by R. A. Boyd
“Fine. Have you met them? All of them?”
“Yes,” she said, tears building in her eyes. But they didn’t fall. She blinked them away and ground her teeth. “They seem nice. They come to the meetings. Why do you hate them so much?”
He snorted and scoffed. “We’ve been over this, Paige. They are murderers and want to take over the supernatural community.”
“Why do you think that?” she pressed. Her heart beat in her chest so fast and she began to shake. “Tell me the truth.”
“Because one of them killed the love of my existence. Your grandmother was everything to me. You know this.” His voice quieted. “Do you need to come home now?” he asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.
Pure fear blanketed her eyes as she looked over at Aiden, and it was as if he could read her mind. The right answer she should give would be that she wanted to come home. The necklace had made her weak and afraid. But he would be good and goddamned if she got anywhere near that bastard again.
With slow movements, Paige shook her head from side-to-side in a silent refusal but what came out of her lips was what Samiyah needed to hear. “Yes. Please.”
“Do you want to disappoint me, Paige?” Satisfaction filled his voice.
“You know I don’t.”
“Then you’ll stay and we won’t speak of this again.”
The relief that flooded her was palpable. “Okay.”
She disconnected the call and threw the phone at the recliner that sat in the corner.
“You keep throwing your phone like it’s a paper airplane and you’re going to break it,” Aiden said, trying to get a clear read of Paige’s emotions.
Aiden couldn’t read his mate’s mind the way Audra and Zeke could, but there was no mistake that her emotions were all over the place. Sitting next to her was like watching an artist mix up every shade of paint they had and throw them against a blank canvas.
Paige chewed the inside of her jaw and used her thumbs to rub her eyebrows. “I can’t keep this up. I understand why you don’t want me to go to him and end this, I do. But I don’t know what else to do.”
“We wait.”
“For what? What are we waiting for? Eventually, he’s going to call me home and as soon as he sees me he’s going to know I’m not under his spell anymore. And then? He’ll kill me.” She grabbed two handfuls of her hair and tugged backward, exposing her claiming mark. “That’s how this is going to end, Aiden. Either he’s going to kill me or I’m going to kill him. I know you want to hurt him for what he did to me, but just imagine how I feel.”
He rubbed his hand over his face and scratched his chin. There was no answer he could give her that would help. Feeling helpless wasn’t something he was used to, and knowing that Paige was the one he couldn’t help made his insides churn with poison.
“We’ll have breakfast with everyone and talk about it. Jax and Damon should be here by now.”
And they were going to tell her the same thing he had. Wait until they came up with a better plan.
“Nope,” Aiden said, pacing the dining area. “That’s a fucked up plan and I should fucking maul you for even thinking this is okay in any way at all.”
Jax was off his fucking rocker if he thought Paige would just waltz back to Samiyah’s house and go through with her insane plan.
Damon sat back in a chair, arms behind his head like he was lounging on a sandy beach. The sight pissed Aiden off even more.
As calm as can be, Paige took a sip of coffee and then stared at him. She laced her fingers on the table in front of her as she watched him for a moment, eyes moving as he walked back and forth. “Aiden. I said it back at the Inn. It has to be me. Anyone other than me will validate what he’s been teaching. That the Ghost shifters can’t be trusted and want to control shifters everywhere. None of you can do it.”
“No. Just… no.” His insides rumbled as his beast asked to be released. Not now. If he left and shifted now he would stalk every single douche nozzle who wanted Paige to do this.
“What if he sees you and senses that the spell has been broken?” He stopped in front of Paige and stooped down to meet her gaze. “He will kill you. No questions asked.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Her voice was sharp and she twitched her head to the side like a mechanical little bird. “I know he doesn’t care whether I live or die. We’ve already established that. We already know that he is willing to kill anyone, including my parents and grandfather, to get what he wants. I’m nothing to him,” she said, voice wavering. “It has to be me.” Giving him a sad smile, she reached her hand up and caressed his face. “It’s going to be me, Aiden.”
He pressed his cheek into her soft palm and closed his eyes. She had the ability to calm him, but right now even her touch wasn’t enough. He tapped his finger along the leg of the chair just to give himself something else to focus on. He ran a frustrated hand through is short, dark hair and wanted to scream.
This couldn’t happen. She was probably thinking out of anger and he couldn’t let her go through with this.
Paige rubbed her thumb along his lips and pulled him from his thoughts. “I’ll tell him that someone is suspicious of me. He’ll tell me to come back. And I will kill him as soon as I see him. I can do this.” Chuckling, she said, “I’m not the same person I was two days ago. I’m stronger. I have you and Willow and Audra, and Zeke to thank for that. Thank you, all of you.”
Aiden pulled her chair out and twisted it around to settle his head in her lap, hoping that if he was enveloped in her scent he could calm down. She stroked his hair and back, assuring him that she would be okay. But that’s not what it felt like to him.
He looked up into her eyes and saw the world and the heavens, but when he cut his eyes over at Jax he grimaced and pointed a finger at him. “If anything happens to her, you won’t have to worry whether or not Ronin will be all right when he wakes up. I will level this fucking world to the ground to get to Samiyah. And then I will claw my way to Hell to take my place at Lucifer’s side and destroy everything I lay my eyes on.”
Aiden grabbed Paige by the hand and brought her to standing, taking her with him as he left his brothers and sisters to plan out the fine details of putting his mate’s life in danger. They passed Simon’s chair on the way out.
He’d been quiet all morning, watching Paige to the point that it made Aiden want to rip his eyeballs out. “This is a stupid idea,” Simon said through a mouthful of pancakes.
It stopped Aiden short. Of all the ones to side with him, he’d never imagined it would be Simon. He hated everyone and wished extreme discomfort on them all of them at least twice a week, and was constantly egging Cass on so she would hurt him. It was like he took some sick satisfaction in making her, or anyone else up for the challenge, make him suffer.
Simon shook his head and stabbed his fork into his mountain of hash browns. “What better are we to ask her to do this? For years her life has been taken for granted, and now we’re doing the same thing. Asking her to walk into the lair of a powerful fucking witch to kill him. What the fuck, Jax?”
“No one asked me to do this, Simon,” Paige said, ghosting him with a small smile.” I’m doing it because I want to. Because I need to. From what I hear, you stand by Cass in her wish to go after the man that killed her.”
Simon chuckled a humorless sound and toyed with his glass of orange juice. “Because he’s just a fucking shifter and not one of the most powerful archangels in existence. Fallen or not, he still is who he has always been. We all know how fucking ruthless and righteous he is, and that is a dangerous combination. Why can’t we just let this die down?”
Even though Aiden wanted to believe in everything Simon was saying, he knew that this wouldn’t die out. It never would. Not until they did something about it. But not Paige. Not her.
Tension radiated from Paige and Aiden tried to pull her to him, but she shook him off and stalked toward Simon as if she were going to hit him. “This isn’t go
ing to die down. I was there when Louis came in and told everyone that he’d stopped the Ghost shifter Triad from forming because he killed their mate. Samiyah was freaking thrilled. Thrilled! I hadn’t seen him that happy in years. Deep inside I felt sick, but the feeling disappeared almost as soon as it came because I only did and felt what Samiyah wanted me to. I was there when he ordered the capture of Audra and her mate. He didn’t know who Zeke was, but all he wanted was for her mate to be executed on the spot and Audra to be shot full of Heaven’s Flame. She was a test subject. He wanted to know how much it would take to kill her.”
She moved away from Simon and walked toward the door, but the moment another thought came to her, her entire body shook as if she’d been electrocuted.
With an accusing stare that shined like the bright lights above them, she pointed at Simon. “And you know what else? When he put that spell on me eighteen fucking years ago I remember him telling me that the sacrifice of me and my parents was for the greater good. The greater. Good! And that he wouldn’t allow me to be the whore of a Ghost shifter. I begged him not to do it and he told me it was a kindness and that I should be grateful. I remember everything! So don’t you tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. I’ve had enough of everyone telling me what’s right for me. I. Will. Kill him.”
Aiden drew in a sharp breath, the sensation of someone punching him in the gut bringing him to a halt midstride. Fuck. He was one of them. He’d been trying to control her. It didn’t seem like that at first. He thought it was just his protective instincts that pushed him to keep her safe. It mostly was, but it was also the tinge of fear that he couldn’t control the outcome of her life. If it was up to him, he would put her in a protective bubble and guard her with his life. But that’s not what she needed.
“Paige,” Aiden whispered, and when she whirled around he was there to grab her by the shoulders. The hostility that drained from her at his touch was visible in the way her body lost some of its stiffness. Her shoulders relaxed and her eyes quieted down into the hazel he loved so much. He let out a trembling breath as he put his forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry. You’re right. I wanted to make you do what I thought was best.”
She puffed out her cheeks and closed her eyes. “You didn’t mean to. You just want me to be okay. And I get that.”
“Don’t make excuses for me.”
As Paige wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close the sound of a doorbell sounded through the hall.
The cutest confused look appeared on her face as she opened one eye and pursed her full lips. “Was that a doorbell?” She looked to the door of the hall and then back at him. “No one’s at the door.”
Aiden huffed out a laugh and kissed her nose. “It’s a spell. When anyone who isn’t one of us comes onto our property a doorbell rings to alert us.”
“Paige,” Simon said, eating a whole piece of scrapple. “Sorry I tried to be like that twatwaffle of a douche bag Samiyah and tell you what to do. Just don’t die.” His voice was level and almost joyful.
Aiden looked at Damon, complete and utter bewilderment etched across his face. Even Cass was looking at Simon like he was out of his fucking mind. Well, he kind of was. He’d apologized with sincerity and made a sweet gesture in not wanting Paige to die.
“Screw you all,” Simon uttered as he reached for the plate of French toast.
Welcome back, Simon.
Chapter 11
Simon cared about her well-being. Wow. Paige was speechless. Everyone said he was horrible, and the way he glared at her all through breakfast had almost confirmed it. But he actually cared.
The thought made Paige smile, but also brought on a bit of unease. She was going to die. Simon was epically mean to everyone but her. It must be some final act of mercy from God to have Simon defend her, apologized to her, and then tell her that he didn’t want to die. Most of the people in the room were still stunned.
“Is that Melin?” Audra asked, standing up from her spot next to Zeke. “And she has flowers. She is so nice.”
Melinda had driven straight to the community hall as if she’d known the Ghosts morning schedule, and when she got out of her car she held a huge bouquet of Orange Snapdragons and Baby’s Breath. They were beautiful. Paige had a patch of Snapdragons growing in her own garden back home. She crinkled her eyes at the thought of her garden and made a mental note to start one here. Spring was almost here and the time to start a garden was upon her.
Melinda’s bright blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she neared the door, and Audra was up and out of her chair holding the door open for the full-figured brunette.
She kissed Audra on the cheek and said hello to everyone. “I told the young man who works at the New Rose Inn to let me know if anyone came and asked for you—” she said, nodding in Paige’s direction, “—just like Audra asked me to. He left a message for me at the diner last night that these had been left for your room.”
Could they be from her garden? Paige started walking toward Melinda, but Willow was out of the recliner and in front of her within seconds.
“Don’t touch those,” Willow said, reaching for the flowers before Paige could grab them. “There’s some kind of spell attached to them. It’s giving off your aura as if they are a part of you. Like you cared for them.” She gave Paige a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and started looking through the bouquet. After a minute or so of checking every flower, she pulled out a card and showed it to Paige. “I’m sorry, Paige.”
Tightness clutched in Paige’s chest. She took a step back and stepped on Aiden’s foot. Even before she read the card, Paige didn’t have to ask who the flowers were from. She knew.
“What do you mean they’re a part of me?” Heat pooled behind her eyes as she looked at Willow. “I think— I know they are from my garden. He poisoned my flowers? Is Melinda okay?”
Eyes wide as saucers, Melinda looked down at her hand and then back up to Willow. “I feel fine.”
Aiden took the card from Willow’s hand and read it. “Son of a bitch!”
Disgust and fear wound through Paige’s insides, and her stomach ached like she’d swallowed a dozen ice cubes. “What kind of spell is it?” she asked, reading the card a second time before Aiden balled it up in his fist.
Willow sniffed the flowers and then pulled away as if the smell was an affront to her senses. “It’s called a Touch of Death. Samiyah had to have used something of yours from your house. A brush or a comb to get a hair sample. A Band-Aid that had your blood on it. And these flowers are something you care about, yeah? You put time and effort and love into them?”
Paige nodded and took another step away from the flowers.
Willow took a deep breath and swallowed hard. Her face paled and sorrow filled her eyes as she looked at Paige. “It would have killed you. Painfully. You would have been dead by the cusp of sundown and nightfall. If I or Zeke weren’t here none of you would have probably even associated her sickness with the flowers.” She looked down at the Snapdragons again and then walked toward the back of the building. “I’ll salt and burn these at midnight. Don’t touch anything that isn’t yours,” she said over her shoulder.
There were no doubts left. He was trying to kill her. He felt nothing for her, nothing at all. The pain that had almost taken her under when she first found out what Samiyah had done came barreling back to her. Some part of her still wanted to believe that he loved her, even if it was just a little bit. How could he not? He’d been around since she was born and had raised her, watched her grow, for the last eighteen years. Shouldn’t he feel something for her?
Paige scolded herself as she blinked and two large tears trickled down her cheeks. She was an idiot for still caring, for still allowing that murderers actions to affect her. “Why does it still hurt?” she said, talking to no one and everyone. “Shouldn’t I know better by now? I should, right? He’d probably kill to watch me die from this. He likes to watch his spells take effect.”
Aiden pulled h
er close and rested his chin on top of her head. His protective warmth enveloped her, and it made her cry even more. Damn-it, why was she still crying? She bit her lip to feel the sharp sting, trying like hell to hold in the tears. She was weak, and Samiyah knew it. He would always find ways to make her feel lower than dirt. Hell, she didn’t even mean that much to him.
A chair scratched across the hardwood floor as Cass got up and walked to her. Paige felt like a ninny as Cass and Aiden held her.
“Well,” Paige said as she awkwardly threw her hands in the air. They were holding on way too tight. “I guess the plan of me sneaking in and shooting him in the face is out.” She huffed out a laugh against Aiden’s chest.
“I’m good with that.” Cass pulled away and looked into Paige’s eyes. “It was a horrible plan. The only reason I was going along with it is that you wanted it so badly, and I understand the need for revenge. We’ll figure something else out.”
Aiden lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “Don’t be mad at me, but I am thanking all things holy that the plan won’t work now.”
Mad at him? It wasn’t his fault. None of it was. If anything, he was the one who was keeping her grounded. He was strong and would keep her strong. She knew that and only hoped that one day when it was her time to be his shelter, she could handle the storm.
Cass gave her another hug. “What did the note say?”
Paige frowned and she felt ill. “That I betrayed him, and that he knew the moment the spell was broken.” She left out the part where Samiyah said it would have been better if she would have died so he could have laid the flowers on her grave. They didn’t need to know that.
Just as she was about to sit back down in her chair to finish breakfast, the familiar ring of Samiyah’s ringtone sounded off in her pocket.
She looked up at Aiden and shrugged. “He doesn’t know I haven’t touched the flowers yet.” Maybe, just maybe she could still get to him without him looking over his shoulder for her.