Phoenixflare: #6 in The Rogue Witch: A Reverse Harem Romance

by Strange, KT

  “Maybe you’ll show me tonight,” Eli said with quiet gentleness that made my heart ache even harder. She ventured toward him, casting me uncertain glances.

  “Why’d you mate with a witch?” she asked, blunt as anything.

  “Katy,” Calen’s voice was sharp.

  “It’s fine,” Eli said. “We aren’t mated yet. Maybe one day.” Katy pressed her fingers against his tentatively, running her fingertips along his upturned palm. They stood there for a few moments while I held my breath and tried not to move.

  Katy turned to look up at me, her berry-red lips parted as she watched me with solemn eyes.

  “My mom says you eat pups for breakfast, but you look like we’d eat you instead,” she said. I didn’t know what to say to that. Calen looked like he’d swallowed a frog.

  Eli laughed and pulled back.

  “She doesn’t taste good, trust me,” he said as he stood up. “Like lightning and brimstone.”

  “What’s brimstone?” Katy asked, as Calen took her by the hand. He mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to me but I just shook my head. She was a child, and there was none of the malice in her that I’d seen in the other wolves of Dragonpack.

  Eli tilted his head to the door.

  “You hungry?”

  “As long as there’s something other than deer,” I muttered. Ahead of us, Calen laughed.

  Approaching a whole pack of wolves, even with most of them in human form, took every ounce of courage left in my body. Only with Eli at my side, and with Calen and Ryatt nearby, did I feel brave enough to show my face.

  These were the people that my family had spent years trying to eradicate from the face of the planet. I don’t think there were enough ways to say I was sorry. Katy, or Katybear, ran to her friends, other tiny children that clustered at the far end of the giant fire pit, surrounded by adult wolves in human form.

  Eyes followed me everywhere as Eli and I stood to one side, hanging back near Ryatt. He turned, and I saw the face of the man he’d been talking to: his brother, Redric. The alpha wolf looked less than thrilled to see us both. Ryatt, for his part, smiled in greeting and walked toward us.

  “You are up then, and much better than you were before,” he said, slapping Eli on the shoulder.

  “Well enough, anyway,” Eli said, bracing himself against the blow. He caught the eye of another wolf staring at me, and his arm slid around my shoulders. I leaned into him without fighting it.

  I didn’t feel safe.

  “Are you hungry?” Ryatt asked, before nudging Redric. The alpha growled at his brother before looking at us both stiffly.

  “You may stay as long as you want,” he said through gritted teeth. “We hope that you find comfort and shelter with us.” His eyes skipped from Eli to me. “And maybe you’ll tell us of why you are here, so far from your pack. Lone wolves are not… usual.”

  A shriek of laughter interrupted Redric’s words, and we all glanced over. My eyes went wide. The children were shifting, one by one, their skin blurring and twisting, until there were more than ten wolf pups racing around, chasing an older, shifted wolf.

  Eli left my side for a moment to say something to Ryatt, my ears just catching a mention of food and ‘anything but deer?’

  In that moment, Redric edged toward me, until he was standing a foot from me, his eyes hot.

  “Stare at them, witch, and know that you will never defeat us all. We live on, and thrive here, far from your people,” Redric said, his voice pitched low. I swallowed hard for a moment and then glared up at him.

  “If you knew anything about me you’d know that I would never hurt a wolf, not now, not ever,” I said each word with as much heat as possible. His brother might be a swell guy, but this wolf was an asshole. Alpha or not, I was going to put him in his place every second we were with his pack.

  I had a feeling if I didn’t? He’d go right for my neck as soon as he thought he had an opening.

  “Hey, hungry girl,” Eli said smoothly, putting himself between me and Redric. His arm scooped around my shoulders. “They’ve got hot dogs. You don’t have to eat deer.”

  My ears burned.

  “Oh, thanks,” I said. Calen came over, followed by a few other wolves, younger ones that looked like they were around my age. Looks could be deceiving though for a wolf, and they were probably in their 40’s or something like that.

  The fire pit was a large metal dish, with logs heaped high in it, flames leaping toward the sky. Around it were long, dried out logs, with wolves in human form sitting on them. Food was passed around, and soon I had a hotdog in my hand, and a place to sit next to Eli, near the flames.

  I sat there, chowing down on my hotdog and feeling more than a little grimy for still wearing the same clothes that Eli had bled all over.

  My chest hurt, and as the flames crackled, I wondered what the rest of our pack was doing. I ached to see them. When would I be near them again? This thing with Jake Tupper had to blow over soon, right?

  The wolves were talking to one another, but it felt like Eli and I sat in a bubble that only Calen or Ryatt were willing to breech, and sometimes the pups. Eli’s arm was solid around my shoulders, a heavy, comforting weight. It was hard to think I’d almost lost him earlier that day.

  “You okay?” he asked me quietly after a moment. I shook my head.

  “I want to be home,” I whispered. His eyes closed.

  “I’m—”

  “Tomorrow you will hunt with us,” Redric announced, his voice like a wrecking ball through the low chatter of dinner around the fire. Silence was broken only by the crackle of the flames, and Eli lifted his head.

  Ryatt glanced at Redric.

  “Surely not—”

  “Brother, do not argue. I tire of you, always nipping at my heels. If he is to come and enjoy shelter for him and his mate—” Redric’s gaze, burning like hot coals, landed on me for a moment before pulling away. “Then he will add to our stores.”

  Eli was still and then he sighed.

  “I’ll hunt. It’s been some years, but the body does not forget.”

  Redric eyed Eli and then smirked.

  “Excellent. Rest then, because when we hunt, we range far.” He turned to his brother, who was frowning hard.

  An uncomfortable, wary feeling turned over in my stomach. I trusted Redric about as far as I could throw him.

  “Is that really a good idea?” I whisper-hissed at Eli when Redric stepped away. Eli shrugged and kept a tight hold on me.

  “Just go along with it,” he said. I glared and then looked down at the rest of my hot dog. I wasn’t hungry anymore.

  “Let’s go back to the cabin.” I got to my feet, and left the fire, and its warmth behind me. Eli was hot on my trail, but he halted on the front porch of our cabin when I opened the door.

  “What?” I looked at him.

  “Go inside,” he said.

  “Um, you need to sleep too.” I narrowed my eyes. He gave me a weary look.

  “Go inside, Darcy, and sleep. Please.”

  “Dude, you need to—”

  “There’s not enough room for both of us,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Frustration flashed through me.

  “For fuck’s sake,” I snapped, “never mind you nearly died today, let’s just play the martyr. What are you going to do, sleep in the grass? Christ.” I didn’t wait for his answer and stormed into the cabin, my emotions all over the place.

  Was sleeping in a small bed next to me really so bad? Hurt ripped through my chest and I curled up on the covers. Today had been overwhelming in the worst way. I buried my face in the pillows as I clung to the bedding and cried everything out.

  Ten

  Darcy

  I woke with a sour taste in my mouth and my face feeling gritty from crying myself to sleep. When I stumbled out of the cabin, Eli was nowhere to be seen. Calen was close at hand, Katybear and a bunch of the other kids trailing him like ducklings as they played at the edge of the lake

&
nbsp; “Most of the older wolves are going hunting,” Calen said, giving me an apologetic smile. “Would you like to spend the day with us? The pups are curious about you.”

  “I’m not really good with kids,” I said, even as Katy ran up to me, her dark hair swishing behind her. She wrapped her arms around my leg and stared up at me.

  “Will you cast a spell on me?” she asked. Behind her, Calen groaned softly.

  “I’m sorry—”

  I laughed and bent down, scooping her fingers off of me.

  “You want me to cast a spell on you?” I asked. “What kind of spell?”

  “Turn me into a bear!” Katy’s eyes lit up at the thought. I gave Calen a look, quirking my eyebrow.

  “A bear?”

  “Mhmmm.”

  “She can’t turn you into a bear, Katy. You can already shift into your wolf. Why don’t you do that?”

  “Wolves are boring,” Katy declared, spinning in front of me. “All we do is sit around all day, scratching and sniffing. Bears are better.”

  I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at the expression on Calen’s face.

  “I can’t turn you into a bear, I’m sorry,” I said as I stood up. “But I would like to see you shift. That’s so amazing.”

  Katy rolled her eyes and huffed.

  “Cassandra told me you could turn me into a bear,” she said.

  “I did not,” that low, clear voice interrupted us, and we all looked up. The dragon approached us, the bronze threads woven into her skirt glinting in the sunlight as she moved. Her thick hair was braided and tossed over her shoulder. She smiled at me and bent to Katy, who ran to her immediately for a hug. Cassandra picked the small child up, balancing her on one hip. Katy tucked her head onto the Cassandra’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She let out a tiny breath, her whole body deflating as she relaxed.

  Would Max fit into our pack like Cassandra fit into Dragonpack, one day? Would Phoenixpack’s pups run to Max like she was almost some sort of second mother? Those questions made me realize that I’d have to have pups of my own first, with the guys, before anything like this would ever come to be.

  If Calen noticed a flush on my cheeks, he didn’t say anything.

  “I told all of you that Darcy could do magics, but not shifting.” Cassandra eyed me and then smiled. “Perhaps you could show them your lightning? Down by the water’s edge?”

  “Um…”

  The dragon stepped closer to me.

  “It would do them good, and settle no small amount of nightmares to know that not all witches on this earth are evil,” she said, her eyes flashing for a moment with grief. Her hand curled around Katy’s cheek, who peeked at me from under her long, unruly curls.

  “Sure,” I said. “I’m not very good, but—”

  Cassandra snorted, cutting me off.

  “Excuses do not become you. Come, Calen, let’s bring the pups to the water.” She turned and began walking away without another word. The children streamed after her, two of them dragging on Calen’s hands when he was too slow to start walking.

  I followed, casting my gaze across the large clearing. Wolves, in shifted and human form, were going about their business. Some sat out on the porches, the breeze ruffling their hair and fur. I didn’t see Eli. He was probably already off hunting.

  That thought stopped me short. I hurried to catch up with Calen.

  “So um, Eli, is he in… human form?” I asked, wondering if his exposure to the heartstone had allowed him to shift.

  “Yes,” Calen said, catching my eye, a smile spreading across his face. “He told us of the destruction of his pack’s heartstone. Ours may have healed him, but it will take longer to allow him to access the powers of his birthright.”

  “Oh.”

  Well, that sucked. If we were going to get anything out of this little foray into the True North other than avoiding the cops, Eli being able to shift again would have been a nice side benefit.

  We got to the edge of the water, and I took a deep breath. The mountain was so beautiful, spearing up into the sky, the very top of it dusted with snow.

  I’d only really ever used my powers for self defense, for fighting Creston or hunters. Now as a bunch of tiny wolves stared up at me, I had to figure out how I could show them my powers without trying to hurt anyone.

  “I’m really sorry in advance if it rains,” I said. “Sometimes that happens.”

  Calen snickered and sat down on a log. A tiny child crawled into his lap, and curled against his chest, watching me with big blue eyes.

  One big lungful of air later and I was lighting up the air above my head, tiny sparks of lightning hanging in the air as I tried to find the space between mere static and complete electric annihilation.

  Gasps rose from the pups as shot after shot of lighting spiked from my hands, miniature fireworks that made my skin hum, and my whole body feel like I could take flight.

  Cassandra watched me, smiling as she rocked Katy back and forth on her hip.

  I clapped my hands together with a loud pop, making the closest pups to me jump back. One of them shifted, tumbling over in wolf form before it scrambled away on four paws, hiding behind a log.

  “Shit, sorry, I’m not—” I shook my head and gave Calen a weak smile. “I am really not that experienced.”

  “Someone with a raw gift is about as good as someone with no talent that spends a modicum of time at practice,” Cassandra said. “Perhaps one day you’ll do better with your fine control.” Her skirts billowed in the breeze. “If you wish, I might teach you while you are here with us.”

  “I’m honestly hoping we’ll only be here for another day or whatever, we’re not planning on staying,” I said. Something brushed my leg, and I looked down. A shifted pup, its coat thick and white, was nuzzling my shoe. That reminded me… “Calen, you said there was a town nearby? I kinda need to get some new clothes.”

  I stepped out of the old truck, sliding down the side of the seat to the ground. It didn’t have running boards, and it was way higher than I was used to. The crisp, mountain air filled my lungs as I looked down the main street of the town.

  “This is it,” Calen said with a grin. “It’s not much compared to what you’re used to, but it suits us just fine.”

  “As long as there’s a store where I can get clothes—”

  “Let’s try Fields,” he said, gesturing down the sidewalk toward a single-story building, with odd triangle-shaped signs protruding from the front of it, each carrying a single letter from the word FIELDS, all in uppercase. “Sort of like a countrified department store,” Calen said as he held the door for me.

  Inside was a tiny department for everything a person might need, from underwear to fishing gear. It wasn’t large, or had the best selection, but I was able to get a few things that would last me a week until we could stop again. Thinking of Eli, I picked up a couple of pairs of jeans in his size, some shirts, and a hoodie. He had to be uncomfortable since most of his current clothes were covered in blood. I grabbed socks on the way to the register and tried not to blush when the woman stared at my American cash.

  “It’s at par,” she said flatly.

  “What’s that mean?” I asked, glancing at Calen.

  “It means that you’re not going to get more for your money just because the American dollar is higher right now,” he said with a grin. The cashier gave me another evil look.

  “Uh that’s fine, I guess,” I said, as she handed me my change and the big plastic bag.

  Calen snickered all the way out the store.

  “What’s so damn funny?”

  “Americans aren’t really popular around here.”

  “I kinda got that,” I said. “I swear she was going to set my hair on fire.”

  Calen nudged me gently with his arm.

  “It’s just small-town prejudice,” he said with a wink. “Don’t take it personal. When a country comes in second in every race, it kinda makes them bitter. You want a coffee while w
e’re in town?”

  Lord, did I ever.

  The truck rumbled over the rocky road as we returned, a coffee and a big lunch from the in-town diner warming my belly along with the lingering hope that Eli would be back from the hunt.

  He wasn’t, and from the expressions of the few adult wolves that gathered around Calen by the fire pit, there was some concern over it.

  When I approached, Calen shook his head at me to keep away. Private wolfpack business, apparently. Dread was gnawing at my stomach, so I went back to my cabin to change, ripping tags off my new clothing and hoping they’d make me feel better.

  When I stepped outside, night was almost falling. The fire pit glowed in the distance, and I crunched across the lake-shore gravel and sand. There was still no sign of Eli, and the gathered crowd of wolves smaller than I’d expected.

  Pausing at the edge of the group, I felt more out of place than I ever had in my life, until one wolf, a female with long red hair sidled up to me.

  “Rory,” she said, sticking out her hand. “I’m Redric and Ryatt’s younger sister.”

  “Your parents were on an r-name kick, huh?” I asked before internally shooting myself in the face. Rory grinned, not offended.

  “It’s a family thing,” she said with a shrug. “When they were alive, we used to give them hell for it.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said automatically. She shook her head and looked skyward. The fading light was allowing the stars to begin to shine.

  “We all have to die sometime. Their time just came earlier than we would’ve liked. You’re Eli’s mate?” she asked, and from the way her tone of her voice shifted, I felt a warning sound off inside of me.

  “Not yet. His brother, the rest of his pack, yes, but not him,” I clarified, trying not to let the hurt creep out into my voice. Eli always held himself apart, like he was too good to be consorting with a witch. Rory’s lips spread into a smile.

  “And I thought Dragon wolves were stubborn,” she said. “He’s handsome though, don’t you think?”