by Boon, Elle
“Just do it, but if you get us killed, I’ll haunt you.”
Noelle smiled, her first real smile in forever.
When the debris cleared, she found herself and the others standing in the middle of a field. She heard the others coughing, but she ignored them, unable to do anything but stare up at the moon overhead. She hadn’t seen the outside in ten years. Hadn’t smelled fresh air in as long. She took a few steps before her legs collapsed under her. Behind her, the women were sobbing and crying. The sound of sirens could be heard, but nobody came near her. She sat there on her knees wearing the plain gray T-shirt and pants she’d worn for as long as she could remember. That was all she was ever given to wear. Dull lifeless gray. All around her, the night lit up with bright lights and sirens. She lifted her arms, trying to protect her eyes.
“You there, what’s your name?”
She jerked away from the male who reached for her, falling onto her side. A sharp rock bit into her hip, making her cry out. She curled into a ball, trying to protect herself.
“Back off. Everyone back off. I got this. Hello, child, my name is Baba Yaga. Tsk tsk, you are in desperate need of feeding and cleaning.” She snapped her fingers.
Noelle blinked, thinking the woman expected something to appear. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
Baba Yaga shook her head. “You will. Come on, let’s get you out of here before this becomes a circus show. Zelda,” she yelled.
“I’m right here. You do not have to yell like a banshee.”
The woman who was clearly Zelda appeared. Her blonde hair was a little mussed, but she was dressed in an outfit that’s way too nice to be in the middle of the rubble where Noelle lay. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Noelle warned, turning to the side, her sides heaved but nothing came up.
She heard the two women sigh, and then she was swept into a windstorm that actually was soothing.
“I’m glad you like. Now, open your eyes. We’ve deposited your sister and her friends back home. They’re a little worse for wear, but they’ll recover. You...you’ll recover as well, my dear. I’m sorry we didn’t know about you before. I saw you took care of that despicable cretin. Good for you. Now, you begin your training under the tutelage of Zelda and Sassy. Try to be better than these two.” Baba pointed her finger at the trio and was gone.
Zelda tossed her hands in the air. “I am an amazing witch.”
“Yes. Yes, you are, as am I. I mean, I only blow things up on occasion.” Sassy shrugged.
Noelle sniffed, her eyes watering. “I killed a man.”
“Good girl. That’s how all good witches begin.”
Sassy slapped Zelda on the arm. “Do you really want to start her training that way?”
“Oh, for goodness sake, are we really her trainers?” Zelda spun in a circle around the garden.
“I say she needs about a dozen cheeseburgers first. Dear Goddess, what is your favorite food?” Sassy began walking toward Zelda’s home, hooking her arm through Noelle’s.
It took her two years before she felt balanced. Two years before she no longer jumped at every slamming door. Seven hundred and thirty days before she could speak to her sister without guilt eating her up. And still, she felt as though she owed her sister and the others for what they’d suffered.
Chapter One
RIDGE WALKED INTO MAYHEM Howl, the bar he owned, nodding at Miko who was manning the door. It was Friday night, and while they didn’t have a whole lot of issues with fights, he still made sure one of his crew was posted at the door.
“Yo, Ridge, we got some sexy bitches in here tonight. A group of bachelorettes showed up about an hour ago. I think they were already shitfaced when they walked in. If the bride wasn’t already spoken for, I’d tap that shit.” Miko lifted his chin toward the back of the bar.
He looked toward the direction Miko indicated, unable to miss the dozen or so half-dressed women who all wore a sash around their chest. The one Miko was clearly talking about had a white one while the others wore pink. However, the one who snagged his attention stood back from the group with her arms crossed over her very ample chest. His leopard raked at him to go to her, even as she glared at everyone with a expression that said she wished she was anywhere but there.
Her little black dress was just shy of indecent, sitting about two inches below her panties, making his cat want to get up close and personal. Shit, with how short and tight the little number was, he highly doubted she wore anything underneath.
He narrowed his eyes, letting them roam her from that glorious mane of white hair that didn’t appear natural, down to her purple-painted toes ensconced in six-inch fuck-me heels. The total package was making him pant like a dog in heat, and he was a fucking leopard, not a mindless wolf.
Damn, his dick grew even larger at the total package she presented, along with visions of her long legs and those shoes digging into his back as he fucked her.
“You alright, Alpha?” Miko asked, keeping his voice low.
Ridge worked to get his leopard under control. Knowing he’d been rumbling under his breath pissed him the fuck off. He prided himself on his control. He was the alpha for many reasons. One being he was always in control. When he wasn’t, then it was controlled chaos. Second, he was the baddest fucker in the crew. That wasn’t him bragging. He’d earned his position by grit and bloodshed.
A leopard male made several different sounds when he was angry, agitated, or wanting to convey his displeasure. His leopard was just shy of the rasping cough that would let all of his crew know he was ready to create mayhem.
A quick glance around showed his crew had come to attention. While the humans were unaware of the danger lurking around them, the leopards were not, especially when his beast was damn near close to roaring. Yeah, that would be hard for another shifter to miss. “Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with my cat, brother.”
Miko nodded, keeping a good two feet between them. Not that Ridge couldn’t still reach him if he so chose. “Which one of them is making you crazy?”
He inhaled deeply, hoping to catch the white witch’s scent. As soon as his mind caught on the words, he instantly rejected them. No way in hell would Fate give him a mate who wasn’t like him. “The one standing off from the others,” he said.
“Ah, yeah. She’s fine as fuck.”
Ridge spun, lifting Miko against the wall with one arm. “You do not speak of her like that.” He gave Miko a slight shake, waiting for the male to agree.
“Yes, Alpha.” Miko choked out.
Ridge felt several bodies at his back but didn’t need to turn around to know his crew had surrounded them. More than likely they were creating a wall between him, Miko, and the humans. Hell, he’d have done the same and then kicked the offender’s ass for almost outing them.
“Yo, Ridge, you wanna chill on killing Miko the dumbass in front of the humans? We ain’t got that sexy dragon to clean up the mess, if you know what I’m talking about.”
Ridge slowly lowered Miko to the ground, glaring at the smiling fool. “You realize I could’ve killed you with one swipe of my claws or tightening of my hand?”
Miko lifted his hand to his throat, rubbing it over the already lightening area. “Nah, I got nine lives. Well, probably only like six left, so I’m good.” He punched Ridge on the arm as he walked around him.
“There’s something seriously wrong with that one,” Taytum said. His deep voice had made many women sigh, both human and shifter.
In the Mayhem Crew, he was one of Ridge’s top enforcers for a reason. Mainly because he was a big bastard who gave no quarter and had very little patience. As for a moral compass, the Mayhem Crew didn’t really have a huge list of rules, other than do no harm to innocents and watch each other’s back. There were a few more rules they lived by, but those were the main things. Tatum was good on those fronts.
“Ridge, if those humans are a problem, I can ask them to leave.”
He turned to the man who made the offer, meeting
Glock’s dark-brown eyes so his friend could see his own death if he so much as touched one part of his—his what, he didn’t know. The woman with the white hair, purple eyes, and a body built for sin called to the most primal part of him. “Touch her and die. Talk to her and die. Go near her and die,” he said, his voice low and deadly.
Glock was his second in command, but even he had to see how close Ridge was to losing his shit.
“Got it. Lots of dying going on. Now you need to calm your shit, or I’m going to call Zelda and ask her to do some woo-woo shit on your furry ass.” Glock didn’t back down, but he also didn’t get in Ridge’s space. Smart leopard.
At the mention of the witch from the town that bordered theirs, Ridge took a deep breath. Zelda and Sassy were both batshit-crazy female witches with way too much power in their wiggling fingers. “You’re a dick.” He pointed a finger at Glock, but his words were said without heat.
“Yeah, but you love me. Now, everybody get your asses back to your posts. We got a lot of humans in here tonight. Hennessee, don’t, for the love of all, do your Magic Mike impersonation and hump every surface.” Glock shoved the younger leopard on the shoulder, making him grunt.
“He’s just jealous because I got moves that make all the ladies want to ride my pony.” Hennessee moved his body in a rolling motion, making Glock growl.
“Really, boy, you think that’s gonna get all the ladies in here panting after you? And FYI, you ain’t a pony, you’re a leopard, asshole.”
Ridge lifted a brow as another leopard stepped next to him holding two bottles of beer. He held one out to Ridge. “Thanks, Quincy.”
Before he could lift the bottle to his lips, the sound of shattering glass had him spinning toward the crowd, his gaze zeroing in on the group of bachelorettes. His little white witch was nowhere to be seen. He put the bottle on the nearest surface, uncaring if it actually landed and stayed or not. “Where is she?” he asked, prowling through the crowd.
“The blonde?” Glock kept pace with him, his large form making everyone move out of their way.
“Her hair is white not, blonde,” Ridge corrected him.
“Semantics, brother. I’ll take the back of the bar, you the front. She can’t have left without the others.”
“Who the fuck is alpha here? You or me?” Ridge didn’t wait around for the answer. He was alpha while Glock was his second for a reason.
Fucking humans and their love of perfumes had his sense of smell screwed up. He wondered why they thought spraying themselves down with hairspray and perfume made them more alluring. His mind stopped thinking as a tantalizingly sweet aroma of orange spice hit him. Instantly his dick, which had gone down from his earlier rock-hard state, sprang back to life. He shifted, lifting his nose, trying to zero in on the sweet smell again. Once he locked in on it, he followed the trail of his little female. Another scent overlaid hers, making his leopard rake at his insides. Mine. Kill.
A male was stalking his female. She may not know she was his yet, but she would soon. The male who was stupid enough to be following her, had better hope he had good intentions. Although Ridge would be showing him the exit quick as shit, he would try to have the good sense to not go all monster kitty on the human. Unless he was fucking with his female, then all bets were off.
NOELLE WISHED SHE COULD’VE skipped out on the bachelorette party, but being the maid of honor, she was stuck. Stupid traditions sucked balls. Her sister Merry lifted another shot in the air, cheers ringing out as the other ladies followed suit. Goddess, she really wished she could sneak back home, and binge watch some mindless television about house flipping or a Housewives show, anything other than being here in a bar with a bunch of women.
“Noelle, come on, have a shot. It’ll make you loosen up,” Merry yelled.
She barely kept from rolling her eyes at her older sister’s words. At twenty-four ,she didn’t want to be loosened up, thank you very fucking much. When she drank, she liked to have a glass or two of good, sweet wine, or a bottle of beer. She wasn’t a snob. She just didn’t like to drink just to drunk. Nor did she like to lose all her inhibitions. Nope, she was kinda a control freak, so sue her. “No thanks, I’m good. Besides, I promised your soon-to-be hubby I’d get you home safe.”
Which wasn’t a lie. Carlton had told her it was her job to make sure Merry and her bunch of wild women didn’t do anything stupid. So, yeah, she was the one in charge of the crazy ladies.
“Pfft, he’s not here. Besides, all these yummy men are just what we need.” Her sister swept her gaze over the men, before spinning in a circle, waving her arms around wildly. “I love this place,” Merry yelled, falling into Jessamina, her best friend.
Of course, she would. The men all seemed to be larger than your average men, and they were, as Merry had said, sexy as fuck, and on a scale of one to oh my gawd I’d fuck them, they definitely veered way over onto the sexy-as-fuck side. Not that she’d ever done that, but damn, a girl could drool.
She’d moved to Assjacket, VA after being found, once she’d blown them out of the hellhole Remdezevier had kept her and the others in three years ago. Her parents, Goddess love them, had followed her, saying they wanted to be near her. Luckily for them, Baba Yaga was very generous in her dealings and allowed her family to move into the small town as well. Not that she was a tyrant, well, not since she’d married Zelda’s father anyhow.
After twenty minutes of watching all the ladies dancing, gyrating, and all-around acting like fools, Noelle was in need of some fresh air. Her fingers tingled to zap herself out of the space. Only knowing it would freak the humans out if she up and disappeared before their eyes, kept her from following through with the impulse.
She pushed away from the wall she’d been holding up, her eyes catching on one of the largest, most dangerous men she’d ever spied in her life. Holy shitbugs...her breath nearly froze in her lungs as his electric-blue eyes held her spellbound. She wanted to allow her magic to flow from her to him so she could see who he was. Her body vibrated as if it had been electrocuted by a thousand volts from that one encounter. It terrified her that he could affect her with just one glance. Who was this man? She tore her gaze from his to see if her sister and the others had noticed him. Although she was the only one with any powers, she was teaching them how to feel with their intuitions so they wouldn’t be unaware of dangers. Zelda and Sassy had told her it was alright to do so since she wasn’t transferring any powers to them, only teaching them not to be...victims.
A shiver worked its way down her frame. She’d rescued them all from an insane doctor who’d thought they all were the answer to his prayers. He’d thought they were all witches, not realizing that the others were only pretending while she was the only true witch. It still pained her that they’d suffered. Although she hadn’t known the other ladies before Merry had been taken, she still had lingering remorse that she should’ve done more to stop Remdezevier from taking her and the others. He’d promised her he wouldn’t take anyone else if she complied with his wishes. At twelve, she’d been far more mature, and it had been her mistake that he’d found her out. She’d never told anyone how he’d come to acquire her. It was a shame she couldn’t admit out loud even to this day. For ten years, he never let her live her failings down.
The nightmares she suffered still had the ability to wake her up at night. She’d never tried to escape, even though she was more powerful, because he’d promised to leave her sister and parents alone. He’d shown her how easy it was for him to take what he wanted, when he wanted. Her best friend at the time had paid a steep price, her life, when Noelle didn’t listen to him. Merry was human like Lisa had been. All that had changed when he’d broken his promise after she’d collapsed from blood loss, lack of nutrition, and from his horrid experiments gone too far.
Noelle shook off the memory. Her parents had never stopped searching for her, but even now they treated her differently. She was like her grandmother who had similar gifts. Remdezevier had tried to twist her g
ifts, only he’d succeeded in making them more, almost uncontrollable. Zelda and Sassy had been working with her to where she now felt comfortable enough to venture outside of Assjacket, Virginia.
She watched the others drinking and having fun. With her powers, she wouldn’t risk doing the same. No, it was better to be safe and sober.
The blinking EXIT sign opposite the way they’d come in beckoned her. She tapped Merry on the shoulder, letting her know she was going to step outside for a breath of fresh air.
“Oh. You want someone to go with you?”
Noelle shook her head. “Nah, I’m good. Stay and have fun. I’ll be right back,” she reassured her sister.
Before she’d even finished speaking, Merry had already turned back around and was stepping onto a chair, then the table. Goddess help her if she fell and hit her head. Noelle wasn’t going to take her ass to the hospital. Shit, yes, she would, but she wouldn’t be happy about it.
The hallway was long and deserted except for a young girl who came out of the ladies’ room. She’d smiled down at Noelle pleasantly then continued on to the crowded bar. In all honesty, the Mayhem Bar was a really busy place. If it had it been any other night, she might’ve enjoyed herself. However, since it was the anniversary of the night, she’d killed the bastard who’d kidnapped her, she couldn’t do anything but fight off a sense of doom. Memories were crowding into her mind of the horrors she’d faced. Her sister didn’t seem to care that Noelle had issues from her captivity. Hell, she wondered if Merry had even missed her while she’d been gone all those years.
“Stop that. Of course, she did.” Only if she were being honest, she didn’t think Merry did. Since she’d been back, Merry was like a spoiled child who pouted any time her own captivity was brought up. She would yell and scream about how awful it was for her because she was human, unlike Noelle who was a freak. She’d make sure to shout how it wasn’t so bad for Noelle because she was...well she was a witch. Merry didn’t seem to think that it was bad for Noelle, not like her and her friends who were captured and held. For ten years, she’d suffered unimaginable horrors, the likes of which Merry and their parents had no clue. Nobody knew the extent of the things that had been done to her. Gah, she needed to stop thinking about the past.