The Willow

by Stacey Kennedy

  My eyes snapped open just as Finn said, “So, this is your definition of training, is it Kyden?”

  “Beats a punch to the face,” he answered, finishing up with a little nibble on my neck before he laid back.

  “I—I—” Haven stammered.

  “Lost for words, Haven?” I laughed loudly. “That’s a first.”

  She glared at Kyden, but Finn knocked her arm. She huffed loudly. “Come on, we’re already late.”

  * * * *

  To say the least, the Witches Meadow stunned me. The entire meadow was in full party mode and everyone looked two, if not three, sheets to the wind. It wasn’t the hundreds of guardians, vampires or witches that was shocking. Oh no, it was the wereanimals—weretigers, werewolfs, werecats. It was flippin’ unbelievable. “What’s this all about?” I asked Haven

  “It’s a full moon party,” she answered, glancing at the sky.

  Following her gaze, the moon was large and completely full, shining brightly in the night sky. I looked back at her. “A full moon party, what’s that?”

  “We always celebrate the moon when it’s full. It’s mainly for the witches and weres, but the vamps always join in on the fun too.”

  “And the reason being?”

  “When your magic comes in you’ll understand it better.” She shrugged. “It just rejuvenates us, but really it’s just a really good excuse to throw one hell of a party.”

  She was sure as shit right about that—this was one hell of a bash. When I glanced back out the crowd, I jumped three feet off the ground and shimmied my way closer to Kyden staying free and clear from the large lion sitting next to a witch.

  Kyden chuckled deeply. “Scared of the lion, are you?”

  “Damn right I am!” Sure, there was a person that lived in there. But who the hell cared, it’s a lion for frigs sakes.

  “Give him a little scratch behind the ears and he’ll love you forever.” Then, he proceeded to do just that.

  My hands stayed right where they were, glued around Kyden’s arm. As we pushed through the thick of the crowd, Trefan was surrounded by young witches giggling around him. Obviously, he was a favorite of the younger crowd and I could see why—he was a cutie!

  Haven grabbed his arm and pulled him away. “Act your age for once, will you? Gosh, what are they, sixteen years old?”

  “What fun would I have if I did that?” Trefan responded, smugly.

  Trefan was probably acting more his age than half of the supes here. At least he wasn’t groping any of them.

  “Please tell me no one gets naked.” I said to Kyden.

  “Can’t make any promises there.” He reached his hand out. “Come dance with me, Álainn.”

  Haven grumbled something incoherent and stepped toward me. Finn immediately interjected, pulling her in the other direction.

  Part of me was beginning to wonder if she had a split personality disorder, or maybe it was bi-polar? She was up and down and flipped over backwards constantly.

  Kyden led me into the center of the crowd and kissed me as if no one was around. The world went quiet. All I knew was the way his strong hands caressed my back and the way his mouth eagerly met mine.

  When the heat between us sizzled through the air, he drew away. His gaze locked with mine as he began dancing slowly with a sexy smile on his face. I reached up and ran my hands along his strong arms—humming over each curve of his glorious muscles. He grasped my hips firmly, pulling me closer toward him and leaned down to curve around my body. He continued to glide his hands along my back and I gingerly explored my way to his ass where I teasingly grazed over each tight cheek.

  He arched his brow. “You prepared to finish what you’re starting?”

  “I am,” I purred, leaning up to lick his bottom lip lightly. It was about time I took control of this. Now that my virginity was out of the bag, Kyden was likely to proceed at a very slow rate.

  I wanted this—wanted him.

  The second I touched his mouth, a deep growl rose from his chest and his pupils dilated to such a degree that the light green was almost gone. He dove forward and took my mouth fiercely. I sank into him, met his intensity with a force of my own. He wasn’t the only one who could play rough.

  It wasn’t long before my legs began to wobble beneath me, the need to get him naked consumed me. The necessity was driving him just as strong. He grabbed my shoulders firmly and pushed back.

  We stopped dancing and just stared at each other, fighting for an ounce of control. My virginity was about to become extinct—that was undeniable.

  “Thirsty?” he asked, sounding a bit strangled.

  I nodded slowly. “Something cold might do us both some good.” I wasn’t kidding, either. If he didn’t put some distance between us, I was about to do something very inappropriate in the Witches Meadow.

  He cupped my face and brushed a thumb across my lips before taking my lips deep enough to leave me breathless. He groaned and released my mouth. “Stay here.”

  Watching him walk away, I chuckled. He looked so stiff. Poor guy!

  Suddenly, there was a poke on my shoulder. “We haven’t had the chance to meet. I’m Zennah.”

  I spun around and the witch before me dazzled. Her long brown hair, small nose, delicate lips and bright brown eyes, all but sparkled. There was something about her though, an edge of some sort. She didn’t look friendly.

  “No, we haven’t. I’m Nexi.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “So, you’re with Kyden are you?”

  This witch did bitch really well. The question was why was she doing it to me? “What’s it to you?” I snapped.

  She raised her brows at my aggression, but came back with equal force. “Let me give you a piece of advice. Stay the hell away from him.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Instantly, she stepped back. Her tone softened. “Listen, I’m just trying to save you a big heartbreak.”

  “Oh really? What kind of heartbreak?”

  “The one where he gets you in his bed then tosses you aside.”

  “And you know this from person experience?” I asked and immediately regretted it. Sometimes knowing things isn’t always better. Who Kyden slept with before me wasn’t on my need to know list.

  “Sorry to say it, but yeah, I was his last conquest.”

  She wasn’t lying. It was obvious she was doing this to spite Kyden. The vindictiveness was cold on her face. Nonetheless, this was something I had to get to the bottom of.

  “Come with me,” I demanded and grabbed her by the arm.

  I scanned the crowd searching for Haven. Kyden could’ve answered this himself, but I wasn’t quite sure he’d be truthful and Haven would.

  A moment later, I found her dancing with Finn.

  Finn saw me approach and squinted his eyes, staring intently. When it dawned on him who I was dragging behind me, his eyes widened, his mouth formed the words, “Oh shit.”

  So there was truth to this.

  Finn spun Haven around just as I reached her. She was smiling, but when she saw Zennah, her lips twisted to a frown.

  “Is what she says about Kyden true?” I growled.

  Finn glared at Zennah. “What did you say?” His words never threatened her, but his tone certainly did.

  She gave a snotty shrug. “I told her the truth. She should hear it before he uses her too.”

  Dropping Zennah’s arm, I grabbed onto Haven, pulling her away from the crowd. There was no way in hell I was going to discuss this with everyone around—especially Zennah. She’d probably get a kick out of it.

  Haven ran behind me, gasping. “Ouch. Ouch.”

  I was being rough—I didn’t care. I was pissed. Once we were free from the others, I turned and glared at her. “Is this true, Haven?”

  She nodded with a quick worried edge. “Yes. He is a bit of a heartbreaker.”

  All the tension, all the mood swings, the anger, the hostility—i
nstantly explained.

  Anger raged through me. The problem was I had no idea who to be angry at—Kyden, Haven or myself. “Why would you not tell me this?”

  “Finn told me not to. He didn’t want me to get involved. Are you mad at me?”

  I huffed—furious. I cared for him now and it could have been prevented if I’d known the truth.

  Kyden suddenly appeared beside Finn, looking to Zennah, then to me. He saw my expression and stepped forward.

  I stopped him with my hand, wanting nothing to do with him. Not a damn thing!

  He looked at Zennah angrily and snapped out a few choice words. Judging by her snarl, whatever he said to her wasn’t nice.

  Another asshole, Nexi. Bravo!

  This had become a bad habit of mine. My heart had been broken before from the likes of womanizers. The mistake wasn’t going to be repeated. I spun around and ran as fast as I could.

  Kyden called out behind me and stayed right on my heels. But not until the voices got quiet and the garden surrounded me did I spin around to face him.

  He approached me cautiously.

  “You—you—” I took a deep breath. “Fucking fuck!”

  He arched a brow. “Done?”

  I wanted to say more, but I was too angry. Dammit! At the moment, my brain refused to work. Twenty minutes from now, I’d have a thousand things to say, but right now my mind was completely blank.

  “Now then, tell me what she said?” he said calmly.

  “That you slept with her then broke it off.”

  He nodded bleakly. “Sounds about right.”

  “You admit it?” I gasped. Truthfully, I hadn’t expected him to own up to it.

  “I do. I cared nothing for her or the rest of them for that matter.”

  Christ! He was a cold-hearted bastard. I glared at him. “I’m not going to be one of them. You do know that, don’t you?”

  “One of them?” Confusion swept across his face. “What are you…?”

  I never let him finish. “You know—your fuck of the week.”

  His brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

  Spinning away, I attempted to get the heck out of there, but he grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to face him. “Let go,” I shouted, trying to struggle free.

  “I will not!” he said, holding onto my shoulders tight. “What’s this about?”

  “Let me make this real clear to you, Kyden. I will not be used by you. Not now, not ever!”

  “Use you?” He cocked his head. “And why do you think that I would do such a thing?”

  “Isn’t that what you do? How many have you taken to your bed only to throw them aside? You disgust me.”

  Anger flashed across his face. “What did you just say to me?” His grip tightened. His calm demeanor gone. “I’ve never used anyone. What they’ve given me they’ve offered freely. I cannot help that I felt nothing for them and didn’t pursue anything further.”

  I snorted. “So, that’s what you tell yourself.”

  He breathed deep, then his tone softened. “Nexi, what’s this about? That I’ve had other lovers—this bothers you?”

  “No, you idiot, what bothers me is your trying to make me one of them.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it! I’ve barely tried a damn thing with you.”

  I tore away from him. “Just leave me alone, Kyden.”

  He let me as he said quietly. “I care for you.”

  I let out a harsh, cold laugh. “Do you even know what that means?”

  He lunged forward, pulling me tight to his body. “I do now.”

  I planted my hands on his chest and pushed away. “Well I don’t care about you!”

  “You don’t care?” he repeated with an arched brow.

  “Not anymore.” I knew better than to get involved with a guy like Kyden. My heart had been stomped on, pissed upon, and thrown to the curb by too many guys like this.

  His look told me he knew better. “Well, even if I believed that, which I don’t, it doesn’t matter. I care for you and if you believe for one moment that I will let you walk away, you are clearly mistaken.”

  I scowled at him. “Watch me.”

  He lunged forward and pulled me tight against his body. “You are mine, Nexi Jones. Best you just accept that.”

  What was I some dog and he was pissing on his territory? I was so angry, my voice growled. “Kyden…go…”

  My words died away as his mouth captured mine. He wrapped his hands around my face and took me in a violent kiss, which was entirely possessive.

  This idiot just signed his own death wish. I raised my knee, swung it back, and hit him directly in the balls as hard as I could muster. He dropped instantly. The second he let go of my arms, I ran for the doors not wanting to be near him for another second.

  I should have known better, he was practically perfect. Gloria’s favorite saying echoed through my mind—“if it's too good to be true, it probably is”. A bit too late for the reminder, Mom.

  By the time I got home, I could sum up how I felt in a few simple words—miserable, pissed off, and well…miserable.

  There was a soft knock at the door. I tried to ignore it, but after hearing it again I knew it was Haven. Right now, I could use a big dose of her. “Come in,” I called out.

  She grimaced when she saw me. “You look like shit.”

  “Well that’s because I feel like shit.” Even I could hear the sadness in my voice, which only pissed me off more.

  Plopping down beside me, she wiggled a pink box in her hands. “Sweetpea, this is from Kyden.”

  I sighed deeply and laid my head back against the couch. “Take it back. I don’t want it.” He could take it and shove it where the sun didn’t shine.

  “Sorry, non-refundable. You’re supposed to wear it to training tomorrow.” She placed it on the table. “So, what did you do to him anyway? I’ve never seen him so pissed.”

  I snapped my head up. “What do you mean?”

  “He came back to the meadow ready to rip someone’s head off, but when there was no one there to kill, he took his anger out on a tree. Really, it was quite ridiculous. He was storming around punching things, yelling to himself, going on about this and that. Nothing made any sense. Every time Finn tried to say something, Kyden just glared at him. Finn didn’t know what to do.” She finally took a breath. “Once he calmed down, he left and came back with this.” She pointed to the box. “So, tell me what happened?”

  “Nothing, I ended it. You think I’m going to open myself up to a guy with that kind of history? Only an idiot would do that and I’m definitely not an idiot.”

  “Nexi, I was wrong, I think he ca—”

  I interrupted her. “Haven, please, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” My chin tingled and my throat tightened. I was on the verge of crying and he didn’t deserve those tears.

  “Okay, okay, sorry.” She sighed deeply and stood. “If you need me I’ll be at home.” She kissed my cheek quickly and headed for the door.

  “Haven,” I called out. She glanced over her shoulder. “Thanks for coming.” She hadn’t come here to give me the gift, she’d wanted to check up on me. I couldn’t lie to her about how I was feeling because she’d be feeling it too. She smiled softly and closed the door behind her. My eyes closed and my breath exhaled as I forced the tears back. Why did this always have to happen? Why did I always go for the guys who were just the wrong sort?

  Ten minutes later, I was still at a loss and sick of my little pity party. When I opened my eyes that damn box was right in my line of vision. Time passed as I stared at it, trying to decide if I should open the damn thing or not.

  As if I wasn’t going to. I grabbed box, slid the lid off and gasped loudly. This was definitely not what I expected.

  After reaching in, I lifted out my guardian gear. The design was very similar to Kyden’s, only a hell of a lot smaller. The kilt was barely going to cover my ass.

&n
bsp; Just as I was putting it down, something caught my eye. Sitting along the rim, resting just at the hip—and if I hadn’t been looking closely I wouldn’t have noticed it at all—was a tiny engraved willow tree. Seeing it there should’ve made me happy but it didn’t! It just made fighting the tears back that much harder. Kyden wasn’t capable of doing sweet things. Right?