by M. L. Briers
Joel jumped to his feet from the winged back chair he’d been watching his mate doing her spell work from. A deep frown brought his dark brows down over his eyes and he regarded Tobin like the interloper he considered him to be. Taking a long step forward as Tobin strolled across the room towards Olivia.
“Stop. Now.” He bent at the waist and blew out the candles. The sound of Olivia’s gasped breath brought her mate to her side.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“What are you doing?” She looked on in disbelief. “You never blow out a candle, you snuff it or the work is lost.” She knew he knew that. He was well versed in the Craft, especially for a Vampire.
“I hope so.” Tobin heard the low deep warning growl from Joel and gave him a quick flick of a look that said he was neither impressed nor intimidated.
“Tobin…” Olivia wasn’t impressed either, but the look was directed at the Vampire and not her mate.
“There is a curse, or a spell and we think it’s aimed at the mates…” He waited for the news to sink it, obviously from her frown it was going to take another minute or two. Tobin didn’t have the time. “That includes you. You’re both in danger.”
Olivia’s frown turned to surprise. She didn’t like the thought of someone putting a Hex on her. Just how powerful that someone might be was the biggest worry for her, but if it was as they had told her about Kerry’s misfortunes then whoever had done it had a very strong command of the Craft.
“Damn it.” Olivia turned from the make shift alter that she had been using to cast from and scanned her box of supplies. She would need to cleanse the house, cleanse the people in it. She’d need to cast a spell to try to counteract whatever spell the witch had cast against the pack. That was going to take time and wasn’t guaranteed to do much of anything. What she needed to know was who had cast the spell and what it was for.
Tobin was reading her thoughts. He wasn’t proud of it, but it was a little added bonus of being a Vampire and who was he to argue with his own gifts. Olivia understood that, she couldn’t exactly argue with using the powers that someone had been granted, it would make her a hypocrite. When she hadn’t wanted him in her mind she had put her shields up and denied him access. Right now her shields weren’t up.
“We think we know who cast the spell…”
“Hex.” Olivia corrected. In her mind you couldn’t call a malevolent casting a spell. Witches were fundamentally good, they did good deeds, and they harmed none. Hexing was different, everybody had a little Hex within them, witch or not. We all did it, and sometimes the powers that be were listening, would grant your wish. Hence the old saying, be careful what you wish for, especially as it would be turned around on you threefold. Hence the other old saying, as ye sow, so shall ye reap.
“That too. We think there were two spells, one benevolent spell to draw the mates to the pack, and then one malevolent spell…Hex…” He corrected as she cocked an eyebrow up at him. “For the mates to come to harm, and by the way Kerry’s been put through the ringer today, I’d say harm was a relative term. Dead would be my choice.” Joel growled accordingly. His beast didn’t like the sound of that explanation one bit and was begging to be allowed out of its cage so it could snap its jaws around someone, anyone.
“Down boy.” Olivia teased and noted the sparkle of amusement in Tobin’s eyes as she turned back to him.
“Who placed the Hex?” Joel growled out. Not content to do anything but end this burden placed upon his pack. His Alpha was mating. Anyone with ears could hear that, well, anyone with extra sensitive ears, and he wouldn’t take the time to interrupt him.
“Lucy.” Tobin answered and Joel growled again. This time there was a little sneer of disbelief behind it.
“Little, old, reclusive Lucy?”
“Little old, didn’t used to be so reclusive, or old, used to be the packs witch, Lucy.” Tobin informed him and it seemed news to the young Beta. But if what Hattie said was correct, then the pack Elder’s had probably hushed the whole damn thing up. Being young, he had no reason to learn the details, or the fact that his own mate had been spelled to come to him in later life.
“Wow.” Joel took a long moment to think on that one. How had he not known that? He knew pack history and nowhere did it mention her. “Still, if she did this then the only way to end it is to get her to revoke the spell or to end her, right?” He looked to Olivia for conformation and she took a moment to think on it.
“That pretty much sums it up.” Then she turned her attention back towards Tobin. “But if Lucy initiated the original spell then why didn’t she just undo it?”
“Apparently it’s written in stone and buried on pack land where nobody can find it…”
“That’d be why then. If she can’t break the stone she can’t undo the spell.” Olivia shrugged helplessly.
“So we need to go and pay Lucy a visit.” Joel offered and saw Tobin take a long breath that he didn’t need.
“Oh good, a road trip to visit an old embittered hag, because that’s my idea of a good time.” He bit out with all of the sarcasm he could muster.
“Not without me. I may come in handy.”Olivia saw Joel’s head snap towards her and knew what was to come.
“You should stay here.” Joel offered gently. Inside his wolf had raised its protective head in a bid to keep her safe. But Joel had seen her body tense when he looked at her and knew that she was ready to rally against such protectiveness.
“Because it’s so much safer here.” She teased. She’d been more than ready to snap back at him. She knew Lycans and knew only too well how damn male they could be. Me Tarzan, you Jane just didn’t do it for her, well, not all the time. Sometimes it could be a bonus…
“Because I have less to worry about if you’re here.” Joel assured her. Although he didn’t feel too assured himself. He would much rather not have let her out of his sight. Wrapped in bubble wrap and free floating above the ground should do it, as long as there were no large birds with a need to attack her.
Olivia flicked a look toward Tobin for backup. His eyes were looking everywhere that she wasn’t, diplomacy be damned. Tobin knew that she should go. She could see it in what he wasn’t trying to say. She just needed to squeeze it out of him, by the balls if necessary.
“To take a witch to defend against the Craft, good idea or not, Tobin?” She saw him flinch. She kind of liked the fact that he was caught between a rock and a mating Lycan, it amused her.
“Why ask me?” Tobin moved off away from them. He certainly didn’t want to be the piggy in the middle when the Beta decided to go from growling to all out claws and fangs. Jealousy was a terrible thing where Lycans were concerned, throw in a Vampire who used to be your mate’s sort-of boyfriend and watch that jealous streak turn into a fight to the death.
“Probably because you know how good I am.” Olivia heard what she’d said and clamped her lips shut. That had sounded better in her own head, it certainly didn’t sound right to her ears and when she heard the long growl of anger that came from her mate, well she guessed he hadn’t liked the sound of it either.
Tobin stopped dead in place. Slowly turning back towards Olivia he questioned her sanity with his eyes. She wasn’t the one who was likely to get pummelled to death by the irrational and highly emotional Beta that was done with growling and had moved onto a more unhelpful snarling in his direction.
“Down Boy. That’s not what I meant.” Olivia reached for his arm and wrapped her hand around it. Lesson learned; think before you speak when your ex-Vampire was around you now-and-forever-more Lycan.
“Somebody needs to filter before they speak.” Tobin offered with a small wince behind his not-so-happy smile.
“Somebody needs to shut up or I’ll say something we both might regret.” Olivia warned him. She did have a habit of snap talking, that thing you did when the words didn’t seem to register within your brain before coming out of your mouth. It had caused many an awkward moment over the years, but none as deadly as this
could have been.
“Like what?” Joel turned towards her. His hands were already balled into fists at his side and he was scowling with everything he had as he watched her swallow hard.
“I don’t know. But with your temperament and my ability to warp an innocent remark into a calamity, I’m sure I’ll come up with something.” She bit out. Turning to look at Tobin and demanding he do something to ease the tension within the room.
“On the other hand you could just shut the hell up. That would be good too.” Tobin assured her and had Joel rounding on him with another low growl as he rushed to defend his mate.
Tobin rolled his eyes with the futility of it all. He had the feeling that somewhere along the line he was going to get pummelled just for the sheer fact that he’d known Joel’s mate first. He accepted it, didn’t like the idea much, but what could he do? It was the price you paid for hanging around a pack of Neanderthals. Trouble was, he kind of liked this pack and neither of them was going anywhere.
“That’s the trouble with living to a ripe old age. Baggage.” Tobin shook his head as he walked away from them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Walking into the kitchen wearing only his jeans, Isaac walked right over to the coffee pot and poured a much needed cup as his brother grinned at him in amusement.
“You were right about the curse…” Joel added, seeing the annoyance that was in his brother’s expression. “We think. And we think we know who placed it…” Joel added for good measure, trying to get a sense of his brother’s immediate intentions from the way he was acting.
“I guess that takes priority over what you and Tobin did with my mate.” Isaac eye’s glared at him over the rim of the coffee cup and he saw Joel plant his feet in anticipation of his brother’s attack. But Isaac stood in place.
“Well, we saved her life so that should give us brownie points.” Tobin announced from the doorway
“You’d think it might, but I’m not so forgiving.” Isaac didn’t turn to look at his friend. He knew precisely where he was and he knew the exact smug look he would have on his face, it was the kind of look that had Vampire written all over it. “I can scent the witch in the house. I take it that’s your witch.” Isaac did start to turn towards Tobin this time, but Joel’s low, hard growl made him turn his attention back towards his brother.
“She’s not his witch.” Joel saw a moment of shock in his brother’s reaction, and then the slow build of a wry smile as his brother read the situation with clarity. A moment later Isaac tossed his head back and roared with laughter, it was Karma, and it was damn funny.
“Screw you.” Joel growled out. Sure, when the boot was on the other foot and Isaac had found his mate, well that was funny, but this? He didn’t see it as funny, not when his mate had been with Tobin first.
“His witch is your mate?” Isaac managed to tone his laughter down enough to a chuckle as he stared back into his brother’s unimpressed eyes. “Come on, brother, you can see how that would be funny.”
“Yeah, I’m still not seeing it. But thanks for reminding me that I really need to stake that bloodsucking bag of bones.”
“Well if it wasn’t for me bringing her here, you’d never have met her.” Tobin wasn’t doing the whole gracious in defeat thing tonight. He’d lost his playmate and now needed to go in search of another.
“Shouldn’t we be more concerned with keeping the mates alive than who needs to kill who right now?” Tobin strolled towards the kitchen table and slide gracefully onto one of the high backed chairs. He wasn’t much in the mood for the he-said-she-said thing, more in the mood for slaying demons, and the demon that haunted his adopted pack was a curse.
“I take it we’re talking about Lucy?” Isaac thought Lucy to be the only witch living on the Isle. If another witch apart from Joel’s mate had appeared, he’d know about it.
“The old hag herself. Although from what I understand we have her to thank for the original spell that was cast to bring the mate’s here.” Joel informed the Alpha and watched the wheels turning in his brother’s mind.
“I think I missed a lot while I was…”
“Otherwise occupied.” Tobin grinned. He even managed to show a little fang when he did it and Isaac gave a thoughtful growl.
“I’m guessing you should catch me up from the beginning before anyone goes off half cocked to Lucy’s place.” Tobin looked to Joel and Joel shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s your story to tell, you were the one who found it out.” Joel offered the Vampire and watched him cock an eyebrow back in an act of boredom.
“It’s your pack, your Alpha, and you’re the Beta.” Tobin leaned back in his chair and grinned in victory. It was a small one. Joel might have his Fae, but he had bettered him in something tonight. Not that it tasted as good on his tongue as Olivia’s blood would have, but still…
“There are only a few hours until dawn and there’s a damn blizzard blowing out there. I think we might as well get over the fact that we’re not going anywhere for a while and just talk this through.” Isaac saw his brother acknowledge the facts. While he’d much rather be wooing his mate, he had an obligation to his pack and his Alpha to sort this whole damn mess out.
Olivia had spent her time wisely. Cleansing the aura of the house had been her first task and she half listened to the three men as they plotted, schemed and debated the likelihood of the old witch being behind a cursed mate as they sat at the kitchen table and alternated between coffee and scotch. That wasn’t the only thing they alternated between, discussing the curse and riling each other up about their mates was also on the agenda, and Olivia shook her head more than once in amusement at how much like gossiping old women they all sounded.
Her next task was to place wards around the house. While the Alpha’s mate was inside she needed to be safe, and as long as she didn’t take it upon herself to climb out of a window and try to walk through another blizzard towards wherever she had come from, the wards should do the trick. Although with a spell as powerful as the one that had obviously been cast, manipulating the elements to do its work for it, she wondered just how her wards might stand up.
Putting a personal protection spell onto the human took a little more work. Especially as she wasn’t entirely sure what she was dealing with, but a personalised spell using the wet clothing that she had been wearing when she fell in the lake seemed better than no spell at all. Then she turned her attention towards the packs protection and once that was done, she took to a seat in front of the open fire in the living room and contemplated the crafter of the spells.
The old woman must be a formidable witch in order to manipulate the elements and work them in her favour, either that or the sheer outpouring of emotions that she had been experiencing when she cast the spell had empowered it with such energy as to be a very powerful force. But a spell cast that long ago had been brewing for some time. Would a few wards be enough to protect them from the inevitable wrath from a woman who had lost her true love?
“ A penny for them.” Tobin was going to pass her by as she sat staring into the flames of the fire. He didn’t think it was such a good idea to be alone with Olivia for a while in case Joel got the wrong idea, but he had seen sadness in her eyes that he couldn’t ignore.
“I just think it’s sad that Lucy lost her husband like that.” Olivia didn’t look at him. The fire was burning strong and the flames held her attention as they danced in the half light of the room, bathing everything around her with an orange glow.
“Sad, but life happens.” Tobin assured her. He’d lived through many tragedies in his long lifetime, both personal and as a spectator. He’d grown what he hoped was a suit of armour around his emotions, although he had to admit, the sight of the Alpha’s mate close to death had affected even him.
“I’m sure you can sympathise with how Lucy came to be so bitter, from the way you sound you’ve obviously experienced it yourself.” Olivia offered and Tobin sighed inside. He didn’t like to discuss feeli
ng, emotions. He came from a time when it wasn’t seemly to air them in public.
“She lost her mate and became rogue. She wasn’t Lycan, but it happens to us all at some point. Very few of us go through life without an event that changes us, defines us; mould’s us into who we become.” Tobin went to turn away.
“So what was your moment, Tobin?” Olivia asked quietly, still not looking at him.
“Being reborn a monster.” Tobin walked away from her then. He didn’t like to share, but needs must and she had asked. He’d lived so long he’d had many of those defining moments, but she only needed to hear about the first, the rest would stay buried within his psyche and he was sure there would be more to add to them over the years.
Isaac didn’t like the idea of leaving Kerry alone for longer than he had too. Olivia may have placed some wards, but the thought of anything happening to his mate was intolerable to him. The knowledge that she could have died three times over today gave him a physical pain that he couldn’t shake off as he slipped back into his bed beside her and curled his body around hers.
She gave a small sigh of contentment as she snuggled back into his arms, still asleep, but stirring with her bodies acknowledgement of his presence. It was the mating pull, Isaac knew it, and yet it filled him with an overpowering sense of comfort that even though they hadn’t bonded yet, she was still his and always would be.
The sound of the storm outside picked up. The winds raged like demons against the window next to the bed and the silence of snow falling had turned into the constant clink of hail on the glass. He usually liked the sounds of a storm for it meant the air would be fresher the next day, but tonight he could find nothing to like in a storm that had nearly killed his mate.
Nuzzling into his mates neck Isaac heard the violent crack from somewhere outside, followed by what sounded like a creaking-tearing wrench of wood and took no chances. His body was over his mates in an instant, covering her from head to toe with his own and shielding her from whatever may come. But the sound of shattering glass and a scream of shock and pain didn’t come from their room.