’t think that vampire is a liar, hon.”

  "Highjacked in London?" I repeated, feeling like a complete idiot for questioning him before my dad.

  "Yeah, and I verified this, so he was right; the robbery was also reported. The van was found a hundred miles east, completely empty," Dad said. "At the moment, he isn’t a suspect, but I’ll keep an eye on him."

  "Are you sure that he doesn’t use paranormal blood for that shot?" I asked, but Dad got angry.

  "Julia, that’s enough questions for today! I don’t want to see you at this station at all. Understood?"

  "Fine, fine, but I only want to help."

  "Then stay out of this, and let me do my job."

  My dad was terrible. He never wanted me to get involved with anything. I always thought that I would end up in police work like him when I was younger. The only reason that I didn’t join the force was because of my crazy magic. Besides, my Dad wanted me to stay out of any danger, so I went on to study journalism, but there weren’t any jobs in that field, and I ended up in recruitment.