“Beg pardon?”
“Shush, Emma,” Circe said in a gentle tone.
The Bat Lady frowned and shook her head. “Bat crazy.”
“What’s she talking about? What do you mean with the bats?” He knew about the bats that lived in the caverns. Everyone did. Couldn’t miss them on their nightly forays between April and October.
Crystal reached out and touched him for the second time. “You said you sensed her during the night.”
“You telling me she’s feeding with the bats?”
“More than just feeding. She’s living,” Circe said.
“Becoming,” the old woman said. “Bat crazy.”
His wolf growled loud enough to rattle the dishes piled next to the sink.
“Tanya, take Emma outside please.”
A young witch took the woman’s hand and led her out of the kitchen. “Come on, Emma dear. Let’s go see if the chickens have any new eggs for us.”
“Emma likes eggs.”
“I know.” The young woman gave a worried smile as she left.
Circe turned back to him. “Sometimes, rarely, a witch will join the bats. It’s an existence devoid of feeling. Of pain. All witches know the danger inherent in that shift.”
Devoid of feeling. Pain. Pain he’d caused her. Guilt shot through his chest. “How do we get her back?”
“We go tonight, and every night till we catch her,” Circe said.
“And we pray she’ll shift back.” The pity in Crystal's eyes was infuriating.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Besides the pain. His wolf paced in frustration.
“When you become bat, you lose yourself. The longer she stays in that form, the less likely she is to return. Emma out there, she lost her family in a fire and shifted. We couldn’t find her for weeks. Almost lost her.”
His panic must have showed.
“Emma was there a long time,” Crystal added hurriedly. “We should be able to find Arabella quickly.”
“Tell me what to do.”
Chapter 5
Dante paced outside the caverns in wolf form. He wanted his senses on high.
Over twenty members of the coven were present. Witches and Warlocks together.
In an unexpected twist, Circe had enlisted Hunter’s assistance. He was going to try and net Arabella.
It was dangerous. So much could go sideways with this plan, but they’d convinced him of the importance of getting her back quickly.
Right on schedule, the bats emerged.
The witches stood in sporadic clumps, eyes closed, faces turned to the sky. Talk about freak shows. The cloud of bats thickened over head. Thousands of the creatures blackened the night sky, the moon overhead giving off enough light to see clearly.
Hunter stood in human form, rifle ready, ten paces away.
Wasn’t another soul on earth he’d let point a weapon at Arabella, even if it was just a net.
“There!” Bat Lady stood, pointing overhead in a rapidly moving arc.
Yes. He sensed her energies. Odd. Erratic. Weak.
Hunter fired ahead of the bat’s trajectory.
A black net shot into the sky. It unfurled in a graceful arc and expanded into a large circular shape before descending to the ground.
They all ran to the net.
Arabella. His wolf didn’t have to scent her. He felt her.
Circe looked at him and he nodded.
One of the women knelt down next to the net and glanced at Bat Lady. She bent over and moved her palm across the dozen or so bats struggling. A smile spread over her face, showing a gap in her front teeth. “Here she is. Bat crazy.”
He wished she’d stop saying that.
Hunter moved swiftly and extracted all but the one bat.
A blanket was spread out and the small animal placed in the center.
The other witches were keeping her immobile.
Dante stood transfixed. It was Arabella, but her energies were random. Scattered.
One by one, the witches began to chant, their bodies swaying in sync with each other.
He crouched at the edge of the blanket, not wanting to shift from wolf form, and watched. Her energies were morphing.
The little creature exploded in a frenzy of wings and legs.
Fighting. Struggling.
The chanting increased in tempo and volume.
The energy in the area was off the charts. He wanted to run, but would never leave her side. He lowered his head and called to her. Arabella. He engulfed the bat in energy. At first there was nothing to anchor to, but slowly, gradually, he had her.
He felt it when it happened. Her mind returned to her energies. She recognized him. Wanted him. Then she shifted.
He was up in an instant, pacing around the legs of those surrounding her. Tangled knots of hair fell across her face, her clothes were in disarray, torn and ripped. Her chest heaved as she breathed in.
Circe knelt at her side. “Arabella, you’re home.”
Focus came into those green eyes.
Dante thought she would speak, but instead a scream filled with pain and anguish ripped from her body.
“Noooo!” She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head over and over. “No, no, no.”
“Bat crazy.”
Dante growled at the woman. He was too close to the edge. He wanted to tear her throat out.
“I can’t do it,” Arabella cried.
He could stand it no longer. He crept closer until his body lay next to hers. She rolled to her side and wrapped herself around him. Wolf and man alike breathed her in.
She held him impossibly tight. Her energies embraced his in a hold of ecstasy. Both her fists were wrapped in his fur, and she buried her face in his shoulder. He’d never been so joyous, nor so terrified, as he was at this moment.
“What, little one?” Circe asked, stroking her black, tangled hair. “What can’t you do?”
“Don’t make me.”
“Arabella! Remember who you are.” Circe’s voice was a command, heavily laden with magic.
Dante growled at the woman over his shoulder.
“Easy, wolf,” the High Priestess said.
It worked. Arabella turned and gazed into Circe’s eyes.
Circe pushed the hair from her face. “You have no choice but to be what you were meant to be. What can’t you do?”
She pulled her gaze from Circe’s and locked onto his. “I can’t live without him.”
Dante shifted and pulled her close. “You will never be without me again.”
Circe placed her hand on Arabella’s shoulder. “It is done. Your decision made. Embrace it.” Circe stood. “It’s going to take some time to recover from this. Being feral disrupts your energies. Don’t attempt anything for a few days, ok? No shifting. No magic if you can help it.”
She wasn’t wrong there. Anxiety rode Arabella like an animal, but the heat of Dante’s body was the tonic she needed. She simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was deeply ashamed for what she’d done, and shame wasn’t an emotion she was on intimate terms with.
“Come see me tomorrow,” Circe said. “Stay with her, wolf. She needs you more than either of you know.” The High Priestess disappeared, along with the rest of the coven.
“Bat crazy,” echoed through the night.
“Damn witch,” Dante said.
Arabella stayed curled in Dante’s arms. Surrendering to the pull of his energy, she let go and allowed herself to merge. He stabilized her.
This was home. They stayed that way for long moments until he finally roused her and pulled her to her feet. “You’re a mess, woman.”
They both laughed at the absurdity of the statement. Her head still rang with echoes of absence. Living on instinct and nothing more. “I don’t know how we do this, Dante.”
“We do it together, that’s how. Let’s get you home.”
Home. Everything had shifted. Changed. She’d deal with the shame of going feral. Learn from it. Turn it into a
source of power. But how she was going to deal with her coven was beyond her.
“Hey,” Dante lifted her chin. “We have a lot to talk about, but tonight you need rest. Stay with me. My bed. Our bed. You don’t have to say anything. All I want to do is hold you.”
It angered her that she was so close to tears. She understood intellectually. You didn’t come back from feral in an instant. But the weakness was infuriating.
He sensed her fragile state. “Want to ride the wolf home?”
It was a charming thought. “I need to walk.” She glanced at the steep steps leading up the bluff. “Maybe just up to the top?”
He shifted in a heartbeat. He was a massive beast and black as the night. He padded forward and nuzzled her cheek before dropping to the ground. She slid onto his back, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
A low rumble vibrated through him as he rose. She luxuriated in the feel of his thick coat. He was all muscle, and moved with a grace that awed her.
Her wolf. Not one single aspect of this had she seen coming. “Let’s go home.”
Arabella woke in a cocoon of warmth and bliss such as she’d never known. Dante’s arm draped over her side, and she was pressed against his back. She took a moment to evaluate her condition. Her energy was better, but nowhere near where it should be. Instead of the solid baseline hum, it was an erratic sparking thing.
Bats.
Shame washed over her as the memory of going feral returned.
No. She took a deep breath. Everything for a reason. Learn from it. Become stronger because of it.
“You okay?” Dante’s voice was rough with sleep.
She rolled toward him and cupped his face in her palm. “I will be.” Eventually. The future lay ahead, uncertain, daunting.
Dante took her hand and kissed each finger in turn. “Yeah, you will. We’re doing this together.”
There was no question of that now, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
He propped himself up on one elbow and splayed his hand across her stomach.
Ripples of pleasure radiated outward from his touch.
She put her hand over his and guided it upward.
A low growl she was becoming familiar with rumbled in his chest as he caressed her breasts.
“You know what I need.” She heard the desire in her voice. A burning drive that only this man, this shifter, this wolf, caused in her.
“I know, sugar.” In a fluid motion, she was on her back and Dante positioned above her, rubbing his erection over her heat.
Their kiss spanned time and space. It was now, then, never and always.
She wrapped her legs around him and brought him inside.
Moans escaped them both as he slid home.
They gave in to the pull of their bond. Every move he made building the exquisite tension inside.
“Arabella.” The desire and love in his voice, his energies, had tears forming in her eyes.
He kissed the wetness from each cheek. “I love you.”
The sob that wracked her was one of pure happiness. A bliss she’d never experienced. “I love you too.”
His rhythm picked up, and they came in an explosion of kisses, their hearts pounding in a duality of one.
“I know you’re okay. I can feel it.” Dante wiped her cheeks again. “Not sure I get the tears.”
Her laughter felt good. “I’m happy. My energy is a mess, but I’m incredibly happy.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Gonna love you till the day I die, woman.”
She ran her fingers through his hair, remembering the feel of the wolf’s coat. “Better not stop there. I don’t think one lifetime with you is going to be enough.”
God, that smile of his got her every time.
“So, Mr. Liekos, I find myself in bed and mated to a previously married man. Probably time you told me the story of you and Crystal.”
He propped himself up on one elbow. “It’s past time. Before I do, you should know that she’s the one that figured out what happened to you. Went straight to Circe. If she hadn’t been here…”
Now there was a horrific thought. Matching his pose on the opposite elbow, she faced him. “That’s a life debt.” Somehow being so indebted to Dante’s ex didn’t grate the way it should have.
“It’s not a complicated story, nor is it all that unusual. Twenty-five years ago, the wolves and witches were on the brink of war.”
“A marriage of alliance.”
“Yeah. She’s a decent woman, but we never had anything in common.”
“Did you ever…you know.” Sleep with her.
“Yes. In the beginning. We both tried to do our duty. To make it work for the sake of our people and, frankly, ourselves. It didn’t take long to realize it would never be. Although we were both angry, we stayed civil. Neither of us was to blame. We were young, too. I figure we did pretty well, all things considered.”
“When did you divorce?”
“Four years in. We did it quietly and simply never made it public. We’re discrete people by nature. It let us move on with our lives.” He kissed her forehead before pressing his own against hers. “I’ll never forgive myself for telling you to leave.”
“Don’t. Neither of us is to blame. I couldn’t face my reality. I was a coward and took the easy way out.”
“Never again, right?”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” She kissed him, savoring the morning stubble on his face.
The red and black stones of his ring caught her eye. “And what about this? I noticed Hunter has one as well.”
“Hunter is a story for another time. Suffice to say we were pack mates. These rings signify our alliance to the pack.”
“What are the stones?” On closer inspection, the black sparkled with tiny flecks.
“Ruby and Tourmaline. The yin yang is the duality of our shifter souls. The tourmaline signifies the stars of the universe and our place in it. The ruby our willingness to die protecting that which is ours.”
“But you shifted with it on.”
“It's part of us once we take the vows. Pack magic I guess.”
“It's beautiful.” There was so much to learn about her mate, but it was getting late. “I need to get moving. I have to see Circe, and we need to go see my parents.” Shame was such a bitch of an emotion. Intellectually, she knew better. The emotion would serve no purpose, only drain her energy farther. It didn’t stop the feeling coursing through her as she contemplated facing her coven. But she wasn’t alone. Never again alone.
“I’ll come with you to see Circe.”
“What about your work?”
“Crystal is on it. She’s really enjoying it, even went through your improvements. And was impressed.” He traced her lips with his finger.
She snatched it between her teeth in a teasing bite before sitting up and stretching. “I never would have guessed how this was going to play out.”
“Not in a million years, sugar.”
Circe was waiting for them as Dante pulled into the drive out front. She looked at him with approval. “I’m glad you came with her.”
She led them into the kitchen where a pot of tea and biscuits were waiting. McVitie’s from England.
“Your mother sent these over last night,” the High Priestess said. She motioned to a blue carafe next to the biscuits. “Your coffee is in there, Dante.”
“You knew I was coming.”
“Let’s just say I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t.”
“You spoke to my mother?” Arabella asked.
“I had to let her know when you went missing. When she asked the status between you two last night, I told her you were almost certainly mated.” She raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Well?”
“Yes.” Dante didn’t hesitate.
Arabella couldn’t help the smile that played on her lips and danced across her soul. Mated.
“Good,” Circe said.
Things wer
e aligning. It’s the way the universe worked when you followed your true path.
“Your mother would be here now,” Circe said, “but, as you can imagine, there’s a special council in session.”
Of course. They had to decide what to do about her and Dante. Worst case scenario, she’d be excommunicated. She fingered the blue ribbon on her right arm. Only a week ago, that would have been devastating. But no longer.
“She wants you to return to Edinburgh with Dante. She doesn’t know how things will play out with the coven, but said to remind you she is, first and foremost, your mother.”
Arabella squeezed her temples, fighting back tears of gratitude. This was a monumental event for the coven. Of all the witches to break their purebred lineage…
“I can’t use a portal. My energies are too erratic.”
“We figured as much.” Circe slid a white envelop across the counter to Arabella.
“What’s this?”
“Plane tickets. For you and Dante.”
“You want us to fly in tin cans filled with explosive liquid?” Arabella was truly appalled.
Circe laughed, a hauntingly beautiful sound. “It’s an airplane with fuel. And yes.”
“What’s the matter, sugar? Never flown before?”
“Not in a can.” She hated even the thought of it. “It’s going to take hours to get home.”
“I found the shortest route possible. You’ll leave from Cavern City tomorrow morning for a 12:30 p.m. flight out of Albuquerque. Then it’s an overnight out of O’Hare. Less than thirteen hours. You’ll be fine.”
“Thirteen hours? How do humans manage?” Arabella asked.
“Same way the rest of us non-flying, non-portal-spawning paranormals do.” Dante placed a hand at the back of her neck and played his thumb back and forth. “It will give us time to talk. Get to know each other.”
Yes, they’d certainly put the cart before the horse on this one. They left with Circe’s blessing, and a promise to visit upon their return.
“Tell your mother I’d be happy to pop over.”
Because it would take her all of twenty seconds to open a portal. “I will.”
This was dreadful, but Dante was right. They had a lifetime to catch up on, and if he was by her side, how bad could it be?
Magic, New Mexico: Tainted Magic (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6