Alphas for the Holidays

by Mandy M. Roth

  After a moment, I cut the power stream off, not wanting to damage Chad too badly. I fully expected him to collapse to the ground, but the demon was too strong.

  He glanced around wildly, then stopped and stood there, brow furrowed in concentration. Then he let out a roar. “Where are we?”

  I shrugged, watching him closely. “Not sure.”

  He spun around and came right for me. His tall, six-foot frame towered over me as his red demon eyes bored into me.

  This was it. Now or never. I’d either save Chad or… I didn’t even want to think about the alternative. I braced myself, knowing if I ran it’d be useless. This guy was a jock, and even though I’d just tried to fry him, the demon possessing him was too full of his own kind of magic.

  I couldn’t compete with that. Not physically. I took a deep breath, tapped into my inner magic, and chanted, “Seperatur. Seperatur. Seperatur.”

  My hands connected with the football star’s shoulders right as he grabbed my hair and yanked. Pain shot down my spine as I contorted, trying to release the pressure. But he only pulled harder as he kneed me in the gut. Hard.

  The air burst from my lungs, leaving me gasping. Everything hurt. My head, my neck, my back, my torso. But it would take more than that to bring me down. Instead of focusing on the pain, I concentrated on the nice boy I’d met earlier in the night. The one who’d been so protective of Janie. Who’d smiled down at her and taken her hand in his. The sweet guy she deserved.

  Chad.

  My magic pulsed under my skin, heating with intent. That’s how witch magic worked. One feeds the magic with purpose. For most things, if a witch is strong enough, concentrates enough, she won’t even need a spell or a potion. Though those things certainly made achieving the goal easier. Not this time. I was going to take him down by sheer will.

  “Seperatur,” I said again, forcing as much power into the word as I could.

  Red light appeared, coating Chad’s skin as his eyes bulged. A howl ripped from his lungs and he swung, clocking me in the cheekbone, but I barely felt it through the magic coursing through me.

  I was completely connected to Chad through the demon, and I knew without a doubt if I could hold on long enough, we could force the monster from him. All I had to do was keep a physical connection. But that was getting harder and harder by the second.

  The demon within flailed wildly, limbs jerking and lashing out. Bam! Another punch. This one to my shoulder. I stumbled to the side, barely recovering before another one hit me in the kidney. I lurched forward, the blow nearly bringing me to my knees.

  I wouldn’t survive this much longer. My strength and my magic were waning. I had two choices: give one last-ditch effort to save Chad or leave.

  Janie’s lovesick eyes flashed in my mind, followed by the awful knowledge that if Chad’s body was taken to Hell, he’d never be saved. I’d already decided.

  Getting my balance, I perched on the balls of my feet, dodged one more blow, and then lunged. My body hit Chad’s full force, and we both went down in a heap of limbs. I plastered myself to him and unleashed all my magic, imagining Chad demon free and lying underneath me.

  The demon cried out in agony and rolled, but I hung on, my fingernails digging into Chad’s skin. The red light covering him grew until it surrounded both of us. And then with one last wretched cry, Chad went limp on top of me.

  The shadow world went completely silent. My plan had worked. It must’ve. The light was gone and Chad’s skin was clammy with sweat. His body was in shock, as was to be expected after a demon invasion.

  But where was the demon? I placed both hands on Chad’s chest and pushed him off.

  And standing right above me in all his red-leather-skinned glory was the black-toothed demon, fire crawling up his arms.

  Chapter 7

  Shit!

  The flames grew and as the demon raised his arms, the fire shot straight at me.

  I rolled to the left, barely avoiding getting singed. My heart hammered against my rib cage as I scrambled back on my feet, fully expecting another attack.

  Except the demon turned to face Chad, his arms raised as he stared over his shoulder at me. “Take me out of here, or I’ll burn him alive.”

  “What?” I asked, clutching my neck in fear. Chad, still unconscious, was helpless at the moment. “What do you mean ‘take you out of here?’”

  “You trapped me here, you bitch. Open a portal or something. I’m not staying here. Something about this place makes it too hard to think.”

  The flames died out and he grabbed his head, shaking it as if to clear the cobwebs.

  I ran to Chad’s side, prepared to shadow walk us both out of there, but as soon as I dropped to his side a portal opened, and in came half a dozen demon hunters, Vaughn in the lead.

  Fire engulfed the demon as he roared and ran head-on toward Vaughn.

  I couldn’t keep the cry from escaping my lips. But it was unnecessary. Vaughn was too quick with his dagger. It flew and landed in the chest of the demon.

  Unfortunately, it did nothing to slow the fire demon down. Vaughn dodged and the next demon hunter launched his dagger. One after another, the hunters let their daggers fly, each of them landing in the torso of the demon.

  Then, just as the last one met its target, the demon hunters formed a circle, closed in, and called, “Finem!”

  The fire burned brighter and then winked out, leaving just a pile of daggers and ash.

  “Whoa,” I said softly.

  “Mati!” Vaughn ran to my side and pulled me into his arms as the rest of the hunters disappeared back to wherever they had come from. “How did you get here?”

  I leaned into him, resting my head on his solid chest, exhausted. “The demon jumped into Chad, and I was trying to bring him through the shadows to the Brotherhood, but we got stuck here. I don’t even know where we are.”

  “You’re in the shadows near our headquarters. Only the Brotherhood can step in and out of the shadows here. That’s why you were blocked. But if a demon shows up, the area locks down and the alarm goes off.”

  I pulled back and grimaced. “An alarm? Took you long enough.”

  “What? The alarm went off right before we invaded. How long were you here?”

  I shrugged. “Five, ten minutes?”

  He frowned and his eyes clouded with concern. “You were here that entire time with a demon?”

  I nodded. “He was possessing Chad, but yes. I had to force him out of Chad’s body before I could shadow walk us back, but it sounds like we wouldn’t have been able to go anyway.” A ripple of fear shuddered through me. What if they’d never showed up? I’d be ash now instead of the demon.

  Vaughn glanced at Chad. “He’s awake now.” Tucking my hand into his, he tugged me to Chad’s side.

  “Hey,” I said, placing a shaking hand on his chest. “Are you all right?”

  He blinked up at us. “Where am I?”

  “The shadows. Do you remember what happened?”

  He shook his head and pushed himself up, wincing. “Why do I feel like I’ve been put through a meat grinder?”

  A pang of guilt slammed into me. “Sorry. You were possessed by a demon, and I had to fight you before I could force him out of your body.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  Vaughn held a hand out to him and pulled him to his feet. But he didn’t let go right away. He peered into Chad’s eyes and then nodded once as if confirming something to himself.

  “What?” I asked him.

  “Nothing. Just making sure he’s well enough to shadow walk.”

  I gave Vaughn the side-eye, but didn’t question him further. All I wanted to do was get out of here and check on Janie.

  “I’m good,” Chad said, though he was swaying on his feet.

  “Here.” I wrapped an arm around his waist. “Just lean into me.”

  “Okay.”

  “Ready?”

  He closed his eyes and swallow
ed. “Yeah.”

  I took a deep breath and then focused on the WΔΜ house. The shadow mist faded and a second later the dark of night surrounded us.

  It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and as we stood there, Chad clutching at me, trying to stay upright, but he lost the battle and slowly sank to the ground.

  “Wow,” he said to himself.

  “You’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Vaughn said. He turned to me. “If you want to go in and get Janie, I’ll wait with him.”

  “Thanks.” I didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t leave without her, not after what just happened. There was no telling if more demons were after her angel soul.

  The party was still in full swing with most everyone paired up on the dance floor. Looks like they’d found their dance partners. Everyone except Janie, that is. I spotted her sitting in a chair near the punch bowl.

  I took a seat next to her. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah.” She sounded so dejected, so lost, that my heart ached for her.

  I reached over and squeezed her fingers. “What’s wrong?”

  She let out a huff of frustrated laughter. “What isn’t? I made out with a demon, and the guy I like has vanished without even saying good-bye.”

  I jumped to my feet, unwilling to let her have a pity party. “Forget thinking you made out with a demon. He was possessing an incubus, and you were powerless to stop whatever went down there. And as for Chad, he’s outside waiting for you.”

  Her eyes lit up at the mention of her friend. “Really?”

  “Really. Let’s go.”

  She jumped to her feet and we were halfway across the room when the witch in the green velvet dress cut me off. “I recall telling you we needed to talk.”

  Janie didn’t stop. She was an angel on a mission. I didn’t even bother to ask her to wait. Vaughn was outside. She’d be safe with him.

  “I was busy battling a demon,” I said.

  She raised a curious eyebrow. “Can I assume he’s been eliminated?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Yes. You may.”

  “Good. Now, I’ve spoken to your sister. This isn’t the first time we’ve had trouble with the underworld. And it’s getting worse. Since the demon portal was blown open a few months ago, we’ve had three campus attacks. All of them targeted our less experienced witches. And now Janie. Your sister and I both decided it’s best for everyone involved if the angel council keeps a close eye not just on Janie but the university witches as well.”

  “Okay.” A ball of anxiety formed in my gut. Chessa had a bad habit of forcing me into situations that weren’t necessarily in my best interest. And this practically screamed Run! Run now while you can!

  “She’s decided you’ll be her eyes and ears. And the best way to do that without putting you in immediate danger is for you to join WΔΜ. Otherwise if you appear to be investigating, you’ll become an instant target. A schedule will be delivered to your residence by tomorrow afternoon. Participation in our events is mandatory.”

  “Wait, what? You want me to join the sorority?”

  “Yes, Ms. Ballintine. You’ll be inducted at the next meeting.” She swept off into the crowd, leaving me gaping after her.

  Goddammit, Chessa! Joining a sorority? I was going to kill her.

  Chapter 8

  I found Vaughn, Chad, and Janie standing by Vaughn’s black SUV. Janie and Chad had their arms around each other, their heads bent close, whispering. Vaughn, who was leaning against the driver’s side door, strode to meet me the instant he saw me coming.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  His eyebrows rose. “I think I do.”

  I sighed. “I just got signed up to join the sorority.”

  His lips twitched.

  “Don’t even say a word. I’m not happy.”

  “Chessa’s idea?”

  I just nodded. Then I glanced at Chad and Janie. “How is he?”

  Vaughn’s dark gaze clouded as he frowned. “He’ll be fine after a few days’ rest.”

  “You’re not telling me something about him. I can tell.”

  He shrugged. “He’s got magical roots.”

  “Yeah, he’d have to in order to be invited to the sorority party. Is he a witch of some sort?”

  “No.” Vaughn leaned in and whispered, “Incubus. But he hasn’t been called yet. That’s why the demon was masked when he was sharing Chad’s body.”

  “Oh, damn.” I glanced back at Janie.

  She was an angel, and even though they were both young and likely wouldn’t end up together forever, the fact was Chad’s calling would lead him to a sex witch at some point, which would awaken his inner incubus. It made me sad for Janie when that day came.

  “It’s something they’ll figure out when the time comes.”

  “Yeah. I guess so.” I crossed my arms and shivered in the night air. “How’s Chase? And how did the demon get the better of him?”

  Vaughn scowled. “He was intoxicated, rendering his senses impaired. He’s fine, but he’ll be disciplined. Maximus is not happy.”

  Maximus was the leader of the Brotherhood, and while he seemed like a sweet older man, he didn’t mess around. And in this case, I wasn’t upset about that. Because of his actions, Chase had put Janie’s life in danger.

  “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home,” Vaughn said, opening the car door.

  I shook my head. “My car is here and I need to drop Janie off at her house.”

  “Meet me back at my place?” he asked hopefully.

  I cupped one hand over his cheek and leaned in, kissing him softly. “Not even a rogue demon could keep me away.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Good. I’ll be waiting.”

  A half hour later, I dropped Janie off at the small house she shared with a couple of other witch students. The house had been warded against sinister forces and had private security. It was just about the only place she was safe.

  “Thank you, Mati,” she said before hopping out of my car. “I can’t even think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there.”

  “But I was, and so was Vaughn. That’s all that matters.” I smiled at her. “And you’re welcome. We’ve all had to rely on others to help us out from time to time.”

  “But not like that.” Her eyes were wide with belated horror. “Demons? That’s not normal.”

  “Not everyday normal, but also not my first rodeo.” I frowned at her. “But it is something you’re going to need to come to terms with. I mean, as an angel it’s going to be your job to save souls from those very beings.”

  “Yeah.” Her tone was wary, but I couldn’t blame her. Battling demons as a lifelong career sucked. Especially when she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  “Try not to worry about it now. Once you’re trained and have the tools in place, it won’t be as scary.” Right. Even I didn’t believe me.

  “Good night, Mati.” She pushed the door open and climbed out.

  “Night, Janie. You looked amazing tonight.”

  She gave me a halfhearted smile and then took off up the walk.

  After she was safely inside, I steered the car in the direction of the Lakeview neighborhood. Within fifteen minutes I was knocking on Vaughn’s door.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said as he opened the door and tugged me inside.

  “Hey, yourself.” I wrapped my arms around him and melted into his solid frame.

  And without moving me from his entryway, my incubus folded me into his arms and stroked his fingers through my hair repeatedly while I filled up on his strength.

  “I’m so sorry, Mati,” he whispered.

  I glanced up at him. “Why?”

  “Because you were left alone with that demon, and I didn’t get back to you soon enough.” He tucked a lock of my long dark hair behind my ear. “But I’m so proud of you at the same time. You took the demon on and expelled him from Chad. Do you have any idea what kind of inner strength that ta
kes? You amaze me.”

  My heart swelled with love, and instead of answering, I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth.

  His hands adjusted, landing on my hips, his fingers digging into my sides. That one movement lit a small spark of desire from my core, and I opened my mouth, welcoming his tongue as he deepened the kiss with just a hint of desperate need.

  I responded instantly, my entire body coming alive under his touch. “Vaughn?”

  His hand moved up my side, sending tingles of magic everywhere. “Yes?”

  “Take me to bed.”

  He stared down at me, his eyes full of desire. “You’re sure? You don’t want to—”

  “I’m sure.” I pressed my lips to his once more, claiming them as mine. I wanted him. Needed him. And not just to fortify my magic, though that was a nice side effect. This was all about needing to feel close to him after the battle. Needing to feel alive. Needing him to know how much I loved him.

  His lips still pressed to mine, turned up into a small smile. “Glad to hear it.” Then he swept me up in his arms and carried me down the hall to his bedroom. I already had his shirt unbuttoned by the time we got there. So when he lowered me to my feet, I wasted no time slipping it off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, followed by his black T-shirt.

  His chest was glorious. All rippling ridges and toned muscles. I could’ve happily spent the rest of the night just touching him. Well, except for that raw ache that only intensified the longer I trailed my fingers over him.

  I stepped back abruptly.

  Vaughn just grinned, knowing what was coming next.

  I raised one eyebrow and glanced at the fly of his jeans. “Take them off.”

  His eyes never left mine as he did as he was told. The jeans hit the floor and then he stood there in just his boxers waiting. “Your turn.”

  This was my favorite part. I ran one finger over the curves of my cleavage, keeping my eyes fixed on his as his pupils dilated with lust. Then, in slow motion, I lowered the zipper on my silver-sequined dress. “If you want it to come off, you’ll need to do the rest.”