by Martha Woods
Table of Contents
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Bonus Book 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Bonus Book 2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Bonus Book 3
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Bonus Book 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Clash of the covens
(Book 3 of Calder Witch Series)
Martha Woods
Contents
FREE Gift For You!
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
Bonus Book 1
The Vampire’s Desire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Bonus Book 2
The Alpha’s Return
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Bonus Book 3
Escaping the Demon's Trap
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Bonus Book 4
Mysteries of a Vampire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
© 2017 Martha Woods
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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For permissions contact: [email protected]
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Part 1
Things weren’t going well for Calla, to say the least. Granted, things could have been worse. Considering she could have been left to rot on that iron table… Well, it made being forced to serve Tessa all the more bearable. Her eyes flickered over to Tessa as she sat on the couch across from her. Calla had no ill-will toward her. In fact, she was doing what she thought she had been all along—protecting her so that the power didn’t fall into the hands of the Calder.
He was the problem. Her attention drew to the vampire sitting next to Tessa on the couch. Kristian had zero trust in Calla, treating her more like a criminal than someone who was protecting his love. After what Deidre had dragged Calla into, she didn’t blame him. It was just annoying. He assigned her a babysitter until she could prove that she was to be trusted. She would have figured a blood oath would have been enough to prove her innocence, but apparently, she was wrong.
“It feels so weird to be able to just sit around,” Tessa stated, breaking the thick silence that hung over the apartment, the only sound coming from the television that no one was paying attention to.
“Don’t get used to it,” Kristian sighed, running a hair through Tessa’s thick black hair. “Who knows when we will have to move again.”
He’s a bucket of sunshine, isn’t he? Calla thought, knowing Tessa would be able to hear it. It earned her a glare from Tessa. Tessa turned her attention back to Kristian, placing a hand on his leg in a comforting manner. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy the downtime.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. He gazed at her a few long moments before his lips pulled into a small smile. “Let’s go out for a bit. Enjoy the city while we’re here.”
Tessa nodded excitedly. After Deidre’s stunt, they had all been cooped up in their apartments, all too on edge to go out. Calla was brimming with jealousy as she watched them head for the door, chatting quietly to themselves as they put on their coats and slip outside. When the door closed, there was nothing but silence.
Calla let out a long sigh. Great. Now she was just left here with her glorified babysitter. She looked over to Jared. He was sat in the corner of the room in an off-white armchair, his eyes fixated on Calla. He radiated an intense aura. Calla bet he had a hair-triggered temper. With his strong, broad form, he certainly wasn’t someone you would want on the other team. His build reminded her of a Roman gladiator, stocky with a wide chest and biceps as big as her head. As she studied him, Calla had to admit to herself how handsome he was.
Typically, she refrained from such personal thoughts. Being around mind-reading witches all her life made her cautious to ever indulge in deeper thinking past first impressi
ons. Looking at him then, even from several paces away, Calla could make out the fine details of his bone structure. Impossibly high cheekbones, chiseled jawline, and a pin-straight nose that widened slightly at the nostrils. His lips were plush with a perfect curve to his cupid’s bow. The most striking, and peculiar thing had to be his eyes. The cocoa skinned man, with a shaved head and neatly trimmed facial hair had stunning, pale blue eyes. Calla had never seen someone of his complexion with such light eyes. She wondered if he were mixed in some way, or maybe had a mutated gene. His eyes were insanely intimidating with the contrast between his skin and eyes being so stark.
Jared’s eyes narrowed at her as she stared. Tuning into his thoughts, Calla wasn’t surprised to find the same loop that he was always thinking when she was around. Stop trying to read my mind, stop trying to read my mind, he chanted mentally. She wondered if he did it around Tessa too. With her still trying to gain control over her ability, she couldn’t tune out thoughts like Calla could. Even just listening to Jared’s thoughts for a few minutes was grating. She didn’t like that he was blocking her out so blatantly. Trying to stir a reaction, Calla called over, “Your goatee is stupid.”
It was childish, but it was enough for his brows to knit together and jaw to set in place in frustration. Calla could sense his thoughts fading from the chant for a moment, his annoyance bubbling to the surface before quickly being replaced with that mind-numbing chant.
“You’re going to degrade your intelligence with such dull thoughts,” Calla chastised.
There was no response, Jared just glaring at her.
“I don’t bite,” she cooed. “Unlike you.”
Her joke wasn’t appreciated, Jared’s eyes staying intense and his expressions stoic.
Letting out a loud, frustrated breath, Calla pulled herself to her feet. There was nothing to do there but watch television, and Calla hardly indulged in human programming. Without anything to do, she headed to the bedroom she was staying in. Would it be appropriate to call it her own? Glancing behind her, seeing Jared follow her down the hall, she corrected her previous notion. Their room. Kristian’s lack of trust ran deep within him, not allowing her hardly any privacy.
Once inside the room, she stepped over to the bathroom attached to it. Turning back once again, Jared was standing just a foot away from the bathroom door. “I’m going to shower. You’re welcome to watch me, but it’ll cost you,” Calla tried to joke.
Jared simply turned on a heel and walked to his bed on the other side of the room. Calla pushed the door shut, shaking her head. Who had they gotten to watch her? A golem? Turning on the hot water, steam slowly began to fill the air as she stripped herself of her clothes. She freed her springy, vivid auburn curls from the ponytail she had contained them in. Stepping into the hot shower, Calla let out a sigh. At least she had a moment alone in there, not being watched and constantly judged.
It didn’t take long for her to remember why she didn’t exactly prefer solitude. Her own thoughts attacked her as the last few weeks replayed like a movie in her head. Deidre coming to her, asking for her help for a mission that was “most important”. She had so easily filled Calla’s head with the notion of Tessa needing to be brought back to the clan. That she was involved with a family of vampires that could so easily be targeted and tracked by the Calder. If only Calla would have known Deidre was the Calder. The shame and guilt of it all weighed heavily on the young witch’s mind. She hadn’t seen her sisters in weeks, and Calla wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to face them again. Deidre had tricked her, and she switched her alliance to Tessa without consulting the clan. They would hate her.
Calla turned the water off, stepping out of the shower and dried her hair with a towel. She wished her company wasn’t so terrible, it would make this whole thing more bearable. But Kristian had to put the dullest vampire in charge of her. Wrapping the towel around her chest, Calla walked back out to the bedroom. Jared’s thoughts sliced into Calla’s mind, stop trying to read my mind, stop trying to read my mind. She rolled her eyes, “I’m not always trying to read your mind, you know.”
“Then how would you know what I was thinking?” he retorted. His voice was almost gravelly it was so deep but wasn’t grating to the ears. It was how Calla imagined blues singers to sound.
Calla gasped mockingly, “He speaks.”
Jared rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
Shaking her head, Calla moved over to the dresser and grabbed out some clothes. At least Tessa had been kind enough to share clothes with her. Walking back into the bathroom, she slid on a pair of gray cotton shorts and a flowy white tank top. She dried her hair some more, the long red strands already starting to curl. Moving back out to the room, she sat on the large queen bed, her eyes returning to Jared. His bed in the corner of the room was a twin, making her feel a little selfish for having a king-sized bed all to herself. He didn’t complain, of course.
As Jared stared at her, a question passed Calla’s lips without thinking on it, “Do you hate me?”
He was caught off-guard by the question, the stern look that had been permanently sculpted on his face melted away for the moment. His face fell flat, Jared’s eyes averting to the floral wallpaper, “I don’t.”
“You sure act like it. As does Kristian.”
“Well, Kristian does hate you.”
“Comforting,” Calla grumbled.
Jared sighed heavily, running a hand over his shaved head. “I didn’t say it was right. Everyone makes mistakes, and trust the wrong people.”
His emotions shifted, Calla being able to sense the frigidness fading and a new emotion appearing. Empathy. Her olive eyes burned with curiosity, “Have you?”
His silence returned.
“Are you really going to brew in a corner, repeating the same thought over and over through all this? Who knows when they will finally start to trust me to where you don’t have to watch my every move. In fact, if you trusted me, then maybe your word would be enough to calm Kristan down,” Calla hypothesized.
Jared’s posture stiffened, his plush lips falling into a straight line. Calla got the feeling he hadn’t thought about that before.
“If I promise not to read your thoughts, will you at least try to trust me?” Calla asked.
“How can I trust you not to read my thoughts?” he questioned.
“There’s no way I can prove to you that I’m not…” Calla shrugged, a frown creasing her lips.
Jared was silent as he stared at her. After a couple of seconds, he sighed. “I guess you aren’t. Or you have an excellent poker face.”
Calla lifted a brow in amusement, “What were you thinking?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
A smile brightened Calla’s face. Jared’s lips had mirrored hers before he realized that he was and quickly dropped his smile. Calla patted the bed next to her, gesturing for him to come over. He gave her a doubtful look, to which Calla rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I want to go against you? You could crush me like a bug.”
“Valid point,” he muttered. Reluctantly, Jared stood from his bed and sauntered over. He sat down on the bed, making sure to keep some distance between the two of them. “What is it?”
“I’m guessing you’ve been as bored as I have, having a front row seat to Kristian and Tessa’s love fest and nothing else,” Calla mused. To that, Jared actually chuckled softly but didn’t say anything. “So, I figured I could show you something. Entertain you a little bit.”
Jared gave her a strange look, not knowing what she could possibly do to entertain him. Calla reached into her bag of personal belongings and grabbed out a couple of vials, and then turned the lamp off so that the room was completely dark. “What exactly are you doing?” he asked.
“No questions,” she tutted. Calla slowed her breathing, needing to be relaxed to perform her magic properly. Sprinkling some yellow powder into her right hand, she then placed the glass vials on the blanket. She held her hands out in front
of her with her palms toward the ceiling. Concentrating her mind and directing her energy, a flame flickered into existence in her right hand. Then, it grew and started to morph into the form of a fox. It was a rough shape of one, just having a triangle head and ears with a short body and bushy tail.
Then, in her right hand, when a flame appeared, the powder activated it and turned the fire white. It then took the form of a rabbit, it being just a ball with two long ears. With a lot of concentration, she managed to bend the fire, sending them into the air. The two creatures ran around above their heads, the fox chasing the rabbit. Very carefully, she moved the rabbit around Jared. The white flame illuminated Jared as it encircled him in close proximity. She could see him stiffen again, worried that he would be burned. The two fire creatures then moved away from him and came back to Calla’s hands. They twirled around quickly, Calla picking up a vial and sprinkling another powder over them. As the two flames finally collided, they burst into a cloud of pink smoke. The powder and smoke swirled, creating a tiny dust devil. A flame flickered inside the twister.
Calla.
The dust devil collapsed, and the flame disappeared. Panic seized her chest, her head starting to spin. Who had thought that? The lamp was cut back on in a flash, Jared’s icy hands grabbing her wrists. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Calla shook her head, trying to clear the sudden fog that had taken over her mind. “I-I’m fine. I think I have a headache or something,” she lied.
Jared practically blinked from existence he moved so fast. He reappeared with a wet cloth and handed it to her so that she could wipe the powder from her hands.
“Thanks,” she smiled weakly, cleaning her hands.
“Don’t mention it,” Jared muttered. “That was a neat little trick you did.”
“It was something the girls would do in school in our clan. Had to have fun somehow when your whole life is about rules and alliances,” she explained. Calla could remember her time spent at the academy that all witches in Firehaven attended. It had been so boring, every lesson being about the history and laws of the clan. Even when they had magic lessons, it was very formal and straightforward. It was fun to get a little creative with her abilities from time to time. “I think I’m going to lie down…” Calla said meekly, putting the rag on the nightstand.