Charmed

by Jessica Sorensen

  “I already told you why I haven’t.”

  “I know, but…” He hesitantly chews on his bottom lip.

  “But what?” I press. When he doesn’t answer, I let out a frustrated groan. “Dude, we’ve got to work on you not finishing your sentences.”

  The corners of his lips quirk. “I’m just being cautious with my words.”

  I lift a brow. “Why?”

  He shrugs. “So I don’t piss you off.”

  I resist a frown, but I’m concerned.

  Since when does he worry about pissing me off?

  “Are you sure everything’s okay?” I ask for probably the thousandth time.

  He nods. “Of course.” Then he ducks out of the car and closes the door, moving so quickly that I wonder if he’s trying to escape something.

  But the only thing around is me, so…

  Am I what he’s trying to escape?

  Alana

  As I’m getting out of the car, I notice my sprite bite is starting to reappear, so I slather a bit of fey magicae onto to it to keep the side effects from reappearing. Then I hide the bag underneath the seat, knowing I can’t risk the bag getting stolen, since Jayse hasn’t tracked down the sprite who bit me yet, so he can extract some pixie dust from it. It’s the only cure to my bite, and if he can’t get the pixie dust, I’m so screwed. Like I’ll-turn-into-a-giggling-stupid-obnoxious-sprite kind of screwed.

  Once the bite's effects are sedated, I put on an ankle holster and slip a knife into it, per Jax’s suggestion, although I would’ve done it anyway.

  Jax waits for me outside of the car while I do all of this, and I can tell he’s avoiding me. I have no idea why, but I add it to the list I’m creating of things he’s done that are out of character for him.

  After I’m good and ready to go, I hop out of the car. "Let's get this show on the road," I tell Jax.

  He doesn’t respond, his silver eyes skimming across the pair of clunky boots I put on, along my legs that are visible from the shorts I’m wearing. He scrolls across every inch of me until his gaze collides with mine.

  "Why are you inspecting me?" I ask, crossing my arms. "Worried I forgot to put the knife in my holster? Because FYI, that'd never happen. I'm a pro when it comes to being prepared for danger." I wink at him.

  He almost smiles, but then tears his gaze off me and strides up the path, muttering, “Follow me.”

  "Okay, then." I follow after him, wondering why he suddenly has a stick up his ass.

  As we get close to the entrance, he suddenly slams to a halt, grabs my arm, and stops me.

  “Before we go in, I want to stress how important it is that no one knows who you are.” He looks me straight in the eye as he lowers his voice. "I don't even want you giving anyone your real last name. This is pixie territory, and you can't trust anyone here.”

  I give him a salute. “Yes, boss, sir.”

  He smashes his lips together, a soft groan reverberating from his chest. “Such a smartass,” he mumbles as he releases my arm.

  Then he takes off up the dirt path again, leaving me to rush after him.

  “And you’re such a grumpy werewolf,” I remark as I jog to catch up with him.

  He heaves out an exhale, slowing to a stop in front of the gated entryway.

  The locked gated entryway, I might add.

  “So how do we get in?” I ask as I stop beside him.

  He flips open a hidden latch on the gate and punches in a passcode.

  Okay, so he’s been here before.

  As the gates open up, he tosses me an arrogant smirk. “Try not to be too impressed.”

  “I’m not, since it’s pretty clear you’ve been here before.”

  “Once or twice,” he replies as he steps through the entrance.

  I trail after him, trying not to let my jaw hit the cobblestone pavement paving the path through the quaint town. But it’s difficult to conceal my shock.

  I’ve never really been to another realm before, and the magic sprinkled all over the stone buildings, and the neon flowers and trees, is breathtaking. So is the violet shimmer casting across everything. But I manage to rein back on my shock as I note several pixies wandering up and down the jeweled sidewalks.

  Pixies, while dangerous, are beautiful creatures that come in all different shapes and sizes. Purple, shimmering skin, blue, glittering eyes, sparkling pink hair; I can see at least a dozen with those features. And the attire they wear is as glittery and bright as the town.

  “This is…” I shake my head in astonishment. “Magical.”

  Jax observes me from the corner of his eye. “You act like you’ve never been to another realm before.”

  “I haven’t,” I admit as we stroll up the path, walking past shops, bars, and stores, all the titles containing words like glitter and shimmering in them.

  “Really? Because I thought with you growing up in the keeper world, you would’ve realm traveled a lot.”

  “Nah. A lot of Keepers don’t want their kids traveling until they get their keeper mark and their keeper power.”

  “That makes sense, I guess.” He grows quiet, stepping closer to me.

  “How much have you realm traveled?” I wonder.

  He gives a half-shrug. “Quite a bit.”

  “Is that a werewolf thing?”

  “No, it's my family's thing." He rakes his fingers through his hair, making the strands go askew. "My father traveled a lot to obtain his collection of powerful objects that I told you about. And when Dash and I were younger, he’d take us with him. But he stopped taking Dash after we discovered his powers. And then I got older and… things happened. So that was the end of my family’s travels. But I’ve traveled on my own since then.”

  I’m not sure what to say to that. According to Dash, their father isn't a good guy. But Jax has denied this. That's understandable, though. Even when my grandfather looked extremely guilty of committing terrible crimes, I refused to accept it. And maybe Jax and Dash's father really isn't a bad guy. I've never met him before, so I have hardly anything to judge it on other than what Jax and Dash have told me. But what I do know is that usually when someone is collecting powerful objects, it’s not just to have them on display. That usually there’s a darker reason behind it.

  “I really need to get a hold of my dad,” Jax mumbles as he digs his phone out of his pocket. Then he frowns. “Great. We’re out of signal.”

  I’m not surprised since we just entered another realm.

  I mean, does the pixie realm even have cell service?

  I don’t ask, not wanting to look like even more of a tourist than I already do. I also bite down on my tongue to avoid saying anything about Jax's father.

  But when Jax had first suggested we turn to his father for help, I’d verbalized my reluctance about it and that had led to a mild argument. So, I’ve decided that for now, I’ll keep my opinions to myself, which might be a first. But I kind of have to be this way about this since Jax is one of the few that stood by me when I insisted my grandfather was innocent.

  “So where is this bar located?” I change the subject, becoming highly aware that almost all of the pixies nearby are staring at us.

  He pockets his phone and glances around at the shops lining the street. “If I’m remembering correctly, it’s just a few more streets up.”

  I nod, holding the gaze of one of the pixies staring at me, hoping to make them uneasy enough that they’ll look away. But nope. They just smirk at me. I should’ve known better. Pixies are cocky little a-holes.

  “I stand out too much,” I tell Jax, gesturing at my black t-shirt, shorts, and the plaid shirt tied around my waist. Then I motion at his grey shirt and black jeans. “So do you.” I lower my hand. “Maybe we should stop in one of these stores and buy new outfits.”

  “It wouldn’t help,” he says, giving me a once over. “We’d still need to be covered in glitter, have pointy ears, and a crazy hair color.”

  “We could always roll in some glitter.�
�� I smile amusedly at the idea of Jax rolling around in glitter like a dog. “I’m sure you’d be good at that.”

  He rolls his eyes. “If you’re making dog jokes again, then I’m going to start making jokes about your violet eyes.”

  I make a big show of rolling my eyes. “Go ahead. I’ve heard it all before.”

  His forehead creases. “Creatures tease you about your eyes?”

  I shrug. “When I was younger, yeah. Kids used to call them creepy freaky. It stopped, though, when I got older.”

  A trace of a smile pulls at his lips, but he doesn’t say anything.

  “What’s that look for?” I playfully nudge him in the side with my elbow.

  He shakes his head. "It's nothing."

  “No, clearly it’s something, or else you wouldn’t have done one of your very rare smiles.” I cross my arms. “So fess up. What is it?”

  He meets my gaze, and amusement is glittering in his eyes, which is a strange look for him. “I was just thinking that you probably stopped getting teased when you got older because creatures realized that your eyes, while freaky," he smirks, and I give him a dirty look, “Are actually really pretty.”

  I stare at him unimpressed. “Seriously? My eyes are really pretty? Again, let me repeat: what the heck is going on with you?”

  His smile promptly fades. “And again, let me repeat, nothing’s going on with me other than I’m risking my ass to protect yours. You’re welcome, by the way.”

  “And there’s the cocky wolf boy.” I grin. “I was wondering how long he was gonna stay asleep.”

  “Well, he wanted to stay asleep for a bit longer, but some loudmouth wouldn’t let him,” he quips.

  I slowly start to feel on balance again and realize how off balance I’d felt.

  So weird.

  I don’t have too much time to overanalyze that, though, as Jax comes to a stop in front of an iridescent building with rainbow-tinted windows and a bright ass pink door. Sparkling above the crystallized dome roof is a flashing spritz of magic that reads: The Wandering Glitter Seekers.

  “This is the bar we’re going to?” I have to work hard not to gape like a tourist.

  I don't do a very great job, though, since Jax has to reach over and push my mouth shut.

  “I know. It’s very flashy,” he says as he fishes his phone out to glance at the screen again.

  “Yeah, flashy is a total understatement.” I watch in awe as fireworks blaze from the magical sign. “This place looks like someone barfed up rainbows and pixie dust all over it.”

  Jax chuckles but then sighs as he stuffs his phone into his pocket.

  “Still no signal, huh?” I ask and he shakes his head.

  “No. My phone went off a couple of times right before we went through the portal, but that’s it. And those messages weren’t from my father. They were from the school…” He gives a hesitant pause. “And from Vivianne.”

  “What?” I cry out way too loudly and draw more attention to us. I lower my voice and lean closer to him. “Why the heck did she message you?”

  “Because she wants to know if I have any idea where you are.” He massages the back of his neck tensely. “Apparently, you not showing up for your classes this morning has some creatures concerned. It probably doesn’t help that no one’s really seen you since they found that dead witch in your room.”

  “Shit, I didn’t even think about that,” I mumble. “I hope they haven’t called my parents. I don’t want them to worry. It’s why I haven’t called them yet and told them about what’s going on.”

  “Well, you might want to when we leave the portal, just in case someone from the school does call them.”

  “I need to call them now… Maybe I have a signal even though you don’t. You never know.” I reach for my pocket to get my phone out and check, but he captures my arm, stopping me.

  “Even if you do, you can’t make that call out here.” He gives me a pressing look. “The last thing you want is to risk a creature from here overhearing that conversation.”

  “Yeah, good idea—” I stumble backwards as a tall pixie with flowing lavender hair pushes by me.

  “Watch it freak,” she sneers, elbowing me in the side.

  My fingers ball into fists. Don’t punch her, Alana. She’s a pixie and can curse you if she wants to.

  “Freak? Wow, that’s clever,” I smart off to her. “How long did it take you to come up with that one?”

  She narrows her emerald eyes at me, but then her lips tug into a smirk. “Just you wait.” She smooths her hands over her hair, spins around, and strolls toward the side of the bar.

  “Are all pixies that bitchy?” I ask, stretching out my fingers.

  Jax scratches at his tattooed arm. “Yeah, but…” He glances at me with concern. “That was a little weird.”

  “Nah.” I dismiss him with a wave of my hand. “Remember what I told you in the car? I’ve been called a freak many times.”

  “Still, I’m a bit worried. With…” He flicks a nervous glance around, then leans in, his wolfish, earthy scent flooding my nostrils. “Everything we’ve discovered about you, we need to be cautious.”

  “Yeah, but no one but you and me know about that,” I remind him. “Well, and the—”

  He places his finger to my lips and gives me a warning look. “Remember the number one rule about that name.”

  “Right.” My lips move against his finger. “Sorry. Rookie mistake.”

  He jerks his hand away from my mouth and pulls a face.

  “Hey, I don’t have cooties,” I joke, but he doesn’t even so much as crack a smile.

  Typical werewolf. Always taking everything so seriously. I'm just glad he's acting like his uptight self again.

  “I don’t think you have cooties. You just got spit on my hand.” Then he makes a big show of wiping off his hand on the side of his pants while making a repulsed face.

  I roll my eyes. “It’s just a little spit. Stop being such a drama queen.”

  “I will when you learn not to drool so much.”

  “Well, you’d be the expert on that, wolf boy.”

  “Yeah, I am.” His eyes darken. “So here’s some advice from an expert. Learn how to swallow your saliva instead of letting it fall out of your mouth because a lot of people are going to be repulsed by it."

  “I didn’t drool on you. You’re just exaggerating.”

  “Tell that to my wet hand. And the wet spot on my pants.”

  “Why? Did you piss in them or something?”

  He gapes at me. “Did you seriously just ask me if I pissed my pants?”

  I give an innocent shrug. “You’re the one that stressed how wet they are.”

  He leans in toward me. “Yeah, because you drooled on me.”

  I roll my eyes again. “I didn’t drool on you.”

  When he only smirks, frustration bubbles through me.

  I stand on my tiptoes and lick his neck. “There. Now you really do have my drool all over you.” I slant back, putting on my best shit-eating grin.

  But when I catch sight of the tension in his expression and the intensity flashing in his eyes, my smile falters.

  “Relax. I was just messing with you.” I reach out to wipe my drool off his neck, but he snatches hold of my wrist.

  “Don’t touch me,” he bites out, moving my hand away.

  I glare at him. “What the heck is wrong with you? I was just messing around.”

  “Yeah, well…” He starts mumbling incoherently under his breath before spinning on his heels. “Wait right here. I’ll be back.” Then he storms off toward the side of the building, leaving me standing in front of the bar on my own, feeling confused and kind of pissed off.

  Yeah, I licked his neck, but I was joking around. And I thought he was too, but apparently not.

  Well, Alana, you did want him to go back to his normal, brooding self.

  But this is a whole new level of brooding. In fact, I’ve never seen him get that riled up e
xcept for maybe when vampires tried to attack me. He may say nothing is going on with him, but something definitely is. And the last time he acted this out of character was because he was possessed.

  I gulp. Wait. Did he somehow become possessed again? If so, who’s possessing him? That stupid witch named Pinkie? Or someone else?

  It doesn’t make any sense, though. No one else has been around us for a while. But if he’s not possessed then what in the crap is going on with him—

  A hand slaps down over my mouth. Then I feel someone move up behind me.

  “Now where’s your smartass remarks,” a female voice whispers in my ear.

  It takes me a second to place the voice, but I manage to get there. The pixie who told me, “just you wait.”

  I’m about to kick her in the shin and elbow her in the stomach when a blast of glitter showers over me.

  My eyes roll into the back of my head as exhaustion sweeps through my veins.

  Sleeping glitter… She sprayed sleeping glitter all over me…

  Crap, I’m definitely in deep trouble, is the last thought I have before everything goes dark.

  Jax

  I lower my forehead to the wall and press my fists against it, the rough surface scraping my knuckles. “Get your shit together," I mumble. "You can't let her find out you're bonded to her. She'll freak out and leave if she does."

  And Alana can’t be on her own right now. Not with so much danger surrounding her. She probably needs more protection than I can give her, but since we can’t trust anyone at the moment, it has to be just her and me.

  Her and me. I shake my head. My wolf likes the sound of that way too much. Just like he liked her licking me way too much.

  It had been bad enough when her lips brushed against my finger after I placed my finger over her mouth. I’d almost lost control then but managed to play it off by teasing her. But then she had to go and lick me, and I damn near kissed her. I can only imagine what would’ve happened if I had. She probably would’ve slapped me, maybe even took off. Then we’d have drawn even more attention, and that's the last thing we need.