Rain’s heart pounded against her ribs. “No, Chase. It’s not like that.”
Snow continued, apparently oblivious to the tension. “With Chase’s blood, I can complete the spell and unbind your powers. Then, with your magic back, you can write a spell to unbind Chase’s magic, and boom. Happily ever after for both of you. Isaac won’t stand a chance against both of you with your magic intact.”
Chase scanned the paper and read the words aloud. “Two drops of blood from a first-born werewolf, given willingly, beneath a blue moon.” He dropped it on the counter. “All this time, you’ve been after my blood?” His eyes tightened, his brow pinching as his expression wavered between unbelieving and appalled.
Her hands trembled with the need to touch him, to comfort him, but as she reached for him, he stepped away. “No. I mean…yes, the unbinding spell requires werewolf blood, but I wasn’t going to ask you for it after…”
“But you were going to ask me for it before, weren’t you?” The confusion in his eyes tore her heart to shreds. “Is that why you agreed to date me? So you could get my blood for your spell?”
She could have denied it. Sworn she’d never intended to ask, but she couldn’t lie to him. “Originally, that was the plan.”
“Well, shit. And there just happened to be a blue moon around the corner, so you thought you’d…” He raked a hand through his hair and turned away from her. “What the hell, Rain?”
“This isn’t coming out right.” She curled her arms over her head, clutching at her hair as she looked to her sister, widening her eyes in a help me out look.
Snow chewed her bottom lip and drummed her fingers on the counter. “She’s been hot for you since you met. The fact that you’re a werewolf and can break her curse is a bonus.”
He growled.
“I’m not helping, am I?”
Rain glared at her. “No.” She stepped toward Chase and put a hand on his arm.
He jerked away. “Don’t.”
Her breath lodged in her throat at his rejection. “Please let me explain.” She reached for him again but let her hand drop to her side. She had to make him understand. “I’ve been living with this curse for seven years. When the council sent me the spell to break it, I was over the moon. The ingredients have been revealed one by one as I gather them, and the final one appeared the day after I met you.”
The muscles in his jaw flexed as he ground his teeth, but he let her continue.
“Seeing werewolf blood as the final ingredient, I thought I was doomed. I’d never find a werewolf willing to give me his blood. But you know how fate works. Was it really a coincidence that a werewolf couple wanted me to make the cake for their wedding right before a blue moon? Then you came back to apologize, and I thought maybe…”
He let out a hard exhale and narrowed his eyes.
She hurried to finish before he stopped listening. “But then I got to know you, and I fell in love with you. And when you told me your story…with what happened to you when you were a kid…I knew I could never ask you for the same thing that hurt you back then.”
He looked at the door. “Maybe I wasn’t wrong to distrust witches.”
“Chase, please.” She took his hand, and he didn’t pull away. “I wasn’t going to ask you. I should have told Snow I didn’t plan to ask.” She looked over her shoulder at her sister.
Snow lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”
“I love you, Chase.”
His phone rang from his pocket, and he slipped from her grasp to answer it. “Hello?”
He paused as the other person spoke.
“What happened?”
Another pause. “All right. I’ll leave as soon as Macey gets here.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket and looked at her, his eyes finally softening. “There’s been an emergency; Luke needs me at the bar.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. He sounded weird. Called from a number I don’t recognize, so it must be important.” He jerked his head toward the door at the sound of Macey knocking. Disengaging the lock, he swung the door open, stepping past Macey as she entered.
“I thought I was your backup, not your relief,” Macey said.
“I have to go.” He stopped outside the door and turned to Rain. “Macey will take care of you.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned and strode away.
“Everything okay?” Macey shut the door and turned the lock.
Rain opened her mouth to answer, but no words came. Nothing was okay. The man she loved thought she was using him, and she hadn’t tried to stop him from walking away. Her deranged ex-boyfriend was killing innocent people to make her suffer. What if the emergency Chase had to attend to was dangerous? Would he do something stupid trying to prove himself and wind up getting hurt? “I have to go after him.”
“Hold on.” Macey put her hands on her shoulders. “You’re supposed to stay put until the threat is neutralized.”
“Yeah, Rain.” Snow shuffled around the counter. “I’m sorry for blabbing about the spell. I thought you guys had talked about it already.”
“Well, we hadn’t.” Her voice came out as a trembling whisper.
Macey let her go but didn’t move from the doorway. “Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll work it out when he gets back.”
“I’m not.” Pressure mounted in the back of her eyes. “I’m going to take a shower and lie down for a while.” She turned on her heel and trotted through the kitchen to her bedroom. Grabbing her robe, she headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
She had to get through to Chase somehow. To make him believe he could trust her. That she wasn’t just another witch out for his blood. She stood beneath the stream, setting the water as hot as she could stand it and breathing in the steam. The warm moisture filled her nose, opening her airways and clearing her mind. She’d make this right somehow.
With her skin pink and softened from the heat, she shut off the water and slipped on her robe. She padded to her bedroom, pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, and gazed at her disheveled sheets. Her heart ached at the memory of sharing her bed with Chase. Picking up a pillow, she pressed her nose against it and inhaled deeply. His musky, masculine scent lingered on the soft fabric, and a sob caught in the back of her throat.
A tapping sound drew her gaze to the window, and she glanced out the glass in time to see a shadow dart from right to left.
She started for the window, but her phone chimed from the bedside table. She picked it up, and a message from an unknown number lit up the screen: I have your boyfriend. If you want to see him alive, come to the swamp. Alone. My tulpa will guide you.
Isaac. Her hand trembled, and the phone slipped from her grasp, landing on the bed. The screen dimmed, extinguishing the message as terror twisted in her gut. She couldn’t let him hurt Chase. She would never forgive herself if anything else happened to the man she loved. To anyone.
Tiptoeing to the kitchen, she peeked into the storefront. Snow and Macey sat at the table, drinking coffee, so she grabbed a chopping knife from the block, padded back into her bedroom, and slipped it into her shoulder bag before shoving her phone in her pocket.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she snatched the bride and groom cake topper from beneath the dishtowel on her table and broke the couple apart, shattering the protection charm Snow had placed on the building. Opening the window, she crawled outside and ran to her car. Her hands trembled as she shifted into drive and headed to the swamp.
Tonight would probably end with one of them dead, and she had to make certain it wouldn’t be Chase.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chase pushed open O’Malley’s front door and shuffled into the pub. Amber stood behind the bar, and his sister sat on a stool near the corner.
Bekah spun in her seat to look at him, her face contorting into a mask of concern as she met his gaze. “What happened?”
“Noth—” The word got stuck in his throat. Damn it, he
couldn’t even lie and say “nothing.”
“None of your business.” That was the truth. “Luke in the back?”
Amber furrowed her brow. “He’s not here.”
“Shit.” He plopped onto a stool and checked the clock on his phone. Whatever this emergency was, Luke had better get there fast. Chase had bigger problems on his plate.
Honestly, when the call had come through, he’d been relieved to get away from the bakery. Away from Rain. A million thoughts spun through his head, but he couldn’t seem to catch onto any of them. And with the truth spell active in his system, he might’ve said something he’d regret if he’d stayed.
Then again, truth spell or not, the thought that he should be there protecting her anyway clawed at the edges of his mind.
Bekah sat on the stool next to him. “You look like death warmed over.” She put her hand on his. “You feel like it too. What happened?”
He pulled from her grasp. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his feelings with his sister. “Where’s Emma?”
“Mom took her to Shreveport to see the Imagination Movers show. They’re spending the night in a hotel.”
He nodded and checked the time again. Where the hell was Luke? As mixed up as his thoughts were about Rain, he didn’t like leaving her when a madman was after her.
Bekah narrowed her eyes. “Did you break up with Rain?”
“Not yet. I…”
“Not yet?” Amber stepped toward him and rested her hands on the bar. “You can’t break up with her. That’s not how I felt your future.”
Damn these women and their empathic abilities. He let out a dry chuckle. “How do you feel the future, anyway?”
Amber crossed her arms. “Tell us what happened, Chase.”
His head tingled, the truth rolling through his brain and out his mouth before he realized what was happening. “She needs my blood for a spell. She’s wanted it all along.”
Bekah’s eyes widened. “Does she know about…?”
“Yeah, she knows. She knows everything.” He fisted his hands on the bar. “I trusted her, and she betrayed me. All this time I thought she was falling in love with me, but in reality, she wanted my blood. Turns out my disdain for witches was well-founded after all.”
Bekah pursed her lips, tilting her head. “She does love you. I felt it in her the last time she was at the house.”
A flutter of hope shot through his heart, but he squelched it. “She loves what I can do for her.”
“What can you do? Why does she need your blood?” Amber asked.
He clamped his mouth shut as the truth spell tried to force the words from his lips. What the hell? If he stayed with her, the pack would find out about her curse eventually…and if he left her, what did it matter? “She’s cursed. Her powers are bound, and two drops of my blood can break the spell. Apparently, werewolf blood is a highly coveted ingredient for potions.”
Bekah gave him a confused look. “So you’re upset with how she asked you? I don’t understand the problem.”
“She didn’t ask.”
“Then how do you know she needs your blood?”
“Her sister showed me the spell. Two drops of blood from a first-born werewolf, given freely beneath a blue moon.” A sour sensation formed in his stomach. “Rain said after she learned about my past, she didn’t plan to ask me, but…” He balled his hands into fists, unable to stop the truth from flowing. “Why would fate bind me to someone who wanted to use me?”
“Exactly,” Amber said.
“Fate wouldn’t.” Bekah put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re bound to her because you’re supposed to be together. Because you need each other. I think you should give it to her.”
How could she even suggest that, knowing what the punishment would be? He shook his head. “It’s against our laws. Calista asked for some in exchange for Rain’s freedom earlier today, and Luke forbade it.”
“He wouldn’t let you give it to Calista,” Amber said. “Rain is your fate-bound, he won’t stop you from giving it to her.” She looked him hard in the eyes. “I know my brother…and you know him too. Stop using the alpha as an excuse.”
He let out a slow breath and mumbled, “I’m scared.” Damn this truth spell.
Bekah laughed. “I doubt two drops will hurt her.”
“It’s not that.” He stared at the bar and traced the wood pattern with his finger.
“What are you scared of then?” His sister leaned an elbow on the bar. “You found your fate-bound. That’s pretty damn special.”
His shoulders drooped. “But she’s not a were, so it only works one way.” Shaking his head, he huffed and lifted his gaze. “My heart is bound to hers for the rest of my life, but she could walk away at any time. That would crush me. What would I do then?” Hell, where had that come from? What else had he been lying to himself about?
Bekah laughed. “Wow. This is the most emotion you’ve ever shared out loud.”
He glared at her. “Don’t get used to it.”
“She’s not going to walk away.” Amber put her hands on her hips. “Fate wouldn’t bind you to someone who would. Besides, my premonitions about your future have been strong. Your heart is bound to hers forever. I think she’s worthy of receiving your blood.”
Who was he kidding? He couldn’t walk away from Rain if he wanted to. And deep down, he didn’t want to. He loved his witch with every fiber of his being, and if his blood would break her curse, why wouldn’t he give it to her? He’d give her the moon if he could pluck it from the sky.
“Do you believe her?” Bekah asked. “That she wasn’t going to ask you for it?”
“I do.” He pressed his fingers to his temples. “She was willing to sacrifice her unbinding spell to keep from hurting me.”
Amber gave him a pointed look. “That says a lot about her character.”
“You’re right. There won’t be another blue moon for two years. I can’t let her live with her powers bound another day. Not when I can do something about it.”
As soon as he finished whatever Luke needed him to do, he’d go to the bakery and break her curse. He checked the time again. “Where the hell is Luke? He told me to meet him here.”
Amber furrowed her brow. “Luke took a group of teens out for the first hunt. I’m surprised he didn’t ask you to chaperone too.”
“He called me half an hour ago. Said there was an emergency.”
“He was already in the swamp by then. He wanted to have the kids away from civilization before the sun set, so they didn’t do anything stupid.”
His stomach tumbled into his boots. The odd quality of Luke’s voice. The unfamiliar number the call had come from. “Shit.” He shot to his feet.
“What?” Bekah asked.
“If Luke comes back, tell him to call me ASAP.” He darted out the door and climbed onto his bike.
Peeling off the curb, he sped down St. Philip toward Royal, weaving his way around taxis, narrowly missing a pedestrian who stumbled into the street. When he reached the intersection of Bourbon, a crowd of partiers stood in the street, oblivious to the line of cars trying to get by.
The driver of a Mercedes laid on the horn, and a couple of people shuffled out of the way. A belligerent drunk man yelled a string of profanities at the driver and gave him a one-fingered salute.
“Hell, I don’t have time for this.” Chase revved his engine and wound around the string of vehicles. His shoulder bumped the drunk, knocking him out of the way of the Mercedes as he sped past.
Hanging a right on Royal, he plowed onto the sidewalk in front of the bakery and parked against the wall. Snow and Macey sat at a table inside the store, and Snow padded toward the door as he pounded on it.
“Where’s Rain?” He pushed through the entrance and marched through the storefront, into the kitchen.
Snow followed. “She’s sleeping.”
“Are you sure?” He flung open her bedroom door and found it empty. His stomach churned as he steppe
d into the room.
“Maybe she’s in the bathroom.” Snow ducked out and returned a few seconds later. “You don’t think she…”
“She went after Isaac.” He picked up the broken wedding cake topper he found lying in her bed. Half the groom’s arm hung from the bride’s hand where the two pieces had been connected.
Snow’s eyes widened. “She broke my totem. The circle of protection.” She took the bride half of the figurine from his hand. “Why would she go after him alone?”
His throat thickened. “She did it for me. To prove that I can trust her.” He dropped the totem on the bed. “Damn it. The bastard lured me away so he could get to her.” He brushed past Snow and stormed into the storefront.
Macey stood by the door. “What’s the plan?”
“I have to go after her.” He dialed her number, and it rang five times before going to voicemail.
“I can track her phone.” Snow pressed a few buttons on her screen. “She’s here.” Pointing at the map, she angled the phone for him to see. “There’s nothing out there but swamp.”
“That’s where he’s hiding. I saw his tulpa there the night he tried to drain me. Shit.” He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t shift. He could handle the witch himself, but that damn tulpa was another story. Real or not, it could do some major damage. “If Rain had her magic, could she beat him?”
“Goddess, yes. She was the most powerful witch I’ve ever met. Are you willing to give us your blood?”
He glanced at Macey. She’d be obliged to tell Luke, but dammit, he didn’t care. “I told you I’d do whatever it took to break her curse. Give me a knife.”
“Hold on.” Snow took a wooden box from a shelf and pulled out a copper bowl. “She has to pay me for mixing each ingredient or the curse will get me. If you give me your blood now, I might not make it out the door.” She poured a thick liquid from the bowl into a small glass jar. “We’ll do it when we find her. If she drinks the potion as soon as it’s mixed, the curse should lift before it has time to affect me.” She capped the jar and stuffed it in her pocket as she strode to the door. “I’m coming with you. I’ve got the incantation memorized.”
Beneath a Blue Moon (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 2) Page 23