“Ember!” she breathed. She cast a quick glance at Crystal and bit her lip.
Crystal frowned. She’d been in such a rush to get help that she’d forgotten about the interference Ember had run for her. She wanted to facepalm herself for being so stupid. Without looking at the blond, she started to ask, “Did you and Ember, um—”
Stephanie shook her head. “No. We didn’t.”
Crystal jerked her attention to Stephanie. “Oh my God! I didn’t want to know that.”
Stephanie’s eyes narrowed for a moment and then relaxed. “Then why’d you ask? And what gives? It’s okay for you and Beth to be close enough to wear each other’s underwear but I can’t have a friend like that?”
“Gross! We don’t do that,” Crystal protested.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot—you don’t wear underwear.”
Crystal gasped and sat stunned in Stephanie’s car. Stephanie let out a huff and threw her door open. She climbed out and stood there before bending down and looking at Crystal. “Well? Are you coming?”
Crystal jerked her attention back to the front window and saw Hank and Ember both walking towards them. Her eyes went to Hank’s and she saw how his bright eyes lit up when he looked at her. She felt the familiar butterflies in her belly and had to remember to breathe.
“Hey,” Stephanie said. “Remember me?”
“What? Oh—yeah, sorry. Yes, I’m coming.”
“Crys?”
Crystal turned her head to look at Stephanie before she opened the car door.
“I’m sorry.”
Crystal stiffened. “You’re sorry? About what?”
“About what I said. And being a bitch.”
“Oh my God! Steph, I’ve done a terrible thing to you—I deserve it!”
Stephanie shook her head. “No, I deserve it, not you. I was the one who was treating you like shit.”
Crystal sighed and then chuckled. “No doubt in my mind that the spell is real.”
Stephanie stared at her and then cracked a grin of her own. She nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But I’m glad.”
“You are? Why?”
“Without it how else would I have gotten to really get to know you?”
Hank tapped on Crystal’s window, distracting her. She turned and grinned up at him, her worries and troubles washed away by the promise of love and acceptance in his eyes. He opened her door for her and caught her when she climbed out and threw herself into his arms.
Hank felt strong and wonderful, just like always. The mix of leather and Hank filled her and made her shiver. She lost herself for a moment, content to be held by him. It lasted three beautiful, perfect seconds until Stephanie’s breath snorted through her nose.
“Hey Steph,” Ember called out. “What’s going on?”
“Oh,” Stephanie said. “Um, just giving Crystal a ride. You live here? I thought—”
“What’s going on?” Guntar growled.
Crystal pushed herself away from Hank enough to turn and face him. She felt the warm tree limbs he had for arms slip down around her waist and hold her against him. It made her heart pound in her chest and almost distracted her from the pack leader. The distraction faded when she noticed Guntar’s face looked like he’d just bitten into a lemon.
“Um, hi Guntar,” Crystal said. “This is Stephanie. She’s the, um, my friend from school. You know, the one I had some issues with?”
“Issues?” he repeated. Adrian snorted as he came up behind him. Gwen moved to stand on Guntar’s side and offered Crystal a quick smile.
“Yeah, well, um, this is complicated.” Crystal stalled as she tried to put her thoughts in order. “You remember the thing with Chad, right? And how you said everything would be fine?”
She looked and saw each of them nodding except for Adrian. His eyes narrowed.
Crystal paused for effect and then said, “He’s not so fine after all. He’s been hunting me down, desperate to spend some quality time with me, if you know what I mean. He—careful big guy, you’re gonna squeeze the stuffing out of me.”
Hank grunted and relaxed the sudden tension in his arms. “Sorry.”
Crystal patted his arms and glanced up at him. “You can squeeze me all you want later.”
The heat in his face sent a matching flash of warmth through her belly.
“Anyhow.” She turned back to the others. “Steph will tell you. He’s been crazy for me, right?”
“Uh, yeah. Like obsessed,” Stephanie agreed.
“That’s hardly—” Adrian began but Crystal wasn’t going to let him stop her.
“Oh, it is. He stalked me this morning and told me he couldn’t stop thinking about me. He said he needed me. Like, you know, needed to, uh, screw me.”
Hank growled again behind her. Crystal squeezed his arm to reassure him.
“He wouldn’t leave me alone,” she continued. “So I told him I’d meet him tonight, then I hitched a ride with Steph to get away before he caught me. He tracked me through the school and around the outside, though. We saw him as we were driving away.”
“I’m not convinced,” Adrian said.
“Of course you’re not.” Crystal sighed. “You don’t know what it felt like to have that thing inside you. You don’t know how strong he is. Clover said that life always finds a way and that thing, that beast, is like the most raw form of life.”
“Primal,” Stephanie offered.
Crystal nodded. “Yeah, she said primal. That nothing would stop it until it was completely destroyed.”
“You went to Clover again?” Guntar snapped.
“Tell them about what else he’s been doing,” Stephanie urged.
Crystal felt her face heat up. “Oh my God! So like he told me he kept, um, taking care of himself. You know, beating off. He said he’d done it five or six times a day but he kept thinking about me and getting hard. Creepy!”
“I’m going to put an end to this,” Hank snarled. “You should have let me before.”
“I didn’t think it was this bad,” Crystal whimpered. She felt Hank’s anger cool at her tone. He hugged her tighter against him and nuzzled his face in her hair.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered.
Crystal squeezed his arms again. “I know.”
“So you took Stephanie to Clover,” Gwen asked. “She didn’t keep her?”
“Keep me?” Stephanie squealed. “What?”
Crystal shook her head. “She offered to help her with the love spell I cast on her.”
Adrian chuckled, earning a scowl from Crystal.
“Yeah.” Stephanie took over. “I guess I’m going to love Crystal forever.”
“Doesn’t seem so bad to me,” Hank whispered into Crystal’s ear.
Crystal shivered and pressed herself back against him. She wanted to lose herself in him and turn and kiss him and—
“What price did she name?” Guntar asked. Crystal jerked her thoughts out of Hank’s pants and forced herself to pay attention. Speaking of Hank’s pants, she felt something hard and promising pressing against her butt through them.
“Price? Oh, she wants me to become her apprentice,” Stephanie answered.
Adrian, Guntar, and Gwen looked at one another. Ember frowned but kept her gaze on Stephanie. “Are you okay?” the redhead asked.
Stephanie nodded and glanced at Crystal. “I guess so. I mean, I feel fine. Glad to know what’s going on too.”
“What about her?” Ember asked with a nod towards Crystal.
Stephanie shrugged. “I love her. I’ve accepted it. It’s beyond my control but it feels good, so why not?”
“Ember,” Guntar barked at her. “What are you doing?”
Ember glanced at him and then turned back to Stephanie. “Does it bother you that she’s hot for someone else? That you’ll never have her?”
“Never?” Stephanie asked before she covered her lips with her hand. She turned to meet Crystal’s eyes and then looked away quickly. She was blushing. “N
ever’s a long time. I’m okay now. Annoyed, to be honest, but I know how I feel and I know I’m willing to wait.”
“How long?” Ember asked. “How long will you wait? And what if she never comes around?”
Stephanie’s breath hissed between her lips. She looked at Crystal again and held the look. “This is what Clover warned me about, isn’t it?”
Crystal nodded.
Adrian shifted his stance and asked, “Warned you? What did she say?”
“That if I took too long to decide, I might do something I regret. At the time I thought she meant I might start acting like Chad. Obsessing over her and all.”
“Aren’t you?” Ember asked.
Stephanie nodded and bit her lip. “I guess. Like I can’t imagine not being near her. But yeah, I could see this going wrong after awhile. I never want to hurt her, but I could see myself getting wrapped up and justifying doing some stupid shit to be with her.”
Crystal frowned. It sounded terrible to her. She wouldn’t want Stephanie to do anything that risked her health or well-being because of her. “I’m sorry. I never meant for you to do anything that might be dangerous for you.”
Ember shook her head. “No, that’s not it. Well, it is, but it’s dangerous for both of you. She gets caught up in it too much and she’ll start justifying just about anything. From skipping meals or showers to kidnapping and murder.”
Stephanie and Crystal gasped at the same time.
“Holy shit,” Stephanie mumbled. She looked at Crystal and shook her head. “I can’t let that happen.”
“It won’t,” Crystal insisted even though she didn’t believe her own words.
Stephanie nodded. “You’re right, it won’t. I’ll have to make sure of it.”
“How?” Ember asked.
Stephanie frowned and said, “Maybe I’ll take the witch up on her offer.”
Adrian snorted and started to turn away. He spun back, thinking better of it, and snapped at the cheerleader. “You don’t know what you’re talking about! Couple of stupid fucking kids.”
“Hey!” Stephanie shouted at him as he turned away again and started walking. He kept walking, ignoring her. Stephanie stepped towards him, undaunted. “I’m talking to you, old man!”
Adrian spun around and snarled at her. “You have no idea. You want to play with the witch? Go ahead!”
“Who are you?” Stephanie spat back at him. “And why do you even care?”
Crystal started to step forward but Hank kept her safe in his arms. He huffed softly in his thick chest and she understood she needed to stay put. She snuggled into his arms and watched.
“I don’t care,” he said. He motioned with his hand. “Go, run off. Give your future away.”
“What?” Stephanie spun and looked at Crystal. “What’s he talking about?”
Crystal shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“He means that serving a witch isn’t an afterschool activity,” Guntar explained.
Adrian made a sound that was a cross between a heavy breath and a bark. He glared at the blond but didn’t speak.
Guntar waited until Stephanie looked at him again before he added, “None of us knows what that means, exactly. Only that we’ve heard that choosing the life of magic is not one without consequences.”
Stephanie swallowed and looked uncertain again. She turned back to Crystal. “But if I don’t—”
“Might be better to kill you now,” Adrian offered.
Stephanie gasped and took a step back.
“Adrian, stop!” Ember snapped. She turned back to Stephanie and said, “I’ll go with you.”
Stephanie stared at Ember and blinked as though she was seeing her for the first time. “With me? You mean, to Clover’s swamp?”
Ember nodded. “I can’t become a witch. I’m already—well, I just can’t.”
“She knows,” Crystal said. She gulped and tried to sink further into Hank’s arms when everyone looked at her. “What? She met Clover earlier and heard about Chad. I didn’t really have a choice but to tell her what I am.”
Stephanie turned to stare at Ember and the others. “Is she telling the truth? Are you all, uh, werewolves?”
“Such a stupid name,” Adrian mumbled.
“We call ourselves many things,” Gwen said. “Hunters, wolves, shifters, and sometimes werewolves.”
Adrian snorted and then dropped his shoulders when Guntar glared at him.
“Wow,” Stephanie mumbled. “I didn’t think—I mean—how is that even possible?”
“How is a love spell possible?” Gwen asked. “How is a beast possible? It just is. There are things about this world you would never learn if you did not see them yourself. Knowledge and rules that mankind has buried so deep they have forgotten them.”
“Why?”
“Fear,” Adrian answered. “Would you sleep at night knowing there might be a real monster under your bed?”
Stephanie gasped.
“Knock it off,” Ember snapped at him. She shook her head and turned back to Stephanie. “You want to see?”
“See?” Stephanie asked. She glanced at Crystal and then back to the redhead. “See what?”
“See me shift.”
“Holy—” Stephanie lost her breath when Ember pulled her skirt off with one hand and her vest with the other. By the time her clothes fluttered to the ground, she leapt forward and landed on all fours. Four paws, that is. She padded up to Stephanie and paused, sniffing as she near her. She stood up on her hind legs and rested her paws on Stephanie’s shoulders. The gray and red furred wolf leaned her head in closer and licked Stephanie’s cheek.
“—shit,” Stephanie finished in a whisper.
Ember dropped back to the ground and looked up, her jowls lifted in a toothy smile. Stephanie shook her head and took a half step back. Her leg trembled and her eyes rolled up until only the whites showed. She collapsed onto the ground with a soft thump.
Chapter 13
“Lucky for me you’re the only one with a computer,” Crystal said as she used Hank’s laptop.
“Adrian and Guntar don’t have a use for them. Gwen uses a couple of e-readers and a tablet, though,” Hank explained. He hovered behind her, bent low so he could look over her shoulder.
“Mmm,” Crystal moaned, thrilled at the sound of his deep voice in her ear. She forced her eyes to focus on the screen. It was hard; she wanted to turn and crawl all over Hank. He smelled so damn good it was worse than when she was a kid and her mom was baking cookies! “Ember?”
“Ember games.”
“Games? You mean, like, she plays video games?”
He chuckled and the vibrations went down her spine and made her shiver. She’d read about it before but thought it was crazy. Now she knew that she was going to have soaked panties from spending time with him.
“Oh my God,” she hissed.
Hank stiffened. “What?”
She clamped her lips shut and blushed. She shook her head. She couldn’t tell him she’d just remembered that she wasn’t wearing any underwear! The wet spot was going to be on her sundress and his chair! She fought back a groan. She had to focus hard to keep from letting the irresistible man behind her get her too turned on. That or excuse herself to the bathroom.
“I, uh, I’m not sure what to look for,” she said as she stared at the search engine on his desktop. “And I’ve really got to pee. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”
“Use anything you like,” he said. She turned and offered him a thankful smile. The twinkle in his eye stole her breath. “You’re welcome to anything and everything.”
Crystal forced herself to her feet and saw his nostrils flare. He could smell her. Of course he could; she could smell herself. She slipped past him and hurried to the bathroom before shutting the door and locking it. She leaned her forehead against it and let out a soft groan. She stiffened and stared up at the door. Had she just heard him chuckle?
She shook her head. “This is insane,” she
mumbled before moving to the stool and grabbing some toilet paper to dry herself with. It wasn’t as bad as she thought, but she still felt hot and slippery whenever she moved her lips.
“So, uh, what do you think you’re going to find?” Hank called through the bathroom door.
Crystal jerked her head up. She gawked at the door a moment and then realized he was talking about Stephanie, not what Crystal was doing in the bathroom. “Hang on,” she said before flushing the toilet and washing her hands in the small sink.
She opened the door and saw him sitting at his desk. He stood up and smiled as he gestured for her to take the seat. Crystal stood instead and crossed her arms to help her try to keep her focus.
“So Stephanie’s in love with me,” she said. “My fault, and I feel terrible about it. I didn’t mean fo—”
“Crys, it’s okay. We all know that. Stephanie too,” Hank said in a soft tone that made her want to melt to the floor.
She sighed and said, “Well, Clover says if she can’t be near me she’ll melt down.” She stumbled over her own words. Stephanie’s potential meltdown was entirely different than the one Hank made her want to do.
“So let her spend time with you?” Hank offered. “You like her, right?”
Crystal stared at him until her eyes started to blur. “Like her? Hank, I—she—I’m not like that! I thought—”
“Whoa!” he said and stepped up to her. He reached out and put his meaty hands on each shoulder, holding her steady and then pulling her in. Without realizing it, Crystal slipped her arms around his sides and hugged herself to him. “I didn’t mean that kind of time. I meant listening to music or going shopping or something. That’s what high school girls do, isn’t it?”
Crystal’s giggle was muffled by his chest. She inhaled through her nose, breathing in his scent and finding herself caring less and less about what became of Stephanie. “Something like that,” she said.
“But didn’t you guys say outside that after awhile that wouldn’t be enough?”
Crystal groaned and forced herself to step back. The desire to throw herself on him wasn’t as strong but she wasn’t sure how much willpower she had left. “Right,” she said. “She’d still go off the deep end.”
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