by Isa Fae
Miranda turned and slowly walked over to the sofa and sat down. Her expression blank and her complexion growing pale. “Why did you lie to me?” Her hands shook as she placed them on her thighs.
He halted in his tracks and faced her. “I never lied to you, Miranda. I kept it from you. There’s a difference.” To him there was a difference. A huge one. “And I did it because I wasn’t sure or not if I was ready to let you go.” His words were strained as he fought to contain his composure in front of her, but the walls around him were crumbling down piece by piece and he had no idea how to stop it. Eric Winters was suffering in something he had never suffered from before. Guilt. “And now I’m sure as fuck I’m not letting you go.” This he was sure of.
She shook her head from side to side. “So, that’s what I was? A choice?”
“No!” He brought his thumb and index finger up, pinching the bridge of his nose. The tension in his head made it hard for him to think. He never wanted her to know he had to think about keeping her. That she was a decision. He was a different person then. He’d never felt anything for anyone. The feelings he had for her were foreign to him, and he had no idea at the time what to do with them. Everything he was saying was spiraling out of control. And he didn’t know how to get that control back. “I’m sorry, Miranda.” He had nothing else he could say that could turn this around. In the end, yes, she was a choice. A choice between living and dying. A choice between giving up everything in his life or keeping it. And he chose her. He fucking chose her. Wasn’t that all that mattered? “I was confused. But I know now, my choice has always been you. I’m not giving you back.”
“What about me, Eric?” She lifted her moisture filled eyes to him as her body continued to shake. “Do I not have a choice? Do I not have a say in what happens to me or my life?”
Eric drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want to give you that choice.” And he didn’t, because he knew what she would decide.
“Did you honestly think Mason would stop looking for me?” Her jaw tightened as another wave of moisture came over her. “Because I can tell you, he won’t. The Lord won’t let me go, Eric. My fate was set the night I went up against him. The night I murdered Huffington and fled into the forest. The night you were called to hunt me down. There’s no reversing this or forgetting about it. If Mason wants me, he will get me. And I can’t let you get hurt in the process.” She swallowed hard, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I won’t let you die for me.”
In two strides Eric was in front of her, kneeling down and taking her face in his hands. “This is my decision, Miranda.” He locked his eyes on hers, willing her to see the future they could have together. “I can persuade them to go away. Tell the hunters I lost your trail and was stranded in the cabin during the storm. I can take you my house. You can stay there and I’ll keep you safe. Just say the word, Miranda.”
“I’m sorry, Eric.” Her bottom lip trembled. “But you have to give me back. It’s the only way for me to keep you safe. If I’m still missing, Mason will hunt me down. You found me and so will he. I don’t want you a part of that.”
His jaw tensed. The pressure building and building inside of him. “I’m already a part of this. It’s too late for me to turn back.” He wished she wasn’t so stubborn. That she would just give in. But her fire had been unleashed and there was no way to extinguish it.
Miranda pushed him away and stood up, making her way to the door. “Then I’ll have to turn it around for you.”
“No!” He shot up from the floor and grabbed her, taking her in his arms and holding her tightly. One hand on her back and the other behind her head. Before she could protest, his lips crashed into hers. Her body melted into his as all their emotions crashed together, her hands grasping a hold of his shirt and pulling him even closer.
He kissed her deeply, devouring her mouth, willing and needing this to go away. Miranda kissed him just as passionately as if this were her way of telling him goodbye. But this wasn’t a goodbye for him. He’d never let her go. Ever. Miranda Sage was a part of him now. And for some reason, he knew she had been since the first night he walked into the cabin.
The Lord wouldn’t take her away. And neither would Matryx or the other hunters, because they couldn’t. Miranda owned him entirely, completely. Just as he owned her.
Eric pulled away from the kiss, gasping for air, knowing exactly what he had to do, regardless of whether she liked it or not. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded as she trembled in his arms.
“Then stay here and wait for me.” Eric stepped away from her and turned around, making his way to the sofa to dig his phone out of the cushion. He shoved it in his pocket and went to the door, stepping into his black boots and grabbing his bag, tossing it over his shoulder.
“Eric, no! Please,” she cried out behind him, sending his heart plunging into his stomach.
As he placed his hand on the door, this was the worst thing he ever had to do. But he knew she wouldn’t risk being seen in front of the hunters with him. That would be his death sentence since the Lord didn’t take kindly to betrayal, and neither did the hunters. “Stay here, Miranda.” Those were his final words as he opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him.
32
Miranda
A wall of tears shrouded her vision as her body quaked. And even though her legs were weak and unstable, she made it to the door. She wanted to rush out and run to him, tell him not to do this, but she couldn’t. If any of the hunters saw her with him, they’d punish him for betraying them.
With unsteady hands, she opened the door just a crack, enough so she could peek out. Eric stood in the middle of seven snowmobiles occupied by figures she couldn’t make out. One got off and rushed over to him. A female. She embraced him and planted a kiss on his cheek while he wrapped his own arms around her.
Miranda tightened her jaw, the tears being pushed away from the heat building inside her. “Fucking asshole,” she growled, watching as Eric released the woman and mounted the snowmobile behind her.
Her heart shattered into a million pieces as she shut the door. Jealousy rushing over her like a tidal wave. Miranda glared around the room seeing nothing but red. Eric Winters had played her. But she still couldn’t figure out why he let her go. Did he feel sorry for her? Or was it because it would look bad to this woman knowing he’d spent all this time with Miranda.
Clearly he had feelings for the woman. Their embrace and her kiss gave everything away. Rushing over to the mantle, she swiped her arm, knocking all the candles to the floor as she screamed. While she could easily contain her temper before Eric showed up, she could no longer do so. The emotions she felt had full control over her.
“I told him my secrets,” she screamed. “I trusted him with everything! Lying, deceiving Fae!”
Then, everything hit her like a bomb. Her magic, her emotions, everything came pouring out of her and she fell to her knees on the floor, unable to control any of it. The rush of energy shook the cabin, sounds of glass shattering from the kitchen and things falling in every room, echoed back at her. Then as fast as the wave hit her, it released her, and she fell to the floor.
She blinked a couple of times, the room becoming blurry and distorted, until she finally gave in to the exhaustion pulling her under.
***
Miranda slowly dragged herself up from the floor. She had no idea how long she had been lying there. It could have been days. She didn’t know. But she had to get herself together. She was free again, although she didn’t feel free. She felt trapped by the emotions deep inside of her. Everything Eric had said to her. Everything they did. Could all of that been a lie? No. It couldn’t have.
Now that she had settled a bit, she heard Eric’s parting words. How he asked her if she trusted him. But she really wasn’t sure. He’d kept the ending of the storm from her, and she clearly saw him embracing that other woman. She had no idea if all of that could have been for her. Regardless, she had to let him and her feel
ings go. Now that she was able to roam, she had to get to Ronan and the others. She wasn’t sure where she’d take them once and if she were able to rescue them, but none of that mattered. She had to get them away from Mason.
Glancing over at the door, Miranda realized Eric had left his coat and his snow boots. She never actually promised him she would stay here. He just expected her to. But there was no way in hell she could do that. She had to get back to the Manchester mansion. If she gathered enough witches and Fae, she’d be able to bring them back here. There would be enough magic to create a protection barrier around the cabin and keep them hidden. Since this was the only plan Miranda could come up with, she decided to go with it. But first, she needed to go into the village for some supplies. She’d need a disguise if she was to go back to Mason’s. Everyone there, including the guards knew who she was and that there was a price on her head.
Miranda walked over to the outerwear Eric had left behind. She slipped on the boots, which were huge, but she really didn’t have a choice whether or not to wear them if she were to go out in the snow. When she put on the coat, her small frame seemed to get lost. She rolled up the sleeves the best she could and tugged up the zipper. She sighed and looked down at herself. “This seriously sucks.” Her first agenda when she made it to the village would be to get some new clothes. Lucky for her, her magic had fully recharged.
Miranda opened the door and stepped out into the snow. She was warm but the bulkiness of Eric’s clothes made it a little more difficult than before to maneuver through the deep drifts.
Pulling up the hood of the coat over the top of her head, she slowly followed the tracks left by the hunter’s snowmobiles. If magic had the ability to transport her to where she would want to go, she wouldn’t have had to waste the time and energy walking. Unfortunately, those things only happened in the books and on TV.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the Manchester mansion loomed in the distance. But instead of retracing her tracks up to Mason’s house, she’d have to keep to the forest and go around it. She couldn’t chance getting caught by one of his guards.
The thoughts of Eric, Ronan, and the other witches and Fae kept her going even though her legs and feet wanted to give into her exhaustion. She finally stepped out of the forest, relieved to discover she was on the main road, a bus stop across the street. Miranda didn’t think she could go another step. It took everything she had to cross the road.
When she reached the bus stop, she sat down on the narrow bench and pulled her hood higher up, attempting to shield her identity from the few people gathering around.
The bus arrived and she stood, letting everyone else in front of her. She walked up the steps and held out her arm, letting the driver scan her bracelet for the fare. Not wanting to draw attention, she took the first seat and directed her gaze out the window as the bus began moving down the street.
She wondered where Eric was and what he was doing. Miranda thought he was probably with that girl still. Since this thought caused the heat to rise again, she quickly pushed it away, along with him. Thinking about him would only distract her from what she had to do. And she couldn’t have that. There was too much on the line. For now, Eric Winters would be a distant memory. Nothing more and nothing less.
33
Eric
“I still can’t believe you lost her trail.” Matryx sat next to him in front of the bar, her hands around the small glass of whiskey sour. “Eric, you’ve never failed a mission.”
He picked up his glass of beer and took a drink. Then he set it down. “I guess there’s a first for everything.” First time being trapped in a cabin in the middle of the forest. First time falling in love, with a witch no less. And first time going against everything he had always believed in. Yeah, Eric had a lot of firsts. Thanks to Miranda Sage. He thought the alcohol could numb his pain, but it only seemed to make it worse.
He’d left her. And when he did, she was begging for him not to go. Yet, he left her anyway. He was an asshole. But what other choice did he have? None that he could think of. She’d almost revealed herself to them. And he would have lost her without a chance at getting her back. At least, with him leaving, he knew where she was. Knew she was safe. But none of that made him feel any better. Lord, he hated himself for leaving her.
Matryx spun around on her stool, using the lower bar on his to prop her feet up. She was too close to him. Way too close. “Well, regardless, I’m happy you’re okay.” Her smile beamed at him as she placed a hand on his arm. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when your cell signal came out of nowhere.”
He took another drink, resisting the urge to shove her hand away from him. At one time in his life he may have taken advantage of her touch. Making the brunette Fae another addition to the women he’d had and then thrown away. She was tall and lean. Not too bad looking. But she, nor any others, would ever compare to Miranda. Visions of the multiple expressions on her face as he thrusted into her popped in his mind. Her soft moans. The way she kissed him with her lips. Her touch. The feel of her skin. Fuck, he couldn’t get her out of his head. And even the bitter taste of beer couldn’t take her sweetness from his lips.
“Are you even listening to me?” Matryx’s voice snapped him out of his fantasy and back to the bar. “I said, the Lord wants to have his meeting with you Friday night. Which means, we have some free time.”
“Friday night?” He ignored the last part of her conversation. “I’m surprised he didn’t want to see me today.” And it did surprise him. The Lord thought he had lost his prized possession. That he was unable to track her down. Eric would think he’d want to punish him right away for losing Miranda.
“Well, I sort of persuaded him to wait until Friday night. He has some sort of masquerade ball he’s putting on. You know, for the big wigs. He’s hired a few hunters for security. You being one of them.” She rubbed her hand back and forth on his arm. “I figured you needed a little time after being stuck in that dreadful place for so long. So, he’s going to meet with you during the ball.”
Dreadful. He wanted to laugh at her word, but he held it in. If only she knew.
“Besides,” she continued her rambling. “I thought maybe we could spend your three free nights together.” Her words had a lot of confidence. But, of course, they would have. People were well aware of the old Eric Winters, how he rarely passed up a good piece of ass. But now, all he wanted was Miranda.
Eric pushed his empty beer glass over the counter and stood up, causing Matryx’s arm to fall away from him. “Sorry, but I have to pass on your invitation. I’d like to spend that time alone.”
As he started to walk away, Matryx grabbed his arm, causing him to turn around and glare at her. “Eric, what’s wrong with you? You’re different. Is it me?”
Yes, it was her. And he was trying like hell to keep his new self hidden, but it was harder than he thought. “I’ve spent weeks in a shack away from everyone, Matryx. It gave me time to think about myself and my life. Put yourself in my position. How would you feel?”
“I would be ecstatic to be back with the people I know, that’s how. But you don’t seem to be. You seem distant, like you’re somewhere else.”
Eric didn’t want to talk anymore. He felt trapped inside the walls of this bar with her. He needed to get out. Now. “I’ll see you Friday night.”
Her jaw tensed and he could clearly see the anger flaring in the depths of her brown eyes. And he honestly could care less. Eric Winters never sugar coated anything. Ever. That part of him hadn’t changed. And it never would.
He turned and walked out of bar, feeling her eyes stabbing him in his back. While he was sure he probably made a mistake, not about refusing to sleep with her, but about how he handled the situation, he flat out didn’t care. He had a lot of thinking to do. And it would all revolve around Miranda. He had to get back to her and get her out of that cabin. But first, he needed to think about where they would go. Where it would be safe for her. And he only had three days to do
it, before his meeting with the Lord.
Walking down the sidewalk, he weaved in and out of people, heading for his house. If anything, he needed a shower and a change of clothes before he made any plans. Eric thought hiding her in his house would be the best option, only if she would have agreed to it. The woman was so fucking stubborn it infuriated him.
As he continued down the street, he looked straight ahead. He was only a few more blocks from his house. Fae and witches were scattered all around, all of them more than likely traveling home from work. In the distance, a bus pulled over on the side of the road, passengers getting off and blending in with the crowd.
Eric stopped in the middle of a hoard of people, causing them to cuss and murmur words to him he normally wouldn’t tolerate. But he was too focused on one of the figures.
She pulled her hood up and then zipped up the front of the big bulky coat. When she got off the last step, she turned left and hurried down the sidewalk. He could feel the intense energy of her. The coat. The boots. “No, fucking way.” The words slipped from his mouth effortlessly. And it took a few minutes for him to realize she too blended in with the crowd.
Once it clicked, he took off down the sidewalk, pushing people out of the way, desperate to get to her, following the impression her magic left. He couldn’t believe she would be so careless as to come into the village. He turned a corner and there was not a soul down the next street.
Eric squinted, looking all around. Nobody. He shook his head. What the fuck?
Could he be hallucinating? Could he be seeing and feeling things that weren’t there. That weren’t real? He’d lost his heart and his soul. Now, Eric Winters had also lost his mind.