Cursed Vengeance

by Brandy L Rivers

  Giving Sean and Dylan a look, I nodded to the edge of the clearing. “Step back. Let me handle this.”

  “You know what to do?” Sean asked with an arched brow.

  “Yes, now stand away from it, and I’ll do my thing.” Hoping I wouldn’t fuck it up. “Afterward, we can build a perimeter to keep them from coming back.”

  Sean grabbed Dylan’s shoulder and dragged him back. “For your own good.”

  Dylan growled, but backed to the edge of the clearing.

  I closed my eyes and held the dagger, imagining my mother. Wish you were here.

  So do I, baby, my mother whispered in my head. Draw the curse out and destroy it like you did with Sean and Dylan.

  Nodding, I dropped my attention to the crystal and drew the spell out. It was stronger than the curse I took from either Sean or Dylan. This was the undiluted spell. It felt more like what I did to Remy.

  The spell came easily, but tried to move toward the only two werewolves in the place. I wove the spells, curling my hand around it and grabbed the dagger, stabbing the curse. A small prick pierced my palm.

  Blood flowed from my hand, spinning around as if the wind picked it up and threw it into a cyclone around me. An ungodly screech echoed through the forest, the wind kicking, swirling around so hard I couldn’t see past the cyclone of black essence, before it all converged on the knife and everything fell silent.

  My chest heaved as I stared at the now crystal dagger.

  Dylan spun me toward him, wrapping my bleeding hand with his. “Again? You need to be more careful,” he snapped.

  “Think the blood is part of the spell,” I answered lamely. My knees gave out and Dylan went fuzzy before everything slipped away in a thick mist that rolled in from nowhere.

  Mom appeared before me with a radiant smile as she wrapped her arms around me so tight I had a hard time breathing. “So proud of you, babydoll. You were always the answer.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes as I squeezed back, missing her so bad I wished this wasn’t some hazy dream from exhaustion. “There’s still another pack with the same sort of curse. Only this one is targeting the females. I’m not done yet.”

  “Of course you aren’t. You and Sean have to stop my mother, together. One day, I’ll see you again.” She faded away.

  Sean chanted above me. Dylan’s heartbeat lured me into consciousness. I opened my eyes as a tear fell down my face.

  Dylan swept it away. His intense gaze locked on mine. “You scared me.”

  A smile pulled at my lips. “Same thing happened after I fixed Sean.”

  “Not with me,” he pointed out. “Thought maybe the first time was because the magic was new.”

  Sean squeezed my shoulder, then took my hand. “She’s not even bleeding now. Chill, Dylan. And she didn’t pass out when she cured you because it’s easier for her to fix you than anyone else. It’s part of the mate bond. Besides, I think this took more magic than when she took the curse from either of us.”

  “Then should you really be fucking around with a perimeter right now?”

  “I gave her a dose of my energy to refuel her own. Give her a minute and she’ll bounce back. I should have done it after she cured me, but I didn’t honestly expect to survive.”

  Grabbing Dylan’s head, I brought his lips to mine for a kiss. Then I looked into his eyes. “I’m fine. And I really don’t want to have to repeat this if they come back before I get that spell up.”

  He growled. “Fine. I don’t like seeing you like that, though.”

  I grinned at him. “Put me down so I can cast this spell, then you can take me to breakfast.” I patted his chest.

  Reluctantly, he set me down.

  Turning to Sean, I asked, “So, what do we need to do?”

  “Pour salt, burn some incense, chant a spell. The witches won’t come back. Because we cast it, we’ll be the only two who can cross the line.”

  “And there’s nowhere else the witches would hide such a thing?”

  Sean shook his head. “No. In fact, I’m willing to bet Ashley’s pack has something similar. Our lands are protected through spells, but our meeting area borders the edge of our hunting grounds.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s a book at home, one you should probably look at. It was Solomon’s journal. The one who made the dais, the one who was with Annette before she disappeared. I think your theory is right. The curse started shortly after Solomon left her for his mate.”

  I followed Sean’s directions and chanted the spell as I followed him around a large circle. As soon as he poured the last of the salt, connecting the end of the line to the front, my knees gave out as wards snapped into place.

  Sean spun toward me, slumping to his hands and knees. “Feel that?”

  “Yeah. We wanted that, right?”

  He nodded. “I’ve never felt anything this strong, besides maybe at our grandmother’s shop.”

  Dylan walked toward us, his eyes wide. “That was impressive. And it’s not like the shop.” He snapped a look at Sean. “This feels…clean. Not dark and overbearing.”

  I frowned, then my mouth dropped open. “You left what was left of Remy at the shop, didn’t you?”

  Sean nodded. “It’s a damned good warning.”

  “Shit. Okay, yeah.” I took a deep breath. “I’m hungry, but if I think about that I won’t want to eat.”

  Dylan smiled. “Anything else we need to do here? Or can I take her home?”

  Sean sighed loudly. “You can take her home.”

  “I’m going to have to go to work tomorrow. You know that, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” He looked over at Sean. “Think you can live without me for a few days?”

  “Yeah. All our projects should be good for the rest of the week. I’ll check what we need.” Sean hugged me before patting Dylan on the back. “I need to make a phone call. Go on without me.”

  “Love you, Sean.”

  “Get some rest before you make your way back to Philly.”

  “Of course,” I sing-songed, then dragged Dylan back to the cars.

  He scooped me up and ran, faster than I could have ever moved, until we got to the cars. Dylan snagged my keys out of my pocket and deposited me in the passenger seat.

  “Hey, I can drive!” I snapped, and he shut the door on me.

  I scrambled over the console and slid into the driver seat as he opened the door. “I’m fine. Hungry, but I’m driving my car. Now give me my keys.”

  He laughed. “Fine, you proved your point.” Leaning down, he gave me a quick kiss and dropped my keys into my hand before going back around to slip into the passenger side.

  “You know,” he murmured, “you’re stubborn.”

  “And you mated me,” I teased.

  A few minutes later, I pulled into the diner we ate at where all hell broke loose. Part of the reason was fast food. The other, I wanted to see their reaction when another of their wolves was alive and well, who shouldn’t be.

  Stupid or not, I wanted to know if I was going to have to watch my back every second.

  Dylan shook his head. “Feisty. You sure you want to do this?”

  “Positive. Want to prove the curse is history.”

  “Now that Sean’s alive most of the wolves are on your side. But there are a few who may never accept you, Sierra.”

  “As long as they don’t give me shit, I don’t care. Yours and Sean’s are the only opinions that matter. I don’t have to win everyone over.”

  I hopped out, hoping he followed without an argument. I really was hungry, and as long as he behaved, I would let him drive because now I was sleepy.

  Dylan caught up and slipped his arm around me. I put my head on his shoulder until we stepped up to the door. He pushed past me, swinging it wide with a grin.

  Relaxing, I took a seat by the window, and Dylan scooted in beside me. “Want you close,” he murmured, wrapping me in his arm again.

  Someone walked up to the table with a gri
n. “Dylan, good to see you up and moving around. Does that mean it’s over?”

  He nodded. “It is. All thanks to Sierra. The curse is over for good.”

  The stranger smiled at me. “Would you introduce me to our savior?”

  Dylan nodded. “Will, meet Sierra. Sierra, this is our pack healer. He’s a vet too.”

  I held my hand out with a smile. “Good to meet you.”

  “You don’t know how happy I am to meet you, Sierra. You saved this joker, and your brother. I have to believe that means you’ll save us all.”

  Half a laugh escaped. “My day job is a doctor. I don’t think I could sit by and let someone die if I could fix it.”

  Tracey came over and gave Will a smile. “Let me take their order, and you can get back to chatting.”

  Will nodded, moving off to the side.

  “What would you like, honey?” she asked me.

  I put my order in and so did Dylan before she went to get our drinks.

  Will looked at the opposite booth. “May I?”

  Dylan nodded, but his eyes narrowed.

  Will sat down and addressed me. “How would you feel about helping the wolves if they’re hurt worse than I can handle?”

  I shrugged. “If they’re willing to come to me, I’ll treat them. Some of them won’t, that’s fine. Others will. I’m fine with that too.”

  “Even someone who tried to start something with you, with Dylan, with Sean?”

  “Bradley?”

  Will nodded. “His leg was busted worse than I thought. He’s still limping, hurting. I’m not sure I can talk him into seeing you, don’t even know how that would work, but he needs some help.”

  “Talk to him. I’m willing if he is.”

  “Thank you. For everything. I’ll let you eat.” He dipped his head, sliding from the booth.

  Dylan turned to me. “You really would help Bradley?”

  My lips pursed. “Yeah, I would. And considering he hates me, I doubt he takes me up on the offer. If he does, maybe he’ll learn witches aren’t out to get him.”

  “Yeah, okay. You have a point.”

  “So after this, you want to go home for a little while? Before I have to go back to my house?”

  “Am I invited to your house?”

  Smiling, I nodded. “Yeah, I want you there.” I took a long breath, getting lost in those golden hazel eyes. “You might want to follow me back. I will have a busy few days, and I don’t expect you to stay when I’m working.”

  “We’ll see. I’d like to be home when you get there.”

  “Before we go back I do want a nap.”

  “You got it, babe. We’ll drive back to your place after some sleep.”

  I leaned into Dylan with a smile. “I can’t wait for things to settle down. Now maybe we can get to know each other properly. It’s been a whirlwind.”

  “That’s how it works for us. I knew right away what you are to me,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, but I didn’t know it could be like that. I wasn’t expecting you to come along and knock down all my expectations about love. Hell, I’m not sure I believed in real love. Until you came along and got all growly and intense.” I giggled. “I wasn’t sure if I should like that or run screaming.”

  “And now, what do you think?”

  “Love it, love you. I’m ready to finally get to know you, learn more about you, all of that.”

  “We have all the time in the world now. Maybe tonight or even tomorrow, we’ll go on a real date.”

  “I’d love that.”

  “At a fancy restaurant even. I do have a couple suits.”

  “Ooh, you do clean up well.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Tracey brought us our food. We ate quickly. Got a few thank yous from other wolves, then headed to his house for a nap.

  The phone woke me. I put it to my ear with a yawn. “This is Sierra.”

  “Tell me you’re where you can get to the TV. Turn it to the channel ABC Six o’Clock News.”

  Dylan reached for a remote and turned on the TV, setting it to the right channel.

  A fire blazed on the screen in downtown Philly. The reporter spoke urgently. “We have a blazing fire at Solstice Blessings in downtown Philadelphia. The smoke is noxious, and we’re being told to move back once again. The fire started a couple hours ago, but the blaze is so hot water isn’t enough to put it out, and no one can see through the smoke and flames well enough to discern what’s left of the building.”

  My hand flew to my mouth.

  “We didn’t do that,” Dylan said quietly. “We left the body. That’s it. Maybe they destroyed the shop themselves.”

  “Probably. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, though. I don’t think it’s over.”

  Dylan pulled me against him. “You have to take care of Ashley’s pack still. I’d say that’s a good indication it’s not over.”

  Sean’s voice rattled off, but the phone was in my lap.

  I hit speaker. “Sorry, what was that?”

  “I’m betting they ran. Maybe we’ll be lucky and they’ll go far away.”

  “Doubt it. Let me know if you see something strange.”

  “I will, but Sierra, let Dylan take you to and from work. If they’re hiding, we don’t know what our grandmother will do.”

  “No shit. Love you, Sean. I’ll see you in a few days.”

  “I’m going to be busy most of the next few days. Need to go see my girl.”

  I grinned. “Good luck.”

  “You too, Sierra. And, Dylan, don’t let anything happen to my sister or I’ll kick your ass.”

  “Yes, sir,” he saluted with a smirk and I couldn’t help laughing.

  “Have a safe trip.”

  Dylan pulled me back, his hands roaming under my shirt. “Tell me we can make love before we get dinner and I take you home.”

  “Nothing I want more.”

  Chapter 24

  Dylan

  “Would you knock it off,” Sean called over his shoulder.

  I stopped and looked over at him. Seated at his desk, he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, watching me.

  “What?”

  He chuckled. “You need to relax, there’s still a few hours until she gets here.”

  “I know. Can you blame me for being excited? With both of our schedules it’s been almost a week since I’ve gotten to sleep in the same bed as her.”

  “Sleep my ass.” He snickered under his breath.

  “Shut the fuck up, asshole. You don’t like being separated from Ashley either. You want her to disappear for days?”

  The smile dropped clean off of his face. “Shit, you’re right.”

  “And, I’m nervous as hell she’s going to hate it.”

  Sean shook his head. “I told you. It’s perfect for her.”

  Slumping down into my chair, I ran my hand through my hair. “You know I’d ask her to marry me today if I thought she was ready.”

  “I know, but we both know that’s not the case. She’ll be ready. Just make sure you keep taking good care of her or I’m going to fuck your shit up.”

  I gave him a quick mocking salute before looking at the paperwork on my desk for the first time that day. There was no doubt I was excited to have Sierra with me every night, but I didn’t know how she was going to react to my surprise. Invoice after invoice, the day finally ended and it was time to go home and wait for Sierra to show up.

  Over the last two weeks we made trips back and forth to the house in Philly, bringing back more of her stuff each time. She’d decided to leave the main furniture there in case there were times we wanted to go up and stay. Eventually she would have to do something with the place. I knew she wanted to keep it for when she needed to consult in Philly, but I’d seen what happened to my parents’ house as it sat empty for years.

  Being empty all of the time was only inviting trouble. I suggested she rent it and she’d agreed to think about it. Her friend Rachel had off
ered her guest room whenever we were up there.

  When I pulled up out front of my house, my heart sped up. I jumped out of the truck and ran through the front door. Sierra was waiting for me as soon as it closed. I scooped her up into my arms, twirling her around.

  “Put me down,” she scolded, but couldn’t keep the laughter from her voice.

  I covered her lips with mine, stealing the kiss I wanted all week. Slowly, her hand crept up my chest, over my shoulder and into my hair. Things started to get heated and I pulled away. Her brows drew down as she stared at me.

  “Do you not want me?” she asked, a bit of hurt creeping into her tone.

  Gripping her waist, I pulled her tight to me, letting her feel my hard length against her stomach. “Oh, love, I want you more than you know.” She tried to nip at my bottom lip, but I moved out of her reach and continued, “Once I get you in bed, we’re not leaving for a few days and I have something I need to show you first.”

  She stepped back with a sigh. “I’ve had enough curses and evil daises to last me a few lifetimes and I still need to deal with Ashley’s pack. Can’t I have one night with you without anything interrupting?”

  “You most definitely can, but first I have a surprise for you.”

  “A surprise for me?” Sierra may claim to be a simple woman, but the gleam in her eye said there was so much more to it.

  Gathering her into my arms, I nodded. “I do.”

  “What is it?” Her eyes darted all over the room.

  “It’s not here, but we can get dinner first if you want. I know you worked all day.”

  No denying it was a delay tactic. What if she hated it?

  “Uh uh. You’re taking me wherever it is and we’ll pick food up on the way back. We can eat in bed.” A sexy, devious smile rose on her lips and it made me hot as hell.

  Grabbing her hand and the keys to my truck, I pulled her out the front door. Once we were both settled, I took off down the road.

  “Whose house is this?” Sierra asked when I parked out front.

  “My parents’ house.” My hands were shaking so bad I was afraid to take them off the wheel.

  She looked at the house and back over at me. “What are we doing here? I thought you said your mother passed away a few years ago?”