“This morning sometime, before I went to get ready with Bex,” she said having thought back over the events of the day.
“And before that?” Faye asked.
“Last night. I took a cup of coffee out to him while he was gardening.”
“He was gardening?” Felix raised an eyebrow as he asked.
“Yes. Why do you think I liked him, he was in the garden almost every day...oh.”
“Oh?” Bex asked.
“I think she’s just realised that he was in the garden every day for just this reason,” Felix answered.
“So he’s known that I like the outdoors since the beginning?” Mia asked softly, worried about what that meant. Her affinity for potions, and the natural ingredients that created them, had meant that Mia had always loved being outside, though not the actual getting dirty that gardening entailed. She glanced up at Felix, she guessed it made sense that she liked the outside if fate had always had a dryad in mind for her.
“I suspect so,” Felix said. “And I don’t think you love potion worked.”
“But Mia’s potions always work. She’s always been the best at them.” Faye looked confused, and Mia offered her a weak smile.
“I think there’s more at work here. I overheard Robert talking to Skyler.”
“Oh no.” Bex’s eyes widened and the blood rushed from her face. Mia watched in amazement as her mate and her sister held each other’s gaze, something important passing between them.
“You know don’t you?”
She nodded slowly. “I suspected.”
“And you married him anyway?” Felix asked.
“There is a child on the line.” Bex rose to her feet, her spine ramrod straight and fury burning behind her eyes. She closed the short gap between her and Felix and poked a finger to his chest. “Do you think I would marry someone who wasn’t my one without a good reason? A little girl has been kidnapped. I have seen the pictures. He told me that if I married him, then he’d be able to save her. So I did. Robert is my friend, I wanted to help.”
“Your friend?” Mia was relieved that Faye had asked, she didn’t particularly want to get between Bex and Felix, that was one way to have her loyalty ripped in two.
“Yes, I’ve known Robert for years. There’s nothing between us but friendship, at the altar is the first time we’ve kissed since we got drunk four years ago.” Well that was surprising. And no wonder the few times they’d actually tried to change Bex’s mind she’d resisted. She was doing this out of a sense of decency and not because she wanted to actually be with Robert.
“Which bring us back to what are we going to do now?” Mia asked, breaking the tension between Felix and Bex as they squared off.
“I don’t know.” Bex deflated slightly and Faye rushed forward to support her. Something definitely wasn’t right with her sister. Maybe it was just the stress that had got to her, and a few nights decent sleep would do her good.
“All we have to do is deal with Skyler, while keeping Robert’s daughter safe, right?” Mia asked, feeling uneasy already. There was a life at risk, and that wasn’t something to be messed with. Nor was it something Mia particularly wanted on her shoulders. But Bex had clearly been distressed by what she’d seen, and Mia would support her whatever she decided.
Chapter Fourteen
Felix hated feeling nervous. He tried to avoid situations that scared him, and this was definitely one of those. He hated that there was a little girl’s life at risk, and he hated that Mia was going to put herself in harm’s way to try and stop that. Especially as what he’d overheard earlier implied that it wasn’t just Mia that would satisfy the witch hunter. He wanted more of her coven. Though the sisters had told him that they didn’t actually have one. No one in their family had since their Grandma, who they all smiled about whenever they mentioned. It was sweet to see. They’d clearly been close to her.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, tucking a strand of dark hair behind Mia’s ear and looking deep into her eyes.
“What other choice do I have?” she replied, a resigned look on her face. Yes, that was about right. There was no other choice and they just had to kind of get on with it. Didn’t mean that he felt any better about her being in danger.
“I suppose we don’t. I just hate the idea of you being alone with him.”
“Why? Nothing’s going to happen Felix. I might have thought I loved him, but that was probably just a potion talking, you know that.” He did. It was seeming more and more likely that she’d been under a love potion the entire time she’d been lusting after Skyler. Especially with how quickly things had switched today. Though he guessed there was a possibility that it was meeting him that had made the difference. Whatever it was, he didn’t really care. So long as she was safe. So long as she was his.
“It’s not what could happen between you that worries me, it’s what he could do to you.”
“I’ll be fine, Felix. I know my magic isn’t the strongest, but it will protect me if it needs to. That’s how it works.”
“Are you sure?” She bit her bottom lip, a sure indication that she wasn’t as convinced as she was trying to pretend she was, but he let it slide. He didn’t want to dent her confidence just before she went to face Skyler. She’d need all her wits about her.
“What if he tries to drug me again?”
“I don’t think he will. But if he does, it probably won’t work right?”
“I don’t know. I’m flying a bit blind here. A properly brewed love potion should always work, unless there’s true mates involved...” she looked away, breaking their gaze. Felix placed two gentle fingers under her chin and tilted her face up so that their eyes locked again.
“If you’re doubting that this is the real thing, then you can stop. But if you want proof...” He imagined that his eyes sparkled with mischief as he closed the short distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. Sparks began to ignite behind his eyes, but this time, he was pretty sure they were just in his head and not caused by the two of them connecting. She pushed her body against his, and the warm supple feel of it was enough to almost have him forgetting about all their responsibilities and taking her right there. He had to wonder if he’d ever get enough of her. He hoped not.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily, and he regretted not being able to spend more time with her before sending her off to face someone who was probably out to kill her. Not a pleasant thought.
“I have to go,” she whispered, touching her fingers to her lips. He nodded, unable to speak through the lump in his throat. She gave him a weak smile, before turning and walking through the door, away from him and towards danger. The instant she was gone, the curtain they’d been stood behind whipped back, revealing Faye and Bex watching him with determined looks on their faces.
“She’s stronger than she looks you know,” Faye said, while Bex nodded beside her.
“I’ve no doubt of that, it’s just hard to let her go into danger without me. Do you like watching your mate leave?” he asked her. Faye shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes and Felix wondered if he’d hit on a nerve, remembering the strained glances and movements between Faye and the man she was at the wedding with.
“She’ll do what needs to be done. Maybe then we’ll have some more answers.” Bex straightened her spine, looking more like the woman he thought he knew rather than the withdrawn one he’d witnessed today. But at least that all made sense now. She wasn’t marrying Robert because of some misguided idea that she could change him or anything, which made Felix feel a little better in his role of letting the wedding go ahead. As selfish as that was.
“So what do we do with ourselves while we wait for Mia to get back?” he asked, hoping the sisters had something that would take his mind off the woman he wanted to keep safe more than he wanted anything. Even life itself. Damn, he hoped being mated wasn’t going to make him think in clichés all the time, that would truly suck.
Chapter Fifteen
Mia straightened her spine, steeling herself for the confrontation that was about to come. The others had suggested that she pretended not to know anything, but she wasn’t convinced that that was even possible anymore, not when she knew the depths to which Skyler had sunk. And she wasn’t thinking about the love potion when she thought that either. She might not have known that Robert even had a daughter, but she wasn’t the kind of woman to sit back and let it slide once she knew.
She scanned the dance floor, trying to bleach the sight of her Dad doing the Cha-Cha Slide out of her mind. That should be her though, having a good time with her sisters and dancing to cheesy pop music, but she guessed that would have to wait. Maybe when she got married to Felix, they could have a wedding that would go down without anyone trying to kidnap and murder people. Hell, Skyler wasn’t even trying on the kidnapping part, he’d downright done it. And if what Felix had heard was correct, Mia was going to be his next victim, with Bex and Faye to follow. Which was stupid to say the least. Anyone that knew her knew not to mess with her family. It was the quickest way to get on her bad side, and that was somewhere that no one ever wanted to be.
She spotted him leaning against the bar, a glass of something clear clutched in his hand. Probably water. If she was planning to kidnap someone then she certainly wouldn’t be drinking. Sure, she could make it so that the alcohol didn’t affect her in theory, but she wouldn’t want to test that on such an important occasion. She snorted to herself, why the hell was she thinking about how she would kidnap someone? What weird turn of events had led to here? She waved at Skyler and plastered a fake smile on her face. He’d probably figured out that his love potion had worn off, but she didn’t want to let him know for sure, especially if it wasn’t actually a love potion and was some kind of other enchantment instead. But then, where could he have got it from? She’d never got any paranormal vibes off him before, though admittedly, she’d been too distracted to truly be looking before. Well now she just felt bad for using her own on him. Sure, he turned out to be a bad guy, but it was still a horrible feeling knowing that it would make him so unaware of his normal behaviours.
She weaved her way through the guests, making a beeline for the man at the end of the bar, who was now waving to one of the bar staff.
“Hi,” she said, trying to infuse her voice with a note of breathlessness. It was helping to picture that she was talking to Felix, but even she could see through her fakeness.
“Hey, beautiful.” Skyler smiled, and Mia felt sick to her stomach as an uneasy feeling overtook her. Skyler took a glass from the barman and handed it to her, leaving her no choice but to take it. He watched on as Mia brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip of the cold tart wine. It slid down her throat easily. Unfortunately it was swiftly followed by the an odd feeling like something was sliding down her skin, only adding to her general unease. Was this what a love potion felt like when it took effect? She started to shudder, but caught herself just in time and plastered what she hoped was a lovesick smile on her face.
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you?” she asked, slipping a hand onto his chest. His muscles were as hard as Felix’s were, but they held none of the warmth that the dryad’s did. She didn’t like that. It felt wrong. In fact, the instinct to pull her hand away from him and break the touch completely was almost too much to ignore. She took a deep breath. She had to do this. There was too much at stake for her not to do this.
“I’ve been looking for you. I even checked the cleaning cupboards, but there was nothing there.” Ice formed in Mia’s veins as his words sunk in. So he knew about the cupboard, or maybe he was just guessing about it. But then, if he knew about that, did he know about Felix? And if he knew about Felix, then did he know that his love potion wasn’t working on her. “Got you.” He said his smile turning from a fakely affectionate one, to something far more predatory. Mia gulped. This wasn’t good at all.
“W-what do you mean, got me?” she asked, giving up all pretence of pretending to be under the spell. There was just no point anymore.
“What are you Amelia?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She shook her head and tried to take a step back, but Skyler’s hand closed down on her wrist, holding her steady and close to him.
“I think you do. So answer me this, Amelia Thornheart, what are you? And how did you stop the potion working?”
“How did you?” she threw back, finding her strength again as her magic responded to the perceived threat. She could feel it simmering just below the surface, and knew that if she let it, it could cause an almighty stir. She may not be that naturally talented of a witch, but magic never failed when it’s owner was in danger. It was the same with shifters. They had a tendency of shifting automatically when danger was near, a trait a lot of them still struggled to tamp down on when they were out and about in the human world.
Thing was, could she risk her magic exploding here? She was in a room with a lot of humans, how would they take blue sparks flying from her skin and causing damage she couldn’t even imagine? Not well probably. Then they’d possibly have more than just Skyler to deal with. Mia glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see her sisters and Felix, or maybe even her Dad, he’d know that something was wrong after just a glance. But no one seemed to be paying any attention to the couple in the corner. Probably believing that they were just having a moment between them.
“That’s none of your business really, Amelia. Now are you going to come with me quietly, or am I going to have to make you?” The creepy grin accompanying his words gave her little doubt that he could, and would, make her if he needed to, but she really didn’t want to make a scene. Skyler no longer seemed the type to just let any witnesses be. And she had to protect the other people in the room. She didn’t want anyone else in danger because of her.
“I’ll come quietly,” she said, whispering the words as if hoping that he wouldn’t hear them and wouldn’t actually take her up on them.
Chapter Sixteen
“Something’s wrong.” He didn’t know what, but Felix’s gut was telling him it was true, and he didn’t want to think about what that meant. In fact, it probably could only mean that Mia was in danger, and whatever happened, he couldn’t just stand by while that was the case. Not when he’d just found her.
“It’s probably nothing,” Bex said, as she paced back and forth in the room. A rapid pounding on the door made all three of them jump. Faye was the first to recover and she pushed to her feet to open it. Felix’s heart was in his throat, the rhythmic pounding almost reassuring, but not quite. He hoped it was Mia on the other side. She might knock if she thought they wouldn’t just let anyone in. Really, they should have thought about that before they let her go. Otherwise a situation like this one could happen.
Faye swung open the door, revealing a redhead who he vaguely recognised, though that was probably just because she was another wedding guest, he’d work it out later when he could focus his thoughts on something that wasn’t Mia and the potential danger she was in.
“Reagan?” Bex asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Tell me Mia’s here,” Reagan responded, her eyes looking wildly around the room and taking in the three of them and their on edge stances. “She’s not, is she?” Felix shook his head when neither of the other two answered. A worried look flew over the new woman’s face, which didn’t do anything to help Felix’s anxiety levels.
“What do you know?”
“Nothing, I just had a feeling that I needed to check where Mia was.” She sounded frantic, as if there really was something to be concerned about. And yet, she didn’t question who he was at all.
“I’m—”
“Felix, yes I know.” She waved away his outstretched hand as she cut him off, and Felix frowned at her.
“Because I’m the best man?”
“No, because you’re Mia’s mate and I see things.” She walked over to wear Bex was standing and put her hands on the other woman’s
cheeks before starting to whisper something that Felix couldn’t hear. Instead of doing anything about that, he just frowned. What an odd way of acting.
“She has the sight,” Faye supplied. as she came to stand beside him.
“A witch thing?”
“Yes, have you seriously not heard of it?” He shook his head.
“There’s only a handful of witches born with it, even within families. Her brother doesn’t even have it, though I’ve been told not to ignore his gut feelings.” Faye’s bubbly tone wasn’t convincing Felix in the slightest. If anything she was more nervous than he was. Giving in to his instincts, he pulled her to him and hugged her tight. Not in the way that he would hug Mia, but rather the way he’d hug his own sister. Not that Autumn would let him hug her, she was notoriously closed off around everyone and he wished he knew why. Something to do with the time she’d got lost in the woods when they were children he was sure, but she refused to talk about it.
A sniffle at his shoulder surprised him, and Faye bunched up a handful of his shirt. Not that it would make any difference to how it looked, it was still scrunched from it’s trip to the cleaning cupboard floor when he and Mia had slept together. With difficulty, he brought his thoughts back around to the present. Thinking about sex with his mate, while comforting her sister, was weird in anyone’s book.
“I’m sorry.” Faye pulled away, trailing a hand under her eyes and wiping away the stray tears that had collected there. “I’m not used to being held anymore.”
“Why?” he whispered, vaguely aware that Bex and Reagan had stopped their own whispering in order to pay attention to his and Faye’s exchange. He didn’t take his eyes off Faye’s though, he didn’t want her freaking out by thinking that her sister was listening, even if she was.
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