by Cecy Robson
The thick pines cleared and sprawling grounds capped with miles of white greeted me as I made my way to the rows of three-story lodges divided by a main road. I didn’t like coming here. For the most part, the were students training to defend the earth, and those seeking asylum from the war, regarded Celia as some kind of evil slut trying to seduce their revered pureblood. My sisters and I were “welcomed” only because Koda, Liam, and Gemini weren’t pure. Each had a human parent, whereas Aric had descended from a line of were-only blood.
Barbara, Aric’s fiancée, was one of the last few pures left. Barbara rubbed this in our faces. Barbara used her status to her advantage. Barbara was a douchebag from the planet Bitch.
I rolled to a stop in front of the main building in time to see the local coven of witches hurry down the steps, the cloaks covering their medieval gowns fluttering around their ankles as they shuffled past me. The meeting between the weres and the witches must have just finished.
Oh, goody. Our first interaction with the coven hadn’t been friendly and ended with lots of bloodshed and the destruction of a dance club. The dance club was a total accident; the bloodshed wasn’t. It was safe to say the broom humpers didn’t like us. It was also safe to say that I didn’t care.
I strolled past them and up the stacked stone steps. “Waddup, peeps?”
Most paused and exchanged glances. A few actually scowled. Although I could stir flame and lightning, they would never consider me to be a true witch. Witches used talismans, staffs, or some other tacky costume jewelry to amplify whatever magic they were born with. They also relied on chants and words of power. I gathered my magic from the environment around me, by absorbing it like a sponge through my core. Many a wicked witch considered it “stealing” from the earth. Truthfully, I didn’t know how I did it, but I definitely wouldn’t have called it stealing. Maybe borrowing was a better word. Besides, I didn’t keep it. When I was done, I simply released my magic back into the world.
I crossed into the foyer only to have another witch stomp in front of me, glaring and blocking my path. Her blatant animosity sparked a warning and stirred my magic. “Problem?” I asked her, smiling.
“I’m Genevieve’s second,” she said, like it was supposed to mean something.
“So?”
Oh, she didn’t like that. Nuh-uh. Not one bit. “So I suggest you show some respect, freak,” she said, inching closer. “No one likes you, or your pathetic excuse for magic. Watch yourself or you will feel the wrath of my might.”
“ ‘You will feel the wrath of my might’?” I repeated. “Are you trying to sound like Thor— No, no, let me guess. Game of Thrones fan, right?” I kept my smile despite her darkening expression and the rush of power snaking around her. She was trying to intimidate me. But the Four Horsemen would gallop over my cold dead corpse in parachute pants before I’d let her push me around.
“I’m supposed to cower, right?” I asked. “Bow at your feet and maybe borrow your broom to clean your room or something? Sweetheart, that’s so not going to happen. You don’t scare me, and neither do your sorority sisters.” My voice tightened. “You want my respect, you need to leave asshole status behind and earn it. And if you ever threaten me again, you’re the one who’ll learn what real power is.”
“Taran,” a deep, rough voice called out to me.
Aric abandoned the group of young weres he was speaking to and prowled forward. Despite the fact that he was a big boy and that my magic flared around weres, I hadn’t even noticed him. Too much mojo in the house, I supposed.
He stepped between us, taking in how the stupid ditz in front of me and I continued to watch each other. “Try it,” I told her, sensing her magic amplifying with her growing anger.
“Settle down,” Aric said, making it clear he didn’t want any trouble.
I cracked my knuckles and charged my fingertips with lightning, making it clear I wouldn’t back down if she started something. “You ain’t the boss of me,” I sang brightly.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, but then dropped his hand away and addressed Genevieve’s second. “The meeting’s over. Until next time?”
“You’re excusing this?” She motioned to me. “This disrespect?”
Aric didn’t flinch. “No. I’m ignoring the fact that you approached her unprovoked, and that you threatened her with harm.” Then something shifted in his gaze. “As I said, until next time.”
Aric had a way of growling without actually growling. The witch realized as much and stormed away. The remainder of the coven trailed behind her, not bothering to hide their frowns. “Don’t let the door hit your broom or your ass,” I called.
Aric crossed his arms. “Jesus, just let it go, Taran,” he non-growl growled.
Like Gemini, Aric was tall and muscular, but I couldn’t help noticing he had bulked up quite a bit since I’d last seen him. Still, that didn’t mean he looked good. Thick stubble blackened his jaw. He hadn’t bothered shaving, and dark circles shadowed his brown eyes. A heavy blue flannel shirt covered his chest, and wrinkled jeans ran the length of his legs. He’d thrown the clothes on without much thought or care to his appearance. That wasn’t like him. Well, at least when he was with Celia.
Being the sympathetic gal I was, I articulated my concern for his well-being. “Damn, Aric. You look like hell.”
He chuckled. “Thanks, Taran. Gem’s in my office, setting up the next meeting with Genevieve, the clan’s head witch.”
“Okay.” I turned on my heel to head down the hall, but then stopped. “What’s up with the dead bodies you found?”
He waited a beat, as if debating whether or not to tell me. “They were found devoured. Chunks of muscles ripped from their bodies in small bites—”
I held up my hand to stop him, and to keep the lunch Celia and I had shared down. “Got it, thanks.” Small bites could only mean one nasty thing. “Demon infants found those humans?”
“More likely Tribe weres or vamps found them, and offered them to the demons as food. In a way, it’s good news.”
Bile swirled in my belly and threatened to inch up my throat. “Tell me exactly how finding eaten and mutilated body parts is a glass-half-full kind of thing. You weres are a twisted bunch, you know that?” I brushed off the weres passing by, who snarled. “Oh, muzzle it—you furries know I’m right.”
Aric rubbed his jaw, trying to squelch his grin. He’d lived with us long enough to know I didn’t mean any harm. “The way I see it, to risk being discovered and venture out so close to Alliance territory means these Tribesmen are few, and desperate to keep their numbers,” he explained. “The bite marks had two distinct mouth shapes, which means only two demon children fed. That’s a lot better than the horde we faced a few weeks back.”
“The ones from your mission to Haiti?” I tightened my stance. “Or the ones who came after me and my sisters?”
Aric leaned back on his heels, his deep voice lowering further. “Both. But closer to the swarm that took Emme, Shayna, and Celia.”
The memory of that day enclosed the room around me all at once, leaving me feeling suffocated. I unbuttoned my coat and slipped it from my shoulders, seeking relief from the unease it stirred. Aric’s nostrils flared. As I carefully draped the heavy wool over my arm, I realized that after spending the last few hours with Celia, traces of her scent must have latched on to my clothes.
He closed his eyes and released a breath before opening them slowly. “How is she?” he asked. For an Alpha werewolf, he didn’t seem very dominant then. His stare softened to that of a tamed beast as he waited for my response.
Again, maybe I shouldn’t have said what I did. But I determined I just wasn’t good at keeping my mouth shut. “Considering how much she misses you, about as well as can be expected,” I told him honestly.
He squared his stance. “I miss her, too, Taran, every minute of the day. Don’t stand there assuming I don’t.”
I should have been more sensitive to his pain, but I could only
sympathize with Celia. He did this to them, not her. “If you miss her so much, why don’t you call her? And maybe step up, grow some balls, and tell your Elders to kiss your ass and mine.”
Okay, maybe I could have been a little less harsh.
His expression wavered between fury and frustration. “Watch it, Taran.”
“It’s hard to watch what I say when I see my sister hurting as much as she is, Aric.” I gave him the once-over. “And truth be told, you don’t look any better.”
I closed the distance between us, whispering low. “Call her. Just pick up the phone and let her know you’re thinking of her.”
“I can’t,” he ground out. “The situation I’m in becomes more challenging if I see her or talk to her.”
“Or kiss her?” For all that Aric felt compelled to stay away from Celia and fulfill his pureblood duties, he and Ceel had made out like horny teens at Koda and Shayna’s wedding. And yeah, he’d instigated that one. “Aric,” I said quietly, unable to keep the bite from my tone, “she loves you. You can’t just let things end like this, especially when you’re both so miserable apart.”
“Taran, don’t you think I hate what I did to her, and what I did to us?” he growled. “It kills me to know how much I hurt her. If there were a way out, I’d take it. But there’s not. So I live with my choice and hope like hell one day she’ll forgive me, even though I don’t think I deserve it.”
He stomped away from me then. As furious as I was with Aric for hurting Celia, I wasn’t completely made of stone. In breaking her heart, it was clear he had shattered his own.
I groaned. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to call her, knowing that if he did, it would affect them both. But there was a part of me that hoped they could somehow find a way back to each other. That wouldn’t happen if he kept his distance, though I was sure Celia would keep hers. No, for something to happen, Aric would have to be the one to come through.
I swept down the dark-paneled hall and toward Aric’s office in my quest to find Gemini, making enough noise between my swear words and stiletto stomps to wake the dead and probably most of China. Gem’s head lifted when I stormed in, his attention leaving the laptop perched in front of him. He sat behind Aric’s prim mahogany desk, surprising me with a warm smile. And although his alluring welcome heated me down to my toes, I couldn’t return it.
I ground to a halt. Head witch Genevieve was standing way too close to my wolf, the bodice of her crushed-velvet emerald gown threatening to choke the breasts hovering inches from Gem’s face. It was bad enough to find her standing so close. But her blatant flirting crossed a line.
She straightened at my arrival, albeit slowly, her fingertips leaving the strands of her ebony hair to brush against the large yellow stone anchored to her talisman.
If she meant it as a warning, she was threatening the wrong gal.
Gemini seemed oblivious to her advances, but I certainly wasn’t. My eyes remained trained on her sapphire irises even when Gem pushed away from the desk and walked around to greet me.
Her hair might have been as dark as mine, but she didn’t share my olive skin tone. Instead, ethereal fair skin covered her perfect heart-shaped face, contrasting boldly against her midnight brows and lashes. She wasn’t beautiful. Nope. Tahoe’s head witch was gorgeous.
Yet that didn’t make her less of an asshole.
Gem slowed his pace as my flames snapped, crackled, and popped above me. He glanced back over his shoulder. “This is Taran Wird,” he told her. “Taran, this is—”
“We’ve met,” we answered. Her tone was lovely. Mine bordered on deadly.
My wolf knew the story but skittered around it. “At another time and under different circumstances,” he said.
She abandoned her spot behind the desk, moving like silk as tendrils of bright yellow light swirled from her talisman to ribbon around her. “And under a different charge.” Despite her words and light tone, she was raring for a fight.
Well, so was I.
I rounded on her. “You may not have been behind my sister’s torture session, but you were part of the coven that was.”
“It’s a new coven, I assure you.”
I shook my head. “No…same balls, different prick.”
“Taran,” Gem warned.
Genevieve smiled. “Are you calling me a prick?”
I edged around Gem when he stepped in front of me. “Yup. And I’m calling you out for what your stupid friends did to my sister.”
Blue and white light crashed against yellow. The room rumbled. I don’t know what happened to Gemini; I only remember how heavy my legs felt as I forced my flaming body toward Genevieve. She squinted, trying to shield herself from the light, shoving her glowing body forward. I grunted as I felt my flames dwindle, calling them back, knowing she meant to silence me.
But hell hath no fury like a hot bitch like me. With a hard shove forward, and an even harder scream, my magic blew up and out, forcing her to stagger. Sparks peppered the room, like sharp steel blades rabidly meeting metal. I stumbled when the floor beneath us rattled and the lights above us flickered, but I stomped forward, ignoring the pain burning its way into my muscles.
From what seemed like the top of a mountain, Gemini growled my name, and something else. But I wouldn’t respond, too busy concentrating on making my point: Bitch, keep your coven away from my family and your boobs off my wolf.
Every hair on my body stood on end as Vieve responded in turn, thrusting forward with a rush of power.
I thrust back, stubbornness and anger fueling my strength.
“Forze, solidita, vigore,” she chanted.
Her surging magic slapped and heated my skin. I gritted my teeth. “Back off, Glinda. He’s mine.” I used my jealousy to charge her with an extra boost of fire.
For a moment, I caught a hint of surprise, before her surprisingly controlled demeanor splintered, revealing a touch of her rage. “Potere, potenza, spiccato!” she hissed, clutching her talisman.
“What the hell?” Aric growled from behind me.
I hurtled forward, in spite of my lead-heavy feet.
Vieve gasped, spitting out power words in Italian for all she was worth. My power words only contained four letters, but they seemed stronger than hers.
We were almost to each other. I reared my arm out, ready to punch her in her perfect face, when another magical presence pimp-slapped back.
I knew it was Makawee even before she touched our arms; her power as the pack Omega as recognizable as the back of my hand.
“Ladies, please.” Her voice was gentle, unlike the force she used to rip us apart.
My back smacked against the wall. Genevieve struck the far bookshelf, knocking over several of its volumes. I tried to catch my breath, my attention skimming the area.
Oh…
Gemini and Aric loomed close by, their breaths ragged and their clothes singed, covered in blue, white, and yellow soot, the same soot coating every square inch of the once prestigious office.
They must have tried to separate us.
Oops.
Makawee’s long white hair hung loosely behind her as she folded her hands in front of her body. She kept her voice soft and her body between us. “My,” she said quietly, as if Vieve and I had merely exchanged insults. “It would seem all the Wird girls are a spirited bunch.”
“Don’t you mean Weird girls, Makawee?” Barbara offered.
Aric’s fiancée had arrived. Oh, goody. She shoved away from the doorframe and inched in my direction. Instead of screaming at her like she probably expected me to, I gave her a huge grin. “So, that’s where you keep your wolf!” I said with forced glee. She cocked her head. “Rammed up your ass,” I clarified.
Gemini and Aric both groaned. Makawee tried to suppress a smile, but didn’t quite manage. She always did enjoy a good guffaw. Genevieve, though, caught me by surprise. She laughed, as in, like, totally and genuinely giggled at Barbara’s expense.
She brushed off the magical d
ust coating her and walked forward, stopping a few feet in front of me. “It was good to see you again, Taran. Until next time?”
I returned her smile with one of my own, except mine wasn’t as sweet. “Looking forward to it, Vieve.”
Makawee merely shook her head and chuckled, joining Genevieve on her way out.
I watched the hem of Vieve’s long dress disappear around the corner but kept my guard up. With Bridezilla this close, chances were my supernatural smack-downs were far from over.
Barbara hated Celia, and me, too, as her sister. Well, can’t say I got the warm and fuzzies around her, either.
She narrowed her eyes at me. I answered her with a wicked smile, and maybe a little flame as I strutted to Gem’s side.
He stood ramrod straight. His stance and hardening expression told me he was majorly pissed. As much as it upset me to see him angry, I was more concerned that I may have injured him with my power.
My hands swept over his shoulders in a half-assed attempt to brush off the soot. Um, yeah. That didn’t work. If anything, all I managed was to drift poufs of soot into the air making us cough. I gave up and slapped my palms against my sides. “Sorry about the clothes, baby. Are you all right?”
“What are you doing here?” he asked slowly.
“He means besides causing trouble,” Aric said when I didn’t answer.
Aric’s attempt at humor did nothing to ease the strain between me and my irate lupine. I knew Gemini was mad. But his tone, that of barely controlled rage, surprised me. I’ll admit, maybe he had a right to be furious. That didn’t mean his reaction didn’t pain me.
“I came to see you.”
I couldn’t disguise the hurt in my voice or my face. But maybe it was what he needed to see and hear. His face softened and his demeanor slowly relaxed. He pulled me close, keeping his hands tight on my hips. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “It’s not that I’m not happy to see you. But what happened just now with you and Genevieve can’t happen again. Am I clear?”
“She started it,” I mumbled. Like I mentioned, I’m all kinds of mature.
Barbara stepped forward, and very close to Aric’s personal space. Although her voice was low and seethed with enticement, she was plenty loud enough for me to hear. “You should ban her from our Den, Aric.” She glanced back at me. “We can’t risk her insulting our allies or creating another unwelcomed disturbance.”