Her Enchanted

by Emilia Hartley

  Sex for Caz had always been a sport. He relished being the champion. In bed, or wherever else the desire struck, he took lead and commanded what he wanted. With Nessa, it had been different. When he’d been ready to charge ahead, she’d stopped him to make him put on a condom. Any other time, it would have been a struggle to stop.

  For her, he would have gone to the moon and back. He wished they’d met earlier. The person he’d built for himself had bitten him in the ass. The woman he might have loved for the rest of his life had come along too late because he’d shown himself to be a brutish oaf.

  The sun would soon rise and the magic, of the one day they’d shared would be gone. He couldn’t let it drag on and endanger her. There was a price Caz needed to pay for his mistakes, and it wasn’t going to take her, too.

  He fought back tears for the first time in his life. In seventeen years, he’d tackled more than the average shifter. He’d come to the top of his Pack and made them strong. He’d defeated a shifter close to the edge of madness and made California safer for everyone. His years had been spent doing things for others. Everything had been for the better of others.

  In the blink of an eye, he met the woman who might have been able to make him happy. Ness might have been the one thing the world gave back to him for all his trouble, but he couldn’t keep her.

  His hands fisted at his sides. He wanted to roar into the starry sky, but there were too many houses. Too many witnesses. Everything was trapped inside him. It was a ticking time bomb. Fury, rage, and desperation did an awful jog on his cursed soul.

  Knowing that the end was coming close, his days almost up, he sent an apology to Nikolai via text.

  Your dad was a dick. Sorry I had to kill him.

  A moment passed, his heart beating it out in the silence of the night.

  He was. Don’t worry about it, Nikolai replied.

  One thread of his life closed, he tucked the phone back into his pocket. Another thread tried to tug him back into the house, but he couldn’t make himself do it. It was a thread that needed to be cut immediately. He couldn’t bear any pretenses. Walking away was easier, perhaps for both of them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nessa stretched and yawned, sated for the first time in her life. She didn’t roll over and slap the alarm clock, she didn’t reach for the nearest pillow and hug it tight while drifting back into sleep. Instead, she reached for the man who should have been sleeping beside her.

  When her hand slapped empty air, her stomach rolled. Nessa slowly pushed herself up. She hoped he was just out of reach. No, the entire bed was empty. Any sign of Caz was gone. There was no men’s shirt on the floor, no jeans nearby. The bed smelled like him, but it was only a ghost of a presence when his spot was cold. She slapped her hand over her mouth to smother the sound of betrayal that fell from her lips.

  Her body still hummed with what they’d done the night before. She would ache for days, but it seemed as though Caz hadn’t even stuck around for more than a few minutes. Well, maybe he’d stayed the night and left before she woke, but it still hurt.

  Nessa padded into the kitchen, trying to go about her day as if Caz had not crashed into her life. Her body reminded her of his wild lovemaking with each step, the traitorous thing. Her thighs ached from riding him, and a spot on her neck pulsed from a small bite. Doing her best to ignore the memories, she grabbed the jug of cold brewed coffee from the fridge and poured a glass. She could start the day like any other.

  A knock on the front door pulled her from her determined state. Her heart leapt with hope. Thinking that Caz might have gone to get her car from the garage, she opened the door in her t-shirt, cocking her hip in an effort to be sexy. The sight of Hillary on the other side gave her pause.

  In her head, the cat growled. It wanted to rip Hillary’s face off. Nessa, on the other hand, needed to be far more reserved before Hillary turned her magic upon her.

  Hillary grinned like a cat who ate the cream. She knew she’d won, Ness just didn’t know what she’d won. A thought rolled through her mind, but Nessa swatted it away, her stomach clenching. This really wasn’t the morning she’d wanted.

  “Remember the cat hanging from your patio?” Hillary spoke as if she were reminding Nessa of an appliance she’d borrowed, not an image of horror burned into Nessa’s mind.

  “I remember.” The cat screamed to get out. Nessa held onto the tiny beast for both their sake, her heart pounding wildly.

  “That will be you if you don’t stay away. Learn what’s good for you and stop touching him. Casimir Frost and his pack belong to me.”

  Nessa staggered. Hillary wanted his pack, too? She felt small, insignificant in the face of a plan so grand. If Hillary had the power to enthrall an entire pack, then what could Nessa do? She was a tiny cat shifter. She had nothing, no great paws that could smack down foes. She didn’t even have teeth large enough to do any real damage.

  Not to an enemy like Hillary.

  But the cat was undaunted. Insane creature that it was, it was determined to win against the witch. Nessa held her ground. Her human knees trembled despite her best efforts to control them. It was all she could do to hold her chin still. Hillary would not win; Nessa couldn’t allow it.

  Hillary saw Nessa’s defiance and smiled, victorious for reasons Nessa didn’t understand. Her mind reeled, trying to fill in the blanks. Did Hillary have a trick up her sleeve? Was it that Nessa was a packless shifter, not one to worry about in Hillary’s book? A spike of fear tried to slice through Nessa, but her beast swatted it away. Caz was theirs. He didn’t belong to the witch. Neither did his pack.

  Save Caz, save his pack.

  “I might be a small shifter in a small package, but I won’t let you take him without a fight, bitch.”

  Nessa slammed the door in Hillary’s face. She was going to pay for it, that she knew. Now that she knew what the witch could do, she knew what to expect. Her cat would see through the enchantments and hexes.

  This was going to be a long fight, and a hard one, but she would do it for the man she was starting to feel for. She wasn’t going to allow him to give himself over to Hillary.

  Yet, with the door closed and an angry witch on the other side, doubt crept into Nessa’s mind. Her beast, of course, was determined. It still reveled in the power trip from slamming the door. Nessa, on the other hand, held onto her human logic. She didn’t know what kind of tricks Hillary had stored in her arsenal.

  This fight would be a long one.

  ***

  Her limbs were tired. She should have listened to Caz and begged off of work again, but stubbornly she’d gone and worked her full shift plus some to finish up a few bits of paperwork. This time, she’d made sure to wear sensible sneakers and a pair of capris instead of her usual mini-skirt and flats, walking to and from work.

  The garage was busy when she arrived. Now that she could get past the scent of motor oil and exhaust in the air, she could smell the shifters. Everyone that rushed around was part of Caz’s Pack. Even the young man he’d snapped at the day before. They worked in unison, a well-oiled machine despite Caz not being there.

  She approached the young man, reaching out to stop him.

  “Can I talk to Caz?”

  The young man whirled on her, his face scrunched in frustration. “If you need to set up an appointment to get your car looked at, see the desk in the lobby.”

  Nessa laughed, nerves fraying around the edges. “You guys already have my car.”

  His brows knitted together as he looked down at her. Being shorter than everyone else made her sneaky, but it was frustrating when she had to speak to people. Everyone looked down at her. Even if they didn’t mean it, they treated her differently.

  “I’ve never met you in my life, lady. I remember our customers. Have to when we’re trying to save the garage.”

  “Wait, save the garage?” The world tilted beneath her feet, off balance before it slammed into place. “Are you saying that the business is failing? I
s that what’s happening?”

  The young man pressed his lips together, knowing he’d already said too much. Nessa tried to smile sweetly, but the man was too bitter to succumb. He just jerked his chin toward the lobby desk and left her.

  Only slightly daunted, Nessa left. She didn’t bother with the shifter behind the desk. She had a feeling that shifter would have forgotten her, too. Her stomach rolled, knowing what had happened even though she didn’t want to believe it.

  She stormed through the parking lot toward the office door she’d knocked on the night before. Raising her fisted hand, she paused to scent the air. Hillary’s perfume didn’t burn her nose, but that didn’t do much to put Nessa at ease. She knew how easily the witch could alter her scent.

  Finally, she forced herself to knock. There was some cursing and crashing from inside. Nessa held her breath, waiting for Hillary to throw open the door and lay a curse upon her head. Instead, a breathless Caz appeared. He leaned on the door frame, sticking his head out.

  There was no recognition in his eyes and it stung more than Nessa thought. She placed a hand over her chest and forced a smile onto her lips.

  “Can I help you…ma’am?”

  He didn’t remember her. He didn’t remember that she’d straddled him that morning, that he’d felt her breasts and explored her mouth. Her chest tightened, threatening to crumple right then and there. The urge to turn away hit her, but the beast inside her helped her stand her ground. She couldn’t leave him like this, not in the hands of that witch.

  Nessa told herself she was doing it to help him, not herself.

  “You have my car, remember? I need it back soon.”

  His lips flattened as his eyes narrowed. She could see his breath become shallow as he struggled with something. Nessa didn’t wait. She pressed past him into the office. The contents of the desk were scattered across the floor. A computer monitor sat in the corner, the screen cracked. It made her pause, made her heart thump.

  When she looked back, he was still scrutinizing her with a question on his lips. The witch’s spell took something from him. From the state of his office, he was aware of it, and it frustrated him. Nessa hoped she could do this. She couldn’t bear the thought of him being unable to remember her, even if they’d only known each other for a few days.

  Remembering the spell in her own backyard, Nessa sniffed the air. The same, sour scent floated on the stagnant air of his office. While she searched for the little spell pouch, she wondered how long he’d been cooped up there. Had he locked himself in when he realized something was wrong?

  Behind the filing cabinet, she found another little burlap pouch. It was crammed into he small space, forcing Nessa to move the whole cabinet and catch the pouch before it fell to the floor out of reach. She was thankful for her quick reflexes, but the moment the pouch hit her outstretched palm, nausea slammed into her.

  Bile burned her throat, but she bore it as she pushed past the confused Alpha bear. He growled and reached out for her, but she ducked out of his grasp. She was doing this for him. Using her small amount of shifter strength, she tore the bag open and spilled its contents onto the pavement. There was another tiny skull that she crushed with the heel of her sneaker.

  Drawing upon her cat’s fearlessness, she turned back into the office and hoisted herself up to sit on his now empty desk. Nessa worried that he would swipe her off it, too, but her cat trusted him. She slowly blinked at him. A smile curled along her lips as he stepped closer.

  He reached to tuck a curl behind her ear. She leaned into his touch, feeling a flame ignite in her core. It was the same flame they’d conjured the night before, and she hoped he would remember. His hand flattened against her cheek. It was tender and familiar, yet he still looked at her with confusion. He struggled with an emptiness where she had been, so she needed to put new memories in its place.

  She yanked him down to her. Their relationship was strangely carnal, she realized. That was the last thing she expected of any relationship. He growled into her mouth, his beast rising in response to her. It had not forgotten Nessa and her kitten. There was no way it could forget her, just as her cat could not forget him. She didn’t linger on the thought too long. There were other matters at hand.

  He pressed himself into her, his cock rising to reach her. She let her nails drag across his skin and drew a growl from his lips before devouring it with her kiss. Little by little, she felt his body relax into her. Hope swelled in her chest.

  Finally, she released him. He was breathless and reeling. His eyes gleamed with the power of his beast. The bear greeted her, emitting a low growl that curled around her core, before sinking back into Caz. The gold left his eyes and the confusion rippled across his face again.

  For a second, his hands jerked away from her, and she thought she’d failed. Then, recognition flared through Caz’s eyes. They widened, and his lips parted in surprise. “Vanessa,” he breathed before grabbing her off the desk. His lips crushed hers in silent thanks.

  She was breathless when he pulled back. A flush crossed his cheeks, but she was grateful to see the spark of life in his eyes again. Whatever spell Hillary had cast on him was broken…for the moment. Slowly, she slid until her feet touched the floor. Without Caz’s hands on her she stumbled off balance. He reached out, lightning fast, to catch her.

  “We need to stop meeting like this,” Caz whispered. The hush of his voice travelled across the bare skin of her neck, leaving chills in its wake. There was a tone to his voice that she couldn’t decipher.

  Yet, he was right. Nessa pulled back from his steadying grip, trying to straighten herself. Her shirt was hitched high over her hip and her hair was a fluffy mess from his fingers. She reminded herself to be glad that she’d broken the spell and not to think too hard on how she’d done it. Caz was Caz, the Alpha of Monterey and the object of affection for a very dangerous witch.

  Nessa would help him when he needed her, as seemed to be their way, but she couldn’t let her heart get tangled with him. He wasn’t even her type. Turning to face him, she tried to imagine the kind of man she would have set herself up with. Her ideal man would be someone who loved to travel, to see the world and revel in the glory of it. He would bring her breakfast in bed and pour a little extra cream into her coffee.

  Caz was none of those things. He was gruff and rough, a man of action rather than the kind of man who could appreciate things the way they were. She knew from experience that he was persistent in the things he wanted, unable to stand aside when things did not go his way. He was also a sweetheart, tending to those who couldn’t help themselves. Even women he barely knew.

  She finger-combed her curls while trying to get her mind under control. “Did you, uh, get a chance to look at my car? I’m going to assume that’s a no considering no one here, including you, could remember me.”

  Caz looked sheepish, turning the mountain of a blonde man into a boy for a moment. He leaned against the corner of his desk, his gaze flitting over the mess that he’d created under the spell’s power.

  ***

  The bear had been out of control until she showed up. Caz knew he’d been close to the edge of something dark, saved only by perfect timing. He’d known there was something wrong but couldn’t put a finger on it. The longer it lasted, the wilder his bear became. The tiny woman paced through his small office. She picked her way around the mess he’d made in his fury.

  Vanessa Caldwell, the little kitty-shifter. The beast rose inside him. It was placated by her very presence. That worried Caz. She looked fragile, despite the attitude of the tiny beast inside her. He feared the mess he’d created would swallow her whole. It left him cold and empty. Not only did the idea of a world without her bother him, the idea that her pain would be his fault broke him.

  He needed to break this off, and quickly. She couldn’t linger in his life any longer. Not even if he needed her. The thought brought a growl to his lips, the voice of the beast pushing back against his efforts to protect her. />
  “Let’s go look at it together. Maybe we can figure out the issue by popping the hood.” He plucked her keys off the wall, now that he could see them.

  Hillary’s spell had removed every trace of Nessa, not only from his mind, but from his Pack’s. She was threatened by Nessa, that much was clear. If he didn’t know it from the way she’d cursed the kitty-shifter, then this spell would have said it all. He didn’t understand why she was so bothered by Nessa. It was clear that Hillary would win. He’d even cut the deal.

  The damned witch couldn’t bother to wait three days.

  “I sure hope so. I can’t afford to keep coming here.” Caz heard the meaning in her voice. It wasn’t that the car’s trouble was cutting into her life. Nessa couldn’t deal with Caz much longer.

  He wanted to understand, but a part of him felt bereft. She was ripping him apart and taking a bit of him with her with each step she took away from him. He couldn’t blame her, but he almost couldn’t bear it, either. The beast inside him roared and raged against the human shell that contained it. His head throbbed, and his chest ached.

  Outside, he glanced around as if Hillary hid around every stack of tires or watched from every locked car. When he was sure Hillary wouldn’t assault them for being near one another, he turned toward Nessa’s little car. The import was nearly a decade old and had a crack in one of the headlights. When he glanced at Nessa, she shrugged with a half-smile on her lips.

  “I might have hit a parked car in a lot. Not this one, of course. It was a few years back.”

  “Did you tell your insurance?” When Nessa said nothing, Caz laughed. “Naughty, naughty.”

  The bear reminded him of other things that had been naughty, like how they’d rolled in her bed and the first time he’d felt her breasts beneath that oversized t-shirt. When he looked at her again, all he could see was the long line of her bare legs and the too large t-shirt that barely hid her nipples. He imagined Nessa sleeping in one of his shirts, tempting him to give her the shirt he wore.