Bewitching The Alpha (Hex My Heart, #3)

by Talina Perkins

  With little ceremony, Ember switched her Jeep into four-wheel drive before continuing up the steep incline.

  “So what’s your plan? Tell me in all your crazy... horny... dazed scramblin’ you have a plan.” That was her sister. Why hold back a punch when you could lay it all out in plain, Southern-lilted English?

  “Winging it all the way. Mostly. Best plan to follow when all the magick hits the fan, no?” Or, was about to. No telling how this was going to turn out. With what she was about to do, the less anyone knew the better. Less ass covering she had to do, too, if it came down to it.

  Truth spells were a bitch with claws and if the Elders of the High Council found out what she was about to do, her sister could be punished.

  That part sucked.

  Nah. Plausible deniability was the name of the game.

  Several dips and potholes made the Jeep jerk and swerve. She gunned it and turned the wheel until she rode the higher middle and side road where it was smoother.

  A shiver flushed along her spine. Perhaps the cold weather of the latest Nor’easter that had hit their small Maine town for one last hurrah before winter bowed out for the year? No, that wasn’t it. There was something different about the air. She’d felt it earlier back at the Matchstick when it happened. First their gazes had connected from across the span of the bar. Normally they rocked at ignoring each other. Then again, she couldn’t ignore how he’d reached for her and brushed the tips of his fingers through her hair when he thought she hadn’t noticed.

  A palpable thrum pulsed through the crisscrossing lay lines with a steady rhythm. Her magick acknowledged the ancient powers and siphoned a little off the top.

  A faint groan broke through the earpiece followed by a slight, “Tsk tsk. Seems a lot of mischievous deeds are playing out tonight.”

  Deflect attention.

  “You can sense Ambrosia? Is she all right?” Ember had swung by the Matchstick earlier hoping to catch Ambrosia before she’d left on a personal mission that involved two very determined alpha shifters and an elixir that she shouldn’t have brewed for her coven sister. She knew from experience breaking a bond never worked out well for any involved. Hindsight and all that load of crap.

  “She will be if her alphas hurry.”

  Ember’s shoulders relaxed and her mind cleared of the worry she felt for her sister since helping her with the elixir. The alphas in question held Ambrosia on a pedestal. No way would either man let harm come to their witch.

  Ember needed to lift the veil she’d lived under for way too long, and helping Ambrosia tonight did the trick.

  It didn’t click for her, though, until the second Julian had stroked his hand through her hair tonight. With the slightest of touches, thousands of electrical strands of power combed through her body. Dormant for over a year from the control of her best and strongest spells, the powerful gut-punch nearly took her to the floor.

  Denial was never a good thing and she swallowed her fair share. Seeing Julian with the six-pack of women he blew through a week was great for starters. Every time she turned around the man had another blonde bombshell on his elbow. Hades to blazes, if she had to suffer through another doe-eyed looker, she might skip the plan she just told Harmony she didn’t have and go straight to death by magick, with a swift plead of insanity in front of the High Council. With her past, she could probably get away with it too.

  “Earth to Ember. Did you space out or did ya inhale too much lavender crystal today?”

  Ember gave a slight shrug and rounded the last bend on the mile and a half long driveway, skidded to stop then slammed the Jeep into park.

  “A little of both and if your little ‘tsk tsk’ included me, you know I work better on the fly. If I recall you didn’t object to my on the fly sleeping spell you and Honor used over the entire school staff so you could play hooky for a Pink concert.” Ember slogged through the muck and edged around a crater of a pothole left from an uprooted tree toppled by snow from the looks of it, before making it to the edge of Julian’s porch. With her box of mischief tucked snugly under her arm, she scanned the darkened cabin and surrounding woods for signs of the man in question.

  “GASSSP... you didn’t go there, bringing that up. It was years ago.” A sweet husky laugh cut up her sister’s words. At the oddest times her sister could make her smile. Any man lucky enough to land a girl like Harmony would have heaven in his hands. She knew how to ease a sister’s mind without even trying and never stopped being a friend.

  Ember pushed a little more. “Or how my on the fly helped fill a special order that started with a hot love potion and ended with you and a sexy jock in the back seat.”

  “Oh! Burn! You play dirty. You better never tell a soul!”

  She smiled at her sister’s faux embarrassment. Ember tucked the phone to her shoulder and stood on her tiptoes to run her hand along the eve of the door. Roughened wood scraped along her fingertips.

  Bingo. Julian, you never change.

  “You play just as dirty. HA! Probably more. That Southern charm of yours is like honey to a bee. It draws men and when you have them tied up and under your spell, the real devilish creature comes out to play. You’re a wicked temptress well hidden behind your perfect red lipstick.” Ember slid the key into the lock and turned. “Listen, I love ya, babe, but I’m here and gotta go now.”

  Harmony softly hummed in agreement. “All kiddin’ set aside, hun, be kind to him. He’s still hurting and his heart doesn’t know how to move on without his mate. Give him time.”

  He sure didn’t show it. Back at the Matchstick blonde bombshell number whodafuckknew had her eyes trained on him from across the room, intent written all over her too perfect body.

  “Sure. Any parting words of wisdom?”

  “You betcha. Go light on the dragon’s blood for your truth spell. That shit takes forever to wear off, if it doesn’t knock him out first.”

  Sometimes Harmony’s psychic abilities gave her the chills. She couldn’t exactly read the future, but once things were ‘set in the fabric of the Universe’ as Harmony put it, things became clearer and easier to read. Not absolute, because human will was a fickle beast but according to Harmony, if she concentrated on the thread of a soul long enough she could read their immediate future. “And Ember, I can tell you’ve made up your mind. The plan you have... be careful. You mess with the will of someone else and that could get ugly, darlin’. Fast.”

  She knew the consequences, but what other choice did she have? Watch as her mate moved on. Without her? Not likely. Seeing him with anyone that wasn’t her drained her magick and the bond they shared caused a whole other ache.

  Time for drastic measures. And time to reclaim her man. She flicked her fingers over the various herbs and potions she held.

  Knots tightened in her belly and she swallowed the bile that always washed the back of her throat when the memory of all she’d lost to betrayal roared back to life.

  “And you know I’m not talking about just the Council members stripping your powers here.”

  She understood. Karma was the least of her worries, though.

  If she didn’t take this final risk, she might as well hand over her healing crystals and caldron now, because nothing else in the world would matter after tonight if her balls-to-the-wall plan went south.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “One last thing—if I promise to be a good little witch tonight, will you open the Enchanted Embers in the morning?” In the last seven months since being back in Sweet Briar Hollow she’d added a few things to her growing list of accomplishments.

  Finish degree in finance and business. Check.

  Set up a kick-ass magick and potions shoppe. Check.

  Defy the High Council’s law. Check. And, of course, become the permanent black sheep or ‘witch’ of the family as a byproduct of that. If that counted, then double check.

  After tonight she could stop suppressing the wildfire in her gut and let it burn in glory. Or let it slowly eat away a
t her. Either way, enough was enough.

  “Do what you gotta do, darlin’. Call me when the bubbling cauldron you’re stirring explodes.”

  “Such little faith...” Ember pressed end and slipped the cell into the back pocket of her jeans then swiveled on her heel, straightened her shoulders and pushed.

  The scent of day-old cigar smoke accosted her before the wave of a flowery perfume drowned it out. Since flowers in winter weren’t likely, her mind dredged up the only explanation. Another woman had been here, or still was.

  She eased one foot in front of the other. With nothing but moonlight drenching the cabin, she couldn’t see much.

  But what if...

  Back against the wall, she moved an inch at a time, her box still tucked tight to her side. Over the music and rumble of the crowd, she’d overheard Julian tell a pack-mate he was heading out for a run. Ten minutes later she watched him peel out of the parking lot in the direction of the ridge opposite his cabin.

  But what if...

  He couldn’t have beaten her back here. Could he? Hades to blaze, what if he was with someone? Her back stiffened and she froze in place. She tilted her head to catch any noise. Please goddess, don’t let me hear anything. Hot and cold waves flushed her body and her heart pounded. Winter had a firm grasp on the surrounding forest—not a sound inside or out penetrated the darkness.

  Palm out, she ran a hand along the wall until she found the light switch. Muted yellow light flared to life, revealing a quiet room. With her gaze flicking from side to side, she didn’t notice any telltale signs of anyone being home. So far.

  To her left the entryway opened to a tidy living space, and the kitchen and dining area took up the entire front area of the cabin. To the left, the bedroom. She swallowed past her dry throat and took a step, then another.

  Books lined the back wall and the large reading space sported a leather sofa she knew intimately. Julian had made love to her every which way imaginable on those cushions and when they’d finished, he’d carried her over to the fireplace and made love to her again, claiming her in more ways than one. It was their last night together. Standing on the outside looking in, the memory felt like a lifetime ago. Looking down at the thick cushioned rug with his scent surrounding her, everything came rushing back. There were times she wished she could settle for letting it all stay in the past. Tears burned the back of her eyes. She stiffened and forced herself to concentrate. There would be time for reminiscing later, but right now... she had to know. Just one look and she’d get to work.

  Ember strode deeper into the cabin and rounded the small counter space, and then entered the short hallway that lead to the bedroom. She closed her eyes and counted to five.

  To Hades with what-ifs!

  Nerves made her movements jerky. With a twist the doorknob clicked and the door swung open. Familiar scents hit her instantly. First a pine woodsy scent with a mixture of something she couldn’t pinpoint but leaned toward somewhat vanilla. Maybe from his cigar.

  Her shoulders slumped and her chest heaved with a heavy sigh. So he wasn’t here now, but from the crumpled sheets, he must have been here with someone. If anything, the man was tidy to the point of driving her crazy-mad. Leaving his sheets in a balled mess wasn’t like him. Her heart constricted and she turned on her heel to flick a switch on. Several photos of all their friends and his pack members stuck out from random corners of the large mirror that hung opposite his bed.

  She stroked a single digit down the gilded frame he’d hand carved. Wolves with their heads angled back, howling into the ether in and amongst the moon’s cycles decorated the frame.

  Friendly faces and bright smiles caught her eye and she slipped the photo from its place. Jake, his arm around Honor, with Julian and herself all together and smiling at the opening of Honor’s bar, The Matchstick.

  Happier times before the magick of a new love and a reality had time to smear her bliss with ugliness. Before all shit with her family and the High Council had gone sideways in a flaming cauldron.

  Fresh air filled the room from the open window, causing something to glint in the light of the lamp.

  What? A warm smile spread across her face. He had it all this time? She thought it had gone missing in her haste to leave town. How had he managed to get it? Ember cupped a thick gold ring in her palm that hung from a long chain she recognized as her own. The ring was his. He’d given it to her their first and last All Hallows gathering, a supernatural mixer where funky and fun tended to lead to all kinds of naughtiness. The one time of the year the dickdouches of the witches pulled the proverbial stick out of their conjoined asses long enough to relax the laws to help maintain the peace between the supernatural species.

  Her entire body tightened with regret. He’d slid it on her finger with a look in his eye that meant more to her than his pack ring ever could. Then fate came rushing in with a whole other plan both knew nothing about until it was too late.

  She slipped the chain from its perch between carved teeth of a wooden wolf’s mouth and let the cool metal of the gold chain puddle in her hand. The band was made of a wolf’s body and the head resting at the top of the finger with a single amber eye accent. The same color of Julian’s eyes before their bonding.

  He’d kept it on her chain all this time. A few months after leaving, she’d mailed it back to him as a way to give him closure. The second hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

  White curtains waved in the breeze and broke the shafts of moonlight and brought her out of the past.

  Right, she had work to do. Coming in here was a mistake and cost her precious time she didn’t have.

  She unclasped the chain and slid the ring onto her thumb, not wanting to think about what it would be like to have it back on the same finger he’d first slipped it on then replaced the photo back where she found it. Keeping her eyes trained anywhere but the bed, she made her way to the kitchen.

  The open-style floor plan accommodated floor-to-ceiling windows to the side of the kitchen and flooded the entire space with natural light by day and moonlight by night.

  Just what she needed.

  With a flick of her wrist the box lid flung open, revealing the key to her regaining her past. She’d worked hard over the last several months on making Enchanted Embers the go-to spell shoppe and thank the goddess for that. Coming by some of the ingredients her charmed truth spell called for was no easy task.

  In the center of the table she placed a small mortar bowl usually left for grinding herbs, then set out three small crystal vials, two thick white candles and her athame, a witch’s ritual blade, for the most important step.

  In one hand she palmed a candle, carved in Julian’s name along the side then scribed her own in the second candle and placed them both in the grinding dish. With precise care, she peeled back the lid to first one vial to coat the rim of the candle with a single drop of lavender. Then followed that with two drops of pure lemon extract on the wicks of each candle from the other vial.

  A clock chimed from somewhere within the cabin. Hades to blazes. One stroke and counting. If this was going to work, she needed to hurry before the clock struck a minute past midnight. Only one more step. As if the fate of every soul she knew depended on her, she palmed the last vial. In all her twenty-six years, ten years of which working all levels of magic, she still sweated using the scaly shifter’s blood.

  She tipped the vial over until one rich crimson drop mixed with all the ingredients on each candle. Casting a spell with dragon’s blood wasn’t a game, and one mishap could land her in some real hot water with the Dragon Lords.

  Bowl in hand, she turned to the moondrenched windows and began in a soft chant...

  Spirits of earth, spirits of fire

  Send to me my heart’s desire

  Brightest blessing, brightest light

  Bring to me truth this night

  With open hearts and secrets revealed

  Hear my words, this spell be sealed

  By my will, s
o mote it be.

  With a single snap above each wick, Ember lit the wick to Julian’s candle then hers. If she was going to do this, she had better be ready to give the same truth she demanded from him. An easy price to pay.

  Whether he wanted to hear it at first or not. Painful as it was, he had a right to know and she’d wasted enough time skirting around him and the truth.

  Bursts of golden flames licked high only to spiral around her head, her chest, and feed into the candle in a fierce spin. Mixtures of oranges and ginger tendrils of magick trailed behind to settle over the mortar bowl. In a blink, the white candle crumpled into a pile of fine pixie-like dust, infused with her charm and ready to do her bidding.

  No going back, Ember. But she still needed one missing ingredient. Julian.

  Speak of the wolf.

  A deep rumble preceded the bright light that bounced off the front window to cast a long shadow along the back wall.

  Like a thought come to life, he was here.

  Heavy footstep pounded up the front stairs a millisecond before the front door slammed open. Hades to blazes, here goes nothing.

  Time froze. Ice blue eyes bored into her and everything ground to a full stop. Oh, shit.

  Muscle. So much hard delicious, mouth-watering muscle. In all her hurry she’d forgotten one thing about Julian. How incredibly handsome he was. Sapphire eyes, black hair, and deeply tanned skin. If she could put words to the man that stood in front of her with the hard glint in his eye, she’d say edgy, capable and dangerous. So very dangerous. To her heart and her libido.

  But her soul too, because a spot in Hades just opened for her right alongside the devil himself. Only someone evil and wicked could ever hurt this man.

  Did that make her the wicked witch?

  Eyes leveled on her, he pushed forward in a slow stalk. Oh goddess. She fought to keep the arousal that whipped through her hidden beneath a calm mask of indifference. Could he hear her heart beat?

  Breathe, Ember. She cleared her throat and stiffened, holding steady when what she wanted to do was fling herself into his arms and beg for his forgiveness. Or run. Run as if the devil was blowing fire up her ass. The old Ember would have. The new Ember straightened her shoulders and cocked a brow.