Fierce Enchantment

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Faith ran a finger over Kelly’s soft cheek, completely enamored with the baby angel in her arms. “Do you fly yet, Kelly bean?”

  Kelly nodded then sank into Faith’s arms again, breathing softly.

  Yep, Faith was in love.

  “She can, though Shade doesn’t let her go too high on her own.” Lily smiled, her cheeks pink. “We have it down so he can actually carry us both if we all want to go on a trip through the clouds.”

  As a brownie, Lily didn’t have wings, but Faith knew her friend loved flying.

  “You two made one gorgeous baby,” Faith said, handing Kelly over to her mom’s waiting arms.

  “You need to meet Hazel and Sami,” Jamie said, coming closer with a baby of her own in her arms. “This is Sami.” Her friend, a djinn who held immense power yet a quiet calmness, handed her daughter over, and Faith once again fell in love.

  The little girl looked so much like Ambrose, Faith couldn’t help but smile. “You have such pretty white-blonde hair, Sami,” she said softly. Sami grinned then tugged at Faith’s hair. “And you have a little demon in you, too, from your other daddy.” That wasn’t scientifically true, but from the way Sami liked pulling her hair, Faith wanted to tease the triad.

  Jamie snorted, patting Sami on the back. “She’s an angel just like Ambrose, though Balin is her daddy in every way but genetics.”

  Balin, a demon and one scary ass dude, came up behind Jamie, hugging her tightly. “I’m glad she doesn’t have to deal with what I did when I hit three hundred years old, so I’m okay with technically not fathering any children.”

  Ambrose growled and kissed both of his mates on the neck. “You’re Sami’s father. Stop saying otherwise.”

  Faith had to suck in a deep breath at the sight of such a protective love between the three of them. Balin was a demon, which meant once he reached three hundred years, he had to either live on human souls, killing and maiming to survive, or find his mate—or mates in his case. It had been scarily close, but Balin had chosen love over the original path set before him. She didn’t blame Balin for wanting to protect his daughter from such a future.

  She handed Sami back to the trio, only to find her arms filled with another baby. “Meet Hazel,” Becca announced. “And be careful, she’s in a biting stage.”

  Faith’s eyes widened at the little brown-haired girl with bright green eyes. “I take it she takes after Hunter,” she teased.

  “Becca bites if you ask nicely,” Hunter growled teasingly.

  Faith grimaced and rocked Hazel in her arms, the warm, solid weight achingly perfect. She’d missed Hazel’s and Sami’s births, but she wouldn’t miss anything else. That didn’t mean she knew what the hell she was going to do now that she was alive and moving around. A year was a long time to be essentially dormant. She had more than memories to make up for, and she honestly didn’t know where to start.

  She nuzzled baby Hazel’s head then handed her back to her parents. Something that felt oddly like jealousy ached deep inside, so she drowned it with another drink. This afternoon, Amara would be driving, or Faith could take a taxi if she really felt like it, so she could get as drunk as she wanted to. After all, she had a year to make up for.

  “Liam and Alec will be here soon, by the way,” Hunter put in, and Faith smiled.

  “Oh? I didn’t know they came by that often.” Liam and Alec were Hunter’s right- and left-hand men within the wolf pack. At one point, the three of them had enjoyed a night together, but it had been for fun, not for anything serious. The guys hadn’t touched each other the entire time, but she thought she’d sensed something between the two of them. They’d just enjoyed making her happy, at least for that night. Either way, she’d had the night of her life and remained friends with them. It made sense they’d want to stop by and see her. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest for some reason. Maybe because she knew they were closer with each other than they’d been with her. It had been a good night, a wonderful night, and that’s how she usually liked to keep her sexual appetites sated.

  Not with a mate she didn’t know.

  And damn it, there was Levi again, tunneling his way into her damn thoughts.

  Eliana wiggled her eyebrows from behind Hunter, and Faith rolled her eyes. Only Eliana and Amara knew of Faith’s night with the two wolves. It had been during Nadie’s mating with Dante and Jace, so she hadn’t wanted to interrupt that. And with everyone creating families of their own, the three single women had grown closer.

  Now, Faith had a mate, even if she didn’t know what to do with him.

  “Hello, stranger.”

  Faith turned at the sound of Liam’s voice and threw herself into his arms. “Liam!” The large, quiet man caught her with ease, and held her close. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said softly. And she was glad. It wasn’t as though she wanted to sleep with him or Alec again. First off, they were her friends, nothing more. And now that she had that odd connection with Levi, she didn’t want to feel as if she was cheating. Just the fact that she had no idea what she was doing on that front told her that she needed some space from the situation.

  “Don’t forget me, sexy,” Alec remarked from behind her, pulling her away from Liam and into his arms. He kissed her soundly then set her down on her feet. Faith might have been worried about that kiss, but after he hugged her tightly, he went to each woman—even the mated ones—and greeted them the same way. The man was a damn flirt.

  Liam wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her close, nodding to the others in greeting. “It’s good to see you out and about,” he said softly. “We stopped by the inn when we could, but it felt odd watching over you when you didn’t know we were there.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “I get it. But thank you for being there anyway. Thank you for being here.” She rose on her toes and kissed his chin, only to feel a slight burn in her chest.

  Faith pulled away and looked around Liam, her breath catching.

  “Faith.”

  “Levi.”

  Liam looked over his shoulder, cursed, and pulled away. She frowned at her friend, but he shook his head before moving over to the others, fitting into the group as if he’d been there often. For all she knew, he had been. What else had she missed in the past year? What else had gone on? What inside jokes and memories would she never have because she’d been lost?

  “It’s good to see you moving around,” Levi said when he came to her side.

  She stiffened at his closeness but didn’t move away. He didn’t touch her, but she could still feel the heat from his body. Damn it. She was so confused and needed space. Her head hurt, and that feeling of resentment started to boil over. She didn’t want to make a scene in front of the children, but she honestly didn’t think she could take much more.

  She needed to get out of there.

  Fast.

  “I…I need to go,” she blurted out. With that, she did the one thing she’d told herself she’d never do again.

  She ran.

  Chapter Four

  Levi watched Faith run as though there were hellhounds on her tail, and he let out a curse. He’d been in the bar for less than five minutes and had already lost her. It wasn’t as if he’d actually had her though, considering the fact she was in Liam’s arms when he walked in.

  That, however, was another matter altogether.

  He had no reason to be jealous of Faith’s choice of friends. The fact that she’d been cozy with Liam just then and had let Alec kiss her hello, well, that was something he also couldn’t be jealous of.

  Well, he shouldn’t. Not couldn’t.

  She might be his mate, but she hadn’t chosen it. Perhaps she didn’t even feel the tug that he did—the one that wrapped around his heart in a way he didn’t truly understand. For all he knew, the bond worked only one way, and he’d fucked up royally. He’d come here to welcome her back to the world of the living while holding on to a hope that she’d want to get to know him. Instead, h
e’d walked into the bar, gotten knocked down a peg or two, and watched the woman who was his mate run out of the bar after not bothering to make excuses.

  Who the hell was this man? He was Levi Hughes, Wizard of the First Class, Prince of the Lords, Royal Blood and Throne. And he was following Faith around like some lost little puppy, begging for scraps of attention.

  This was not who he was, yet he knew he wasn’t through following her.

  At least until he could get the blood roaring through his veins to calm down.

  “Shit,” Liam murmured, and he came closer. Levi raised his chin at the wolf. “You want me to go get her? Or will you?”

  A challenge.

  There was no possible way to take the wolf’s words for any other meaning. The fact that he could still scent Faith on him, well, he would ignore that since Liam was a friend of Faith’s. And, if Levi was honest with himself, he’d become friendly with him in the past year—friendly enough not to beat the shit out of Liam for daring to touch Faith. And that had to be the mating bond because he usually wasn’t so irrational. After all, that’s why he’d been asked to be part of the Conclave. His solid thinking and calm exterior. Whoever this chest-beating Neanderthal was, Levi wasn’t sure he liked him. However, it seemed that was what he was at the moment, so he’d better get used to it. At least until he could get a better understanding of Faith.

  “I’ll go,” Levi answered, his attitude decidedly cool to Liam.

  “I don’t understand why she left,” Nadie said as she came up to him, her men right behind her. “I know she doesn’t like parties much or being the center of attention unless she’s brought the attention on herself, so we were trying to treat this as a regular lunch.”

  Levi shook his head, knowing Nadie’s heart was in the right place. He might not know Faith, but he could understand her reactions from studying her friends and how they’d spoken of her in the past year. At least he had that when it came to her. She did not have any information about him. That was one thing he was going to have to remember when he walked down this path of mating and futures. Because there was no other path for him. He followed the fates and set his decisions by their calling. To back away now would be telling him he’d made the mistakes of his past worthless.

  He would not let that happen.

  Not to mention he truly wanted to know Faith. If only she’d believe it.

  “It wouldn’t feel like that to her,” Levi said, unsure of why he knew it was true when the others clearly wanted to believe otherwise. “I’ll follow her. We need to talk anyway.”

  Dante frowned at him. “Are you sure that’s best? She doesn’t even know you.”

  Levi winced, but he knew the dragon hadn’t meant his words as an attack. Merely the truth. “That’s part of the problem, don’t you think?”

  “Just don’t hurt her,” Amara said, her gaze level with his. Of all Faith’s friends, Amara had been the one he’d gotten to know the best, though he’d done his best to keep his distance from everyone because he wanted to make sure that Faith was the one who would truly know him first. She deserved that much considering the choices he’d taken from her.

  He didn’t answer but nodded and turned away. He couldn’t promise he wouldn’t hurt her considering he didn’t know how she’d react once she actually spoke to him. He might lie to protect his people and his family, but he wouldn’t lie to protect himself. Besides, he had a feeling Amara would see right through it. She was clever, that one.

  “Tell her…tell her we’re sorry,” Nadie said softly behind him.

  Levi looked over his shoulder and frowned. “I think she already knows that, Nadie. It might just take time to get used to how things are now.” A lot had changed in the past year, and Faith was probably feeling like a fish out of water. It couldn’t be easy to watch the way her friends had moved on. He didn’t blame the others for living their lives because he’d seen the pain they’d been in as well. He saw the way they’d begged for her life, begged for her to wake up. They’d done all in their power for her, but their lives hadn’t stopped moving forward, either.

  While Faith’s life had been frozen.

  That, in part, was due to his magic and the way he’d been forced to heal her. If anything, she should blame him, not the others, for what had happened. And from the way she consistently pushed him away or ran away, perhaps she did.

  By the time he got outside, Faith wasn’t anywhere in sight. Knowing it was probably another invasion of privacy, and knowing he had to do it anyway, he murmured a slight spell to see which direction she’d gone. Magic tingled at his fingertips, and a gold trail of dust danced along the sidewalk, revealing Faith’s footsteps. Only those with magical blood would be able to see what he was doing. To the humans, they’d see only a man standing outside a bar door in the middle of the afternoon. Nothing curious about that.

  Faith’s footsteps ended at the street, and the dust transformed into tire tracks, rather than footprints.

  Apparently, she’d taken a cab. He waved his hand at his side, the magic fading away. With a sigh, he made his way to his car and headed to Faith’s place. Her friends had kept her bills and home up to date while she was at the inn. At the time, the inn had been the safest place for her. Plus, according to them, it hadn’t felt like an invasion of her privacy to keep her there while everyone looked after her. If Faith had been kept in her home, everyone would have been moving around while she was out of it and unable to kick people out of the one place that was truly hers.

  It was a little thing, but he liked the fact that the others had thought of it. Of course, the girls kept it clean and picked up the mail and such, but they’d done it with care.

  He wasn’t sure about Faith’s job since she was a freelance photographer, but he knew the lightning-struck and their mates wouldn’t let Faith go without. Levi wasn’t about to either, for that matter. Of course, Faith would actually have to let him in her life for that to happen.

  “Seriously?” Levi muttered under his breath to himself then punched the steering wheel when he pulled up to Faith’s place. He needed to stop acting like some forlorn teenager and get his head in the game. Things had changed, and he needed to change with them. Moping about it wasn’t going to help.

  He quickly turned off the car and got out, taking in Faith’s small, single-family home. For some reason, he thought she’d want to live in an apartment in the city considering her line of work and what her friends had told him about her. Then he’d stopped by with Amara one day and recognized the place for what it was.

  A solace. A comfort.

  He hadn’t taken a step inside, but he’d been able to catch yet another glimpse of the life Faith had lived.

  Of course, he wanted to put all of that behind him and start fresh. Things were starting to get muddled in his brain, and he didn’t know where the real woman who was forever attached to him ended and the fragments of memories from her friends began.

  He lifted his hand to knock on the door, and Faith opened it before he could touch the wood.

  “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re the one here, but oddly enough, I am.” She shook her head, her black hair falling into her face as she sighed.

  His fingers ached to push those strands behind her ear, but he knew he didn’t have that right.

  “May I come in?”

  She tilted her head and studied him. “Why ask? You seem to make your presence known wherever you go. I mean, you know where I live and I’ve never invited you here. What does that tell you? How many times were you here when I was asleep and helpless? How many times did you watch over me when I couldn’t push you away? Hmm?”

  He held back a wince at that. “I’ve only been here once before and never inside. I dropped off Amara so she could pick up your mail and dust or something like that. I had yet to hear your voice or introduce myself to you. I wasn’t about to walk into your home uninvited.”

  “Yet you bound yourself to my soul uninvited.”

  He didn’t
let the hurt sting longer than it needed to. “You know why I did that, and whining about it is unbecoming.” He didn’t meant to sound like an asshole, but damn it, this woman seemed to bring out the worst in him.

  She smiled then, her eyes brightening.

  He would never understand women.

  His poor daughters.

  “That’s true. And I don’t like that I sound like a brat.” She stepped back. “Come on in. We need to talk it seems, and you standing out on the porch probably isn’t sending the best message to my neighbors.” She glanced over his shoulder and waved. He turned around to see a woman standing in her window, staring at them before quickly closing the blinds. Faith snorted. “They all seem to think I was on vacation for a year, and now they want to know where I’ve been. Fun times. Come in.”

  He stepped inside, the smell of coffee hitting him first. He inhaled, letting the delicious smell mix with the spicy, sweet scent that was Faith. He liked Faith from what he could see and thought she was fucking hot as hell. So maybe if he treated this like a new beginning rather than an awkward mating, he could actually be himself, rather than a stoic asshole.

  “Thank you,” he said politely.

  “I was just making some coffee. You want some?” She didn’t bother to wait for him to answer. Instead, she moved toward the kitchen, and he followed. He didn’t mind. It gave him time to look around her house…and stare at her ass.

  He couldn’t help it.

  She was his mate after all.

  She poured two cups and handed him one. He merely raised a brow and took a mug from her hand.

  “I didn’t ask if you wanted cream or sugar. You want some?” She added four lumps of sugar and filled the rest of her cup to the rim with cream. Who would have thought she’d like it so sweet and creamy?

  His mind went to something he shouldn’t think about, and he immediately pushed that thought aside.

  So not the time.

  “I’m good with it black. Besides, I don’t want to take anything from your hoard. You might stab me with your spoon.”