Theya tensed, "It's personal," she says quietly, but firmly as if she is drawing a line in the sand.
"Try again fairy," Dar says, and I saw her shiver just as his vibes run over me as well. Interesting, did everyone feel his dominant vibes?
The fairy shakes her head, "It's personal." Then she looks at me in the same calculating way as she did earlier. Now she looks at Dar for a few seconds and lastly, Cort. It takes a few heartbeats before she nods her head. She says, "Okay." As if she has made a decision. The fairy walks around the couch and heads to the front door. The fairy pulls open the door, but I am right behind her. I slam the door shut in her face. I am not done with her. I need to know who she is and what she is doing here, and if she had planned to hurt Cory.
"Wait. If Cory brought you here, then I should at least give you the benefit of the doubt."
The fairy grabs the doorknob again and says in a cold, clipped tone, "It’s clear that you don’t want me here." The fairy pulled at the door, it didn't budge.
"How do you know Shane?" Dar asks with a weird look in his eyes, as if he were assessing her still.
Theya doesn't look at me, she shakes her head again, staring at the door. "There is nothing you could say that would motivate me to tell you anything."
Cort growls at her and I watched as she responds to him. Her shoulders stiffened and her breathing slowed. She turns to him and stares as if she is trying to win some dominance war that she is going to lose, because werewolves don’t back down. She doesn't look away for several moments. Inpatient, I am not about to stop Cort mid-fight with a fairy. "How about I take a few licks at that face of yours and see if that loosens your tongue?”
The fairy flinched. Maybe I hit a nerve. Maybe they don't like physical touch and I was about to give her a crash course in Carver fighting.
The fairy takes a few moments to answer, but she is still looking at Cort. "He used to sleep with my sister. I met him a few times between the front door and her room," she says bluntly.
Dar coughs and my jaw drops, "And after a few hello's he brings you back to my house and drops you off?" I asked because that sounds ridiculous that he would help out a sister of a chick he used to sleep with.
She finally turns to me and says, "He didn’t really care one way or another about me when he teleported me here."
Dar tilts his head, assessing her.
Theya eyed Dar and then she turned back to Cort quickly, and her eyes narrowed. "If you have nothing else, then I will take my leave," she said quickly, attempting to get the door open.
"Headed home?" Cort calls out to her in a tone that sounds like he is trying to bait her. Odd that this is probably the most civil I have ever seen him. He is getting off on this little fairy fight. Gross.
I see her turn and I know the ‘fuck off’ look she’s giving him. "No," she hisses lowly. She tries to pull the door open again and I keep my hand on the door, making it impossible to move while I am there.
"I don't think so, fairy. You stay until we talk to Shane and Cory," Dar put his body between the fairy and the door, and I teleport out.
I teleport to Shane’s door, a house that is as far as he could get from the pack. In fact, it is on the other side of the third mountain. I knock, as hard as I can, hoping to break it open, but I know it won’t work because he has more wards on his house than I have on mine. I start yelling until the door opens with a sight of Cory I never want to see again.
She is in a long sweater that is two sizes too big. It looks like a dress and I pray she had panties on underneath it. Her hair is a mess, she has hickeys all over he neck. Her cheeks are blushing, like bright red.
Shane pulls her away from the door and quietly says, "Meet me upstairs."
I cough. "I don't think so," I said, while putting my hand on both of them and teleporting them back to the old house.
As soon as we land at my old house I let go of them and regret my impulsive nature. Cory is not dressed for visitors. Dar coughs and Shane glares at me, making her sweater into a long sweater dress.
"Shane. Do you know her?" I pointed at the fairy.
He rolled his eyes when he looks at me, "Beth you really need to relax. Is Dar not doing his husbandly duties?" His words are heavily drenched in sarcasm, "Do wolves even consider themselves husbands?" Shane said absently to himself.
I hear Dar growl, which is bad because we don't need to fight right now. I get in his face again, "Why is she here?"
Shane looks behind me and I can see something in his eyes, even though I don't know what it means. After a few seconds he says, "I knew her sister. Theya also helped Dar remove his magical collar, although I assume he doesn’t remember any of that, do you?"
Dar is looking at the chick as if he was willing himself to remember.
Shane continues, "Fairies can't leave their lands without permission from the courts. And you can imagine how often they give permission. And even if they do get permission, they have to return shortly thereafter. As you know, they frown upon mixing their blood with others." He looks over at the fairy with an odd 'I told you so’ look. "Theya hated it there. And she just happened to be there when I was taking Cory away."
The fairy looks at me and oddly enough, she doesn't look so tense anymore.
I watch Shane for another second before asking, "Do you trust her?"
Without hesitation he answered, "Yes."
Do you think she will be safe here with Cort? I ask Dar quickly.
He hasn't killed her yet and he hasn’t objected to her living here and by the way he treated Clair, I know he wouldn’t have any issue with voicing that opinion.
I tilt my head, annoyed that he made is sound like Cort is going to toy with the fairy as a predator would it’s prey.
Shane nodded once at Dar and then grabbed Cory, “Next time wait for an invitation Beth, which should be about…never.”
Dar was shaking his head when he held out his hand to me. He looked over to his brother to say something, but Cort huffed something on his way to the room on the bottom floor. Our guest room. Theya moved out of the way and walked back in the kitchen. The way she moved made me think that she was far too familiar with my house.
I didn’t like it.
Dar squeezed my hand a second time. Let’s go.
I teleported us out with the hope that my house remains in tact and Cort didn’t kill the fairy, because there was something in the way he looked at her that made me think she was probably in danger. The crazy part was, when she looked back at him, she wasn’t afraid. An explosive mix if there ever was one.
THE CARVER’S PROBLEM (BOOK 2)
EXCERPT
CORT
The smell of coffee wafts into my nose. I’ve been lying in this ridiculously uncomfortable bed of fluff most of the night, unable to sleep. I kick my feet off the bed and pull on a pair of black cutoff sweats.
The pixy just bought a new electronic coffee pot yesterday. In the kitchen, I pull a blue mug from the middle shelf and drink the contents of the pot. The very little I’m not able to drink, I pour out.
The orange-haired pixy hasn’t gotten it through her thick skull that she’s unwelcome. So everyday I try and find something to remind her that I don’t want her here.
If she hasn’t figured it out by tomorrow, I’m going for her shoes.
Her door opens and I can smell her lavender scent from where I’m standing. I set the mug down on the countertop and wait for her explosion. She’s going to be pissed and I am itching for a fight.
She rounds the kitchen and ignores me until she sees the coffee pot. Then she eyes me with frustration. I can feel the hair on my neck begin to prickle with anticipation.
The pixy taps the counter a few times, then begins to make a new pot. When it begins to drip, she folds her arms and keeps her back to the pot, as if she’s guarding it from me.
My wolf almost howls in amusement at her pitiful attempt to keep her coffee safe. The feeling is a
little uncomfortable because this is the first time in probably ten years that he isn’t snarling at someone. That’s why I haven’t thrown her out the door yet. But I still don’t want her here, no matter if my wolf seems to be unaffected by her presence. It’s maddening to smell lavender all the time. And that’s what fairies smell like to me – lavender.
I watched the pixy tense at the same moment I smelled charred wood. Fire Carver. That’s what all fire Carvers smell like.
I turned my head and followed her gaze to the living room. Shane held his phone in the air, looking straight at the fairy next to me, “Why aren’t you answering my text?”
I look back at her and her eyebrows raise slightly, “My phone is upstairs.” Then she blew air out her cheeks and shook her head, “What do you want?”
Shane slid the phone into his front pocket, “I need you to watch Cory tonight. She’s not feeling well and I still don’t like leaving her alone.”
Now my eyebrows raise slightly. He sounds like a werewolf protecting his mate, but he’s a Carver and they don’t feel those kind of things.
The pixy fixed herself a cup, giving the Carver her back. Stirring in some sugar, she says, “If Cory agrees, I will hang out with her until you get home tonight, but I’m never going to watch her.”
He pulls his phone back out and starts texting. I keep my eyes on the Carver. My wolf is poised to attack if he so much as moves in my direction. I hate Carvers. Every last one of them could burn on a pitchfork and I would have no issue watching each of their fleshes bubble and fall off their body. I know Shane and Beth aren’t like the Carvers who kept me a slave for ten years, so I haven’t tried to kill them, but it’s not easy to keep my wolf at bay.
For ten years he was shackled inside me as my body was under a love spell. Isla Carver tricked me ten years ago and every second with her was hell. A living, tortuous, hell. The things she made me do, and the things I did to others, makes me want to shred my insides to ribbons. And if I wasn’t bad enough to do all those disgusting things we did together, she used her Carver magic so that she could use me to sniff out the supernatural.
As a wolf I could always smell the different species- human, wolf, fairy and witch. But after the spell, I can smell Carvers and their designation along with mixed bloods, half bloods, and all pure bloods from just one sniff.
I shivered and I think the pixy picked up on it because she stiffened a little. It hasn’t been that long since I woke up from that spell, and if she were smart she would have left by now, because my wolf may not mind her right now, but that doesn’t mean that he is going to be able to stop me if she ever triggered a flashback.
I watched Shane’s eyes lighten, “She said she would love to hang out.” He lifted his eyes, “When should I drop her off?”
My wolf punched at the seams of my skin. Shane is trying to invade our space. Hell no is that going to happen. I opened my mouth as Theya took a step in my direction, totally cutting off my thought process and focusing on the fact that her body was so close to mine. I could practically breath on her vibrant orange hair.
“No. I will get my things. You can take me to her.”
As she took a step back I could smell eucalyptus swirling around her. I tilted my head, wondering if that was her lotion, and then I wondered why I only just now smelled it. When I found her eyes they were watching me carefully. Another moment passed and she nodded and then walked away.
I watched her leave, wondering what that meant. Did she just stop me from pouncing on Shane? And if so, how did she know? I’ve learned to school all my facial expressions so that no one, not even Isla knew what I was thinking.
Shane waited until she was upstairs to say, “I asked your brother to let Theya stay in his pack.”
My wolf growled. He was interfering with something that wasn’t his business.
Shane must have sensed my thoughts because his eyes glowed ice blue, “She needs to be somewhere safe, because they will come looking for her.”
They?
The smell of cinnamon hit my nose just as the pixy rounded the corner. Her finger pointed at Shane, “I already told you no, I am not leaving here.” And then she pointed at me while still talking to Shane, “And you are not going to lay my safety on anyone else’s shoulders. Are we clear?”
Shane’s eyes were back to normal, “We will talk about this later.” Then he walked to Theya and I could feel my claws descending as I saw him get closer to her.
When they both disappeared my wolf growled again. Without another thought I headed up to her bedroom in search of her new heels. My wolf had plans for those hideous looking things.
* * *
I left her shoes where she would see them the second she walked in the door. But she didn’t come back that afternoon or later that night. In fact, I had completely forgotten about the shoes when I heard the front door and smelled lavender in the early morning.
I dismissed her coming in until I heard, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” That pricked my ears up and I sat up, looking at my bedroom door.
I thumbed the bed for a few more minutes before I pushed myself off the bed and pulled on a pair of white, knee-length basketball shorts. Opening my door, I was assaulted by an overwhelming presence of cinnamon. I could taste it; the smell was so thick.
I quickly made it to the front door and stepped outside to cleaner air. I took in a few deep breaths before I looked at my ‘51 Chevy truck. I could go for a drive and find a desolate spot to let my wolf run, because letting him run where there were too many people wasn’t safe. He would attack anyone within smelling distance. Or, I could just go for a run now and not waste the time going for a drive.
I looked down at my bare feet, deciding if it was worth it to go back inside for shoes. Deciding against it, I turned left at the end of the driveway and ran.
I ran past the houses and the near by park. I ran past the sketchy parts of town and into the undeveloped end of the city. I ran until my wolf no longer felt stiff with anxiety. I was thirsty but there wasn’t a place nearby for water, and I didn’t want to continue down this dirt path that lead to my brother’s pack. I don’t know how I ended up this close or why I even went this way.
Shaking off the odd feeling in my chest, I began the trip back to the house, stopping once by the first park to get a drink of water.
At the house I walked in, knowing my feet were leaving wet outlines and my shorts were wet with my sweat. I headed to my room and stopped short.
I smelled something amazing. Something I have not smelled since I was a boy. Unique meat. Raw meat.
Karaboo?
“What am I smelling?” I asked out loud as I walk in the kitchen, but I am pretty sure it’s Karaboo.
The fairy didn’t answer me, in fact I noticed her shoulders tense up. She’s holding her phone to her ear and I can hear Beth on the other side telling her to leave the meat until the sides turn a light shade of brown.
I walked in and stopped right behind her to look over her shoulder at the pan as the meat was being seared. I look down at the pixy who is stiff, and her smell changed from lavender to eucalyptus. I ignore the questions racing in my mind, asking why the hell am I getting so close. I reach around her and pull the tongs from her hand. I have successfully enclosed her in and there is no way out, so I am not surprised when she pushes back against my chest. In fact, it doesn’t even register as a threat. She tries to push me again and then groans. I can feel the vibration of it. She turns around and lifts the phone to her ear, never taking her eyes off me.
That is when my wolf pricked up. He wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was also unsure what she was going to do. Her eyes didn’t look angry, not the angry I was used to seeing in Isla’s eyes. The look that I was going to be punished, severely.
Nope, instead, right now, her eyes are drawing me in and every single inch of me is aware of her. I can feel her on my skin and against my thighs. A hint of peppermint swirled around her. Her breath
s were shallow and I leaned down to get a better smell.
Then I heard Beth yell through her phone: Theya? You still there?... Why are you – Is Cort there? What did he do? Theya!
I grabbed the phone and crushed it in my free hand. I threw the phone in the living room and was starting to feel my claws descending.
I can’t explain why I just did that, but I couldn’t have stopped myself if I wanted to.
The pixy wiggles out from in between me and the stove range to pick up the pieces of her phone. I can see her eyes are shimmering with tears unshed. I watch, unable to look away because something inside me is making me watch this and it’s drilling it into my memory.
She finally takes the pieces to the trash and I am free to look down at the pan with two large steaks in it. If I remember correctly, fairies don’t eat meat. They were all leafy green eaters or something like that.
I narrow my eyes at her back. She is breathing slowly and I wonder if she is crying, not that it should matter, but it’s making that hole she just drilled in my chest feel… awkward.
The pixy sits at the table behind me, and it should bother me that she’s in the perfect offensive position, but I push past that and focus on the steaks.
After the steaks are done, I grab two plates and put one steak on for her and then on the other for me. I put her plate in front of her and I take a seat on the opposite side, facing her.
She stands up and grabbed two forks and knives, giving me a pair without looking at me and then sits down.
For some reason my interest in the food has ebbed. I am curious if the pixy is actually going to eat it. And if she is, I want to see what her reaction is. In fact, I don’t think want is a strong enough word, I have to see how she likes what I cooked.
I wait as she cuts a piece of steak and slides it into her mouth. Then she stares at the wall and chews. After she swallows, she nods absently. After her first bite I saw her squirm in her chair and I realize that I have not stopped staring at her.
I almost ask her if she likes it, but I can’t get the words out of my mouth She narrows her eyes at me for a half a second and then picks up her plate and walks out with a swirl of cinnamon left in her wake. I hear her footsteps stomping up the stairs and I am left to eat the rest of my food alone.
The Carver's Magic Page 27