Do You Really Want to Haunt Me: A Happily Everlasting World Novel (Bewitchingly Ever After Book 3)

by Mandy M. Roth

  A short, plump woman stood before the stove stirring something in a pot. The older woman’s hair was pulled up in a tight bun, showing a mix of gray, white, and black hair. She was wearing a red sweater with a pair of black slacks and matching orthopedic shoes with tiny blue hearts on the sides. The apron she worse also had the tiniest of heart patterns.

  She glanced over at York and Morgan, grinning as she did.

  “Millie!” exclaimed Morgan.

  “Sweetheart, I thought you were headed out to eat and see that show you’ve been talking about nonstop for days.”

  This was the famed Mildred? Like Betty, she didn’t look like much of a threat. But like Betty, York was guessing the woman could be downright deadly. It struck him then that Morgan didn’t yet know of Millie’s connection to Betty.

  His mate ran at Millie, tossing her arms around the woman, closing her eyes as she did. “I missed you.”

  Millie, who was just shy of five feet tall, wrapped her arms around Morgan’s waist. “Well, sweetheart, you just saw me at breakfast. Are you okay?”

  Morgan nodded and teared up once more.

  York knew it was emotional for her to see someone she clearly cared about after so long. He wanted to give them time alone, but the clock was ticking. He didn’t know how long he had to get the contract and put things back on track, but York strongly suspected he was already pushing that time limit.

  Morgan drew back ever so slightly from Millie, her attention going to the brooch Millie was wearing on her red sweater.

  York had seen one that looked identical on Betty before.

  “W-where did you get that?” asked Morgan.

  Millie touched it lightly. “Oh, this? I’ve had it for years and years.”

  “Did Luc give that to you?” questioned Morgan.

  “He did. He’s such a sweet boy,” said Millie.

  York knew Morgan would put it all together soon enough, and he intended to fill in all the details he could, with the limited amount of information he had, but they needed to find the contract.

  He bent slightly. “Darlin’, we need to handle that thing. Remember?”

  Millie eyed him cautiously. “And who might you be?”

  He extended his hand to her. “New York Peugeot, ma’am.”

  She lifted her chin slightly and narrowed her gaze on him. “Are you now?”

  “I am,” he returned.

  “Millie, what’s for dinner tonight? Barton and his business associates will be dining with us,” said a shrill voice from down the hall.

  Morgan gasped. “Mom and Dad are home? I thought they were in France still.”

  Millie shrugged. “They got home just after you left this morning. Your father is in his study with more of his friends. Best you and your friend there head on upstairs and stay clear of your father and his business.”

  It was easy to hear the note of concern in Millie’s voice. She wanted Morgan safe.

  “Millie? Can you hear me,” asked a woman who didn’t look much older than Morgan as she came around the corner into the kitchen. Her hair was piled high on her head, and long diamond earrings hung from each ear. She was in a puffy-collared pink silk shirt and a pair of gray slacks. She had on four-inch pink heels. She drew up short when she saw Morgan and York there. “Morgan? What are you doing home?”

  York’s temper began to poke through, and he made a move to go at the woman, only to find Morgan planting herself in his path.

  “I forgot the tickets to the show tonight. My date and I needed to grab them. We won’t be long. Glad to see that you’re home,” said Morgan, sounding as if she were choking on the words. She took York’s hand in hers and held it in a death grip.

  He understood Morgan needed emotional support and to show a united front. He had no issues with that. He’d shout his loyalty to her from the rooftops if required.

  Morgan’s mother stared at York, saying nothing for the longest time. There was a glint in her eyes that only a fellow predator could appreciate and fully comprehend. As a shark-shifter, York was certainly a predator. Something deep down told him Muffy was one as well.

  A small poodle sauntered into the kitchen, focused on him, and bared its teeth before going straight to Morgan’s mother.

  The woman bent and lifted the dog in her arms. She stroked its head as she looked at York once more. “You don’t seem like my daughter’s type.”

  Morgan’s shoulders went back. “He’s exactly my type, Muffy. In fact, he’s perfect for me. It’s like it’s fate or something.”

  Muffy didn’t appear fazed by her daughter’s outburst. She just continued to pet the dog. “Do you have a name, Mr. Perfect?”

  Millie grinned. “New York Peugeot.”

  “Peugeot?” questioned Muffy. “As in Walden? Any relation? Cousin perhaps?”

  York’s jaw set. “Yes. As in Walden. And, um, yes, I’m related. You can call me York, ma’am.”

  “I see,” said Muffy.

  Millie looked downright ecstatic. “Good news, yes?”

  “Something is different. What is it?” asked Muffy.

  “I’m trying a new recipe,” said Millie, her eyes sparkling. “It’s an old family favorite.”

  York nearly coughed. If Millie was anything like Betty, that meant there were body parts in the food.

  The dog continued to growl at York.

  He could see what Morgan meant. It did seem nothing but mean. He let his shark up enough to alert other animals in the area that he was the top predator. The dog began to whimper and then yelp before hiding in Muffy’s arms.

  She glanced down at the dog and then toward York. The edges of her mouth drew upward as she tipped her head. “She senses you’re dominant. The alpha male. I can see what my daughter likes about you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Did he just hear Morgan’s mother correctly? Had she referred to him as dominant and an alpha male? Did that mean she knew the truth about him? That he was a shark-shifter? Or did she sense his magic side? What if she caught on that he was a hunter as well? Would she try something foolish? If she did, would Morgan understand what he’d have to do to the woman?

  Sure, she was evil and had apparently given her daughter over to the Collective, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t, in the end, Morgan’s mother. The woman who had given birth to his mate. If York was forced to do the unthinkable, could Morgan ever forgive him? Could he forgive himself?

  “Mother?” asked Morgan, sounding surprised by the woman’s words. “What do you mean by dominant?”

  Muffy bent and set the dog down on the floor. She touched its back. “Be a good little demon and let me know if any of them leave the study.”

  York eased Morgan back slightly. He turned his head somewhat but didn’t dare take his gaze from Muffy or Millie as he spoke to Morgan. “I think you were right about your mother’s poodle being a demon. I thought something smelled off with it.”

  Millie grinned. “It’s a hellhound. Small, but mighty.”

  “Like you,” said Muffy to Millie, making it clear they were friends. “Like you. You’re small but mighty. But you’re not a hellhound.”

  “Shut the front door,” said Morgan, her voice barely there as she skimmed her fingers over York’s hand, heating his skin. “It is evil! I knew it! It’s vicious.”

  “No, sweetie,” countered Millie. There was a gentleness to her voice that said she was practiced at calming Morgan.

  Part of York wanted to take notes for use later. It would more than likely come in handy with as much as he managed to get under his mate’s skin.

  “It’s just following your mother’s orders,” said Millie.

  “Yes, so like I said, evil,” returned Morgan.

  Millie glanced at Muffy, giving the woman a knowing look. “She’ll understand in the end. It will all work out. You’ll see.”

  With that, the dog hurried off in the other direction, walking as if it didn’t have a care in the world. York had seen Luc’s hellhound, Furfur, in
action, and it was always a sight to behold. It also had a thing for stealing body parts from the cemetery only to rebury them later. Somehow, York couldn’t picture the poodle doing anything close to that. A leg bone would be bigger than the thing.

  “What’s going on?” demanded York.

  “I like your friend,” said Muffy to Morgan. “Has he claimed you yet?”

  Morgan swallowed loudly. “Y-you know what he is?”

  Her mother inclined her head. “A shifter of some sort. I can’t tell what kind. He doesn’t smell like a cat or a wolf to me. Something unique?”

  York shrugged. “You can say that, yes. But it would depend on your definition of unique. I’ve seen how you decorate. We might not have the same definitions.”

  Morgan shook her head slightly. “York, now isn’t the time for jokes.”

  “Good a time as any,” he countered, wanting to kiss her but holding back.

  It was difficult.

  “Mother, how do you know he’s a shifter, and what do you mean by his smell?” asked Morgan. “He doesn’t smell like anything to me.”

  “Is that so?” asked Muffy. “Nothing at all? Really?”

  York was interested in Morgan’s response, so he stared down at her.

  She shrugged. “Well, I guess he smells like the ocean to me. Like saltwater and a light breeze. Fresh. Good. Very good.”

  “You smell downright delicious to me,” added York quickly, earning him a lot of raised brows in the roomful of women.

  He reddened.

  Muffy laughed. “You’re attracted to her. That’s good. Am I to assume you’re some sort of marine-life shifter?”

  He took a moment before answering, sizing her up as he did. “I am.”

  Millie bit her lower lip, looking hungry. “Shark.”

  He’d seen Betty eat part of a squid-shifter before. He didn’t want to know if Millie found shark appetizing.

  Muffy laughed. “Of course. Sharks are powerful and fierce. Traits that are needed to stand against the enemy and prevail. Tell me, are you a good man, York?”

  “He’s a great man,” said Morgan on his behalf. “Cocky and too sure of himself, but other than that, he’s amazing.”

  “Uh, thanks, darlin’.”

  She blinked up at him and looked too adorable to resist. The next he knew, he bent and stole a chaste kiss from her lips. He cleared his throat and stood tall once more.

  Morgan touched her lips gingerly, her green gaze set on him.

  Didn’t the woman understand the picture she painted? How much he wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her off into the sunset?

  When she bit at her lower lip, he knew then that she had no clue just how much power she had over him.

  Muffy nodded to Millie in a way that left little room for misinterpretation. They were co-conspirators in something. “I think it’s time.”

  “I think you’re right,” said Millie, putting her fingers to her lips and whistling sharply.

  He’d assumed Millie would be on their side, not alerting the enemy to their presence.

  York grabbed Morgan and thrust her behind his body, going on high alert. If Collective members were in the home and wanted Morgan, they’d need to get through him first, and few people could claim that victory.

  Millie snorted at his actions. “Sweetie, you can relax. There is no need to flex your dominant muscles. We know you’d do anything to protect her.”

  Muffy clasped her hands together and brought them to her lips, tearing up in the process. “As it should be, with you being her mate and all. Just the type of man I’d want for my daughter to spend eternity with. This is perfect.”

  “Pardon me?” he asked, sure his ears were playing tricks on him.

  Muffy grinned. “You look ready to challenge the world. That’s an admirable quality in a mate.”

  York glanced at Morgan. “I thought she was evil.”

  “Me too,” said Morgan, shaking her head. “I’m really lost right now.”

  Muffy extended an arm a second before a huge black bat came flying into the kitchen. It was what some termed a vampire bat. It hooked onto Muffy’s forearm and hung upside down, staring over at Morgan with large, curious eyes. It didn’t smell like any bat he’d been around before. But it did smell a lot like a vampire now that it was closer to him.

  “Booker!” shouted Morgan, making a move to go for the bat.

  York caught her arm. “No. That’s no ordinary pet.”

  She offered an annoyed look. “I know. It’s a bat. Not too many people have them for pets. Luc gave him to me.”

  Millie grinned at Muffy before her gaze found Morgan. “Actually, your mother is who put Booker in Luc’s path years ago. She needed to have someone she trusted fully around you at all times without alerting her family, or your father and his family. She went to her vampire den and asked that an old debt be repaid. Booker has done as she asked for years now, Morgan. So has Spike, your hedgehog. He owed me a favor, so he agreed to get cursed into animal form for a time.”

  “Wait, what?” asked Morgan, somehow managing to pale more. “Booker is a vampire, and Spike is a, um, what is Spike?”

  “Part shifter, part human, and part demon,” said Millie and Muffy in unison as if they’d rehearsed it many times before.

  Morgan rubbed her head. “This is too much to absorb. Muffy, you barely acknowledge me and signed a contract to give my soul to the Collective. Why would you care if I have protectors or not? Making sure the sacrifice is whole and ready for transfer? That is what that contract you signed called me, right? A sacrifice?”

  York growled.

  Millie shook her head. “Calm down, New York. I’m likely to take offense. You wouldn’t want that.”

  “Betty made it sound like you were on our side,” said York. “Not with the Collective.”

  Morgan faced him. “Betty knows Millie?”

  “Millie is Mildred,” offered York.

  Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “She’s Betty’s sister?”

  He nodded.

  She swayed. “I ate her cooking all growing up! Did I eat zombie parts?”

  Muffy laughed. “No. Only Millie eats those. I don’t eat food. I drink blood in my wineglasses and push food around on my plate. Since you weren’t born with an aversion to the sun and a need for blood, like me, and showed no signs of being a dark wizard like your father, I pushed to raise you as human. I had hoped it would keep the Collective from wanting you. You and your soul are only important to them if you’re powerful. If you’re like us. All along they’ve sworn you are.”

  Muffy was a vampire, and Morgan’s father was a dark wizard?

  Morgan slammed into York. He twisted around, catching and steadying her as she took in the news, her mother was a creature of the night, and her father was a mage. That meant Morgan had vampire and magic in her as well on some level.

  “My mind is officially blown,” said Morgan. “For thirty years I’ve thought my mother was evil, and while I’m not sure whose side she’s on, I now know she’s a vampire. And it looks like my dad is apparently a dark wizard. I don’t even know what that is. Doesn’t sound good. All aboard the crazy train.”

  Muffy stepped closer to Morgan, but York stiffened.

  Millie nodded at him. “She won’t hurt her. She loves her with all her being and has gone out of her way to try to stop the actions of Morgan’s father. He’s not a good person.”

  “Neither is she, according to Luc,” said Morgan, pointing at her mother.

  Muffy sighed. “Morgan, for the Collective to fully believe I’m all in on what they forced me to sign, I had to let everyone think I’m a believer too. That I’m part of that cult of insanity and evil. I’m not. I was born into it and wanted to keep it far from you. I’m not the only member of my vampire den to see the error of the old ways. Booker saw too. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do a better job, and I’m sorry you’ve had to suffer for my shortcomings. I’m assuming you’re from the future. Thirty year
s?”

  “How did you know that?” demanded York. It was too good of a guess to be random. Information was power, and he needed to know everything Muffy and Millie did.

  Millie smiled wide. “A hunter friend of mine from Maine gave me a crystal ball that predicts important events in the future. This ball is set to work for people I care about like family. I’ve known Muffy for centuries. She’s like a daughter to me. Morgan is like a granddaughter. The crystal ball showed Muffy and me all the signs. Showed us what would happen if we dared to interfere with what is set to happen to the Morgan of this time. Bad things. Really bad things. The best we could do was get word to Luc through the grapevine that you were in danger. He’s always loved you like your father should have. He’ll do right. He’ll step in and protect you until you can be united with your mate.”

  York took a deep breath. “He does step in and protect her.”

  “Good,” said Muffy her eyes moist. “Very good. I hated betraying him. I hated lying to him and making him think I was against my own daughter.”

  Morgan made a small noise that indicated she was having trouble processing everything.

  York couldn’t blame her. Time travel was giving him a migraine.

  Muffy nodded as if she understood as well. “It’s all confusing. I know. Tampering with time always is. Dealing with two versions of one’s self. Knowing that if you undo one thread, it could unravel the whole ball of time. It’s why very few demons can do it. Millie and her sisters have the ability to some extent, but it’s not endless, and they can only do it a few times in their extremely long lives.”

  Morgan stepped back fast, and York feared she’d faint. “This has been a peculiar day, and I live with the devil, some demons, and a bunch of spirits, so that should tell you something.”

  Muffy beamed. “Oh, Luc does, erm, did take you in and watch over you then? I’m sorry. I’m not sure how to refer to things.”

  “Any way you want is fine,” said Morgan softly. “And yes, Luc has been with never ever since I died. I live with him full-time down in Louisiana. At his inn there.”

  It was easy to see Muffy was fighting her emotions. “It looks like he took very good care of your body. It’s not aged a day and doesn’t show any signs of injury. I swear if he weren’t already destined for a natural-born hunter, I’d have tried to charm that man myself. He’s a catch.”