Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3)

by Jacquelyn Faye

  A clawed hand swiped the wrist holding the cell phone above my head. I screamed out and dropped it, plunging us into darkness as it shattered against the floor.

  There was no emergency lighting in the basement. We were in complete darkness. My eyes adjusted and shapes began to come into focus, but everything had a silvery sheen to it.

  "At least they got the lights back on," I said and picked up my phone, wincing at the shattered screen. I tucked it in my back pocket.

  "What happened?" Chief said, turning his head back to look at me, but he wasn't. He was looking to my right, his eyes reflecting strangely.

  "Something hit my wrist and I dropped my phone. My…uh…flashlight broke, right before the lights came on."

  "What is she talking about, Chief?" Marcus was looking up at the ceiling. The security guard was huddled on the ground, still beneath Chief.

  "Dot? The lights aren't on…"

  "Oh. Then how am I seeing you?"

  A high-pitched squeal caused us to wince before it echoed off into nothing but a wet sounding gurgle.

  "I hope that wasn't your dog."

  Got him.

  I heard.

  "It wasn't. You can open the door. That thing is dead," I said as a black, wet looking, scaled hand reached out from the shadows. It grabbed the security guard and dragged him away, screaming.

  "Chief!"

  There was a wet squelch and the sound of cracking bone and the screaming stopped.

  "Dar!"

  The door burst open, flinging Marcus back against the wall. He slid down to the floor, quite unconscious. The mass of a six-hundred-pound hellhound turned out to be an effective anesthetic.

  Instead of running down the hall after the thing, Dar skidded to a stop, sniffing the air around him. He turned his eyes to me, and I saw them glowing red.

  Do you trust me?

  Yes, but why?

  It's about twenty feet behind you. It circled around. I can smell the guard's blood covering it, even incorporeal. It's going to go for you next. Duck when I say duck and don't hesitate.

  Dar…

  Duck!

  I dropped to the floor with a little squeak, watching in fascination as Dar launched himself without even a ripple of preparation. He almost turned to liquid in my vison as he became a blur of speed. I saw the hand swipe above me in my peripheral vision, exactly where I'd been standing less than a moment before. If I had hesitated, my head would have landed by Chief.

  The sound of a shadow screaming would haunt my dreams for months. I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder. Not giving it a chance to vanish, Dar had aimed for the kill, shredding its neck and chest with his massive maw and talons. No blood flew from the massive wounds, thankfully. It vanished in a wisp of ash and sulfur smelling smoke when it died.

  I lay back against the cold concrete floor. "That was fun."

  Dar turned around and walked over to me, lowering his head to my face and giving it a lick. You okay?

  Yes. Your timing was very impressive.

  So was your reaction time. Good puppy, he said and licked me again. His wet hellhound tongue felt like a giant slug. I was just grateful to be alive to find out that disgusting bit of otherworldly trivia.

  "Damn it!"

  We all spun on Yuki, who had finally shown up.

  "What?"

  "I miss all the fucking fun."

  Chapter 15

  Yuki set me down on the ground in my front yard and I stumbled and staggered for a few steps before dumping the contents of my stomach in the snow. I dropped to my knees and rolled to the side, not wanting to fall in my own puke.

  "Never ever again," I managed to say and groan simultaneously. I sounded like a Tibetan throat singer.

  "You okay?"

  "No, I'm fucking not. Humans weren't meant to go that fast unless it's on four wheels. My face feels like I spent an hour in a wind tunnel!"

  "I kept it under eighty and it was for like two minutes."

  "Never again, Yuki. Don't ask me."

  Chief had to stay at the hospital to do his chiefly duties and tell Marcus what had happened when he woke up. I didn't envy him the amount of paperwork he was going to have to fill out about the dead security guard. At least the poor bastard died almost instantly. Lady rest his soul.

  Chief had been adamant that Yuki, Dar, and I get out of there. It would make it easier to explain things. At least Dar hadn't left a piece of imp big enough to examine. Chief planned on burning everything, including the guard's body, and chalking it up to a missing person and an escaped animal. He was also going to wipe Marcus' memory, if Dar didn't do a good enough job with the door.

  Instead of a nice, leisurely walk home, Yuki had picked me up in her tiny little arms like I was a pillow and ran all the way home. I was nauseous, wind-burned, and frozen down to my underpants.

  "I need coffee."

  "Not what people usually say right after they puke," she said with a stifled little giggle.

  "Laugh it up, fang face." I lifted myself off the cold ground.

  Yuki opened the door, the smell of steak wafting warmly over us. I groaned and nearly crawled up the front steps, my stomach driving me forward.

  "You're hungry?"

  "Ravenous."

  I got to my feet and ran the rest of the way, ditching my jacket and hoodie on the floor on the way to the dining room. I smiled when my family came into view. Josie and Candace were practically sitting on top of each other, munching on salads. I noticed Josie's had chicken covering it. Jimmy and Dennis sat on opposite sides of the table, Styrofoam containers in front of them and knives and forks poised to cut into their steaks. Jason was waiting, his container still closed as he nervously looked up at me and smiled. My family.

  "Welcome back," Jimmy said with a smile. "Get em?"

  "Yeah. Dar munched 'em to bits. I love you all, but where's my food?"

  Jason got up and walked into the kitchen, returning with two containers of food. It didn't smell like beef, it smelled like it had been carved from a god. I practically snarled as I swiped them from him and plopped down in the closest chair. I may have torn the lid off the first one, but I can neither confirm, nor deny, that fact. Jason set a knife and fork in front of me.

  All I saw was red. Red meat. Beautiful, glistening red meat. Ignoring the heat, I picked up the slab of prime rib in both hands and shoved it at my face like a fucking sandwich. The blood and flesh hit my tongue and melted as I ripped it away, almost swallowing it whole. I instantly felt a hundred times better.

  Staring in front of me at the wood grain of the table I ate, listening for danger and trying to sense if anybody got too close, trying to steal even a morsel of my meal.

  "Dot?" I heard Jimmy's wavering voice as his chair slid backward. Somebody must have stopped him from approaching me, because I continued my meal uninterrupted. When I stuffed the last piece of meat into my mouth, I looked up.

  Five utterly horrified faces stared at me in confusion and fear. Even Candace, sweet Candace, who would love me if I grew horns and wings, was looking at me like I had kicked a puppy.

  "What?"

  "You just ate a cow with your bare hands and teeth, were practically snarling and drooling through the whole ordeal, while making what could easily have been mistaken for sex sounds. You're going to sit there and ask what?"

  I focused my attention on Jimmy, since he had been the only one coherent or brave enough to answer. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Dot. Look at the floor beside you."

  I looked over the side of my chair. Yuki was lying on the ground, still writing in ecstasy and almost touching herself inappropriately.

  "I'll admit, the steak was good," Jimmy continued, "but it wasn't that good. Your familiar had three orgasms while you gorged yourself. I'll ask again, what the hell is going on?"

  "I… I don't know."

  You're taking our powers, Dar said from outside the front door. And our appetites…

  Yuki came
to, got up in a fluid motion, and walked to the door, letting my hellhound inside.

  "I'm taking what?"

  He sat down on the floor and Yuki set his containers of food on the ground in front of him. He picked one steak up and swallowed it down like a snake gobbling down a mouse, just much faster. I could see it as it slid down his throat. Suddenly, I felt very nauseous as I pictured my neck swelling as I ate. No wonder everyone looked horrified.

  Our bonding is nearing completion. You have garnered not only vampiric healing, but vision as well. You have gained my appetite to start. I am interested in seeing what else you inherit from me. Hopefully my intelligence and wisdom, but that might be a bit much to hope for.

  "Why would I gain your appetite? Doggy eating abilities isn't a super-power. There's no Kibble Man comic books."

  He ignored me and gobbled down his other hunk of meat. When he finished, he shook his whole body like he was shaking off the rain. He resumed his hellhound appearance. Then the air rippled around him, as did the flesh down his back. He lifted himself onto his hind legs as his flesh became hazy and almost impossible to focus on, like my brain was denying what it was seeing as he shifted into a man. Not a human, but he was male…and quite naked.

  His flesh was blue, dark blue, almost royal. His eyes were completely red, the color of blood that matched the two three-inch horns protruding from his forehead with a slight upward curve. I found myself wanting to run my fingers through his mane of black hair that swept behind him to below his shoulders and run my fingertips along the ridge of his tapered, elf-like ears. He was beautiful in a devilish sort of way. I found it very hard to keep my eyes focused on him from the waist up. I didn't want to look lower…

  "Wait a minute!" A flash of realization hit me. "All those times I…in front of you! You even stuck your nose in my ass!"

  I figured I might as well since you thought I was a dog anyway.

  You bastard! You could have told me. I mentally pouted at him. At least I think I did. I tried, anyway.

  I apologize. It was not my intention to bind myself to you. When I realized what had happened, it was already too late. I figured I would just remain as you found me until I could find an open rift to slip back through. My hope was that it would break the bond forged between us. Then the demons attacked, and I took the form of a hellhound to better defend you. Now that the bond is nearing completion, my only option was to tell you the truth. We need to find an open rift and I need to leave. I fear what you might become should I stay.

  He pulled out the last open chair and sat down on it. I ignored the fact that his demon ass was naked on the upholstery.

  "What could I become?"

  "Dot? What's going on?" Jimmy asked, nervously.

  I held up a finger to silence him for a moment. "Can you speak, speak?"

  "Yes," he answered, his voice flittering over my skin like a warm breeze.

  "What could I become? What is happening to me? No secrets from my family."

  "When a denizen of Gehenna mates with a human… A cambion is born. A nephilim. Some have great powers, some are horrid wretches. It mostly depends on the type of demon. I fear the bonds forged between us might have the same effect, but on you. You are a powerful witch, even though you are young. I am a… You have no word for me as my kind have never before left the planes of Gehenna. We are the guardians, the peacekeepers, and the rulers. The nobles. We are dominus."

  "That's Latin…" Josie translated in her head. "Lord."

  He nodded. "Verum."

  "Lady, I do not need this right now." I dropped my head into my hands, elbows on the table. If my grandmother were there, she would have slapped me on the back of the head, right after I beat her senseless for causing this whole mess. Okay, maybe not beat, she would wipe the floor with me, but she'd get a stern verbal warning. "We need to find my grandmother. She needs to fix this complete fuck up…"

  "Okay, how do we do that?" Jimmy leaned forward and put his elbows on the table.

  "I don't even know if she's here in Cedar Falls, or back in Ashville, terrorizing the residents there."

  "You need a way to check both places. Like a shadow walker?" Josie asked with a smile.

  "Josie, you're brilliant. Contact Shea, ask him to come here. I may need his services." I ignored Jimmy as he wiggled his eyebrows lecherously at me. Josie, on the other hand, was actually being helpful and got up to get her cell phone.

  "Was she not looking at homes with Herb? Shall I see if she settled on one? Maybe she is there?"

  "Thanks, Candace. That would be awesome."

  She beamed as she took off after Josie.

  I texted Nana one more time. Hoping she had finally turned her phone back on. Staring at the text, I prayed the notification would turn from sent to delivered with no such luck.

  "No luck with Shea. I left him a message begging for him to get here as soon as he gets it. I gave him a head's up as to what was going on, too."

  "Thanks, Josie."

  Candace walked out of the bedroom still on the phone. "Thank you, Herb." She walked back over to the table and set her phone down, shaking her head. "She did purchase a home but went back to Ashville to secure the funds. Your grandmother is meeting him at the diner tomorrow morning."

  "That's better than we've done so far. Thanks again." I gave her an appreciative smile. "I guess we wait," I said to the rest of the people seated around me.

  "Well, I need to get home," Dennis said and stood, looking at Jimmy.

  "I'll stay with Dot. I don't have to be at work tomorrow, like some people."

  "Dennis? Can I talk to you for a minute?" I got up and headed to my bedroom, wanting to make sure he was okay in the head. I would absolutely hate it if things got uncomfortable between us. He was my little rock of calm in my crazy world.

  "Sure, Dot."

  I grabbed the door as soon as I made it into the room, closing it softly with a soft click after he passed through. He had his hands in his front jean pockets and was shifting uncomfortably under my questioning gaze. "Everything okay?"

  I could almost taste his fear.

  Resisting the urge to throw my arms around him and comfort him, I answered. "You tell me. I'm not getting a weird vibe or anything, I just wanted to make sure everything was copasetic between us? I know things got a little hot and that you ran off before I could check on you. Are you okay?"

  "I don't know."

  "Are you mad at me?"

  "No! Goddess, no. Not even remotely."

  "Jimmy?"

  "No. I'm used to his antics."

  Rage and jealousy swirled inside me in a tempest of hypocrisy. "He have a lot of sex with women in front of you?"

  "What? No!" He saw I was pissed and rushed to explain. "I'm just used to him having no filter around me. I swear the guy has no shame. He hasn't even had that many girlfriends. He has a tendency to get under people's skin and not in a good way. And I can swear to you one thing, he hasn't so much as looked at another woman since you rolled into town."

  "Okay. I'll let him live, then," I said with a wink to let him know I was joking as my anger quickly faded. "For now."

  "Sorry. Didn't mean it that way."

  "No worries. Little green monster and all that."

  "I see that," he said with a chuckle.

  "So, what's bugging you? Are you embarrassed that you were jerking off in front of me? Cuz I'm not going to lie, that was kind of hot."

  "Really?"

  "Really, really."

  He beamed a little at the compliment. "Thanks."

  "No. Thank you."

  "I just feel horribly guilty. I mean, I didn't touch you, but I watched. Now, every time I think of Alista, a horrible knot forms in my stomach. But, what was really bothering me was you, to be honest. I was afraid you were going to get weirded out by the whole thing and not want to be around me anymore."

  "Oh, sweetie." This time I did wrap my arms around him and hug him, putting my head against his chest.

  "I just
didn't want things to get weird between us. I know I'm not boyfriend material for someone as beautiful, gorgeous, and amazing as you, but I do want to be your friend. Forever."

  I didn't have a clue who broke my sweet Dennis in the past, but I knew one thing… If I ever met the bitch, I was going to shove a few thousand volts up her ass. "What the hell are you talking about, you stupid, sweet dolt? I would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend. You're sweet, caring, sweet, loving, sweet, and gorgeous. Did I mention how sweet you are?"

  He chuckled. "Once or twice, yeah."

  "Well you are." I pulled back and looked up at his face. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, steadily. I reached up and wiped them away. "None of that. Thank you. Thank you for being you and being my friend. Things will never be weird between us, okay?"

  He nodded.

  "Good." I lifted myself up on my toes and gently kissed him on his cheek.

  He didn't wrap his arms around me and try to make it into something more, but I had a feeling he wanted to. I could almost feel him shaking in anticipation.

  He's not ready yet.

  I know.

  See how things play out with Alista first. Give them a chance to be happy.

  I know.

  You have enough boys to play with for now.

  I said I fucking know! Sometimes, I really hated talking to myself. I was such a bitch.

  "Wow. You even smell sweet and you feel like the sun," he said shyly after I let go of him.

  You sure, self? Cuz this guy is like… Yeah. Wow.

  Maybe…

  I sighed and decided to go with my initial reaction. "You. You little sexy sweet talker, you. You're going to make me melt in your arms."

  "Well, then I'd just have to lick you up," he said and blushed.

  "Okay, one more word and I might seriously have to strip you and have my way with you… But… Dennis. I am going to say this and only once, I'm not going anywhere. I think you should, and this might be the hardest thing I've ever had to say, try and make things work between you and Alista. I would hate to come between the two of you when I think you have a real chance at being happy. Talk to her like you just talked to me," I said with a soft smile. "I would never do anything to come between you two, either."