"Who are you and how dare you barge into my office?" he asked in an icy tone, standing, eyeing me with distrust.
My jaw dropped to the floor and I glanced at Carter, who looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. Porter looked amused. My eyes widened when I stared at Nathaniel who was pretending he didn’t know who I was.
"Don’t be stupid. I hope you haven’t started smoking crack or something." I folded my arms together. But in his eyes, there was no recognition, no warmth. He was pretending very well.
"Who is this woman, Carter?"
I had to change the way I was handling this situation. "Nathaniel, it’s me, Julia. How could you not remember? We were together before you had to leave for Scotland," I said, stepping towards him.
My hands were shaking, but he stepped back, staring at me with a hard expression. I looked at Carter, who kept glancing from me to Nathaniel. Sadness and anger filled my heart. My hands were shaking because I didn’t know what was going on, or why he was behaving like this.
Then I heard Carter’s thoughts. Fuck! Jasper’s spell is still strong. What am I going to do now? She needs to disappear, fast; otherwise, I’m a dead man.
I gasped and felt air trapped in my lungs. I stepped back, staring at Carter, who looked petrified when he glanced at the doors—like he was going to run before anyone realised that he was a traitor.
"Mr. Porter, you must have a wizard in the factory. Someone cast a spell on Mr. La Caz and Mr. Carter here, is working against La Caz Pharmaceutical.” I pointed at Carter.
His face went ashen. He muttered something to himself and then I realised he was trying to shift. His silhouette went rigid; his limbs began to shake. A horrifying snarling noise filled the office. Carter’s head and body lengthened; his shoulders hunched. Hair visibly grew on his face and his hands transformed into paws. Suddenly, standing there in front of me, a full-grown wolf appeared. Before I knew what had happened, he was leaping across the room towards me.
Everything happened so fast, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I lifted my hands. There was a tang of iron in the air and I smelled blood. My mind’s eye was filled with the image of my own powerful energy. In a split second, I started creating a mass of silver, gold, and blue light that was now rolling down my neck, arms, and shoulders. Then a bolt of light struck the wolf and he swirled across the room, smashing the table to pieces, landing by the window. As usual, I used too much magic and the pain was sharp, like someone struck me with a razor. I took a deep breath of air that was now buzzing with my spell; the veins on my forehead were throbbing.
Carter was now lying naked on the floor in his human form. He was bleeding, but he was still alive. I felt his pulse. All my senses were sharper, and my skin was oversensitive. Nathaniel stared at me, looking terrified, and Porter began clapping, moving towards me. My pulse was racing, so I sat and closed my eyes for several seconds. I should have known that it was Jasper’s doing; that creep wanted to ruin my life and he’d succeeded.
"Miss Taylor, are you all right?" Porter asked, helping me get to my feet. I felt dizzy and struggled to keep my balance. My energy reabsorbed. Blood rushed to my ears and I exhaled. I felt much more in control.
"Porter, I’m losing my patience. Tell me what the hell is going on here!" Nathaniel roared. I wanted to cry because this was much worse than I had expected.
"I will be right back, Miss Taylor. Nathaniel, just entertain this young lady for a few minutes," Porter said, then left the office before I could protest. My racing heart flickered between my ribs. I stared at his face, unable to move. I wanted to kiss him, hug him, and tell him how much I missed him, but he was so distant. Right now, he was a stranger.
"Your name is Julia, right?" he asked, looking calmer.
"Yes."
"How did you know that I was in Scotland?"
"Please, stop it, Nathaniel. I can’t talk to you right now. You don’t understand what’s going on." I swallowed back my tears.
He ran his hands through his sandy hair, then shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don’t do relationships, so I can’t imagine being with you. An elf? I’m a businessman and I fuck for pleasure, but I do find your scent intoxicating."
This was the real Nathaniel, cold and unbreakable; the one who didn’t want to commit to anyone, but he still recognised my scent.
Then Porter came back to the office with someone else. His companion was a wizard. He was tall, dressed in a blue uniform, with bushy eyebrows and a black beard. I gasped with relief. Porter lifted his hand to silence Nathaniel, who was just about to say something.
"Mr. Brown here, practised dark magic and he can remove the spell," Porter announced.
"Porter, you don’t believe—"
Porter cut him off. "Nathaniel, please calm down and let Mr. Brown take care of this."
I wasn’t going to stay in the office and wait until Nathaniel recognised me. I had humiliated myself enough. When the wizard lifted his magic wand, I was out of there. My emotions, the energy, and anger overwhelmed me. I couldn’t face Nathaniel; it wasn’t his fault he was spelled, but I couldn’t break down in front of him. The lift arrived, and I rushed inside, passing Emily who was staring at me, disoriented. When the door closed, I howled, tears streaming down my cheeks. I broke down into pieces.
Downstairs, Todd tried to stop me, but my taxi was waiting for me. Nathaniel was probably already back to himself. I told the taxi driver to take me home. I cried and howled the entire way. Then I locked myself in my apartment and curled up in my bed. I took some sleeping tablets. I wanted to doze off forever and forget.
A loud noise stirred me back to reality. It was still dark outside and someone was banging on my door. I covered my ears with my pillow, but the noise didn’t stop. My head was heavy, my throat dry, and I was still half asleep. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the door. Without thinking, I unlocked it. Strong firm hands embraced me in a tight hug and I was lost in the fragrance of lemons and cedar notes. His lips were kissing mine, and then my neck, my collarbone. His hands brushed over my stomach to my breasts. His warm skin reminded me of our happy times together. I must have still been dreaming because he couldn’t be here.
"Oh God, Julia, it so good to have you in my arms," he whispered in my ear. He was holding me, pulling me closer to his body.
His hands on my cheeks, his hazel eyes met mine for the first time in what seemed like eons. The old Nathaniel was back, and I didn’t care that he was hurting me. The wound on my neck throbbed with pain and I gasped.
"Nathaniel, please, come inside and close the door." I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the time. Only two hours had passed since I’d left La Caz Corporation and now he was here. Mr. Brown did a great job removing Jasper’s spell.
In the living room, Nathaniel’s eyes moved to my neck and the bandage that covered my legs. He was beside me, and before I could protest, he removed the dressing from my neck.
"Vampire bites?" he asked and tightened his jaw. He slammed his fists together, his knuckles white. The colour drained from his face as he scanned mine.
"It’s a long story, Nathaniel. I’m fine now; this will heal," I said, barely opening my mouth. There was so much that I had to tell him.
"What about your legs? What the hell happened to you, Julia?"
"There was a fire at the agency. I managed to get away," I explained, sitting back. He knelt beside me, kissing my knees and thighs, running his hand over my arms.
"When that wizard uncast that spell in my office, I finally remembered, but Porter said that you were already gone. I went to Scotland like I told you, but I don’t remember what happened there."
"It was Jasper. He probably followed you. I told you he’s very good with dark magic. He probably cast the spell before you realised what was going on," I added and then explained everything that happened during that horrid night at the club.
Nathaniel didn’t take it well. He smashed his fist into my wall, roaring with rage. He was like a murderous be
ast ready to slaughter. Then I had to tell him about Caleb and the fire at the agency, and about how I’d heard Carter’s thoughts in his office.
"I didn’t understand why you hadn’t tried to call or visit me. I was sure you were back." I sobbed, cuddling to his chest. He wouldn’t hurt me, and I wasn’t afraid. His body was tense, and he was so angry. He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me as close to him as he could get. His heart was beating fiercely in his chest. I lifted my chin to look into his hazel eyes. They were wild, unrecognisable, as if he didn’t want me to see how he really felt, that he was losing control.
"Julia, I’m sorry. I should have protected you better. I should have known it was Caleb."
"It’s not your fault."
“I’m going to find him and kill him," he said. "And then I’m going to rip the guts out of that vampire who dared to drink from you, dared to touch your precious blood."
"Please, stop it. My father is already looking for Caleb, and Daniel is in prison," I said, pulling him to me.
“I’m sorry, Julia. You nearly died because you were with me. I’m not good for you, but as long as I stay away from you, you will be safe," he said and kissed me hard with passion, bringing back all the memories—few, though they were—of our precious times together. My brain registered some of his words and I pushed him away, breathing heavily.
"What are you talking about?"
“I’m not good for you." He ran his hand through his hair and added, his voice breaking, "As long as I stay away, you will be safe. We can’t be together. I told you that I’m not good in a relationship."
"So, you’re going to just leave me now, after all this?" I choked.
"Julia, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. You’re a big girl; you understand. I’m a businessman and a vampire. You said it yourself, there is no future…"
"Don’t give me that cliché bullshit about protection. I was nearly kidnapped; I was bitten, and I suffered severe burns because of you, and now you’re just going to walk away from me, after what I’ve been through?"
"Don’t be so melodramatic. I can’t give you what you want. You said it yourself, this is not who I am!" he shouted.
"Fuck you, Nathaniel!" I shouted back, getting up. My whole body started shaking and anger stormed through me. I had no magic left inside me, but my fingertips inflamed for a few seconds. I wanted to explode, to cast the most powerful spell to get rid of him—hurt him. "Get out of my house, you coward!"
"My firecracker, please understand, I don’t want to hurt you even more," he pleaded.
I couldn’t look at him, so I did the only thing that felt right. I ran to my bathroom and slammed the door behind me. I was expecting him to come to me and tell me that he wasn’t serious and that he would stay with me—but when I heard the main door close, I knew he was gone.
Nathaniel La Caz left me, and he wasn’t coming back. I crawled on the floor and sobbed. After a long moment, I felt pathetic, so I stood and wiped away my tears. I was stronger than this—better than him. I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry.
The End of Volume 1
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Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1) Page 24