Calder Witch Boxset (Paranormal Vampire Romance): Books 1-4

by Martha Woods

  Calla sat up straight and leaned over, pressing a gentle, sweet kiss to his lips. His hand extended upward, gently holding her cheek as he kissed her back. When she pulled back, she looked deep in his eyes. “Let’s just move past this. I promise not to ask about it again.”

  To her surprise, Jared shook his head no. She arched a brow, not expecting him to want to harbor on the subject anymore. “We can move on from it… You deserve to know what happened.”

  “Jared, it’s really okay. I don’t need to know. That’s your business. You should only share it with me if you want to.”

  “I want to,” Jared pressed. Calla was silent, responding only with a nod. He took a deep breath before beginning, “When I first became a vampire, I was bitter and lonely. While I was thankful for the gift of sight, I still felt like a monster. For so long, all I wanted to do was go back to my family, help them through their mortal lives to thank them for all they had done for me. Since I couldn’t, I kept to myself. Then, shortly after the Civil War, I found the person I thought was ‘the one’.

  “Her name was Bridget. She was the product of an affair between her mother and the master of her plantation. Being newly freed, Bridget had tried to make it on her own since no one would help her. She managed to land a job as a nanny in a city in North Carolina, and rented out a studio apartment. One night, when she was walking home from her employers house, two white men attacked her. I stumbled upon her hours later, just before sunrise. She was hardly hanging onto life, unconscious with a pulse so weak I could struggled to feel it. There was something about her that I wouldn’t let me walk away and let her die. I changed her… Bridget is the only person I have ever changed.

  “That bond I had with Ally, the loyalty and dedication, was amplified between myself and Bridget. She was beautiful, brave, smart, and had an adorable southern accent. It wasn’t long until we were declaring our love for one another. For the first time in my life, I had hope that I wasn’t going to be alone. I thought Bridget was my eternity. Many times I had laid down my life for her, to protect her from humans, witches, and vampires alike. Bridget loved me, but I loved her blindly. No pun intended,” he added with weak humor.

  Jared sighed again, “And then Ally brought on Nolan. He was a rogue vampire, just a couple of years into being a vampire. Nolan thought he was the toughest and baddest vampire that there ever was. In his human days, apparently he had been something like the cowboys you see in movies. Riding from town to town on his horse with nothing but a silver pistol with bullets to spare. Nolan was flashy and selfish. He always wants what isn’t his. And he set his sights on Bridget.

  “I, myself, was cocky. I thought the love Bridget and I had shared for ten years was unpenetrable. Never once did I consider Nolan more than just a pest who knew no boundaries. So when I would leave to go on missions with Ally, I wouldn’t give Nolan a second thought. Soon, Bridget would start fighting with me about how lonely she was when I was gone. That she didn’t want to wait days, sometimes weeks, to see me. I’d have to remind her that we had all of eternity, so the days I was gone would greatly be outnumbered by the days she spent in my arms. Bridget would calm down while I was there, but grow bitter every time I left. At the time, I didn’t know it had been Nolan getting in her head, telling her she deserved better. That I shouldn’t treat her like she was breakable, and if he were me, he would take her with him or not go at all.

  “Bridget fell into his bed within just months of him being a part of the family. I came home one night, just before dawn, and found them in our bed. For a moment, I fooled myself into believing Bridget would be horrified that I had caught them and would beg for forgiveness. I would have forgiven her too, I was so sick with love. She flipped out of bed and screamed at me at the top of her lungs, telling me to get out, that she was with Nolan and she didn’t love me anymore. Nolan leaned against the headboard of the bed with a smirk on his face as she cursed me, hit me, and demanded me to get out.”

  There was a haunting look in his eyes as he relived the memory. Calla could feel his hurt, her eyes starting to water. Jared cleared his throat before continuing, “I had to sit by and watch as Nolan and Bridget dated for three months. Every day had felt like a decade to me. Then, surprising no one but Bridget, he bedded another woman. Bridget left him and begged me to take her back, telling me that she had made a horrible mistake and had learned her lesson. It hurt so badly to turn her away, but I had to. Her love wasn’t true, or else she would have never climbed into bed with Nolan.

  “Once again, I turned into a shell of a man. Cold, distant. I didn’t want to love or let anyone else in. I gave myself to the job, not letting my mind ponder too much about Bridget or the concept of love at all. Maybe I hadn’t ever allowed myself heal completely from it, and so every time I see Nolan, it reopens the wound…” Jared’s eyes found Calla’s, his hand squeezing hers, “But I’m ready to move past it. I don’t want something that happened nearly a hundred and thirty years ago to stand in the way of my future. Especially when it comes to you.”

  Calla’s heart ached for Jared. His two-hundred years on the planet had been filled with pain and loss. She was honestly surprised he was as calm and collected as he was. Calla was pretty sure that she would be pissed off at the world and hateful in demeanor if she had to go the trials Jared had. His last words to her had been like aloe on a burn, brightening her spirit after feeling his aching aura. “Thank you for sharing with me, Jared. It means a lot to me. I care about you so much…”

  His hand once again found her face, cradling her cheek, “I care about you too. More than I ever thought possible.”

  She leaned in and gave him a deep, passionate kiss. Jared kissed her back just as passionately as he snaked his arms around her waist and picked her up in a single swoop. One hand held her firmly by the ass as he carried her to the room. He pulled back as he opened the door with his back, “Now that’s done, you need to rest, Calla,” he breathed to her.

  Jared laid her on the bed softly, bringing the cream colored blanket around her before lying in the bed next to her. Calla curled into his side, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Words couldn’t describe the happiness she felt to be in his arms again. It had only been a day, but that was long enough for her to actually miss him. Her attachment to him didn’t make that much sense to her. It had always taken her ages to even say yes to going on a date with a guy, but with Jared she had already slept with him and grown attached in the course of a week.

  After a while of laying there in the comfort of his arms, Calla realized she was starting to fall asleep. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she leaned her head up a bit and gave him another kiss. Jared happily kissed her back. When she continued to kiss him, and her hand gently rubbed his chest, Jared pulled back lightly, “What are you doing? You need to get some sleep.”

  “I don’t want to sleep,” Calla stated, one corner of her mouth pulling into a smirk. She kissed him again, her red hair falling like a curtain around his head.

  He gingerly pushed her back, holding her a few inches away from his face, “Why don’t you want to sleep? Is it your sister again? You aren’t ignoring her, are you?”

  Calla rolled her eyes, “No, it isn’t my sister. Maybe I just wanted to kiss you. Did you think of that?” she challenged.

  Jared’s eyes narrowed as he studied her, clearly not quite buying it. “When was the last time you actually got some sleep?”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “Calla…” Jared said in a warning tone. “What’s going on?”

  “Are you sure you can’t read minds?” she questioned in a grumble, sitting up straight in the bed.

  “If I could, I wouldn’t be asking,” Jared pointed out. He sat up as well, his cool hand drifting down her back. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  She ran a hand through her wild red hair, nibbling on her lip as she tried to form the words to tell him. What if he freaked out? Calla really didn’t want to make a big deal over the dream she had when sh
e wasn’t sure if it had only been a dream, or if the Calder really was trying to get inside of her head. “I… I had a really bad dream right after we had our little falling out,” she began.

  Jared frowned deeply, resting his chin on her shoulder, “I hadn’t caused it, did I?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Calla sighed. “It… It was a really eerie dream. It felt real, I’ve been debating whether or not it could have actually happened. Even though that sounds silly…”

  “It doesn’t,” Jared promised, hugging her to his side. “What happened in the dream?”

  “I was in this beach house… It was nice and really big, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else in it. Then, I found this old woman, and she claimed to be something like a guardian angel, who wanted to talk me through my worries. I even remember within the dream I thought she was a figment of my imagination, and that maybe some deep part of my brain trying to work through the stress I was feeling. As I started talking to her, she started asking about Tessa. When I wouldn’t say anything, her eyes grew black and she attacked me. She had hit my head against the floor, and the crazy part was I woke up with a horrible migraine and a bruise on the back of my head. Then the beach house started to burn down, and I woke up…” She let out a heavy sigh, “I was afraid that maybe it was a Calder witch trying to get into my head to get information on Tessa. Now that I say it all aloud, it does sound like maybe it was just a bad dream.”

  “What did the beach house look like?” Jared asked.

  Calla looked up to see him peering down at her with serious, and worried eyes. “Why does it matter?” she asked softly, genuinely wondering why he cared what the beach house in her dream looked like.

  “Humor me,” Jared commented, though his eyes gave a pleading look.

  She brushed a lock of hair behind her head, “Well, I know it was at least two stories. Really spacious, pretty expensive looking decorations. It had really shiny mahogany floors and some gawdy red furniture in the living room… Why?”

  His eyes were wild, shooting from the bed as though he had been electrocuted. “I… I don’t think that was a dream, Calla,” he said in a voice lower than a whisper.

  “Why?” Calla asked, standing carefully from the bed. Her body was still weak and sore from the blood los.

  “That house you dreamed of, it sounds like Kristian and Veronica’s old house. The Calder burned it down just before you came here with Deidre. There’s no way you could have dreamed it without someone putting it in your head,” he explained, walking to her and steadying her as she stood. “Have you heard from your sister at all? Are they still following them, or are they headed directly here? That Calder witch could have poked around in your head like your sister did.”

  “I mean… it’s… it’s possible, but unlikely. Normally you have to have a strong bond with a witch to be able to direct thoughts. Typically just sisters or mother and daughters can do it, on rare occasion friends… I had never seen that witch before in my life…”

  Jared was silent as he thought, his eyes scanning all over the room. “The Calder elders are extremely powerful… If they had even a small amount of information on you, do you think they could do it?”

  Calla’s face fell completely, going white. It was definitely possible. The fact she had dreamed about Kristian’s old beach house… A shiver ran down her spine. She nodded nervously, “Yeah, it’s possible. Deidre could have been feeding them information the entire time I was with her. Clearly she hadn’t been able to give them the location of this apartment, or else they would have been here ages ago.”

  “Do you think that witch could have gotten our location from you?” Jared asked, a worried look in his eyes.

  “I have no idea… I didn’t tell her anything. My sister was able to read my thoughts outside of my interaction with her because of our bond. I really have no idea what all is in the realm of possibility of someone I’m not close to invading my dreams. She was extremely hostile when she asked me flat out where Tessa was and I wouldn’t tell her. So maybe she couldn’t access my subconscious thoughts?”

  Jared was extremely uneasy, and growing more and more antsy with every second that passed. “We need to figure out their location. Can you contact your sister?” he asked her, sitting her down softly on the bed.

  “I can try… She hasn’t spoken to me since we initially spoke, though,” Calla grumbled. Flora was definitely distraught over Calla giving her alliance to Tessa and having to serve her and the vampires. Calla was cast out of the clan without a single word, she could feel it.

  “Try, and I’m going to go call Ally to see if she can give me an update on their location,” Jared stated, kissing her forehead before moving from the room.

  Calla took a moment to calm herself, her hands already trembling from anxiety. Her stomach was tying itself in knot, her entire body was begging her to not even try and lie to Jared and say Flora hadn’t replied. However, she knew it was serious and she had to try or else she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.

  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on thoughts of her sister. Memories of warm summer days spent on the riverbed behind their childhood home. Sharing a room during their teen years and staying up until three in the morning, gossiping about other witches and boys. Flora had always been boy crazy, where as Calla had always been more reserved.

  As she thought about Flora, Calla started feeling her aura. Flora was stressed, but motivated. Whatever she was doing, she was focused. Slowly but surely, Flora’s thoughts started to echo in the back of Calla’s mind. They were approaching the border of New York, and had just narrowly escaped an encounter with the Calder. Calla directed her thoughts to her sister: Flora, can you hear me?

  After a couple of seconds, Flora replied. Yes, Calla. Is everything okay?

  I don’t really know… I think a Calder elder tried to get into my head. Do you know if they are all still following you? Did any break off from the group?

  I’m pretty sure they are all still following us. Our scouts haven’t reported anything different.

  Okay, good… Do you think you guys can divert them again? Just for a day, so that we can be sure none of them break away.

  We can try. We’ve already diverted them once. They might catch on if we do it again…

  I know… Thank you for all you are doing, Flora. I love you.

  I know you do.

  Then, her sister’s thoughts were gone. She physically winced. Flora couldn’t even tell Calla she loved her? Calla’s heart was heavy, her mood immediately dampened. Having to force herself from her bed, Calla went to find Jared. If she spent anymore time alone, she would harbor on her thoughts and fall into a dreadful depression. With the pending fight, she didn’t have time for that.

  Walking into the living room, Kristian and Tessa were already back and sitting with Jared as he talked on the phone. Blinking, Calla moved over to sit next to Jared. “Is it true?” Tessa whispered.

  Calla gave her a quizzical look. “Is what true?”

  “Don’t play coy,” Kristian warned.

  She nibbled her lip, “I don’t know, but if it did, she didn’t get our location. My sister just narrowly escaped the Calder. They haven’t had any reports from their scouts about any unexpected movements. Flora and the others are going to try and detour the Calder for another day if they can.”

  Jared hung up the phone and sighed, “Ally hasn’t detected any sudden movements, either. It has her worried, though… So she’s managed to find five more vampires to join us.”

  “Five more?” Kristian repeated. His eyes fluttered to Calla, “That means we’ll need more blood…”

  “What?” Jared spoke before Calla could even react to Kristian. “You’ve taken plenty from her, Kristian. Take more and you’ll risk killing her.”

  “We can start in the morning. You said your sister is creating a diversion, right? So we have the time. We can hook Calla up to fluid bags and keep her well fed. If she starts to do poorly, we’ll stop. We need
enough to have all of the vampires able to be exposed to sunlight.”

  “Then shell out the cash and get them the damn daylight drug,” Jared defended.

  “Who knows if we’ll have time to get our hands on it? You know sometimes the connections fall through with that,” Kristian replied.

  “At least try,” Jared pressed.

  “And waste the time we could be collecting blood? We would be cutting it too close. It isn’t like I want to risk her life, Jared. We’ll be as careful as we can. Like I said, we’ll stop if anything goes wrong.”

  “Look at her, god damn it,” Jared growled. “She’s already weak and fragile because of what you’ve taken from her. You really want to her bleed her for five more doses?”

  Calla rested a hand on Jared’s arm, “It’s okay… I’ll do it.”

  Jared’ eyes flew to her, looking at her as though she had grown a second head. “You can’t, Calla. You need to rest or else you won’t even be able to join the fight.”

  “Five vampires… That’s only like a bag, right?” Calla asked, her eyes on Kristian.

  Kristian nodded, “Just about.”

  She looked to Jared, “I need to do this. It’s my duty.”

  “Dying is your duty?” Jared retorted.

  “My duty is the same as yours. Do everything in my power to protect my charge. If this strategy is in the best interest of Tessa, then I need to do it. I’d rather be weak and ill than to not have done everything I can to help,” Calla explained to him. Looking abck to Kristian, Calla asked, “Could we wait until tomorrow night to do it? To give myself some time to rest.”

  Kristian nodded, “It will be cutting it close. If your sister is able to distract them all day tomorrow, then we will have to move to the farmhouse tomorrow in the dead of night. They will think they will be able to ambush us at dawn, but we’ll be able to fight back thanks to your blood.”